About

 

Amy Fried

Amy Fried

For my welcome message for readers of Pollways at the Bangor Daily News, with a longer introduction to me, my work, and this blog, please click here. 

Now a Mainer, by way of Minnesota, California, and my birth state New York, I love the sense of community here and the wonderful mix of culture and outdoor recreation.

I love politics in three ways: as an analytical political scientist, a devoted political junkie and a citizen who believes politics matters for people’s lives.

While I am interested in many political happenings, my scholarly books and articles focus on public opinion — from a somewhat unusual perspective.

Emphasizing public opinion as a political resource, some writings show how politicians and other interested parties interpret the public voice in self-serving ways.

Other works, such as Pathways to Pollingexamine the early networks of people and organizations that gather public opinion data for political clients, government agencies, media operations, business, and academics. After Dewey did not beat Truman in 1948, these relationships helped pollsters survive and flourish.

I have also written about the media and politics, women in politics, Maine and American political culture, and political activism, and work to create change through the Rising Tide Center.  A political scientist at the University of Maine since fall 1997, in August 2011, I started writing a biweekly column for the Bangor Daily News. Outside of all this, I can be found canoeing, cooking, gardening, or hiking.