The Televised Deliberative Poll: An Experiment in Democracy

The concept of the televised deliberative poll is outlined. Its first realization—in Britain by the television network Channel Four in May of 1994—is described. Ordinary polls model what the public is thinking even when it is disengaged or inattentive. The deliberative poll attempts to model what the public would think, if it were truly engaged by the issues. A national random sample is brought to a single place where its deliberations, in small group sessions and with competing experts and politicians, can be broadcast nationally and where it can arrive at considered judgments. The 1994 British experiment was held on the issue of crime. The sample was highly representative, both attitudinally and demographically, and its opinions changed dramatically. Implications for future experiments are discussed, particularly for the National Issues Convention, the January 1996 PBS experiment based on the same concept.