‘Jersey Shore’ gang having positive effect on N.J. image–really

A new poll on Americans’ perceptions of the New Jersey Shore shows MTV’s Snooki and friends are having a positive effect on the summer getaway destination.

Peter Woolley, director of the Farleigh-Dickinson University poll of 700 adults nationwide, says that MTV’s “Jersey Shore” is boosting the state’s profile.

“The TV show ‘Jersey Shore’ is not hurting New Jersey’s image, as has been claimed by a number of people including the governor of New Jersey,” said Woolley. “People who have seen the show, and are reminded of the show, are 25 percent more likely than everyone else to say they have a favorable view of New Jersey.”

But Jen Miller, author of “The Jersey Shore: Atlantic City to Cape May,” said linking her state with MTV’s reality show is anything but positive.

“If they’re polling people around the country who have never been here and they believe that that is what the shore is about, that’s why the show is so detrimental,” Miller said. “Because, personally, as someone who writes about the Jersey Shore for magazines and newspapers, I have lost work because of that show.”

Nationally, 18 percent of those polled had an unfavorable opinion of New Jersey. In the Northeast, that number jumped to 27 percent.