Accepting organizers’ numbers.

A Law of Journalese requires reporters and editors to accept without question organizers’ numbers of people attending an event. This is especially so when the reporters and editors have boosted the event in news stories and editorials. And this is compulsory if the newspaper or TV or radio station are sponsors. I forecast that Boston’s First Night celebration would be reported as attracting one million people, as are most local events, such as the 4th of July Boston Pops concerts, or a Duck Boat parade after the Red Sox win a World Series. No reporter has ever figured the impossibility of one million people packing downtown Boston. I predicted the usual one million would be reported for First Night activities. But there was cold rain, few events and no traditional fireworks over Boston Harbor. So I was wrong. The Boston Globe on Jan. 1, 2017, reported that the organizers, Conventures Inc. (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, get those first three letters) estimated 300,000 would attend. Well, 300,000 is almost half the population of Boston, and if you want to see that many people at one place imagine five Gillette Stadiums packed for a Patriots game. We can wait for the million for the Duck Boat parade when the Patriots win this year’s Super Bowl.