Public Opinion Polls as an Input Factor of Political Communication

Public opinion polls are an integral part of political communication as they serve as an input factor for both the messages of politicians and their spokespersons, as well as the political reporting of the media. For political actors, the information about the opinions of citizens transmitted by polling has become an important factor to be taken into account when making decisions and communicating with citizens, while for political journalists, polling results have become a newsworthy piece of information (Strömbäck, 2012a; Holtz-Bacha, 2012). Politicians, journalists, professional communicators and citizens live in a world in which polling results have de facto become the predominant representation of public opinion (Raupp, 2007).