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November 10, 2004
Preliminary Numbers
Now that the election is over we're doing some after-the-fact analysis of the Voters Guide for Serious Catholics and seeing what we can learn. Today I was doing some number-crunching, summing up the different ways in which the guide was distributed, where it went, how much of the population it reached, and it turns out that we distributed more copies of it than we realized.
A lot more.
Millions more.
Our goal was to get between two and five million copies distributed, and we thought that we had about five million copies out, so we met our goal. But it turns out that we passed it. In fact, the number is at least eight million. If each copy has an average of two readers, that mean that we reached about sixteen million people.
I still have some number crunching to do, but it look like we reached at least 5% of the U.S. population and at least 12% of the Catholic population.
Cool.
No wonder I heard the five non-negotiables that I identified being cited as non-negotiables on The O'Reilly Factor tonight. (Yo, Bill! Where's my invite? I know how to keep it pithy when I wish to opine!)
More refined numbers as they become available.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Work | Permalink
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Comments
Jimmy,
Speaking of numbers and the election, just as I predicted the claim that Bush won 45% of the Hispanic vote doesn't hold up:
http://www.vdare.com/sailer/041107_election.htm
Posted by: Steve Jackson | November 10, 2004 04:01 AM
Those figures, if accurate (and Jimmy Akin is not prone to exaggeration), are astounding. Really, simply astounding. Now, we will all go to Judgment some day, but on that day, Karl, Jimmy, and a few others will be able to say “Hi Lord. Now, before You get started—and I know You’ve got a lot to say—let me just remind You, I worked on the Catholic Answers Voters Guide.” And the whole tone of the conversation will change. And so too will it for those whose donations, large or small, made the distribution of the Guide possible, as well as for those who passed out copies, one at a time, or a thousand. A lot of people are going to get to take some shelter under the Guide; it was something they did down here that was good.
By the same token, though, others attacked the Guide (as opposed to debating its contents honestly, which is always fair to do). Still others meanly obstructed its distribution, and perhaps others refused to stand by it when the political heat was turned up. Well, these folks, too, will get to explain their actions on that Day (as must we all, for every choice we make in this life) but they will do it, on these points anyway, in a harsh glare and without the solace of being able to hold the Guide up as shade for their eyes.
Posted by: Ed Peters | November 10, 2004 06:56 AM
Sixteen million people? That's all fine and dandy Jimmy, but what about capital punishment?
:)
Posted by: BillyHW | November 10, 2004 09:21 AM
If each copy has an average of two readers
How did you come up with this figure? Is it just an educated guess?
Posted by: BillyHW | November 10, 2004 09:28 AM
It's a pretty standard figure in the industry. When estimating their total readership, every publication multiplies copies in print by a factor such as that. A typical factor might be 2.2 (that's USA Today's estimate of how many readers each copy of their paper has), but I pulled it back to 2.
This, actually, is the point in the analysis that I'm most trying to figure out right now, so for temp purposes I just used 2 as a pretty standard number. I may later conclude a different factor is better.
Posted by: Jimmy Akin | November 10, 2004 10:00 AM
Both my non-Catholic friend and my lapsed-Catholic friend know what Non-Negotiables are now, and that's not due to me. It's because of that wonderful Voter's Guide. :)
Posted by: MGarcia | November 10, 2004 11:15 AM
I think it's great, HOWEVER, I do object to the "Voter's Guide for Serious Christians" -- and I object out of jealousy!! Why does this version have Scripture quoted, but not for the Catholic version??
Posted by: | November 10, 2004 02:36 PM
