Hispanics have surged past blacks and now constitute the largest minority group in the United States, a status Latino leaders are sure to use to push for political and economic advances. The Census Bureau released estimates Tuesday showing the Hispanic population rose 4.7 percent between April 2000 and July 2001, from 35.3 million to 37 million. <p> So, AP states as fact that the number of Hispanics now outnumber blacks in America. Yet, the Census Bureau only released estimates.<p> This story caused quite a bit of debate in the newsroom. Our census reporter says: Wait, not so fast. These figures all depend on how you look at them. (It has to do with how one classifies blacks who are Hispanic, the thinking goes.). We wrote a story that said Hispanics were poised to surge past blacks as the largest U.S. minority. Basically, we were saying that nobody really knows if this has actually happened yet--but if it hasn't, it'll happen soon.<p> This raises a couple of questions:<p> Is it appropriate for AP to state this fact based on estimates, no matter how reliable? <p> While it is newsworthy to note trends in population and the impact that has on society, does this story actually tell the reader something they didn't already read before? There have been countless stories about surging Hispanic numbers. Does this story really say anything new?<p> Am I insane to worry about this?
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