framing

(原於2007年7月26日發表於舊網誌)

what can be more entertaining than seeing that only-happens-in-textbook crap actually happening in your daily life? read on and find out how just as horrible it can be.

so i was reading this article in united daily the other day about the rise of the country's unemployment rate:

2007年7月24日
聯合報 B2
記者 許玉君 台北報導

6月失業率3.96% 9個月新高

受到暑假畢業生效應的影響, 主計處昨天公布今年六月失業率為3.96%, 創9個月來的新高水準; 不過, 主計處表示, 根據歷史經驗, 畢業生效應會使失業率增加0.25個百分點, 今年高點將落在八月, 預計失業率將達4.12%.

同時, 根據主計處調查發現, 國內上班族今年一到五月的平均實質月薪約為35,036元, 較去年微幅增加0.74%, 折合現金為259元新台幣.

主計處四局副局長黃建中強調, 雖然薪資成長幅度不大, 但已經擺脫連續兩年的衰退; 再加上近來國內經濟景氣好轉, 特別是六月股市表現亮麗, 使得不少傳統產業與餐飲相關服務業加薪幅度開始明顯增加. 黃建中認為, 下半年國人的平均月薪成長, 應該可以有不錯的表現.

主計處昨天公布今年六月失業率為3.96%, 主要是受到暑假畢業生效應的影響, 創下近九個月來的新高紀錄; 官員表示, 根據過去四年的平均數字發現, 畢業生效應一般出現在每年五月到八月, 平均將使失業率上升0.25個百分點.

若按歷史經驗計算, 以今年為例, 今年失業率的高點應該出現在八月, 預期失業率可達4.12%的水準.

不過, 主計處指出, 今年六月3.96%的失業率數字, 已經是過去七年來的同期新低; 再加上, 今年上半年平均勞動力人數, 也比去年同期增加2.04%.

to me the message was: our economy has been stranded as bad as it can be and the government *hopes* things will get better soon. i was so used to this kind of frustrating news headlines that i didn't bother to finish the story.

then another article in liberty times caught my eyes.

2007年7月24日
自由時報
記者 鄭琪芳 台北報導

6月失業率3.96% 七年來同月新低

受應屆畢業生投入尋職影響, 今年6月失業率3.96%, 雖較5月上升0.09個百分點, 但較去年同月下降0.02個百分點, 是七年來同月新低; 累計今年上半年平均失業率則是3.86%, 同樣是七年來同期新低, 顯示國內勞動市場穩定成長.

主計處第四局副局長黃建中指出, 今年上半年平均勞動力人數為1,066萬1000人, 較去年同期增加2.04%, 明顯高於非勞動力0.17%; 而且上半年平均勞動力參與率為58.15%, 是十年來同期新高, 顯示國人投入勞動市場意願提升.

今年6月就業人數則是1,026萬2000人. 較5月增加0.02%, 較去年同期則增加1.87%; 上半年平均就業人數則是1,024萬9000人, 較去年同期增加2.05%, 增幅是三年來同期最高水準, 也是15年來同期次高水準.

此外, 6月失業人數為42萬3000人, 較5月增加一萬人; 上半年平均失業人數為41萬2000人, 較去年同期增加8,000人, 其中因工作場所業務緊縮或歇業失業者增加9,000人, 初次尋職失業者增加2,000人.

now hold your horse there - let's go back to the headlines again:

3.96% unemployment rate in june hits nine-month high
– united daily
(6月失業率3.96% 9個月新高)

same-month unemployment rate drops to a record-low 3.96% in seven years
– liberty times
(6月失業率3.96% 七年來同月新低)

same source, same numbers, and the journalists of the two newspapers must have been creative enough to make two totally different stories out of them.

bloomberg has a story to tell, too:

Unemployment rate falls

STEAMING AHEAD: Economic growth will expand 4.5 percent this year, faster than a previous prediction of 4.1 percent, an economist at Standard Chartered said

BLOOMBERG
Tuesday, Jul 24, 2007, Page 12

Taiwan's jobless rate fell last month, as financial services companies hired more workers.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.90 percent last month from 3.95 percent in May, seasonally adjusted, the government's statistics bureau said yesterday.

The median estimate of eight economists surveyed previously by Bloomberg was 3.97 percent.

Without adjusting for seasonal factors, Taiwan's jobless rate rose to 3.96 percent from 3.87 percent in May, the statistics bureau said. The number of people unemployed climbed to 423,000 from 413,000 the previous month.

Meanwhile, average regular wages rose by 1.46 percent, the largest growth in five years, to NT$36,490 (US$1,100) for the first five months of this year, backed by the nation's decent economic growth, the government agency said.

Job gains in Taiwan may drive wages higher, stoking household spending and helping fuel the island's economic expansion. Standard Chartered PLC this month increased its estimate for economic growth this year, citing an expected recovery in consumer demand.

"We're seeing more people joining the job market," said Cheng Chen-mount(鄭貞茂), chief economist at Citibank Taiwan. "That will boost consumer spending."

Cheng last week raised his estimate for consumer spending to increase 3 percent for this year, compared with an earlier forecast of 2.8 percent.

UBS AG said this month it is hiring more private bankers to serve Taiwan, where the richest citizens hold more wealth than in any Asian country except for China and Japan.

UBS will add 30 private bankers in Taiwan this year for a total of 80, said Dennis Chen (陳允懋), who oversees the company's onshore private banking business in Taipei. Citigroup Inc, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas and ABN Amro Holding NV say they will also add bankers to cater to Taiwan's wealthy.

State-owned companies will hire a total of 1,275 workers in the second half, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported on July 14.

CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) will recruit 560 people, Taiwan Power Co (台電) will hire 577, while Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (台灣煙酒公司) will add 138, the newspaper said.

Amid signs of faster economic growth, exports surged twice as much as economists expected last month on increased shipments to China and Europe. Exports soared 11 percent from a year earlier, a government report this month showed.

The government in May raised its economic growth forecast for this year to 4.4 percent from a 4.3 percent prediction in February. A pickup in demand in the second half may help spur job gains and consumer spending.

The economy will expand 4.5 percent this year, faster than a previous prediction of 4.1 percent, according to Standard Chartered's Taipei-based economist Tony Phoo.

###

the "only-happens-in-textbook" crap i was talking about is the framing theory of mass communication. here's how wikipedia defines it:

"in media studies, sociology and psychology, framing is a process of selective control over the individual's perception of the meanings attributed to words or phrases. framing defines how an element or rhetoric is packaged so as to allow certain interpretations and rule out others. media frames can be created by the mass media or by specific political or social movements or organizations."

i'm not saying who was right in the case, and i won't. perhaps neither was right. of course the media can have their interpretation of "a news" but my guess here is that united daily and liberty times both picked up the part of the country's unemployment report they wanted and used it to persuade their readers into what they believe – or what they wanted the readers to believe.

it's a shame on the media that abuse their power to manipulate public opinions. those who jump into conclusions on news headlines from time to time, such as myself, are just as naive.

fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me.