"N.M. Hands Over Millions," says a headline in today’s Albuquerque Journal.
The sub-head says "Ohio firm to dole out state’s investment cash without the ‘Monday-morning quarterbacking’ of public comment.
Wow! Handing over millions. Without public comment. Sounds scandalous, no?
Turns out that the state has hired a private investment firm (Fort Washington Group Capital Partners) to handle the direct investment program. about $200 million of the state’s permanent funds of $12 billion. That the private firm cannot make any money until it pays the state $30 million. That if an investment goes south, the firm has the fiduciary responsibility. That it manages similar programs for Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Oh, and about that "Hands Over Millions" part – the story says Fort Washington cannot make an investment without unanimous agreement of a board that includes one or two officers from the State Investment Council.
Good headline writing? I don’t think so.
Turning to page B4, we find this headline:
"Outsourcing is a Tonic for U.S."
Not "Industry Report Backs Outsourcing," which would be accurate. The headline doesn’t even say there’s a report; that’s in the sub-head.
In the story, we learn that the Information Technology Association commissioned the report. There is no identification of this industry group, no hint that it may have a vested interest in the conclusions.
In fact, the story tells us that the US has lost 104,000 job to low-paid foreigners and that the demand for American software engineers will continue to decline through 2008. That’s a tonic? Oh, turns out that the head of the ITAA says, "assuming the recovery continues…." the number of IT jobs will actually increase. He doesn’t say when.
So where did this headline come from? Not from the reporter's lead, which is the traditional place to work from. She said there was a report and that it contained a prediction. Did it turn the industry leader’s prediction into a truth? Or was it based on the report’s projection – translation, "guess" - that outsourcing will create 317,000 U.S. jobs in 2008?
Whatever the case, how can a professional come up with "Outsourcing is a Tonic for U.S."
PS The reporter never referred to the ongoing debate on outsourcing, never thought it worthwhile to get another view.
Understandable, I guess. She has a job.