| George Gallup |
EasyNews, UseNet made Ea .. |
| ::darkshadows:: (bat@cave.org) |
2009/05/12 01:15 |
George Gallup
George Gallup was born in Iowa and received his doctorate in
journalism from the state university in 1928.
George Gallup
In the early 1930s, he became a journalism professor. He also
conducted reader surveys for midwestern newspapers. One of the surveys
he conducted for the Des Moines Register and Tribune showed that
readers were interested in photography. In response, the publishers
decided to put out a photo-heavy magazine called Look.
In 1936, Gallup spent $250,000 on a new polling technique that he was
sure would be an improvement upon the then reigning pollster, Literary
Digest. Instead of polling a large number of people, Gallup polled a
only small representative sampling and forecast the results from that
sampling.
The big test of Gallup's system came during the 1936 presidential
campaign. The Literary Digest polls had shown that Alf Landon would be
the next president. Gallup's results showed that Franklin Roosevelt
would win. Gallup's prediction proved to be correct, which is why the
name Gallup, and not Literary Digest, is now synonymous with polling.
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