Talk Business is launching a research and polling division in cooperation with Hendrix College’s Department of Politics and International Relations.

Through a licensing agreement with Denver-based Broadnet, Talk Business will have the ability to conduct its own independent polls in order to provide its audience with insight on Arkansas politics, current events and the economy.

Broadnet’s technology works for a number of applications including sophisticated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) phone polls and tele-town halls.

"This is a major step in our ability to bring consistent, quality polling data to our audience which has grown to trust and rely on our quarterly polling," said Talk Business executive editor Roby Brock.

During the past year, Talk Business polling, which has been conducted by three different Democratic and Republican polling firms, has accurately predicted several trends, including:

  • Cong. John Boozman’s GOP primary victory without a run-off
  • D.C. Morrison’s impact on the Senate Democratic primary
  • Joyce Elliott’s front-runner status in the CD2 Democratic primary
  • Steve Womack’s front-runner status in the CD3 GOP primary
  • Arkansans’ attitudes on health care

"Talk Business plans to ramp up its polling activity between now and this November’s general election with a number of looks at this year’s major state and federal races," Brock said.

Talk Business will partner with Hendrix College in this polling and research endeavor.

Dr. Jay Barth of the Hendrix College Department of Politics and International Relations, will help craft, execute and analyze polling data conducted by our new division, Talk Business Research.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this new endeavor that will help Arkansans understand better trends related to key electoral patterns and important public policies. I see this as an extension of what I do in the classroom on a daily basis,” Barth said.

Barth is a 1987 graduate of Hendrix College where he earned a B.A. in  American Studies.  He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of  North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He currently serves as the M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of Politics at Hendrix and has published on a variety of topics in Arkansas politics and government and the politics of the South, including co-authoring (with the late Diane D. Blair) the second edition of Arkansas Politics and Government (University of Nebraska Press, 1995).

Recently, Barth ran as a Democratic candidate for the Arkansas State Senate.  His Curriculum Vitae can be read here.

"Hendrix College’s academic reputation is unparalleled in Arkansas and the college is seen as a leader nationally in engaged liberal arts and science education.  Working with Dr. Barth, I am very confident that Arkansans will find our results reliable and I’m looking forward to a variety of public opinion and research projects that we’ll undertake," Brock said.