ABSTRACT
Most news media are "data rich but analysis poor" when it comes to election polling. Since election polls clearly have the power to influence campaigns and election post-mortems, it is important that "spin" not take precedence over significance in the reporting of poll results. In this volume, experts in the media and in academe challenge the conventional approaches that most news media take in their poll-based campaign coverage. The book reports new research findings on news coverage of recent presidential elections and provides a myriad of examples of how journalists and news media executives can improve their analysis of poll data, thereby better serving our political processes.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part One|19 pages
Introduction
part Two|46 pages
Developments in Media Polling
part Three|53 pages
The Methodology of Media Polls
part Four|86 pages
Media Polls in the 1992 Election
part Five|48 pages
Public Reactions to Media Polls
part Six|12 pages
Conclusion