Carnegie Reporter, Vol. 2, No. 2

Best and Worst of Times for the Book Business
A new report about changes in the book business over the past quarter century suggests that while more books are available than ever before, large publishing houses are choosing quantity over quality when deciding what to promote.

The problem is that marketing strategies allocate more dollars to expected blockbusters, leaving little for books deemed less saleable, including those by young and unknown authors. The report is based on a historical survey of “best books,” those receiving major awards or critical acclaim, and “best sellers.” Other factors contributing to industry changes include the consolidation of publishing and retailing operations and a marketing emphasis on celebrity and entertainment.

The report, called Best and Worst of Times: Best Books vs. Bestsellers in a Changing Business, was released by the National Arts Journalism Program (NAJP) at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. In conjunction with the release, NAJP, along with the Women’s Media Group, convened a panel of publishing experts to discuss the report’s conclusions.

NAJP can be found online at www.najp.org; a summary of the report is available online at www.najp.org/conferences/books/summary.html

Information about Iraq Now Available Online
A new web site offers regular news updates and in-depth coverage of the Iraq situation, including information about UN weapons inspections and America’s evolving policy toward Saddam Hussein. The site, called “Crisis in Iraq,” was developed by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a resource for the media, policymakers and the public at large.

Other features of the web site include reports, interviews with Carnegie Endowment experts, transcripts and audio links to important events, and maps and photos of Iraq’s arsenals. Also available is a report by the Endowment called “Iraq: A New Approach,” that helped define new procedures for weapons inspections.

The “Crisis in Iraq” site can be found at www.ceip/org/iraq.

Nonprofit Sector Pinched in Poor Economy
Results from a recent survey of U.S. charitable groups by GuideStar, an organization that compiles information about nonprofits, reveal that nearly 70 percent of America’s nonprofits reported decreased or static funding during the first ten months of 2002 as compared to the same period the previous year.

Many respondents related the decrease to the nation’s poor economic health, citing reduced grantmaking by both private foundations and corporate donors as a result of the downturn in the stock market, federal budget cuts that are taking a toll on social service initiatives and individual contributions that have declined as Americans have tightened their belts.

Hardest hit were organizations with annual expenditures of under $500,000. Sectors with the biggest declines included “Animal Related” (60%), “Housing, Shelter” (52%), “Human Services” (52%) and “Public, Societal Benefit” (52%).

More than 2,700 participants from public charities and private foundations participated in the survey. For more information, go to www.guidestar.org.

New Report on Philanthropy in Indian Country
A new study about philanthropy directed towards Native Americans reveals that Indian communities, the most economically marginalized in America, receive only about 1/20th of one percent of the nation's philanthropic dollars.

Called The Honor of Giving, the report provides an overview of a 2002 meeting of Native American leaders and regional and national grantmakers to identify barriers to philanthropic funding for Native American communities and to develop strategies for overcoming these hurdles.

The challenges include the cultural and geographical diversity of the Native American population, which includes 560 recognized tribes and roughly 300 languages. Another major obstacle is the broad misconception that reservation casinos have economically benefited Indian communities. In fact, the poverty rate for Native Americans is over 25 percent and more than two-fifths are unemployed.

Among the study’s recommendations are development of a national infrastructure that will connect grantseekers with mainstream grantmakers and encourage substantial funding strategies, creation of funding collaboratives for nonprofit capacity building in Indian communities and establishment of Native foundations to strengthen Native American philanthropy. Other suggestions include encouraging major grantmakers to advocate for increased support for Native American concerns among the mainstream philanthropic community and to collaborate with Native and non-Native organizations toward that end.

The report emerged from the Service As Strategy Initiative (SASI) of the Points of Light Foundation. To view the text online, go to: http://www.pointsoflight.org/pdfs/HonorOfGivingConferenceReport.pdf.

Middle East News Broadcasts Now Available to Americans
News reports from Middle Eastern television stations are now available with English translation on a program called Mosaic, which airs Monday through Friday (at different times in different time zones) on WorldLink TV, a nonprofit satellite broadcaster that offers documentaries, news, music and other programming from around the world.

Each program features stories from more than a dozen Middle Eastern broadcasters. Most programs are beamed by satellite to WorldLink TV where they are translated and dubbed in time for Mosaic’s daily broadcasts.

Mosaic’s creative team includes producer Jamal Dajani, a Palestinian-American who also serves as WorldLink’s Director of Arabic Programming, and David Michaelis, a veteran Israeli journalist who is Director of Current Affairs. Both feel Americans can learn a great deal from viewing the news reports. “We’ve discovered, since 9/11, that what you don’t know can hurt you,” Michaelis comments.

The news reports are presented without filters or commentary and many of the stories are decidedly slanted. Adding an anchor to put the reports in perspective is under consideration; but for now, the program’s producers have confidence in their audience. “We think our viewers are intelligent,” says Dajani, “and can draw their own conclusions.”

Mosaic receives major funding from the Hewlett and Knight foundations. For a viewing schedule and more information, go to www.worldlinktv.org/mosaic.

Pew Research Center Releases Global Attitudes Report
The Pew Global Attitudes Project at The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press has released results from a worldwide public opinion survey that cast new light on how people around the world feel about their lives, their countries and the world.

Overall, respondents ranked the spread of disease as the top global concern followed by fear of religious and ethnic violence and nuclear weapons. The economy emerged as the main national concern in most countries, with crime and political corruption running closely behind.

The U.S. continues to receive positive ratings in most other countries, although matched against data from a 2000 survey of 27 countries, the favorable ratings for America have declined. Not unexpectedly, dislike of America is most severe in the Middle East; however, the latest figures also find considerable erosion in support from traditional allies such as Canada and Germany.

As a follow-up to the larger study, a smaller survey of six countries, including America, gauged reaction about a possible U.S.-Iraq war. While there is broad consensus that Iraq presents a threat to world peace, large majorities in four of the countries—France, Germany, Russia and Turkey—opposed using force to topple Saddam Hussein at the same time a large majority of Americans favored it.

In another stark contrast, a majority of Americans believe the threat presented by Saddam justified the use of force against Iraq, while majorities in other countries are convinced that America’s main reason for using force is not to counter the Iraqi regime but to gain control of the country’s oil.

The surveys were administered between July and November 2002 to more than 38,000 people in 44 countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. For more details, go to www.people-press.org.

Young Volunteers Likely To Continue Activity As Adults
Two-thirds of all adults who volunteer began their service as youngsters, according to a new report called Engaging Youth in Lifelong Service, which suggests patterns of giving can be nurtured by encouraging youthful involvement in civic or religious organizations.

Information for the report came from a national survey on giving and volunteering in the U.S. that tracked five areas of youth involvement: volunteering, raising money, participating in student government, belonging to a youth group or being active in a religious organization.

Survey data indicate a direct correlation between the level of youth involvement and later adult activity. In fact, adults who participated in all five areas when they were young were twice as likely to volunteer than adults who had not, no doubt reinforced by earlier experiences in contributing to the success of a project and seeing the positive effects of their actions.

The report reveals the highest rates of volunteerism among those from families where both parents and youth volunteered, an indication that parents play a critical role in setting an example for their children. Not surprisingly, youth who were active alongside their parents were also found to be the most generous givers, both in time and money, when they reached adulthood.

The report is a joint release of Independent Sector and Youth Service America. For more information, go to www.independentsector.org or www.ysa.org.