Just 50% of Likely Voters Believe that Presidential Debates are a good way to learn about the candidates. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 28% disagree and 22% are not sure.

Voter skepticism about debates is even stronger when it comes to coverage of the events. Sixty-seven percent (67%) believe that reporters cover the event in a way that helps their favorite candidate. Only 16% believe the journalists accurately report what took place. Interestingly, skepticism increases with age. Among voters under 30, 34% believe the reporters accurately portray the debates. That figure falls to 9% among the nation’s senior citizens.

Democrats are far less skeptical of reporters than Republicans, but even among Democrats 54% believe the journalists cover the event in a way that helps their favorite candidate. Twenty-six percent (26%) of Democrats believe reporters accurately report what they see. Among Republicans, just 6% believe the reporters provide an accurate portrayal and 83% take the opposite view.

These results are consistent with earlier surveys finding that large segments of the population believe the media is biased It is also clear that voters select their news sources in a partisan manner. During Election 2004, CNN viewers heavily favored John Kerry while Fox Fans preferred George W. Bush.

The current survey found that 70% of all voters say that they saw at least part of one debate during the 2007 pre-season. That includes those who saw segments of a debate on the news as well as those who watched it live. Among this group, 29% said the debates caused them to change their mind and 54% thought the debates were a good way to learn about the candidates.

A survey conducted earlier in 2007 found that 15% considered the Presidential debates exciting while 58% found them boring. During 2007, many different debate formats were tried. Formats and moderators were reviewed like an entertainment series and many were panned.

While voters have doubts about the value of debates, just 13% say it would be better if there were no debates at all during the Primary Season.

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