The Second Shall Be First

Read this headline on the story that accompanied the release of a Gallup poll on Monday and tell me, what do you think?

Inflation Worries Permeate U.S.

That inflation is the number one economic concern of Americans? Yes? That is what I thought, too. Look at the first part of the story:

More than half (55%) say they are "very concerned" inflation will climb

by Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist
PRINCETON, NJ -- Although the Federal Open Market Committee said "inflation is likely to be subdued for some time" after its meeting last Wednesday, 55% of Americans in an April 8-11 Gallup poll are "very concerned" inflation will climb, and another 29% are "somewhat concerned." This level of concern about inflation also seems to reflect consumer inflation expectations contradictory to the FOMC's assertion that "longer-term inflation expectations [are] stable."

Fives times "inflation" is used in the lead paragraph once each in the headline and in the subhead.

Then there is a chart detailing concerns about inflation. It delineates just how much people are concerned about inflation, breaks those concerns down by region, income, ideology and party. Following that long chart is a long paragraph, again talking about inflation. Inflation must be the number one economic concern Americans have. Got that, OK. Time to move on.

But wait, there is more. The next subhead is this:

Few Escape Financial Concerns

I really do not know what that means. Even Warren Buffet does not escape financial concerns. Let us read on.

With today's nearly double-digit unemployment rate, it is not surprising that among their other concerns, 68% of Americans are very concerned that unemployment will remain high.

So two thirds of Americans, the largest number in the poll, say they are “very concerned” about unemployment and only 55 percent say they are “very concerned” about inflation. Which item would you lead with? And that is why you, and I, are not economists and do not work for the Gallup organization.

Why does this matter? Look at this headline and lead graph from The Hill, the daily newspaper covering Congress.

Americans most concerned about unemployment, inflation

By Vicki Needham - 05/03/10 06:45 PM ET

Americans are very concerned that inflation will rise and unemployment will remain high.
Although the Federal Open Market Committee expects inflation to remain stable in the near future, 55 percent of people say they are very concerned about inflation climbing, while 29 percent are "somewhat concerned," according to a Gallup poll released Monday.

This is how the news game is played. Like the misdirection of a magician, the most important part of a story is included, but is superseded by the information that concerns the providers. News organizations perform the stenography, slap on a byline and, voila, inflation becomes more important than unemployment.

I emailed Eric Nielsen of the Gallup organization to explain this. Stay tuned.