Burying the Lede

Burying the lede is a term most journalism students should learn as a freshman. It means headlining and/or leading off the article with secondary information, and thereby missing the main point of the story. It is considered bad form. Perhaps the writer of this ABC.com article slept through class that day. After all, no self-respecting journalist would write the following headline out of intent to "spin" the story, would they?

Three in 10 Call SCOTUS 'Too Conservative'
Poll Finds Figure Is Considerably Higher Than Two Years Ago
ANALYSIS By GARY LANGER
July 29, 2007

Three in 10 Americans say the Supreme Court is "too conservative," up sharply from two years ago and now substantially more than call it "too liberal." Just under half say the court is about balanced ideologically in its decisions.

Thirty-one-percent call the court too conservative, compared with 19 percent in July 2005 -- a period in which Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito have joined the court, replacing William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor.

Considerably fewer, 18 percent, call the court too liberal. Forty-seven percent say it's balanced, down from 55 percent in 2005.

You can read the rest of the story here.