1115.org

It’s interesting how three different media outlets managed to come up with very different numbers for the same fact.

NYT:

The Justice Department announced Friday that it would pay $4.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Steven J. Hatfill, a former Army biodefense researcher intensively investigated as a “person of interest” in the deadly anthrax letters of 2001.

CNN headline: Scientist’s anthrax lawsuit settled for $2.8 million

ABC News headline: DOJ Settles Hatfill Suit for $5.8 Million

Quite a range there, $2.8 million to $5.8 million. The explanation is that the “settlement (consists) of $2.825 million in cash and an annuity paying Dr. Hatfill $150,000 a year for 20 years”.

The NYT’s version is the technically correct one. They used the present value of the future payments of $150,000 a year.

ABC News takes what I guess is a condescending approach, assuming its readers won’t understand (and shouldn’t be bothered with) the notion of present value.

But CNN takes the cake. Apparently, $150,000 a year for 20 years means diddly squat to CNN headline writers. They just completely ignored those payments, even though paragraph 5 of their story says:

In a statement released Friday afternoon, department officials said Steven Hatfill will receive a one-time payment of $2.825 million and a $150,000 annuity.