Ruth Clark (1917 – February 20, 1997) was an American

pollster An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...

and researcher. Her 1979 report ''The Changing Needs of Changing Readers'' was influential on the renewal of American newspapers, leading to a greater focus on

service journalism Service journalism is a term for generally consumer-oriented features and advice, ranging from the serious to the frivolous. History Magazines have always striven to inform and entertain. Modern service journalism was pioneered in part by Clay F ...

and local news.

Biography

Ruth Clark was born Ruth Fine in 1917 in New York City. She graduated from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also adm ...

in 1936. A Communist in her youth, she moved to Moscow in 1950 with her husband Joseph Clark, foreign editor for the

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were ...

; they became disillusioned with the Soviet regime and returned to the United States in 1953. Clark worked as a door-to-door interviewer for marketing campaigns during the 1950s. In 1960 she was hired by

Louis Harris Louis Harris (January 6, 1921 – December 17, 2016) was an American opinion polling entrepreneur, journalist, and author. He ran one of the best-known polling organizations of his time, Louis Harris and Associates, which conducted The Ha ...

' firm, working for

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

campaign. Clark was credited to introducing

exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for ...

s in American election surveys. She became vice-president of Louis Harris and Associates in the 1960s, moving to Yankelovich, Skelly & White around 1970.

The ''Changing Needs of Changing Readers'' survey

In 1979, the

American Society of Newspaper Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of ...

, concerned about the declining readership of newspapers, commissioned a study for analysing that situation. Clark, vice-president at Yankelovich, Skelly & White, conducted a survey with 120 readers in a dozen focal groups; the readers said they felt alienated by the newspapers' focus on hard national, political news, they wanted more palatable local news stories and everyday tips. Clark's findings were published in the report ''The Changing Needs of Changing Readers.'' The report influenced newspapers in the United States and around the world; its findings translated into innovations in news coverage, like the increased focus on local stories, "news you can use" and the modular layout of pages, which were adopted by several outlets, especially

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

. In 1983, Clark left Yankelovich, Skelly and White to found her own firm, Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo. They conducted surveys for newspapers such as The New York Times, The New York Daily News and The Chicago Tribune. Clark died on February 20, 1997, of lung cancer.

Personal life

Ruth Clark was married to Joseph Clark (d. 1988). She had two children: radical activist

Judith Clark Judith Alice Clark (born November 23, 1949) is an American activist, convicted felon, and former member of the Weather Underground. Clark was an armed getaway driver in the Brink's robbery of 1981 in Nanuet, New York. The robbers murdered a ...

(born 1949), and Andrew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ruth 1917 births 1997 deaths Hunter College alumni Pollsters Scientists from New York City Women statisticians