Out of Touch?

Are the media "out of touch with average Americans"?

No surprise.  Most people say yes.  A mid-October CNN poll shows that 70 percent answer that yes, "the media" are out of touch.  Twenty-nine percent say "the media" are in touch.  One percent (about 10 of the 1,308 people surveyed) said they are unsure.  Me too.

Note my use of "the media" above.

Why?  Because wtf does "the media" really mean?  CNN?  Highway billboards?  My local newspaper?  That stupid t-shirt a student wears in my class?  The bumpsticker on some car that brags that a kid is on some school's honor roll?  They're all "the media."  Thus the question is so vague, so meaningless, that it's hard to interpret.  At least they could have asked about "the news media."  Still vague since it might, or might not, include Rush Limbaugh and Jon Stewart, depending on how the survey respondent interprets what is news and journalism.

Media permeate our lives, from that swish on your sneakers to your favorite novel to bad television to, well, just about everything. 

In other words, we can safely say that 70 percent of average Americans agree that nearly everything is out of touch with average Americans. 

Helpful.

AAPOR vs Bad Polling

Great column today at the Wall Street Journal about the ongoing battle between the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and a polling firm, Strategic Vision LLC, which some charge has funky, fuzzy, numbers.  Full disclosure: I'm a member of AAPOR.