Michael Traugott

Michael Traugott is a professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, where he looks at the mass media and its impact on American politics. This includes research on the use of the media by candidates in their campaigns and its impact on voters, as well as the ways that campaigns are covered and the impact of this coverage on candidates. He has a particular interest in the use of surveys and polls and the way they are used to cover campaigns and elections. Traugott has consulted for a number of media and news organizations on their coverage of elections, including networks, newspapers, and the Voter News Service, the national exit poll operation. He is the author of 12 books and more than 75 articles and book chapters. In 2008 he revised the The Voters’ Guide to Election Polls with Paul Lavrakas, and he co-edited the Sage Handbook of Public Opinion Research with Wolfgang Donsbach. He is a past president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research and just completed a term as president of the World Association for Public Opinion Research. At the Shorenstein Center, his research focused on polling and newsmaking in the 2008 campaign.