Press Releases: 2011

The 23 economies on New America's 2011 Current Account Surplus Watch had surpluses of $1.4 trillion in 2010 and will run an estimated $1.6 trillion surplus in 2011.  The countries on the list, which include such prominent economies as China, Germany and Saudi Arabia, consistently rely on demand from abroad instead of taking measures to grow their domestic market or help other economies expand through international development assistance.

Rebecca MacKinnon, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation, was named the Hearst Professional-in-Residence for the Spring 2012 semester by the Columbia School of Journalism. In her role as a Schwartz Fellow, MacKinnon conducts research, writing and advocacy on global Internet policy, free expression and the impact of digital technologies on human rights. Her forthcoming book, Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, will be published in January 2012 by Basic Books. 

Today the New America Foundation released a new report calling for journalism schools to help local communities engage and access information. As the media landscape is changing, journalism schools are already beginning to fill the void left by local media outlets. The report calls on journalism programs to work with local media to innovate, collaborate and actively seek to increase coverage of local communities outside the university or college.

Americans are on track to spend over $490 billion on gasoline in 2011 -- $100 billion more than they spent in 2010. A new interactive website released today by the New America Foundation chronicles the plight of middle class households struggling with high gas prices during the recession. The website is based on scores of interviews, an economic analysis of trends in gas consumption since 1970, and a survey of 2,000 households.
 

Aruban Prime Minister Michiel "Mike" Eman and the New America Foundation's Patrick Doherty, director of the Smart Strategy Initiative, finalized a partnership agreement today to pursue a national roadmap to sustainability, integrating renewable energy, smart growth, and new approaches to sustainable tourism for this island nation of 101,000.

A new study prepared for the New America Foundation provides compelling new evidence of the numerous benefits of a temporary tax reduction on the repatriation of the foreign subsidiary earnings of U.S. multinational companies. The study was conducted by Dr. Laura D’Andrea Tyson, a board member of the New America Foundation and a special advisor at Berkeley Research Group, and Drs. Ken Serwin and Eric Drabkin of Berkeley Research Group.

A joint public opinion survey commissioned by the New America Foundation (NAF) and carried out by the Peace Training and Research Organisation (PTRO) in southern Afghanistan finds that respondents are eager to see the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, but recognize that this will not on its own solve the country’s problems. Respondents show an awareness of the other significant obstacles to stability and prosperity, including corruption and a sluggish justice system.

For Immediate Release - October 4: Recognizing the need to assist California residents struggling with medical debt, healthcare practitioners joined financial services providers and community groups last week to discuss how best to implement the Affordable Care Act and strategies for keeping Californians from acquiring medical debt.

The New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative is pleased to announce that Loris Taylor, President and CEO of Native Public Media, will join the Federal Communications Commission’s Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age (Committee). The Committee aims to make recommendations to the FCC to enhance the ability of minorities and women to participate in telecommunications and related industries. These recommendations work towards ensuring universal access and adoption of broadband.