The Importance of Words

I think this article by Michael Miner is a good example of how the choice of words by a journalist can have an impact on the reader's interpretation of the story.

In this case, numerous papers reported on a birth order IQ study conducted in Norway.

Miner writes:

Here's how the Tribune headlined its coverage of the same story: "Study finds
firstborn kids smarter." The Los Angeles Times story began, "Wading into an
age-old debate, researchers have found that firstborn children are smarter than
their siblings." Here's the Washington Post: "Researchers have debated for a
century whether, as IQ scores suggest, firstborn and only children are really
smarter than those who come along later, but a study from Norway now indicates
that what matters is not so much being born first as growing up the senior child
-- at least for boys." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was at least aware that the
study had a loophole big enough to drive a truck through. It published a
properly cautious AP report under the headline "Firstborns are smarter -- or are
they?"

The New York times article written by Benedict Carey never mentions "smart" or "smarter". Carey talks about "higher IQ" and also mentions that there are qualities that younger siblings learn that can not be measured in standard IQ tests.

Miner does a good job pointing out the differences in the articles that were all written about the same study. This really brings into focus the challenges that a journalist has to face when reporting on facts. Choosing the right word matters!

Links for some of the articles referenced in Miner's story are:
LA Times article: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-firstborn22jun22,0,4178426.story?coll=la-home-center

Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR2007062101215.html

St Louis Post Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/story/0FE4FAA08D769A6086257302001354E0?OpenDocument