The Jeremiad Over Journalism

that Politiken in 1971 adopts a polling method which emanated, and had been used, in the United
States since at least 1936. 592 Berlingske Tidende at the same time was working with Gallup to give
an indication of voters‘ political leanings and had been doing so since 1964. 593 Yet, an opinion poll
from 1971 shows that Berlingske Tidende, compared to Politiken, was still using fairly old data to
try and predict current political trends. 594
The fact that the strategy frame has been common in Danish news coverage at least since 1971 may
then be partly explained by Politikens introduction of Vilstrups analyses and Berlingske Tidende‘s
use of Gallup polls, but also by the fact that the content analysis sample is taken solely during the
last three weeks of an election campaign, where the need for knowing who is ahead, or who is
behind, is perhaps greater than is the case in non-election years. The introduction of the opinion
poll, as a tool for political election coverage can also been seen as a form of structural
Americanization in terms of science and technology, not until George H. Gallup introduced the
survey techniques were they appropriated in a Danish setting and later incorporated into Danish
news coverage. 595
5.4.1 Publicist and Public Service
Despite recent studies finding an increased focus on personalization and political process in Danish
news coverage, 596 there are also studies indicating that Danish public service coverage is alive and
well. As noted previously Lund and Sepstrup found that Danish media subsidies have helped
maintain a multifarious Danish media landscape where more space has been awarded cultural issues
as well as public debate over the years. 597 Scandinavian definitions of the publicist concept are
592 Jr. Charles W. Roll and Albert H. Cantril, Polls: Their Use and Misuse in Politics (New York: Basic Books, Inc.,
Publishers, 1972). Page 10. Roll and Cantril trace the evolution of polling in America all the way back to 1774, but
places 1936 as the year where ―scientific‖ polls conducted by George H. Gallup first appeared.
593 Dan Larsen, Partiernes Bevægelser I Gallups Politiske Index [Party Movement in Gallups Political Index] (Århus:
Institut for Presseforskning, 1978). Page 10 and appendix page 4. According to Larsen, Gallup has polled Danish
people‘s political leanings since 1957.
594 Berlingske, "Berlingske-Gallup Om Partierne Og Vælgerne; Politisk Indeks [Berlingske-Gallup About the Parties
and Voters; Political Index]," Berlingske Tidende, September 5, 1971. Page 8.
595 Larsen, Partiernes Bevægelser I Gallups Politiske Index [Party Movement in Gallups Political Index]. Page 10. The
poll referred to on September 5, was collected between August 7 th and August 21 st that same year. See also Chalaby,
The Invention of Journalism. Page 138. Chalaby notes that in England the ―News-Chronicle pioneered the use of the
opinion poll during the 1945 General Election campaign.‖
596 Peter Bro et al., "Mediernes Valgkamp [The Media's Election Campaign]," (Modinet
Mandag Morgen, 2005). Page 12. See also Lasse Højsgaard, "Substansen Er Parkeret [The Substance Has Been
Parked]," Journalisten, November 3, 2010. Page 28-29.
597 Lund and Sepstrup, "Udredning Af Den Fremtidige Offentlige Mediestøtte [A Report on the Future of State Media
Subsidies]."Page 64.
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