Matthews, Blitzer uncritically cited Giuliani ad without noting his use of "meaningless" stat, according to cancer expert

SUMMARY: Chris Matthews, Wolf Blitzer, and Chris Jansing each uncritically aired or reported on a Rudy Giuliani radio ad in which Giuliani claims that when he had prostate cancer, his "chance of surviving ... in the United States, 82 percent" but that his "chance of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44 percent under socialized medicine." However, a post on washingtonpost.com's Fact Checker blog noted that "the survivability figures tell us little about the differences in the quality of treatment received by prostate cancer patients in the United States and Britain" and that "the two countries are much closer" in terms of the "mortality rates from the disease." Neither Matthews nor Blitzer nor Jansing noted Giuliani's use of "meaningless" -- according to a cancer research expert -- statistics.

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