The Influence of Polls on Television News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns

Vincent M. Fitzgerald

Since the election of Richard Nixon in 1968 to Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, both presidential campaigns and television news have undergone significant changes, perhaps most noticeably in the use of public opinion polls in campaign reporting by the national evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC. The Influence of Polls on Television News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns explores how during the past 50 years the three networks have quadrupled their use of polls during general election campaigns while the amount of time spent covering the actual issues facing the nation has dwindled. The increasing focus on polls over the years by television news has resulted in an overall diminished quality of journalism which is relying more and more on sensationalism and theatrics. The competition between the candidates has become a central focus of reporting, which has led to presidential campaigns being covered like sporting events. Major party candidates are portrayed increasingly less like potential leaders of the free world and more like athletes who are winning or losing a ballgame. The problem is not exit polls prematurely projecting a winner several hours before voting ends, but pre-election polls which do the same thing weeks before Election Day. Recommended for scholars interested in communication, political science, history, and sociology.

Lexington Books

Pages: 176 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-4232-6 • Hardback • June 2018 • $95.00 • (£60.00)

978-1-4985-4234-0 • Paperback • June 2020 • $39.99 • (£24.95)

978-1-4985-4233-3 • eBook • June 2018 • $38.00 • (£24.95)

Series: Lexington Studies in Political Communication

Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication Studies, Political Science / Political Process / Campaigns & Elections

The Influence of Polls on Television News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Since the election of Richard Nixon in 1968 to Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, both presidential campaigns and television news have undergone significant changes, perhaps most noticeably in the use of public opinion polls in campaign reporting by the national evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC. The Influence of Polls on Television News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns explores how during the past 50 years the three networks have quadrupled their use of polls during general election campaigns while the amount of time spent covering the actual issues facing the nation has dwindled. The increasing focus on polls over the years by television news has resulted in an overall diminished quality of journalism which is relying more and more on sensationalism and theatrics. The competition between the candidates has become a central focus of reporting, which has led to presidential campaigns being covered like sporting events. Major party candidates are portrayed increasingly less like potential leaders of the free world and more like athletes who are winning or losing a ballgame. The problem is not exit polls prematurely projecting a winner several hours before voting ends, but pre-election polls which do the same thing weeks before Election Day. Recommended for scholars interested in communication, political science, history, and sociology.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 176 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-4232-6 • Hardback • June 2018 • $95.00 • (£60.00)

978-1-4985-4234-0 • Paperback • June 2020 • $39.99 • (£24.95)

978-1-4985-4233-3 • eBook • June 2018 • $38.00 • (£24.95)

Series: Lexington Studies in Political Communication

Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication Studies, Political Science / Political Process / Campaigns & Elections

Author

Vincent M. Fitzgerald is associate professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
1Polls, Campaigns, and Television
2The Rise of Polls
3Campaigns as Sport
4Being Used by the Polls
5 Polls, Issues, and News Coverage
6Driving the Campaign Coverage
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Reviews

Vincent M. Fitzgerald has produced a strong indictment of the misuse of polls by television news—a crime against informed civic discourse that has been going on for decades. His compelling new book, The Influence of Polls on Television News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns, provides the “who, what, where, when and how” of the rise of the often-problematic reporting of election surveys.
— Stephen J. Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington

Polls are pervasive in television news coverage. To date, scholars have largely focused on how these data affect political candidates and the electorate. This book takes a close look at how they also contribute to the campaign conversation. Fitzgerald concludes that this is more of a challenge than a critique for journalism. Readers will realize that this challenge is a very important one, particularly after the 2016 election.
— Sharon Jarvis, University of Texas at Austin

The Influence of Polls on Television News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns

Vincent M. Fitzgerald

The Influence of Polls on Television News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns

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