Journalism's Numbers Game: Reporting Polls Ethically

Are journalists paying too much attention to polls? The dominance of the internet, the dwindling number of landlines and the rising level of public distrust raise questions about the overall reliability and utility of polls. This discussion will attempt to answer those questions. The panel will be moderated by Fred Brown, SPJ Professional Standards and Ethics Committee Chair and a retired political editor for The Denver Post.

Seth Masket is a professor of political science and the director of the Center on American Politics at the University of Denver. He studies political parties, campaigns and elections, and state legislatures. He contributes regularly to Politico, Mischiefs of Faction, and the Denver Post. He is currently working on a book project examining the Republican Party’s interpretations of the 2020 election and its preparations for 2024.

Noah Pransky is a national correspondent - most recently at NBC - who uses data and polling to find unexplored political and cultural stories. Previously, he worked at Tampa Bay's WTSP-TV, where he earned national Polk, Murrow, duPont, and Cronkite awards, along with 17 regional Emmys for his investigative reporting.

Emily Swanson is the Associated Press’ director of public opinion research. She oversees AP’s polling unit along with the election night decision desk, which analyzes vote returns, historical data and the results of AP VoteCast to determine when AP officially calls the winner in elections all across the country.