Sociologists Gladys Engel Lang and Kurt Lang speak on the tenth anniversary in August 1984 of Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency of the United States, which occurred in the aftermath of the Watergate investigation by the U.S. Congress. One aspect of Watergate–the relationships among the president, the press, and public opinion polls–is the subject of the Langs’ book, The Battle for Public Opinion. What is public opinion? How do pollsters identify and measure it? What was its influence on politics during Watergate?
At the time of this interview, both of the Langs, Fellows at the National Humanities Center (1983-84), were professors of sociology at State University of New York at Stony Brook.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
