Doubtful data can do real damage to trade publishers

There's an awful lot of self-serving spin going on about the internet's displacement of traditional media. The so-called facts that come from these efforts gain currency often based on a press release from someone or some company with a fairly large axe to grind. As a result, the data gains a life of its own without the reader being aware of (or being made aware of) its source. And the drumbeat