Polls Make a Poor Substitute for News

The Minnesota Daily ^ | staff

[T.L.Sink]

The impact of pollsters has become mainly negative. Rather than providing useful information, polls have become simply presentations of empty facts of little use to the general public. More dangerously, polls HAVE INCREASINGLY REPLACED ACTUAL REPORTING ON IMPORTANT ISSUES. Even if the poll ends up being 100% correct in its prediction, it's not information that benefits the general population in any real way. There is also evidence that widespread distribution of poll results can actually have an effect on how people view an issue. Polls are not entirely without value, but in general, the information polls provide is of little actual use. The public should demand ACTUAL NEWS from media sources, rather than simply accepting the endless stream of polls as a replacement for genuine information.

[T.L.Sink]

I don't know how my fellow FReepers feel about this but I've become nauseated by poll-fatigue and the endless barrage of polls in lieu of hard news. If these so-called reporters would get off their lazy asses and do some serious investigative journalism, we would learn a lot more about the state of the nation and its political life. Instead, they choose to repeat incessantly what any boob can pick up on the Internet in five minutes. I do NOT say this because he's a liberal but one of worst of the worst (and there is a multitude of them on every nework, conservatives and liberals) is Juan williams of Fox. He seldom makes a comment witout citing a poll and he cites it when it's one that he agrees with - as though that poll somehow factually confirms his opinion! Polls have become a substitute for thinking, investigating, and doing the hard work required of a real journalist.

[counterpunch]

Polls reported as news in the absence of informed reporting turn into a feedback loop.
Soon people base their opinions not on facts and information, but on other people’s opinions according to the polls. Then these opinions are fed back into the next set of polls, with the uninformed din growing louder with each generation.

[ozark hilljilly]

They won’t get off their lazy butts simply because they feel the job description doesn’t warrant it. Their job is to influence peoples thinking and values-just like advertising does-that’s what passes for “journalism” in the age of Obummer.

So no surprize that polls have taken over as “news stories”. It’s very easy and very effective! Since most folks-present company here at Freep excepted- just want to “fit in” and don’t want to rock the boat, they want to know what everyone else thinks, so that their worldview maybe shaped to align with “everyone elses”. It’s so hard to think nowadays, it takes effort and this current crop of folks ain’t up to it.
Besides....isn’t what you “feel” is all that matters, anyway? ; )

[gusopol3]

Now that Obama’s polls are sliding, there’ll be a lotta poll trashing going on.

[downtownconservative]

“Even if the poll ends up being 100% correct in its prediction, it’s not information that benefits the general population in any real way.”

The article fails to support this contention and I totally disagree. This newspaper article is a classic example of a journalist who wants to be the one to sway public opinion and assist the dumb masses by explaining to them what poll numbers actually mean.

Facts are facts and speak for themselves.

[P.O.E.]

Poll-reporting is thinly veiled advertising, but with all the trimmings of advanced marketing techniques.

They just don’t put in the disclaimers, like “may induce explosive diarrhea”

[fortheDeclaration]

AMEN! A poll is not news, it is opinion that is meant to change our views on the news.

[reefdiver]

The public should demand ACTUAL NEWS from media sources, Well if media sources were not lackeys for a national party they might have a little more credibility. But when the employees of media sources are 80% registered affiliates of that party, forgive me when I look for another source of information.

[ModelBreaker]

Interesting that the media discovers this just as Zero’s numbers are showing serious slippage.

[nhwingut]

LOL... Now that 0(zero)’s poll numbers are tanking, the libmedia thinks polls s*ck.

Plastic bananas unite.

[bennowens]

Another one that gets me is all the people telling us what is going to happen. This is not news either. Stick to the facts please!

[Entrepreneur]

I don't know. I'm starting to love this one. Far from nauseating, I find it quite cheery of late...

[exDemMom]

There is also evidence that widespread distribution of poll results can actually have an effect on how people view an issue.

That's a big no-brainer. For years, pollsters (in conjunction with whoever hired them) have phrased their questions to favor a certain response. Then, whichever media outlet commissioned them races to publish the tailored results as if it's news.

If polls weren't effective at shaping public opinion, polls would hardly be published at all. They could still have uses (e.g. for assessing the success of a political campaign), but we wouldn't have to see them all the time.

[T.L.Sink]

Good points. I think that’s why Sean Hannity has been saying that real journalism is dead.

[T.L.Sink]

Yes, and that’s exactly what Rush has been saying. The polls become the message and replace real news. Even if a poll is accurate (a BIG ‘if’) it just reflects a point in time and in a very fluid situation.

[T.L.Sink]

I like that one too! Let’s hope the red line keeps climbing!

[T.L.Sink]

We all know that polls can be used as a tool to get desired results. What questions are asked, how are they phraed, what demographic, etc. For those reasons and because even good polls can quickly produce different results, I take them all with a grain of salt and try to find the REAL news.

[SaraJohnson]

Liberals report by polls when they are winning and denounce polls when they are losing. Bam is dropping like a rock so it is time to report on “the issues” - abc style.