New Media, Old Media

The Pew Center for Excellence in Journalism has studied the differences between the stories reported on by traditional media sources and by the new social media -- like Twitter and blogs. The study has been widely publicized (both in the old and the new media) including by The Guardian and MSNBC. The study notes that the new media is totally dependent on the traditional media, linking to traditional media sources in 99% of posts -- and to either the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, or The Washington Post in a full 80% of cases. The study also notes that users of social media outlets have short attention spans, with a majority of lead stories on blogs gone within three days.

Global Recovery Progressing, but Unevenly

The Washington Post reports on the American angle of a broader project from the Brookings Institution and the Financial Times to track the global economic recovery. The project, known as TIGER (Tracking Indices for Global Economic Recovery) tracks G-20 economies in three major areas: real economic activity (measured by GDP, industrial production, employment, imports and exports), financial markets (measured by stock indices, market capitalization and bond spreads for emerging markets), and confidence indicators. The data show that the global economy is recovering but that recovery is stronger in emerging countries than in developed ones and that it is stronger in financial markets than it is in core economic indicators like GDP and employment levels.

Education, Income and Relationships

CNN reports on a Pew study showing that married women between 20 and 44 are increasingly out-earning their husbands. 22% of all married women now earn more than their husbands, up from 4% forty years ago. Pew notes that the education which leads to higher-paying more prestigious jobs is increasingly dominated by women who now make up not only a majority of undergraduates but also 60% of those holding advanced graduate degrees. The difference is especially pronounced in the black community where educational achievement for males is quite low. CNN notes that quantifiable shifts in educational attainment and work habits have changed relationships, but that these changes have had to be accompanied by a rethinking of traditional gender roles.

CNN.com posted misleading graph showing poll results on Schiavo case

Media Matters reports that, presenting the results of a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, CNN.com used a visually distorted graph that falsely conveyed the impression that Democrats far outnumber Republicans and Independents in thinking the Florida state court was right to order Terri Schiavo's feeding tube removed. In fact, a majority of all three groups agrees with the court's decision, and the gap between Democrats on one hand and Republicans and Independents on the other is within the poll's margin of error. Click here for more information on the web article.

An analysis of the first three weeks of participation in the 2010 Census

The Center for Urban Research (CUR) at the CUNY Graduate Center has analyzed the latest participation rates from the 2010 decennial census in an ongoing effort to understand which areas are not responding well and why. This week we also focus on areas that are participating substantially better than in 2000 with a new map feature that highlights the extent of improvement down to the census tract level.

Haitians Express High Resolve, Community-Mindedness

Steve Crabtree and Johanna Godoy at the Gallup Poll report that despite the oft-reported challenges facing Haiti's recovery process, Gallup polling in the country before the earthquake suggests its people have much to offer toward building a new future. More than 8 in 10 Haitians (81%) surveyed in December 2008 said they have a particular talent of some kind -- easily the highest proportion among 12 Central American and Caribbean populations of which the question was asked.

Younger Voters Less Enthusiastic About Voting This Year

Frank Newport at the Gallup Poll reports that younger voters remain less enthusiastic about voting in this year's midterm elections than those who are older, underscoring the challenge facing the Democratic Party in its efforts to re-energize these voters, who helped President Obama win the presidency in 2008.

Republican Advantage in 2010 Voting Enthusiasm Shrinks

Jeffrey M. Jones at the Gallup Poll reports that Republican registered voters' enthusiasm about voting in this year's midterm elections has declined significantly in recent weeks. As a result, Republicans' advantage over Democrats on this measure has shrunk from 19 points in early April to 10 points in the latest weekly aggregate.

Majority in U.S. Favors Healthcare Reform This Year Controlling costs a higher priority than expanding coverage

Jeffrey M. Jones at the Gallup Poll reports that U.S. House leaders unveil a plan to reform the U.S. healthcare system, a USA Today/Gallup poll finds 56% of Americans in favor and 33% opposed to Congress' passing major healthcare reform legislation this year. Support for healthcare reform before the end of the year is sharply split along party lines, with 79% of Democrats in favor, compared with only 23% of Republicans.

Half of New Latino Immigrants to U.S. Send Money Abroad U.S.-born Latinos are much less likely to send remittances

Gerver Torres, Brett Pelham, and Steve Crabtree at Gallup Poll report that about half (48% to 49%) of Latino immigrants who have come to the U.S. in the last 19 years say that in the last 12 months, they have sent money to someone living abroad -- a number that holds remarkably steady whether they have lived in the U.S. less than 6 years or between 13 and 19 years. A recent Gallup survey of more than 1,000 U.S. Latinos finds that the percentage of Latino immigrants who send money (i.e., remittances) abroad is steady for those who have been living in the U.S. less than 20 years, and drops among those who have been in the country for at least 20 years. The rate of sending remittances drops off further among Latinos born in the U.S. -- to 20%.

More Americans Favor Than Oppose Arizona Immigration Law

Jeffrey M. Jones at Gallup Poll reports that more than three-quarters of Americans have heard about the state of Arizona's new immigration law, and of these, 51% say they favor it and 39% oppose it.

Americans Value Both Aspects of Immigration Reform Strengthening the border and dealing with illegals already here both have appeal

Lydia Saad at the Gallup Poll reports that as President Obama and Congress consider whether and how to go forward with comprehensive immigration reform in an election year, a new USA Today/Gallup poll finds Americans placing about equal importance on the two sides of the immigration-policy coin.

Gallup Poll provides more information about opinions on three current legislative initiatives in Congress based on political affiliation here.

The Emotional Cost of Underemployment Majority of underemployed Americans are "struggling"

Jenny Marlar at the Gallup Poll reports that Underemployed Americans are significantly more likely to be "struggling" (54%) than employed Americans (38%), according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Those who are underemployed are also less likely to be "thriving," than those who are employed -- 42% versus 61%.

Underemployment Falls to 18.9% in April Unemployment falls to 9.7%

Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist, at the Gallup Poll reports that more than 2 million Americans became fully employed in April, as Gallup's "underemployment" rate fell 1.4 points to 18.9% -- the lowest level for this new measure since Gallup began tracking it in December 2009. While part of this improvement is the result of the normal pickup in hiring at this time of year -- and the addition of temporary census workers -- it is good news both for those becoming fully employed and for the economy as a whole.

Despite Less Time and Rest, Working Moms Managing Well

Lydia Saad at the Gallup Poll reports that among U.S. workers aged 18 to 60, women with children younger than 18 at home are more likely than men with children at home and women without children at home to say they lack the time and rest they need. Time and rest deficits are most common among mothers of young children.

Focus on Education May Reduce Underemployment Right now, better-educated Americans are more likely to get full-time work

Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist at the Gallup Polls reports that, although U.S. underemployment hit 20.4% on March 23 and 24 -- up from 20.0% earlier in the month -- the underemployment picture for those without a high school diploma is even bleaker. They currently face a 36.2% underemployment rate, and are 50% more likely than high school graduates to be underemployed, three times more likely than those having a college degree, and four times more likely than those who have done postgraduate work. High school graduates are twice as likely as college graduates to be underemployed.

U.S. Wellbeing Ties Highest Level Recorded At 67.0

Elizabeth Mendes from Gallup Poll reports that Americans' wellbeing score climbed to 67.0 in April, the highest level so far in 2010 and tying the all-time high scores found in August 2009 and February 2008 for this measure initiated in January 2008. The April Well-Being Index score is an improvement from the 65.8 in April 2009 and the 66.7 in April 2008.

Many See Drug Trafficking Widespread, Rising in Latin America

Julie Ray and Steve Crabtree from the Gallup Poll report that recent Gallup surveys suggest illicit drug trafficking is common in communities throughout much of Latin America, including in some of the most well-developed countries such as Chile and Costa Rica. At least half of residents in Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Panama, Venezuela, and Uruguay say illicit drug trafficking or drug sales are taking place in their neighborhoods.

More Than 1 Billion Worldwide Critical of Air Quality

As the world marked Earth Day's 40th anniversary, Gallup Poll reports that recent surveys in 153 countries highlight a major environmental problem that affects people in developed and developing nations -- air quality. One quarter of the world's adults -- or roughly 1.1 billion people -- are critical of the air quality in their communities; dissatisfaction is highest in the Middle East and North Africa and lowest in Asia.

"Jobs" Drops to No. 2 on Americans' List of Top Problems Economy ranks No. 1

Lydia Saad from the Gallup Poll reports that after two months as the clear No. 1 perceived problem facing the country, unemployment/jobs dipped to No. 2 in May, while "the economy" in general moved back into the top position. At the same time, Americans grew more likely to name immigration (including illegal immigration) as the nation's most important problem, moving that issue into fifth place. Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,029 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 3-6, 2010.

Bright Flight: Affluent Leaving Suburbs, Moving to Cities

The Wall Street Journal reports on a Brookings Institution study on the State of Metropolitan America. Reversing decades of history and common perception, young, affluent Americans are moving into cities to raise their families while the poor and ethnic minorities are increasingly moving to the suburbs. In the last ten years suburban poverty has grown times faster than urban poverty. Brookings Institution and University of Michigan demographer Bill Frey summed up the report saying, "white flight to the suburbs is turning into ‘bright flight’ to cities."

New Demography of American Motherhood

The Pew Research Center released a report that examines the changes in demographic characteristics of women who gave birth in 1990 versus women who gave birth in 2008. Authors Gretchen Livingston and D'Vera Cohn examine these trends including ages, marital statuses, and educational attainment of mothers using National Center for Health Statistics and Census Bureau data.

Article: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1586/changing-demographic-characteristics-american-mothers
Full Report (pdf): http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/754-new-demography-of-motherhood.pdf
Pew Research Center: http://pewresearch.org/