Why the public distrusts the media, example #945,677

The USA Today has a story today about how 8,000 U.S. military personal have deserted since the beginning of the Iraq War. It is framed as very bad news. The 8,000 plus number was from the fall of 2003 to the fall of 2005, but the story also tells us that in 2001 alone, 7,978 deserted. This story should have been about how remarkable it is that in a year when we were at peace for 3/4 of the year, almost twice as many people deserted as did during each of two years of war. Then again, that story wouldn't paint a gloomy picture of how the military is doing right now, would it? I'll give them credit for this much, they at least included the 2001 numbers in their. Still, for the headline readers and the news skimmers out there, the story is misleading.