Bill Talbert Distorts Job Growth Stats For Years
Why does Bill Talbert, the president of Miami’s Convention & Visitors Bureau, find it necessary to use a photoshopped image of the Miami skyline as the masthead for his blog? Is doctoring up a picture of our beautiful city really necessary to sell the destination? I don’t think so. As is stands, Wikipedia ranks Miami as having the third most impressive skyline in the United States. Why fake it? I could live with the cheesy reflection of the clouds in the water, but let’s be real, there is no way Brickell is that close to Fisher Island. Google Maps calculates the distance is 2.5 miles.
But The Photoshopped Image Isn’t The Worst Thing—Bill Talbert’s Job Growth Stats Are Even More Misleading This isn’t the first time I’ve complained about Bill Talbert deceiving the visitors. In January 2010, I brought to light how the employment statistics he was publishing on his blog were not adding up:
Sadly, my concerns, back then, were not heard, because Mr. Talbert is still publishing the same misleading employment information, without backing it up with any facts. This is a screenshot from a recent press release:
Bill Talbert’s press release was posted on the same day CBS News published a story about how Miami’s unemployment rate is higher that Detroit’s:
While Mr. Talbert states that Miami’s employment rate is increasing, he does not address the fact that we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the United States. Simply Put, His Math Does Not Add Up Let’s all take a closer look at the employment figures from the press release above, dated August 3, 2011. ... Mr. Talbert states that in June 2010, 106,300 were employed in Greater Miami’s Leisure and Hospitality sector. However, in the press release below, dated June 28, 2010, he contradicts himself by saying, 102,600 people were employed during the same period of 2010:
The Contradictions Don’t Stop There In the press release above, dated June 28, 2010, Mr Talbert contradicts himself, once again, by saying 103,300 people were employed in 2009, yet in the press release below, dated August 24, 2009, it states that 101,700 people were employed:
Which Employment Figure Is Correct? I don’t believe Mr. Talbert is purposely trying to deceive us, but it’s obvious whoever is writing these press releases are not checking the facts. How will visitors get a true picture of Miami if all they’re given is misleading statistics and photoshopped images of the city? I probably wouldn’t complain so loudly, if so many people didn’t ask us for our advice about finding a job and moving here. What do you think? Am I being overly nit-picky? It’s just a discrepancy of 5,300 jobs. Or should mistakes like this be pointed out and fixed?
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11 Comments on"Bill Talbert Distorts Job Growth Stats For Years"
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Michelle says:
Great article, Gus! I think some may think you are being nit-picky but honestly, they don’t hear from the people that are thinking of packing up and moving to Miami because the growth of jobs is so great ~ NOT!
A lower employment rate than Detroit is a serious issue. I appreciate you pointing out the discrepancies. The difference is, they get paid to try to make the city look better than it is; we keep it real
Posted on 08/12/2011 at 8:45 AM