Suppose the number of stories per month in the two newspapers about economic growth that were primarily about expansion tends to increase steeply and steadily after a recession ends and to decrease sharply when a recession begins. Then, during the period shown on the graph, one might reasonably expect the number of stories about economic growth primarily about expansion to have been highest in .
If, from 1975 to 1976, the Finance Times had fewer stories overall about economic growth than the Metro Journal did, then most likely the Finance Times also had fewer stories than the Metro Journal did.