Growthbusters

Population growth is making headlines for the wrong reason or with a biased perspective. It's too easy to draw erroneous conclusions about dropping fertility rates around the world. A surge of news stories from NPR compels us to offer both praise and criticism. Population growth appears to be coming to an end, and that's getting all the oxygen, not the fact that we have an overpopulation crisis. In fact, the word "overpopulation" is not heard even once in the 16 stories we analyzed. Because the subject is brushed under the rug, reported infrequently or inaccurately, widespread misunderstandings among the public and policymakers persist. So, we decided 16 stories about "smaller families," "low birth rates," "depopulation," and "population decline" in 4 months from National Public Radio offered a good opportunity for us to do some analysis and offer suggestions. Our hope is that reporting might improve if journalists listen to this episode. We specifically mention NPR's Scott Simon, Brian Mann, Sarah McCammon,