Guest Editorial - Results Of Newspaper Survey
 | Author:
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Reporter
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Results of Newspaper Survey
Nancy Marks
MT43 News Reporter
MT43 News ran a survey on its website in May ending June 6. We are moving into our third year of operation, so the board and staff members thought it was a good idea to check in with our readers to ask what they think about our paper content.
It was exciting to read the comments that participants took the time to include anonymously. We had 77 survey participants. The questions we asked: Do you prefer the printed copy or the online version? What were your favorite articles, and do you advertise with us?
Sixty percent of those surveyed preferred the printed version. Highest on the list of favorite articles was local events, with 59 of the 77 respondents. Local government and This Week in History were also winners in the favorite article category, with Honoring Our Veterans and School Events close seconds. As for advertising in the paper, 26 said yes, they did, while 51 said no, they did not advertise in the paper.
The last question: would you keep our subscription if we increased the price? A majority who answered said yes, they would. If we were to be a website-only edition, would they continue to read the paper? The answer was cut in half, with 37 replying yes but 40 answering no.
Our last question was “How can we improve MT43News?” We received a lot of constructive comments, and some were priceless.
I realize everyone does not read all the papers all the time. Even this very involved person misses an article occasionally. One person asked for more high school sports coverage, including tennis. Another suggested we cover events BEFORE they happen because they wish they knew about them.
We are a small group of people who are not able to cover every event. We encourage those who would like to provide us with information about an event to submit articles about activities and share the stories around town. Often, we don’t hear about activities until they are over. Please reach out to us 2-3 weeks prior to events so that we can help get the information published. Sometimes stories get delayed because they have missed the deadlines for the week. We invite you to call our office and be aware of article deadlines when submitting information and articles.
Thank you for supporting the paper so we can provide obituaries without charge. Other news outlets charge hundreds of dollars to publish obituaries. We do this as a public service as a matter of record in the area. We do charge a small fee for Celebration of Life announcements and Thank Yous.
One comment hit on errors in the paper. We publish articles as they come in to us. We have an unpaid editing staff who work diligently to make our paper professional and accurate. Timely submission of articles allows ample time for the editors to review the articles. Often, there are days when people submit articles late and after deadlines. Mistakes and misspellings happen because we don’t have time to apply the full editing process.
Too many ads – We appreciate those who advertise with us. The advertising dollars help keep the doors open, allow us to print public service announcements for non-profit events, and obituaries. Our distribution of papers through subscriptions and local vendor sales is increasing every month, which increases the exposure for our local advertisers. People may not come in and say, “I saw your ad in the paper,” but your name is out there in front of the public every week. Tell our advertisers that you saw their ad in the paper – let them know you saw their ad.
One comment pointed out that our advertising prices were too high. Our advertising rates are about the same as the weekly papers published around us: our rates are higher than some and lower than others. We try to balance the prices by offering business directory spots for a nominal amount. Display ads, on the other hand, require more space and more time for our layout person to process.
One detailed comment suggested we remove the church schedule and the commissioners’ meeting report. They suggested many more activities were happening in the county, such as dart and billiard tournaments, pickleball and ice fishing. The person suggested we skip the weather precipitation report. As noted above, we would love to have people report on pickleball, billiards and the dart tournaments. Perhaps that person would do that very thing!
Again, thanks for your input in the survey. We’ll make changes as we can. In the meantime, why not join us by sending in an article or photos? Our motto is "local people, local news". Come join a great crew working at the paper. We hope you think it is as important to this community as we do.
Nancy Marks, Co-Editor
