REPORTING PUBLIC OPINION POLLS: THE MEDIA AND THE 1997 CANADIAN ELECTION

Abstract

This paper addresses television and newspaper reporting of pre-election polls during the 1997 Canadian Election, examining both the emphasis given to polls and the quality of reporting of methodological information. The findings suggest that the media relied heavily on polls to chart the dynamics of the campaign, practicing horse-race journalism at the expense of coverage of substantive campaign issues. Polls were typically treated as matters of fact, with their limitations rarely discussed. Moreover, seldom was more than scant methodological information provided for polls, inhibiting the public's ability to evaluate their results.