New research from The Nielsen Company shows that more than half of U.S. consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment.

According to new consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, 31% of adults online at home report that they view video online at least weekly, including 10% who view video online daily. This compares to 25% of those online who viewed video online at least once a week last year. However, increases in online video usage over the past year were primarily among younger individuals, a group that watches video online far more frequently than others.

A new WeMedia/Zogby Interactive poll shows that 67% of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news. In addition, the survey found that while almost 70% of Americans think journalism is important to the quality of life in their communities, though two thirds are not satisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities.

Hitwise recently reported that The market share of U.S. visits to the News and Media category increased 22 percent in the third week of February compared to the same week in 2007. The News and Media category reached its highest peak in the last 36 month period in this and the previous week.

According to new research by the Association of National Advertisers, in partnership with Guideline Inc, only 13 percent of senior marketers are very satisfied with their company's marketing structure despite a growing trend to centralize the marketing function and integrate its disciplines. And, while 37 percent of executives surveyed say their marketing department interacts and advises their company at a higher level now than two years ago, only 21 percent say that marketing interacts at the C-level.

The most recent BIGresearch Simultaneous Media Survey shows that, while traditional media still rank on top in the influence of purchases, many are declining in influence and some are showing double digit losses over the previous year. At the same time, says the study, many new media options are showing double digit growth. For example, when compared to a year ago, Instant Messaging and Blogging experienced double digit growth for purchase influence of electronics while Broadcast TV and Cable showed a double digit decline.

According to research released recently by PQ Media, spending on branded entertainment marketing grew 14.7% to an all-time high of $22.3 billion in 2007, nearly doubling in size over the last five years as brand marketers continue to shift budgets from traditional advertising to alternative marketing strategies.

According to a report from The Media Audit, adults who are nearing retirement are now one of the fastest growing demographics in the country. 17.9% of all U.S. adults are now retired, a figure that has increased by 6% in the last five years and will rapidly increase as Boomers exit the workforce over the next few decades. Consumption habits of aging Americans are likely very different from those of their predecessors because they are living longer, achieving higher levels of education, are wealthier, and redefining what it means to be retired.

As an effective adjacency to yesterday's look at women owned businesses by the Center for Media Research, Miriam Muley, CEO of The85%Niche, and previously Executive Director of Diversity Growth Markets at GM, has authored a recent paper describing opportunities to serve "a vital source of incremental business (that) has waned in recent years."

The Center for Women's Business Research, whose mission it is to provide data-driven knowledge to help advance the economic, social and political impact of women business owners and their enterprises worldwide, offers a potpourri of data for Nearly 10.4 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 12.8 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales.