The Numbers Game

It occasionally exercises my mind that the media are both obsessed with numbers (how many dead, how much money etc) and yet so absolutely cavalier about the accuracy of said numbers.
It was apparent last week when various figures for the cost of recording Michael Jackson's Invincible were bandied about. Today's trivial example concerns the Indianapolis Grand Prix:

NY Times:
Michael Schumacher won the United States Grand Prix yesterday, but he and the estimated 100,00 fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway knew it had not been much of a race at all.
The Guardian:
A crowd of more than 200,000 fans watched in anger as all 14 cars running on Michelin tyres pulled into the pits at the end of the opening lap on safety grounds
The Independent:
It needed no genius to figure out what 130,000 spectators, paying an average $100 (£55) per ticket, made of that.
BBC Sport:
Seven teams pulled out of the US GP to boos from 100,000 Indianapolis fans as a row over tyres destroyed the race.

There's a huge difference in the maximum and minimum figures being bandied about here. I think 100,000 is what would be in your mind if you saw the crowd on the TV, and the huge stands of empty seats. 200,000 if you'd just looked up the capacity of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and not bothered to watch the actual race. Not even close, so no cigarette.