Newsgroups: bit.listserv.words-l
Date:         Tue, 14 Apr 1992 17:51:00 GMT
 <WORDS-L%UGA.bitnet@VTVM2.CC.VT.EDU>
From:         WERTSJ <WERTSJ%DIALOG%MCIMAIL.COM@VTVM2.CC.VT.EDU>
Subject:      re: free press
Comments: To: mbx <words-l@uga.cc.uga.edu>

>Well, it isn't all one-sided.  The president and other politicans are
>pretty skillful at using the press when it suits them.  They whine when
>they can't get their view of the situation out, when their spin control
>fails.  BUT, I think the press is doing a poor job of covering the
>campaign this year.  They seem to have equated reporting poll results
>with reporting.

>rashmi, cynic at large


I have many doubts about the use of political polls.  I think
that someone else also registered the same feelings (but I didn't save
the posting): that political polls seem to have become self-fulfilling
prophecies.  I do like the underlying idea of finding out what the
public wants, but I think the political process in this country has
become too poll-driven.  "Tell the voters what the polls say they
want to hear, and you'll be elected!"

I think that the emphasis placed on polls has a great deal to do with
the wide-spread political disenchantment one sees here. Of course,
such disenchantment has been closely tracked by the polls!  The more
it is reported, the more people decide that there is no hope, so why
even vote?  This makes me furious!  Ever since I turned 18 I have
voted in every national election, and almost every local election.  I
WANT to have a say in how our government is run, but I'm not sure
anymore how to do that - I'm beginning to think that I'll have more of
a say if I participate in a poll than if I vote.

This doesn't mean that I think polls are bad; to the contrary, I think
there is a great deal that is positive about them.  I'm finding it
difficult to articulate exactly what the problem is, or what a
possible answer might be.  I do know that giving up polls isn't the
answer.  Polls can be a very effective tool, but they should not
be the *only* tool!  Media-bashing has become a great sport
in this country, and I hesitate to contribute to it, but I
do think that the media have fallen down on the job.  They *do*
seem to think that reporting the polls is all that is necessary -
that and delving into the private lives of the candidates (have you
see the Doonesbury version of campaign research? - it's hilarious...
and scary - I'm afraid that it is too close to the truth!)

It is difficult to judge whether one should believe the
results of a poll when the sampling parameters and other vital
information are not fully disclosed (not that everyone would know
what they meant, anyway!).  What questions were asked *before* the
question being reported?  Were they slanted in any way? (For example,
reporting the answer to "If you were voting today, would you vote for
Clinton or Bush?", but not disclosing that immediately prior to asking
it, one had asked whether the voter had heard about the Clinton
"scandals" - women, draft, drugs.)  Also, who can say if the answers
were truthful?  I must admit to some temptation along those lines
myself!

I'm uneasy with the importance placed on the polls, and I'm not sure of
objectivity of *some* of the polling organizations.  I just wish the
media and the candidates felt the same way (or if they do, that they
would do something about it!).  I'm not sure if there is anything I
can do.  *sigh*

Then there's exit polling...I'll save that diatribe for another time!

Jill
  (feeling discouraged and hoping that this wasn't too incoherent)

______________________________________________________

Jill Werts                 (wertsj%dialog@mcimail.com)
Dialog Information Services
______________________________________________________
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU