All the Polling (Data) That’s Fit to Print? An Analysis of Online News Coverage of 2016 Primary Polls     

Jason Turcotte  Klarize Medenilla  Karen Villaseñor  Saara Lampwalla 《Communication Research Reports》2017,34(3):191-200

As U.S. news outlets grapple with the challenges of delivering news in a digital era, journalists cover elections with tighter deadlines and fewer resources. Consequently, we are seeing an explosion in coverage of polls, which require little original reporting and attract readers through their “horse race” appeal. As the number of polls increases, news professionals are culling data from a wider spectrum of sources that vary in methodology and credibility. What remains unclear is how effective the news media are in providing polling context in their online coverage that is less limited by the space and time constraints of more traditional mediums. Utilizing the 2016 U.S. primaries, this exploratory study examines online news articles focused on polls to evaluate the quality of digital coverage across national news outlets.

Keywords: Campaigns and Elections; Content Analysis; Journalism; News Media; Political Communication  相似文献