Where exactly are CNN and Fox news getting their poll information/results when they express how candidates?

Question

are polling. And isn't it peculiar that when they announce a percentage of a poll, they never say how many people made up that particuliar percentage.

Answer 1

I think they conjur 3/4 of it up.

Answer 2

Naturally CNN slants everything for Obama while Fox pushes McCain.  If the polls were right Gore and Kerry would have been president instead of BUSH. People need to look at their own feelings when voting and not be swayed by polls.

Answer 3

Professional organizations do the polling and release it to the media. The good folks of organizations like CNN, Fox, etc. hire such companies to do polls for them in some cases, or they report the results of others.

If you look carefully at the TV graphics, you probably will see percentage of error listed. That's essentially the same as listing the number of people polled in an easier-to-read format.

As you probably know, it takes a very small sample size to get a statistically significant result.

Answer 4

You may have to do some searching to find it, but reputable polls are generally accompanied by a story that describes the methods used to conduct the poll. This information will include:

How respondents were selected

How many were selected

What questions were asked

Margin of error

Below is a link to just such a story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/us/pol...

Answer 5

Good question. I myself have never been part of a poll and I watch the news religiously.

Answer 6

Gallup is one of the most widely cited:

http://www.gallup.com/

Polling report:

http://www.pollingreport.com/