We all want to be winners, right? But you can’t have a winner unless there are, well, losers.
Media loves to produce lists of winners and losers. Why? Often, it’s just a way to get people to read their content. But some publications proclaim “winners” and then promptly encourage them to purchase ads, presumably to make doubly certain that everyone (including their mother) sees the big beautiful announcement that they were chosen as one of the 10 Best Airport Directors in All of Neverland.
Lists are also an easy and inexpensive way to generate content, as most have no legitimate research costs associated with them. That also means the results have little to no credibility.
So, what could possibly go wrong with such lists? Just ask the folks at Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE). Travel + Leisure recently published an article naming ASE the most stressful in the U.S. The dubious title was awarded based on factors such as arrival and departure delays, cancellation rates and Google ratings that were bundled together with different weights.
Interestingly, The Aspen Times looked into the issue and revealed that the information source was a “randomizer website where users can ‘spin the wheel’ to produce random outcomes called spinthewheelgenerator.com.” The article also noted that the statistics cited about ASE conflicted with data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Travel + Leisure reported that 9% of the airport’s flights are cancelled and its average delay time is 45 minutes, but the Bureau of Transportation Statistics states that, for 2024, those numbers are closer to 6.5% cancelled flights and average delays of 26 minutes.
Was the Travel + Leisure list scientifically created? It doesn’t sound like it. But it did serve a purpose in generating attention (and perhaps revenue) for the magazine/website. Sadly, it seems like ASE was simply collateral damage.
As 2025 winds down and more lists of winners and losers start hitting your newsfeed, ask yourself what research was used to compile them…and how much the publication’s “winners” shelled out in return to buy an ad.
Cheers,
