Container Top
Homes   Jobs   Cars   Shopping
Search

Events Calendar

EVENT SEARCH:

In This Section


Most Read Stories


Blogs:


Pets:
Zeke, the basketball playing dog

The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook

Patrick McManamon:
Dwayne Wade says no to Cleveland

Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Kent State

Browns Bulletin:
Quick thought on Browns rookies

Tribe Matters:
Now is no time to quit

Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana

Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update

Cleveland Cavaliers:
Andy’s Signed According to ESPN

All Da King's Men:
Baby Got Barack !

Blog of Mass Destruction:
As California Goes?

Akron Law Café:
Why do public officials violate Ohio Ethics Laws?

Varsity Letters:
Report: Ontko selects Wisconsin

See Jane Style:
Oh Baby!

Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?

Let's Talk Real Estate:
Closings….Not the Good Kind!

Ohio Travels with Betty:
Margy inquires-when is a Taste of Hudson?

Sound Check:
LeVert II live performance Saturday night — "Dedication" album due July 13,

HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work

Akron Gamer:
Video game sales drop in May

Today's story about a middle-class family is unusual for us

 

Today's story about a middle-class family is unusual for us. We don't name the family.

The reason?

As we began last October to research the struggling middle class, one thing was eminently clear: Lots of people in our community are feeling the same pressures, but they are — understandably — reluctant to expose their concerns so candidly.

This family, by agreeing to completely bare its financial life, in some ways is able to be more real.

Today's installment is the first of several that will run this year as we consider education, housing, jobs, health care and the overall future for the middle class. In some cases, the subjects of the stories have agreed to be named, but not always.

This project is an outgrowth of a study by David Knox, the Beacon Journal's specialist in computer research. In 2007, he participated in a Kiplinger Fellowship at Ohio State University, where he used the horsepower of university computers to analyze 51 million records spanning five decades of Census Bureau data, prepared by the University of Minnesota's Population Center. In September 2007, the Beacon Journal published his findings, showing that successive generations of Americans are earning less than their parents.

The Web version of the story included an interactive database, allowing readers to compare their own income with national statistics. That project is available at http://www.ohio.com/hottopic/10675396.html.

After publication of that project, the Beacon Journal invited readers to participate in focus groups, which were held in late October. The purpose was to listen to citizens discuss how they related to the trends in Knox's finding.

The seven sessions were facilitated by Alice Rodgers of Jemez Pueblo, N.M. Formerly a resident of Stark County, she has facilitated many discussions for the newspaper over 25 years, including the Beacon Journal's examination of race relations in 1993, which resulted in the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Out of those focus groups arose the several topics that will be examined before the 2008 presidential election.

Knox and Beacon Journal columnist David Giffels are the reporters on this project. Photographer Ed Suba Jr. and artist Deborah Kauffman Barry prepared the photos, illustrations and graphics for today's installment.
The editors

 

Today's story about a middle-class family is unusual for us. We don't name the family.

The reason?

As we began last October to research the struggling middle class, one thing was eminently clear: Lots of people in our community are feeling the same pressures, but they are — understandably — reluctant to expose their concerns so candidly.

This family, by agreeing to completely bare its financial life, in some ways is able to be more real.

Today's installment is the first of several that will run this year as we consider education, housing, jobs, health care and the overall future for the middle class. In some cases, the subjects of the stories have agreed to be named, but not always.

This project is an outgrowth of a study by David Knox, the Beacon Journal's specialist in computer research. In 2007, he participated in a Kiplinger Fellowship at Ohio State University, where he used the horsepower of university computers to analyze 51 million records spanning five decades of Census Bureau data, prepared by the University of Minnesota's Population Center. In September 2007, the Beacon Journal published his findings, showing that successive generations of Americans are earning less than their parents.

The Web version of the story included an interactive database, allowing readers to compare their own income with national statistics. That project is available at http://www.ohio.com/hottopic/10675396.html.

After publication of that project, the Beacon Journal invited readers to participate in focus groups, which were held in late October. The purpose was to listen to citizens discuss how they related to the trends in Knox's finding.

The seven sessions were facilitated by Alice Rodgers of Jemez Pueblo, N.M. Formerly a resident of Stark County, she has facilitated many discussions for the newspaper over 25 years, including the Beacon Journal's examination of race relations in 1993, which resulted in the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Out of those focus groups arose the several topics that will be examined before the 2008 presidential election.

Knox and Beacon Journal columnist David Giffels are the reporters on this project. Photographer Ed Suba Jr. and artist Deborah Kauffman Barry prepared the photos, illustrations and graphics for today's installment.
The editors



Story tools

Email  Email   Print  Print   Save  Save   Reprint  Reprint   Popular  Most Popular   Reprint  Subscribe

Share this story

AddThis Social Bookmark Button
















Most Commented Stories