"Refugee" Count
Updated.
Let's have some fun tracking the political correctness of the media.
Using Nexis, I'll spend a few days searching use of "refugee," "displaced" and "evacuee" in the context of New Orleans. The "R word" was not an issue Tuesday, but it became one Wednesday, so we'll begin the analysis with Tuesday's data. My bet is that "refugee" will hold its own for a few days while the media argues about its use, then "displaced person" and "evacuee" will take over.
Sept. 6: "Refugee" 408 hits, "Displaced" 485, "Evacuee" 744
Sept. 7: "Refugee" 482 hits, "Displaced" 809, "Evacuee" 1,000+
It's interesting how established "displaced" was before the kerfuffle. "Displaced persons" is a clumsy construction, but apparently rolls liltingly off the tongue of liberal journalists who have a long-time comfort with PC-ism.
More interesting is how strongly "evacuee" surged on the first day of the kerfuffle. Nexis stops searching when it reaches the 1,000-hit level, so we just don't know how many journalists were typing and saying that word. While "refugee" surged a bit, that's probably due to the first spate of "R word" stories. But it's clear that at this first hint they might be politically incorrect, journalists made "evacuee" the moniker of choice.
p.s.: Cindy Sheehan is another Katrina victim. Her Nexis count for Sept. 7 is a paltry 53, down from 130 on Aug. 30, the day the levees broke.
Let's have some fun tracking the political correctness of the media.
Using Nexis, I'll spend a few days searching use of "refugee," "displaced" and "evacuee" in the context of New Orleans. The "R word" was not an issue Tuesday, but it became one Wednesday, so we'll begin the analysis with Tuesday's data. My bet is that "refugee" will hold its own for a few days while the media argues about its use, then "displaced person" and "evacuee" will take over.
Sept. 6: "Refugee" 408 hits, "Displaced" 485, "Evacuee" 744
Sept. 7: "Refugee" 482 hits, "Displaced" 809, "Evacuee" 1,000+
It's interesting how established "displaced" was before the kerfuffle. "Displaced persons" is a clumsy construction, but apparently rolls liltingly off the tongue of liberal journalists who have a long-time comfort with PC-ism.
More interesting is how strongly "evacuee" surged on the first day of the kerfuffle. Nexis stops searching when it reaches the 1,000-hit level, so we just don't know how many journalists were typing and saying that word. While "refugee" surged a bit, that's probably due to the first spate of "R word" stories. But it's clear that at this first hint they might be politically incorrect, journalists made "evacuee" the moniker of choice.
p.s.: Cindy Sheehan is another Katrina victim. Her Nexis count for Sept. 7 is a paltry 53, down from 130 on Aug. 30, the day the levees broke.
posted by Laer at 7:54 AM
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