Esquire And NBC News Release Groundbreaking Study On The ‘New American Center’

NEW YORK, NY - Esquire and NBC News jointly commissioned a large-scale national survey titled The New American Center, which takes a close look at the state and status of the American voter, focusing primarily on the center. The results are featured in the November issue of Esquire (on newsstands October 15) and across the on-air and digital platforms of NBC News.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom about our highly polarized nation, the study finds that the right and left are much smaller than we have been led to believe, and the middle is much larger. Not only does a political center exist, it represents a majority of American voters – 51 percent – who are passionate, persuadable, and very real. In addition, the study reveals that the current U.S. Congress doesn’t come close to representing the actual ideological landscape of the country, and more than a third of those in the center feel like no one in Washington is expressing their point of view.

This survey of more than 2400 people is distinctly bipartisan. It was conducted using an extraordinarily large sample size, and cutting-edge polling and analytical techniques, by Benenson Strategy Group (headed by Joel Benenson, lead pollster for Obama in ‘08 and ’12) and Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies (the lead pollster for Romney ’12.)

The Esquire/NBC News team identified eight distinct ideological segments within the U.S. population, each with its own defining values, beliefs, and lifestyles. Two fall in the liberal category, two fall in the conservative column, and the middle four make up the New American Center. These segments are:

THE LIBERAL/LEFT BASE

· The Bleeding Hearts
· The Gospel Left

THE NEW AMERICAN CENTER

· Minivan Moderates
· The MBA Middle
· The Pick-up Populists
· The #WhateverMan

THE CONSERVATIVE/RIGHT BASE

· The Righteous Right
· The Talk Radio Heads

To discover where readers fall on the political spectrum, Esquire and NBC News partnered with Snakblox, a social media management platform, to create a cutting-edge digital tool that will live on esquire.com and nbcnews.com. Users can go to Esquire.com/Center or NBCNews.com/AmericanCenter to take a short version of the survey, instantly find out which of the eight categories they belong to, and share the results on their social networks.

Other key findings from the study include:

· More than 44% of The Center does not feel their ideas are represented by Republicans or Democrats
· The Center is filled with people who do not consider themselves the Center: 20% identify as liberal and 25% identify themselves as Conservative, yet their beliefs put them squarely in the middle
· 57% support or strongly support ending affirmative action in hiring decisions and college admissions
· 54% feel the Constitution cannot provide guidance to modern problems facing us now
· 58% are pessimistic about politics in the U.S.
· The Center trusts Democrats (and Oprah) more than Republicans. When asked who they trust most, the Center scored Barack Obama 9% of the vote, Oprah 6% and George Bush 2%. Democratic figures garnered 18% vs. Republican at 13%
· 34% of The Center owns a gun (or has a gun in their household) yet 45% has no problem with background checks for purchasing a gun
· 59% of The Center feel religion should have no role in politics
· 52% somewhat support or strongly support legalizing marijuana
· 76% believe that the U.S. should no longer be the world’s policeman
· The Center strongly supports taxing industries that produce carbon emissions to help reduce pollution

For more information on the Esquire/NBC News survey of The New American Center, including additional insights, unique analysis, and interactive charts, please visit esquire.com/Center or NBCNews.com/AmericanCenter.

# # #

About Esquire
Esquire (www.esquire.com), published by Hearst Magazines, is the most-honored monthly magazine in America. Over the past 15 years, it has won a total of 16 National Magazine Awards. Its Web site and e-reader applications have been similarly honored—Esquire won the first-ever National Magazine Award for iPad applications. In addition to its U.S. flagship, Esquire publishes 26 editions around the world. Follow Esquire on Twitter at @Esquiremag.

About NBC News
NBC News is a leading source of global news and information operating for over 75 years. Every week, NBC News provides more than 25 hours of television news programming with the top-rated “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” and “Meet the Press” programs as well as America’s longest-running morning news program, “TODAY,” and the primetime newsmagazine, “Dateline.” The continuously growing online presence of the NBC News Digital Group, including NBCNews.com, provides something for every news consumer with comprehensive offerings that deliver the best in breaking news, segments from NBC News broadcasts, live video coverage, original journalism, lifestyle features, commentary and local updates.

About SnakBlox
SnakBlox is a new social media management platform that provides state-of-the-art tools to help brands and agencies get the most value from their social media. It enables brands, agencies and publishers to generate and measure return on investment (ROI) on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The SnakBlox Social Media ROI Platform includes three products that help brands understand their audience and convert them into customers: the Social ROI Meter, Social Application Framework and Ad Intelligence Tool. SnakBlox clients include Hearst Digital brands such as Cosmopolitan, Popular Mechanics, Esquire, and other retail and agency businesses. SnakBlox is a startup based in New York City and backed by [212]MEDIA. For more information, visit http://www.snakblox.com.