march07ff.indd


G a r y  P a t t i l l o  

Gary Pattillo is reference librarian at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, e-mail: pattillo@email. 
unc.edu 

U.S. workforce literacy 
A new ETS report looks at the convergence of three sociological and economic 
forces that will affect the future of U.S. society. They are: substantial disparities 
in skill levels (reading and math), economic changes (widening wage gaps), and 
demographic shifts (less education, lower skills). High school graduation rates 
peaked at 77 percent in 1969, fell back to 70 percent in 1995 and have stayed 
in this range into the current decade. The graduation rate for disadvantaged 
minorities is thought to be closer to 50 percent. Employment growth is expected 
to continue, with college labor market clusters (professional, management, and 
technical) expected to generate about 46 percent of all job growth between 2004 
and 2014. The U.S. labor force is projected to grow more slowly over the next 
20 years than it did between 1980 and 2000. None of this growth is predicted to 
come from native­born workers of prime working age (25 to 54). A larger share 
of workers will have minimal reading skills in 2030 than today. 
Irwin Kirsch, Henry Braun, Kentaro Yamamoto, and Andrew Sum, “America’s Perfect Storm: Three Forces Chang­
ing our Nation’s Future, Policy Information Report, Educational Testing Service,” January 2007, www.ets.org/Media 
/Education_Topics/pdf/AmericasPerfectStorm.pdf. February 2, 2007 

Top academic workplaces 
While the majority of junior faculty at America’s colleges and universities are 
satisfi ed at work, some institutions are doing extraordinarily well in this area. A 
survey by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education in 2005 
found that five universities (Auburn, Brown, Ohio State, Stanford, and the Uni­
versity of Illinois at Urbana­Champaign) and one college (Davidson) achieved 
exemplary status in four of seven categories. The categories are: tenure, clarity 
and fairness; nature of work (workload, research and teaching environment, 
quality of students); effectiveness of key policies (e.g., mentoring, childcare, 
and leave); compensation; work and family balance; collegiality; and overall 
satisfaction. 
Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE). Top Academic Workplaces, January 23, 2007, 
gseacademic.harvard.edu/~coache/reports/20070123.html. February 1, 2007 

The future of news 
PBS’s FRONTLINE program has produced a four­part series on the future of 
news. From the introduction: “Drawing on more than 80 interviews with key 
figures in the print, broadcast and electronic media, and with unequaled, be­
hind­the­scenes access to some of today’s most important news organizations, 
FRONTLINE correspondent Lowell Bergman examines the challenges facing 
the mainstream news media, and the media’s reaction, in ‘News War.’” The 
documentary delineates the ways in which in­depth reporting and the idea of 
reporter­source privilege are changing. The Web site provides access to the 
entire content. A teacher’s guide for “News War,” focusing on freedom and the 
press and the Constitution, will be available this month. 
PBS. FRONTLINE: News War, February 13, 2007, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newswar/ 

220C&RL News March 2007