Ich Muss Razzen
Jul. 22nd, 2007 12:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowRasmussen Reports fairly consistently produces results more favorable to the Bush administration and to Republicans generally than most other reputable pollsters. It is precisely for that reason that I read their website - they place a bound on the plausible.
A few days ago, I noted a rather misleading headline on their site. Briefly, having conducted a poll on popular perception of media bias, they found that 39% of respondents felt that the major TV networks showed a liberal bias in their news shows; 25% saw no bias, 20% saw a conservative bias, and 16% were not sure. The headline read, "Americans See Liberal Media Bias on TV News".
Today, in another article, Rasmussen Reports asserted that, and I quote, "Earlier releases showed that most Americans believe the major broadcast networks, CNN, and NPR have a liberal bias". This is flatly false. According to their own reported data, a majority of respondents do not believe there is such a bias.
Let me be precise. By "X does not believe Y", I mean "It is not the case that X believes that Y is true". By this definition, 61% (25%+20%+16%) do not believe the major networks have a liberal bias. Even by the more stringent interpretation, "X believes that Y is false", a plurality - 45% to 39% - hold that position.
Rasmussen has moved from being misleading in its headlines to presenting falsehoods in the body of its reports. I am deeply disappointed in them.
A few days ago, I noted a rather misleading headline on their site. Briefly, having conducted a poll on popular perception of media bias, they found that 39% of respondents felt that the major TV networks showed a liberal bias in their news shows; 25% saw no bias, 20% saw a conservative bias, and 16% were not sure. The headline read, "Americans See Liberal Media Bias on TV News".
Today, in another article, Rasmussen Reports asserted that, and I quote, "Earlier releases showed that most Americans believe the major broadcast networks, CNN, and NPR have a liberal bias". This is flatly false. According to their own reported data, a majority of respondents do not believe there is such a bias.
Let me be precise. By "X does not believe Y", I mean "It is not the case that X believes that Y is true". By this definition, 61% (25%+20%+16%) do not believe the major networks have a liberal bias. Even by the more stringent interpretation, "X believes that Y is false", a plurality - 45% to 39% - hold that position.
Rasmussen has moved from being misleading in its headlines to presenting falsehoods in the body of its reports. I am deeply disappointed in them.
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Re: raz
Date: 2007-07-23 11:25 pm (UTC)Look, if Rasmussen (or, more likely, some other pollster) had put up such numbers and claimed that most Americans believe there is a conservative bias, and if I saw such a claim, I would object to that as well. But that's not what they said, and not what I objected to.
Re: raz
Date: 2007-07-23 11:49 pm (UTC)Re: raz
Date: 2007-07-23 11:58 pm (UTC)