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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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1990-09-17
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FROM THE PUBLISHER, Page 8
Few issues galvanize public opinion more than terrorism, and
few journalistic devices can tap those feelings more succinctly
than an opinion poll. This week we decided that our cover story on
the hostage crisis in Lebanon needed an accurate reading of popular
thought, so we asked our regular polling firm, Connecticut-based
Yankelovich Clancy Shulman, to conduct a survey. On one day, 25
interviewers telephoned 500 people at random and asked them 22
questions for an average of six minutes. The results were put into
computers and tabulated, with a margin of error of plus or minus
4.5% taken into account. They were then sent to Nation editor
Robert T. Zintl in the Time & Life Building in Manhattan, where
they were incorporated into the cover story.
This week's poll is the tenth done for TIME this year by
Yankelovich Clancy Shulman, which conducts polling and market
research for a variety of corporations, business associations and
publications. Since January we have shared our polls with Cable
News Network, which broadcasts the results on its 24-hour news
shows. Observes Zintl: "If you can get a measure of public
sentiment, and some of the reasons behind it, that can be very
valuable to the reader. It can add evidence to what we're finding
out anecdotally."
The polls can be surprising as well as illuminating. Before
the presidential election, for instance, TIME surveys about G.O.P.
contenders revealed an undetected support for George Bush that
presaged his march to the White House. And a TIME poll taken after
the stock-market crash of 1987 showed that contrary to cries of
financial doom, most Americans did not think Wall Street's woes
really affected them much. Last week, when we profiled the rise of
television-news stars, the editors found it useful to survey their
relative importance to the public.
Opinion research can also have an impact that transcends the
week's news. Says Hal Quinley, a senior vice president at
Yankelovich: "Polls, along with the press, are one of the many ways
people comment and respond to their political leaders." We happen
to agree, but as always, we encourage our readers to form their own
opinions.