Meetings don’t accurately measure public opinion
Congressman Paul Ryan just announced a new round of “listening sessions.” One will be from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Thursday, May 3, in the Monte Carlo Room, 720 N. Wisconsin St., Elkhorn. Another will be from 9 to 10:15 a.m. Friday, May 4, at the Holiday Inn Express, 3100 Wellington Place, Janesville.
This announcement reminded me of a new study by three science communication researchers. A UW-Madison news release says the researchers found that town-hall-style meetings may provide useful insight about the range of views on a controversial issue, but they’re unlikely to accurately measure overall community opinion.
To be fair, their research might not have focused on the types of meetings Ryan often holds and the sorts of issues he discusses.
The researchers say their findings are especially true when the issue involves deciding where to put a controversial facility, such as a nuclear power plant, biohazard lab or even a cellphone tower.
“Using public meetings may actually promote policy choices that are diametrically opposed to public preferences,” according to an article in The Scientist authored by Andrew Binder, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University who earned his Ph.D. at UW-Madison, and Dietram Scheufele and Dominique Brossard, both faculty members in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communications.
Their conclusions come from studying an issue familiar to many at UW-Madison: The process of selecting a site for the Department of Homeland Security’s new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. Madison was an early contender for the facility. Madison had proposed putting it on UW land near Lake Kegonsa.
The researchers looked at the site-selection process in six locations that were finalists for the facility. They looked at how Homeland Security rated community acceptance, then compared those ratings to what they learned from surveys taken in those communities and interviews with local journalists, policy-makers and community leaders.
They concluded: Homeland Security underestimated actual public approval. In communities where community acceptance was rated relatively low, it turned out that many residents were supportive. The department likely was unduly influenced by vocal public opposition, the researchers say. So were people in the community.
“Citizens mistakenly saw the climate of opinion as overwhelmingly negative, influenced in part by contentious public meetings and the resulting news coverage,” the authors say.
Do you think “town hall” meetings that politicians hold also skew perceptions of public support or opposition for policy issues? After all, many times supporters fill these meetings or perhaps even are hand-picked. If the media report on the discussions, doesn’t the public get a slanted view of support or opposition on a particular issue?
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook
Apr 30, 2012 at 10:54 a.m.
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I think the town hall "listening session" notion is really nonsequitur with Rep Ryan.
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Ryan is the type of politico who knows exactly what he wants to do and presents his plans at these meetings...
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Ryan is not doing these meetings to get a "feel" for what his constituants want..
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Nor do I necessarily disagree with Ryans mode of operation.
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In my opinion there is nothing at all wrong with traveling to various places to present your plans to groups...
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What a novel idea... Tell people what you are planning to do... If enough people vote for you and you are elected... You try real hard to do the things you said you would try to do...
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Much better than Promising everybody everything during an election campaign and then floating trial baloons to see what will be most popular, in order to stay elected.... Both parties do this with a majority of their Reps.
Apr 30, 2012 at 8:53 a.m.
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I agree that it is all a dog and pony show!
Apr 29, 2012 at 12:09 a.m.
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The conclusions drawn by the three science communication researchers are not correct, though the data collected is valid. A proper reading of the data would show that the community opinion is 'improved' at face-to-face discussions where questions and clarifications can be made real time. Public opinion 'polls' only ASK a question and have no means of clarifying a question that a respondent may have.
Apr 28, 2012 at 7:51 p.m.
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Here is a link to a video of Paul Ryan riduculing an elderly gentleman who dared to ask him a question. A few guffaws from the spectators at Ryan's joke at the old man's expense as Ryan's goons take him down. Quite a man that Ryan is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBhdXfCda...
Apr 28, 2012 at 7:47 p.m.
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saxcat70-Just exactly do you want? And do you think that everyone wants the same thing as you?
Apr 28, 2012 at 7:44 p.m.
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I wonder how many of you have actually attended one of these meeting? I bet not more than two-or three. There have been as few as 4 of us in attendance in Darien once up to a couple hundred at the last one I went to. It is a diverse group but mostly older. You can get alot of information in that short time and people do get a chance to ask questions. You all should take the time to attend and then you can criticize. Ryan is trying to save SS and Medicare but he gets nothing but grief and lies. Why would anyone want that job?
Apr 28, 2012 at 5:57 p.m.
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I hope that Ryan listens as much as he talks. This is often not the case.
Apr 27, 2012 at 1:23 p.m.
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Ryan's townhalls are little more than lectures from Wall Street and the Heritage Foundation and we're paying for it with our tax dollars.
Vote Rob Zerban
Apr 27, 2012 at 7:27 a.m.
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IMO most of these sessions are rigged with planted questions, as well as non objective people.
Also the most popular answer to a specific question is usually... "Well the real question is".....and then out comes the same old political statements over and over again....
They should be held in a large gymnasium, or similar place where questions are asked on a random (or lottery) type of selection, and should be held at hours that a majority of the common voters can attend.
Apr 26, 2012 at 11:16 p.m.
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amusing thought: will Paul Ryan meet the people with the Tea Party signs saying "government hands off my Medicare"?
Apr 26, 2012 at 11:09 p.m.
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Ultra-liberal Rick Unger is hardly a representative voice of Forbes.
Apr 26, 2012 at 10:38 p.m.
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I wonder why he wants to dismantle Social Security. He was raised on it. Embarrassed?
Apr 26, 2012 at 7:53 p.m.
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Perhaps a throng of senior citizens with grandchildren under 5 in tow will come to witness their own destruction at Pick-Pocket Paul's Pandemonium Circus.
Apr 26, 2012 at 5:48 p.m.
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Paul Ryan (R-WallSt) must be trying to avoid the average working voter. This way he can select his audience. Funny thing is, even Forbe's is bashing him. http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/20...
Favorite quote in the article: "Apparently, Ryan will be removing himself from his own Christmas list this year."
Apr 26, 2012 at 5:29 p.m.
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What good are listening sessions at 1 to 2:15 p.m, or 9 to 10:15 a.m if I'm at work? What good are listening sessions when lawmakers are working to fulfill their promises to their biggest campaign contributors?
I'm just cynical about listening sessions...
Apr 26, 2012 at 1:24 p.m.
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Ryan needs to sit in a room with people from his district for an entire afternoon, not just an hour and 15 minutes a few times a year. If he gave us his time, he would really get some valid feedback.
Another point is that these meetings need to be attended by diverse groups, not just a handpicked crowd.
Apr 26, 2012 at 1:01 p.m.
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I think politicians make a concerted effort to skew public perception. They spend their time trying to convince us that what they are doing is what we need. When they should be trying to accomplish what we want.
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