History of Rasmussen Reports
In 1995, Scott Rasmussen founded a polling company called GrassRoots Research. In 1999, his company Rasmussen Research was bought by TownPagesNet.com for about $4.5 million in ordinary shares.[1]
As of 2009, Scott Rasmussen is the Publisher of Rasmussen Reports (based in Asbury Park NJ[2] and founded in 2003) and describes himself as having been an independent public opinion pollster for more than a decade.[3] In addition to political polling, Rasmussen provides public opinion data, analysis, and commentary, along with coverage of business, economic, and lifestyle issues. He has been called “one of America’s most innovative pollsters” by commentator Michael Barone.[citation needed]
Rasmussen Reports polls are notable for their use of automated public opinion polling, involving pre-recorded telephone inquiries.[4] These types of polls have been shown[citation needed] to produce accurate results at low cost, although some traditional pollsters are skeptical of this methodology and prefer traditional, operator-assisted polling techniques.[5] Polls by Rasmussen Reports are cited regularly by most major news sources, and as a guest analyst Rasmussen has appeared on a number of news broadcasts, including the Fox News Channel, the BBC, CNN, NPR, and CNBC.
A Fordham University analysis ranked Rasmussen Reports as the most accurate national polling firm in Election 2008.[6]
Reports by Slate Magazine and The Wall Street Journal found that Rasmussen Reports was one of the most accurate polling firms for the 2004 United States presidential election and 2006 United States general elections. [7][8]
Rasmussen Reports conducted the polls featured on the CBS game show Power of 10.
