11.07.2008 6:31 pm
Voters say celebrity endorsements mean almost nothing
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Voters say that when Oprah Winfrey or Alan Greenspan or other celebrities told them who to vote for this election season, it had little influence.
At least that’s the finding of a study by the research firm mediacurves.com. 90 percent of men and 87 percent of women in the study said celebrity endorsements had no influence on their votes.
(A few days ago, we tooka very unscientific survey on whether newspaper endorsements swayed voters. The tally was 32 No, 14 Yes.)
One tidbit from the mediacurves study: Respondents listed the most influential celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Alan Greenspan, Rush Limbaugh, George Clooney and Barbara Walters. Apparently, though, their influence drops off when it comes to picking a president.
Steve Parker is the deputy managing editor for news, and oversees the Post-Dispatch's front page. STLtoday's online news editors are on his newsroom team. Parker has been at the paper since September 1980. 
Actually, they DID influence me. I was on the fence as to who to vote for, but when celebrities like Matt Damon began publicly ridiculing Sarah Palin, I made up my mind right then and there to vote for her and McCain.
I think it is powerful when they share their position, as we all do. Added weight based on their public success is of questionable value.