October 3, 2008

The Evergreen Times reader survey results

By Bill Highlander
Editor

The Evergreen Times seeks to provide its readers with useful news about the community and local happenings. Every now and then we like to check and see if our readers believe we are meeting their expectations. It’s also way to find out how we can make the newspaper even more relevant.

We are pleased that so many of the readers responded and that the responses were favorable. The majority read the Evergreen Times the day they get it and spend about an hour going through it.

All but one reader believed that we are fair and accurate in our news coverage and that person said judgment was reserved because there was no way to counter the reports without first hand knowledge of the event.

There were not many suggestions for changes. More articles about wild life, the environment and special needs were mentioned. One interesting suggestion was that we update the online version faster and more often. Since we publish only every two weeks, the electronic version could cover events in a more timely fashion. Good idea and we’ll look into it. Some suggested that we include restaurant and travel reviews as well, although one reader expressed doubts about their value.

Our core areas seem to be what readers like and want more of. News about schools, local sports, businesses, and government and articles about the community and the people who live in Evergreen are what readers enjoy.

Our ego was stroked by the readers who commented that we are doing a wonderful job. Here are a few we’d like to share: “Great paper, if read, one would feel a real part of Evergreen… Love this paper! Keep up the good work… Thank you for your local government info… and my personal favorite- I’d like to be on your delivery route forever.”

Thanks to the readers who responded to the survey. We will continue to gauge reader sentiment with surveys from time to time, but frequent interaction through letters, email, phone calls is always welcome.