Archive for: Practices

Who said spin is just for politicians?

A new movement to reinvent the modern American cemetery is making its way across the country.  According to news reports, burial grounds are tired of their teary-eyed reputation, so they’re shedding this forbidding face for something a little, well, livelier.

When it comes down to it, it’s all a matter of perspective.  As one Colorado cemetery manager told a local reporter, “People come to cemeteries, and they are always looking down.”  But if they looked up, they might notice the century old history, plant life and culture that infuse the graveyard.

The trend is not simply to offer tours, like the ones you can arrange at cemeteries like Père Lachaise in Paris or Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, DC. Instead it’s to turn the focus away from death and toward – for lack of a better word – life.

Fireworks, jazz concerts, and art exhibits are some of the kinds of social events cemeteries are planning to help draw in visitors.  Friends will be encouraged to take pleasure in the historic trees and rose gardens that flank many burial grounds. And many cemeteries are hoping to be a place where communities can gather in times of joy, rather than sorrow.

In Washington, we might call it spin. But cemeteries are refashioning themselves in a new light – hoping they can be a place of solemnity, as well as inspiration.

Philip Converse’s seminal 1964 article “The Nature of Belief Systems in Public Opinion” changed the conversation about the way voters form policy preferences. Converse claimed most people’s “belief systems” are highly unorganized, and his thesis lends support for the idea that the mass public relies on elites for guidance in forming policy opinions.

While this argument holds across many different policy debates, it is particularly apparent when it comes to the issue of global warming.  New numbers released by Rasmussen Reports this week found that 40 percent of respondents blame global warming on human activity, while 44 percent blame long-term planetary trends.

At first glance it appears the public is becoming less sympathetic to the man-made global warming claim.  But when you look closer at the numbers, that’s not quite the case. While respondents remain skeptical about the man-made effects of climate change, there has actually been a seven-point increase in the number of respondents who “feel human activity is causing global warming.” And while 44 percent blame long-term trends for climate change, this is actually the lowest level measured since June of last year.

These conflicting numbers reinforce Converse’s thesis, showing just how disorderly the public’s thinking is when it comes to the issue of climate change. On one hand, global warming activism has clearly had an effect on mass opinion. Yet polls suggest voter’s belief systems remain malleable.

At the White House Writers Group we realize sometimes breaking through the political noise and understanding complicated policy prescriptions requires a little help. But by determining the best message, using the appropriate tools, and reaching the right audience, we can help you move public opinion in your direction.

According to Rasmussen Reports, 50 percent of the nation ranks Memorial Day as one of the nation’s most important holidays.  Not bad, but perhaps that number should be stronger, considering the primary purpose of the holiday is not to welcome in summer, but to honor men and women who sacrificed their lives in defense of the country.

Respect for the holiday doesn’t appear to be correlated with views toward the military.  In fact, 74 percent of respondents claim to have a favorable opinion of the U.S. military, and 40 percent say they have a relative or close friend who lost their life serving the nation.

But what other holidays might trump Memorial Day? July 4th, perhaps. Thanksgiving, a good possibility.  But Labor Day? Columbus Day? Doubtful.

Perhaps the modest support for Memorial Day has less to do with the meaning of the holiday and more to do with the loss of meaning.  54 percent of adults told Rasmussen they plan to do something special to celebrate the holiday.  I was certainly one of those people who took advantage of the long weekend to attend a BBQ and spend time splashing in the water with my children.

But with weak numbers like these, I think next year our family is going to do a little more memorializing and a little less celebrating.

Setting the agenda when it comes to a lawsuit can be tricky.  As Clark Judge stressed, “the heart of our approach is to start early.”

Determining the message can be especially tricky, when everyone claims to be on the same side. That’s what I learned today at a conference on immigration reform organized by the Independent Women’s Forum and Georgetown Law School.

As most debates over immigration are, it was a hot-tempered conversation.  But I’ve never seen so much agreement from people who claim to disagree with each other.  That’s because both sides alleged the new Arizona law has been mis-characterized by the press and were now trying to set the record straight. Read

Today I was a guest on a radio show to talk about last night’s primary elections, and the host asked an important question: “What can listeners do to make their opinions heard?”

There are lots of ways for individuals to communicate their opinions – write an op-ed or a letter-to-the-editor, donate money to political parties or candidates, and vote. But I told listeners one of the best ways for citizens to make their voices heard is by engaging in political conversation.

It made me think about a book I read by Katherine Cramer Walsh, an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Talking About Politics: Informal Groups and Social Identity in American Life.

According to Walsh, small groups can influence individual’s understanding of politics.  Contrary to many in the political science literature who claim opinion is a top-down phenomenon, in which messages are directed by elites, Walsh presents a different picture.  While elite media frames might help the average citizen make sense of an otherwise complicated policy, Walsh argues that people do not necessarily blindly accept these interpretations.  Rather, the act of communicating with friends and family has a significant impact on public opinion.

Communication comes in many different forms. But sometimes sitting around and shootin’ the breeze is the best way to make an impact.

In honor of Mother’s Day this year, Rasmussen Reports released some interesting numbers about Americans’ views on motherhood.

According to the survey, 64 percent of Americans view being a mother as “the most important role for a woman to fill in today’s world.” Perhaps not surprising, “women are more likely than men to think being a mother is their most fulfilling role.” Yet, opinion does not differ between those who have and don’t have children living at home.

These findings come on the heels of another interesting survey conducted by the Pew Research Center that revealed some striking changes in the demography of motherhood in the United States over the past two decades.

Compared to mothers of newborns in 1990, mothers today are older and more educated.  Today there appears to be a lower rate of teen pregnancy than in 1990, and an increase in mothers over the age of 35 – and that’s across all race and ethnic groups.

One of the most striking findings in the Pew study was that today 41 percent of mothers are unmarried. When this number is broken down, non-marital births are highest among Black women (72%), then Hispanics (53%), Whites (29%) and Asians (17%). Interestingly, however, the increase has been greatest among whites, whose out-of-wedlock births grew by 69%.

When news broke this week that a housing developer was buying the land where the famous HOLLYWOOD sign in Los Angeles stands, top names in the entertainment industry went on a rescue mission.

As a native of a Los Angeles suburb, I’m deeply familiar with the sign that punctuates the Chapparral Hollywood hillsides.   It’s certainly not a work of art; but it is a landmark.

Not many people probably know that the original sign – ironically an advertisement for a housing development – read Hollywoodland.  Dedicated in July 1923, the first letters were each 30 feet wide, 50 feet tall, and studded with 4000 light bulbs.  The developers only intended for the sign to be temporary, but the rise of American cinema in Los Angeles helped turn this advertisement into an attraction. Read

No matter how you slice it, Americans today are down on government. New research from the Pew Research Center shows that “by almost every conceivable measure Americans are less positive and more critical of government these days.”

Compared to the Kennedy-Johnson years, when public trust in government reached nearly 80 percent, today that number has dropped below the 25 percent mark.  Increasingly, Americans claim to want to curtail government growth and limit its power.

While big-picture economic and political explanations abound, one researcher at Claremont Graduate University believes there may be a biological component, as well. Professor Paul Zak recently told NPR that the chemical oxytocin administered by the brain allows us to determine whom to trust.  His research has demonstrated that by increasing the amount of oxytocin an individual receives, the more trusting he or she becomes.

So, as Zak told NPR, he began to wonder, “How much does this scale up?” To what extent could biology – or, oxytocin – affect the public’s trust in government?  As it turns out, people who received more oxytocin did report trusting other people more and those same individuals also claimed to trust their government more.

But, perhaps more telling, is that trust in government usually decreases during periods of economic hardship – that’s when the public is generally exposed to prolonged periods of stress.   And stress, Zak says, is toxic to oxytocin. Stress inhibits the release of oxytocin, which therefore decreases public trust.

So while Republicans and Democrats will both try to explain this recent rebuff of Uncle Sam, perhaps one of the best explanations doesn’t bear any partisan weight at all.

Thursday is Earth Day – it also marks the 40th anniversary of the environmental movement.  And while being green is very much in vogue today, it appears to be a trend on its way out.

It’s hard to avoid the green message  – it permeates television, movies, online social networking sites, corporate messaging and the fashion industry. And businesses regularly seek out ways to balance the environment with their bottom line.  But the question is: With all this eco-focused media and entertainment, are Americans still giddy for green? Read