🚀 go-pugleaf

>Did anyone notice the media just about refused to state the TOTAL
>number  that attended?  I heard "hundreds of thousands,"  "thousands
>upon thousands" and many other expressions but no one would state the
>estimated total.  Back during the "million man march" that is all they
>could talk about.    ?!?!?!?!!?

No, "the media" didn't refuse, the National Park Service did.  

It used to be customary for the Park Service to estimate crowd size for 
events on the Mall.  Estimates were based on photos taken from above (the 
top of the Washington Monument), which were broken down into grids.  
Average crowd density was calculated for sample grid squares, and the 
total estimate was calculated based on that.  

Following the Million Man March, organizers of the event disagreed with the 
Park Services estimated attendance, and put the figure at more than double 
what NPS estimated.  They then sued NPS to get the official estimate 
revised.  I don't recall what the disposition of that suit was, but I 
suspect it was dismissed.

Since then, and most likely to avoid future litigation,  NPS has 
discontinued its practice of estimating crowd size.  





Rob Means
Delphi International
1090 Vermont Avenue, N.W.
Seventh Floor
Washington, DC  20005
Tel.:  202/898-0960, ext. 67
rm@delphi-int.org