To support us, Make a Donation - we rely on private donations for our operating costs, things like paying salaries and stipends, office space, and even post-its.
Lying in Ponds tries to quantify political writing by rating popular authors and analysts according to the tone and context in which they use key terms. Staff members download columns and flag words associated with individuals, policies, or ideologies. After a process in which each term is deemed either neutral, positive, or negative, researchers create a Partisanship Index (PI) using the following formula as a foundation:
where D+, D- and D= are the number of positive, negative and neutral Democratic references, and R+, R- and R= are positive, negative and neutral Republican references. The numerator is the difference between Democratic- and Republican-leaning references, and the denominator is the total number of all kinds of references, including neutral ones.
While admittedly somewhat subjective, the site’s researchers hope that consistent tagging methodology, the PI itself, and the examination of a number of columns over time will guarantee accuracy and detachment.
The site’s creator, Ken Waight, believesthat extreme partisanship–reinforced by rhetoric and dogmatic discussion–plays a detrimental role in a democratic community. By examining the ways in which political authors use language, he hopes that the site ultimately will help the public distinguish between normal preferences and aggressive partisanship–a style of communication that he sees as more akin to advertising than true debate–and lead to a more open, participatory civil society.
. Historian Shae Davidson's research interests include public policy and the relationship between culture and civil society. His publications range from articles on industrial history to absurdist poetry.
