Flemington, NJ, December 23, 2008 – A new national study conducted among 313 self-declared Democrats, Republicans and Independents revealed that Governor Rod Blagojevich’s speech from December 19 was slightly effective in winning over support from all parties, yet viewers were still uncertain of his believability.
Before watching the speech, 66% of respondents believed that Blagojevich was guilty of the crimes he is being accused of. That percentage dropped slightly to 55% after viewing Blagojevich’s denial speech. Even more surprising was the 70% of respondents who thought Blagojevich should step down from office, dropped to 54% after watching his speech. Although viewers might have slightly increased their support, when asked to rate Blagojevich on scales of likeability, believability and sincerity, his believability scored significantly lower than the other categories.
The study was conducted by HCD Research on December 22 to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a speech by Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich, on December 19, in which he denies guilt and vows to fight charges brought up against him regarding his alleged scheme to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat.
While viewing the video clip, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants were also asked pre and post-viewing questions.
The believability curves that were generated for Blagojevich’s denial speech were compared to believability curves from previous HCD Research studies which focused on statements from prominent figures in the media who were accused of or connected to alleged criminal activity. Below is a look at how Blagojevich ranks among other subjects of past studies (the higher the number, the more believable they were):
Believability Scores (The higher the number, the more believable):
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Andy Pettitte Press Conference |
Score: |
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Eliot Spitzer on Links to Prostitution Ring |
Score: |
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Michael Vick Apology |
Score: |
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Larry Craig Interview with |
Score: |
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Blagojevich Statement |
Score: |
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Drew Peterson Interview with Matt Lauer |
Score: |
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Paris Hilton on Larry King Live |
Score: |
Governor Blagojevich, with a believability score of 44.3, was considered more believable than Drew Peterson and Paris Hilton and less believable than Andy Petitte, Governor Spitzer, Michael Vick and Senator Craig.
Among the findings:
“Do you think Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is guilty of the crimes he is being accused of?”
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BEFORE Watching Speech |
AFTER Watching Speech |
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Total |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Independents |
Total |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Independents |
|
Yes |
66% |
67% |
63% |
68% |
55% |
53% |
54% |
58% |
|
No |
3% |
1% |
4% |
3% |
5% |
5% |
6% |
5% |
|
Not sure |
32% |
32% |
34% |
29% |
40% |
42% |
40% |
37% |
“Do you think Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich should step down from office?”
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|
BEFORE Watching Speech |
AFTER Watching Speech |
||||||
|
|
Total |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Independents |
Total |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Independents |
|
Yes |
70% |
69% |
71% |
69% |
54% |
53% |
54% |
56% |
|
No |
7% |
7% |
6% |
8% |
16% |
19% |
15% |
14% |
|
Not sure |
24% |
25% |
23% |
23% |
30% |
28% |
31% |
30% |
“Do you think the public should withhold judgment of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich until he is proven guilty or innocent of these crimes?”
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|
BEFORE Watching Speech |
AFTER Watching Speech |
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|
Total |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Independents |
Total |
Democrats |
Republicans |
Independents |
|
Yes |
52% |
55% |
56% |
47% |
61% |
68% |
61% |
54% |
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No |
27% |
24% |
26% |
32% |
23% |
18% |
22% |
29% |
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Not sure |
20% |
22% |
18% |
21% |
16% |
14% |
17% |
17% |
The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty or Kim Montes, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net) or (908) 483-9128 (kim.montes@hcdi.net).
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