It's that time of the campaign season when we (as consumers of news media) are inundated with political polling results. What is interesting to me, is the variation in some polls shown on different news channels; what is even more interesting is that each source seemed to have its own purpose and agenda for showing such results. Given, the variations were not very large, but enough to be noticeable. It made me wonder if/how certain programs select which polls to show and the analysis they provide.
I know that there are some reliable polls out there, and I do not think that there is any active conspiracy going on with them; however, I do believe that news programs with particular biases can choose which polls to show and change how they show them in order to push one agenda or another. How much can we actually rely on the polls shown on commentary shows? Even if they are accurate, the hosts and guests analyze them in ways that will push their point. I think that the public should educate themselves about the polling process, or receive some type of objective help in poll analysis, so that we can look at them and make our own decisions about what they mean. We should not rely completely on television personalities to analyze polls for us without some level of personal discernment.
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