scholarly journals USING PUBLIC OPINION POLLS IN THE COVERAGE OF THE 2020 LOCAL ELECTIONS IN TV NEWS

Author(s):  
Olha Harmatiy ◽  

For many Ukrainians, the “window” into the world of news is television, especially television news. Having studied the news programs of all-Ukrainian channels, it can be noted that despite broadcasting local elections facts on all TV channels, they did not get such great media interest as the presidential or parliamentary ones, which may indicate little attention of central media to local politics. With the increased public interest in sociology during the election period, the proper dissemination of sociological information is important. It is important for people to learn from the media about reliable rankings accompanied with mandatory methodological information. The study proves the most problematic in the coverage of polling was the publication of information about customers in the media. Survey results manipulation also occurred through using research from dubious and pseudo-sociological institutions and ignoring information from well-known and authoritative organizations. Such non-compliance with the standards of releasing public opinion polls violates the requirements of the Electoral Code and causes the neglect of citizens’ rights to full and objective information about the elections. The conclusion can be made that television, as a popular channel for obtaining information among Ukrainians, did not give the audience full access to the results of sociological research on local elections. The paper offers some solutions to the situation, for instance, increasing the responsibility of the media for disseminating incomplete and unreliable survey results. It is also significant that sociological services provide comprehensive information about their research. If sociological companies are open and provide full reports, the media will have more opportunities to release complete information about the polls to the public. In addition, enhancing general media literacy, the ability to interpret survey results and define their accuracy and reliability will contribute to the citizens’ resistance to sociological data manipulation in the media.

Author(s):  
Ceren Yegen

Voters in a democracy contribute to the governance process and mediate the legitimacy of equality and pluralism. This is of great importance in terms of understanding and legitimizing the true meaning of democracy. In the last decade, Turkey has experienced many elections. Local elections on March 31, 2019 were very important. They were quite different in terms of the presentation of political parties and their candidates in the media because both politicians and the public ascribed a lot of meaning to these elections. Therefore, the media showed great interest in the March 31, 2019 local elections, frequently featuring public opinion polls, election campaigns, and political statements that informed voters in real time. This chapter examines the media content of the March 31, 2019 elections.


2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Szwed

Information about the support given by the public opinion to political actors has become a constant element of the public debate in Poland after the fall of Communism. Very soon polls became an argument in debates, a premise, or a way to justify decisions. At the same time they were criticized both by politicians and journalists convinced that polls can significantly influence the election results. But the fact was not noticed in Poland that all debates about the influence of polls on election outcomes should be preceded by a discussion of the way they are presented in the media. The present article joins this debate by subjecting to analysis the polls published in the Polish press during parliamentary campaigns in the dimensions of the role they played during the recent several years, the quality of methodological information, and of the way the polls were used in the media. As opposed to European and American analyses, no improvement in the conformity to standards of minimal disclosure in newspapers’ reporting of public opinion polls was noticed, although—like in other countries—a dramatic increase in the number of polls reported was observed.


Politik ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Gahner Larsen ◽  
Simon Grundt Straubinger

This article examines the information the Danish news media provide when reporting public opinion polls. e study has been done through quantitative content analysis of 424 newspaper and Internet articles from four major Danish dailies during the last three parliamentary elections. e study found that only about half of the seven ESOMAR/WAPOR-requirements included here were reported. e results from the estimated regression show that the media in general provides more methodological information in newspaper articles than on the Internet, and that the media becomes better at reporting public opinion polls over time. Com- pared with studies conducted in other countries we nd no systematic deviation in how public opinion polls are reported in Denmark. 


1988 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Wagenberg ◽  
W. C. Soderlund ◽  
W. I. Romanow ◽  
E. D. Briggs

AbstractShort-term factors played a greater than usual role in the 1984 national election. Media coverage of the campaign therefore had a crucial impact. This study documents the coverage of leaders, parties and substantive issues by the major television and radio networks and 18 newspapers selected by region and language. A major finding is that the media reported results of public opinion polls to an unprecedented degree. This was one facet of the featuring of “horserace” issues over more substantive socio-economic ones. The data lend credence to the fears of those who feel that essential democratic goals of the electoral process are being undermined. The study also suggests rethinking the “no effects” theory of polling and electoral behaviour.


1950 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 101-103
Author(s):  
Arthur N. Feraru

Author(s):  
William W. Franko ◽  
Christopher Witko

Here the authors present the variation that exists in income inequality across the states, and variation in public awareness or concern about income inequality as measured by public opinion polls. Though politicians may decide to tackle income inequality even in the absence of public concern about inequality, the authors argue that government responses are more likely when and where there is a growing awareness of, and concern about, inequality, which is confirmed in the analyses in this book. To examine this question in subsequent chapters, a novel measure of public awareness of rising state inequality is developed. Using these estimates, this chapter shows that the growth in the public concern about inequality responds in part to objective increases in inequality, but also that state political conditions, particularly mass partisanship, shape perceptions of inequality.


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