Over the Wire

20 Year Anniversary for Americans With Disabilities Act

Our Public Affairs and Policy research division was honored to work on a landmark study for the Kessler Foundation and National Organization on Disability to help mark the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The study results were featured on the Today Show and we are delighted to share the full study and this clip with you. Enjoy! And cheers, to twenty years.

 

Storm Clouds or Clear Skies Ahead for The Economy?

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Dow Jones Newswires’ Al Lewis discusses a recent Harris Poll which indicates many Americans expect the economy to worsen this year. What do you think - should we be preparing for glimmers of sunshine? Or will we stay stuck in an economic slump?

 

 

 

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Watch for Harris on MSNBC!

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Harris was thrilled to welcome the producers and crew of MSNBC's Sunday morning program, Your Business, to our NYC office today. The show is producing a segment about how focus groups can be beneficial for small businesses and - lucky us! - Harris's expertise was chosen to be featured.

Here are a couple of pictures from the focus group we conducted for the segment; we had such a terrific time working with the MSNBC folks and can't wait to see how the segment turns out when it airs in about 6 weeks. Until then, these pictures should tide you over...

Camera crew setting up!

 
Harris' lovely focus group volunteers

Harris' resident focus group expert (and moderator for our session today!), Clay Dethloff

We can't wait for the segment to air--will post a video when it's live! 

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Loud Commercials: Attention Grabbing or Just Plain Annoying?

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Post by Whitney Heckathorne, Marketing Manager

Do you cover your ears when commercials blare on TV? Do you reach for your remote to turn down the commercials before they even start? Do you find yourself shrieking “TURN THAT DOWN!” during every commercial segment? (And is your shouting even louder than the commercial itself?) Well friends, you’re not crazy and you’re not alone.

Earlier this year, The Harris Poll partnered with AdweekMedia to find out:

1. If America thinks commercials are louder than the show; and,
2. If the loud commercials are bothersome.

And it’s no surprise that the answer is “yes” to both questions. However, the part that made me blink twice is the fact that such great numbers of Americans say it bothers them—93 percent! (If only we could get this kind of agreement on health care, right?)

Well, this annoyance certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed; back in December, the House of Representatives passed the Commercial Advertising Loudness Mitigation Act (the CALM Act, for short—cute, huh?) to make it so the volume in commercials cannot be any louder than the volume in the corresponding TV program. The legislation still has to pass through the Senate, but I know I already feel more CALM knowing something is being done.

So you might be asking yourself—WHO turns up the volume on these commercials? This clip is from CBS’s Early Show back in December—take a look and find out.

 

 

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Avatar Bests The Hurt Locker (…on The Harris Poll)

So I decided to check in on the Oscars on Sunday night, even though the only 3 movies I saw all year were:  Up in the Air, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and The Tooth Fairy.   But being that this year I could comment on an actual nominee (as opposed to 2007 and 2008), I figured why not see if I picked a winner. 

Well, as you know if you have access to an Internet connection, my choice of Up in the Air didn’t fare so well, but, then again, neither did yours because:

• Avatar was America’s top pick to win Best Picture, according to our Harris Poll last week; in fact, more than twice as many Americans preferred that movie to The Hurt Locker (the eventual winner).  But we don’t vote and so Avatar took home exactly zero of the most coveted statuettes.
• Morgan Freeman was America’s top pick for Best Actor, but by all accounts, Jeff Bridges was the expected and real winner.
• And going in, most of us thought Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin would outperform or at least rival past hosts at the Academy Awards.  But in reality, depending on who you talk to, they either shined or stank...

Only Sandra Bullock did we predict correctly as Best Actress.   So, how about you?  Did you watch?  Did it meet your expectations – or did you spend Sunday night longing for Billy Crystal or Jon Stewart or a younger Steve Martin?  And, did you (like 5% of America) feel like none of the *10* nominees for Best Picture deserved to win?   

Money Woes Turning Us into Better People?

Building on Kathy’s post from mid-February, we all consider - and occasionally make - changes to our lifestyles to save money.  In Kathy’s post, she commented about generic brands becoming more in vogue now that our pocketbooks are more in arrears.  But using the same Harris Poll from February, here are some other ways that many of us become more improved versions of ourselves when money becomes an object:

1. We cut out caffeine (21%) – and actually drink something healthier instead?
2. We decrease or eliminate our cable TV watching (22%) – and actually spend more time outdoors?
3. We use more carpools and mass transit (14%) – and actually spend more quality time with others?
4. We cancel or change our cell phone service (17%) or landline service (15%) – and actually spend more time building relationships in person?
5. We make our lunch ourselves instead of buying it (45%) – and actually eat healthier, fresher alternatives? 
6. We make “greener” choices (34% switch to refillable water bottles; 33% cancel one or more magazine subscriptions; 22% cut down on dry cleaning; 19% cancel newspaper subscriptions; 14% carpool or take mass transportation) – and actually reduce our carbon footprint?

It’s the silver lining by-product of the recession.  Has our broken economy forced you into making any better, healthier choices?

Surveying the Streets of New York: Fave Movie and TV Stars

Despite the long-standing rivalry between New York City and Los Angeles, it seems NYC’ers maintain strong opinions about their favorite screen stars of Hollywood. How do we know? We sent two Harris folks out on the streets to see if New Yorkers' opinions matched that of America in our recent Harris Polls about favorite movie and TV stars.

Who is your favorite star? And why?

Data Snapshot

Among five major industries, approximately one-third of Americans (34%) say that they consider soft-drink companies' advertising as the most trustworthy. ---Adweek Media/Harris Poll, conducted online between December 14th and 16th, 2009 among 2,136 U.S. adults 18+

Oprah’s Swan Song

Putting aside the late night shenanigans that have rocked NBC recently, the real TV winners appear to be Oprah Winfrey (#1 on the most recent Harris Poll’s list of favorite TV personalities) – and Glenn Beck (#2).

• Jay Leno has fallen from #1 last year to #3 this year (note: the survey was conducted after his hotly anticipated primetime debut and subsequent wah-wah ratings, but before his impending and controversial return to late night).
• Conan O’Brien doesn’t make the list this year, except among Echo Boomers who rate him #1.
• David Letterman, innocent in this latest late-night TV debacle but not without his own recent tales of salaciousness, drops from #5 to #9.

And the side story is a tale of Oprah vs. Glenn – split by party, by region and by age.

• Oprah is #1 with women (single and married), Gen X-ers, Baby Boomers, Democrats, Easterners and Southerners.
• Glenn is #1 with matures (64+), Republicans, Independents, and Midwesterners.

Do you – like me – feel Jon Stewart got robbed AGAIN?  Do you – like me – not know who Mark Harmon is?  Do you – like me – wonder why none of our favorite TV personalities star in any of our favorite TV shows?

Data Snapshot

Among America's favorite TV personalities, 7 in the top 10 are talk show personalities. ---The Harris Poll, conducted online between December 7th and 14th, 2009 among 2,276 U.S. adults 18+