Flemington, NJ, December 15, 2009 – Results from a series of national media studies to obtain Americans’ ratings of celebrity apologies in 2009, revealed that ­­­Chris Brown’s apology to Rihanna ranked the highest in regard to perceived sincerity levels.

 The results were based on a series of studies that were conducted by HCD Research using its MediaCurves.com® website during January-December of 2009. The studies were conducted among Americans who ranked various celebrity apologies on a scale based on levels of sincerity. Respondents ranked five celebrities who were featured in news stories that were tested by MediaCurves.com® in 2009. To view detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.

 Jaimee Grubbs’ recent apology to Tiger Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren was ranked as the least sincere with a percent change of -5.9, after respondents viewed the apology. David Letterman’s sex scandal confession ranked as the second most sincere with a percent difference of 4.3. However, his apology for a joke about Sarah Palin ranked second lowest with a percent difference of -2.3.

 Among the findings:

 The scores below indicate the percent change in celebrities’ sincerity scores based on a scale of 1-7 before and after respondents viewed the apologies. Higher scores indicate higher levels of perceived sincerity. Positive scores indicate an increase in perceived sincerity and negative scores indicate a decrease in perceived sincerity.

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).  You can also receive updates from MediaCurves.com by following us on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/mediacurves and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flemington-NJ/MediaCurves/86691908820

HCD Research, a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ.  The company's services include traditional and web-based research.  For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393.  MediaCurves.com® (www.mediacurves.com) is a media measurement website that provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.