None Too Few Pews
As I was reading the Sunday papers, it occurred to me that I keep coming across articles citing one or another Pew center/project/partnership/survey. I did “the Google” for Pew and it’s really stunning how many different iterations of Pew turned up — from the Pew Global Attitudes Project to the Pew Partnership for Civic Change to the Pew Hispanic Center to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press.
I guess they’re all funded, at least in part, by the Pew Charitable Trusts, based in Philadelphia with an office here in Washington, D.C. According to the Pew history, the family’s money comes mainly from oil, but the focus areas of the foundation now are civics, culture, good government, the environment, and other areas. I guess it’s not really a problem for a foundation to support these niche areas — as a policy reporter, it always helps to turn to reliable sources working in specific areas full time — but I get nervous when I see the same sources popping up all the time because I think it can lead to less diversity of thought and opinion. Sometimes it’s hard to avoid coming back to the same organizations for comment, particularly if a group is working in so many areas as Pew, but oftentimes talking to one or two other expert sources can result in a better article.