E-Mailbag: Poll Position
We got an email from Mark Blumenthal, the Mystery Pollster, concerning a point made by a commenter on his site about CBS News poll reporting standards. Blumenthal has been writing about a controversy over an American Medical Association-sponsored survey of young women about spring break which was covered by a number of news outlets, including the "Early Show." He pointed out that much of the reporting about the poll was flawed, in part because much of it relied on an AMA press release incorrectly identifying the respondents as a "random sample" of 17-34 year old women. (Mark has a lot more analysis here and here.)
The poll prompted one of his commenters, "JeanneB", to write the following:
The poll prompted one of his commenters, "JeanneB", to write the following:
More and more news outlets have hired ombudsmen in recent years. They also need to add someone to filter polls and ensure they're described accurately (if they get used at all)...Mark asked us to address the point and the issue.
They have a responsibility to police themselves and set some kind of standard as to which polls will be included in their coverage and how they will be described. Please don't let them off the hook for swallowing whole any old press release disguised as a "poll".
