Snapshot of Television Use in the US (Nielsen)

Nielsen data comes at a high price for advertisers and academics alike. The former group can pay; the later group in most cases has to wait under the table for the crumbs to fall as general ratings and rankings are reported in secondary sources. Then there are the occasional reports Nielsen releases such as Snapshot of Television Use in the US (September 2010). It's not very big but there is some good info packed into it. Besides list of top ten shows for 2009-2010 which you can get a lot of places, you'll find comparisons of the size of the broadcast season audience over the last few years; viewing by genre; viewing by source (broadcast, public, ad-cable, premium cable, and other cable); and HD and DVR penetration.

Arbitron Cinema Advertising Study; Pew Reports

The Arbitron Cinema Advertising Study 2007 is the follow-up to Arbitron’s 2003 study which examined the size, characteristics, and behavior of movie theater audiences. In this new report, Arbitron focuses on the moviegoer’s relationship with cinema advertising and evaluate its ability to influence young and affluent consumers.

And from Pew:

Public Knowledge of Current Affairs Little Changed by News and Information Revolutions What Americans Know: 1989-2007, a report from the Pew Research Center for People and the Press.

A Quarter's Worth of News Coverage A new report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism which finds that the four-year-old war in Iraq dwarfed all other topics in the U.S. news media during the first three months of 2007. However, more than 80% of war news focused on Americans -- those shaping policy, fighting or affected at home. Only about one-in-six stories was primarily about Iraqis, whether their government, their lives, or their casualties. The 2008 presidential campaign ranked second in coverage with news focusing primarily on Democratic candidates.

Also from PEJ, don't forget about their annual State of the News Media reports. State of the News Media 2007 has been out since March and is the fourth edition of this reputable report on the health and status of American journalism. (Earlier reports have been highlighted in a previous post.)

May CommQuote

It was only a matter of time until I worked New York School poet Frank O'Hara into this blog. It's not even a stretch because his poems are full of references to the movies and feeling about the whole movie-going experience. Here's a rather famous one.

AVE MARIA

Mothers of America

let your kids go to the movies!

get them out of the house so they won't know what you're up to

it's true that fresh air is good for the body

but what about the soul

that grows in darkness, embossed by silvery images

and when you grow old as grow old you must

they won't hate you

they won't criticize you they won't know

they'll be in some glamorous country

they first saw on a Saturday afternoon or playing hookey

they may even be grateful to you

for their first sexual experience

which only cost you a quarter

and didn't upset the peaceful home

they will know where candy bars come from

and gratuitous bags of popcorn

as gratuitous as leaving the movie before it's over

with a pleasant stranger whose apartment is in the Heaven on Earth Bldg

near the Williamsburg Bridge

oh mothers you will have made the little tykes

so happy because if nobody does pick them up in the movies

they won't know the difference

and if somebody does it'll be sheer gravy

and they'll have been truly entertained either way

instead of hanging around the yard

or up in their room

hating you

prematurely since you won't have done anything horribly mean yet

except keeping them from the darker joys

it's unforgivable the latter

so don't blame me if you won't take this advice

and the family breaks up

and your children grow old and blind in front of a TV set

seeing

movies you wouldn't let them see when they were young

[1960]

From Lunch Poems. Copyright © 1964 by Frank O'Hara. City Lights Books. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Frank O'Hara.org.