General Small Publisher Survey

Hello!

My name is Tony Baranowski, I'm the Director of Local Media for a small company in North Central Iowa, Times Citizen Communications, a board member for the Iowa Newspaper Association, and a Fellow in West Virginia University's NewStart program.

This brief survey is part of a final project for the NewStart Master’s degree. NewStart is aimed at training the next generation of small news organization publishers and solving some of the pervasive issues that plague our industry.

Thank you for your help identifying trends and strategies that are keeping small newspapers strong! You can reach me directly at tonyapb3@gmail.com, follow me on Twitter @tonyapb3 and learn more about NewStart at https://newstart.media.

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* 1. Name of flagship publication?

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* 2. In what city is your company currently headquartered?

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* 3. Circulation:

<1000

1001-2500

2501-5000

5001-10,000

>10,000

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* 4. What is the population of the community you serve? This could be a town/city, several towns, or a larger area such as a county.

<1000

1001-2500

2501-5000

5001-10,000

>10,000

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* 5. What is the primary driver(s) of your local economy? Check all that apply

Agriculture

Industry

Tourism

Retail

Other (please specify)

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* 6. My publication's print circulation has __ in the last 10 years.

Increased

Decreased

Remained relatively stable

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* 7. How many full time newsroom staffers do you employ?

2-5

6-10

>10

Comments:

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* 8. How many full time advertising/sales reps do you employ?

2-5

6-10

>10

Comments

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* 9. How would you characterize your news organization’s revenue model?

Traditional (advertising and subscriptions)

Nonprofit

Reader driven (Primary source is subscriptions)

Cooperative

Government Funded

Some combination of the above

Other, Please Explain

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* 10. What other sources of revenue does your organization rely upon? Check all that apply.

Events

Merchandising

Job Printing

Podcasts

Web Display ads

Radio

Shopper/Advertiser

Newsletter

Other, Please List:

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* 11. What do you consider your primary competition/obstacle as it relates to revenue?

Social Media

Google Ads

Competing media in your community

Decreased readership/support

Other (please specify)

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* 12. If you are ad supported, what advertisers have been most critical to your success?

Grocery

Automotive

Financial Institutions

Educational Institutions

Construction

Technology

Healthcare

Retail (Local)

Retail (Inserts)

Does Not Apply

Other (please specify)

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* 13. Please describe your organization’s role in the community as you see it:

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* 14. Do you consider your business model to be stable for the next decade and beyond?

Yes

If so, why? If not, why not?

General Small Publisher Survey

Question Title

* 1. Name of flagship publication?

Question Title

* 2. In what city is your company currently headquartered?

Question Title

* 3. Circulation:

Question Title

* 4. What is the population of the community you serve? This could be a town/city, several towns, or a larger area such as a county.

Question Title

* 5. What is the primary driver(s) of your local economy? Check all that apply

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* 6. My publication's print circulation has __ in the last 10 years.

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* 7. How many full time newsroom staffers do you employ?

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* 8. How many full time advertising/sales reps do you employ?

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* 9. How would you characterize your news organization’s revenue model?

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* 10. What other sources of revenue does your organization rely upon? Check all that apply.

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* 11. What do you consider your primary competition/obstacle as it relates to revenue?

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* 12. If you are ad supported, what advertisers have been most critical to your success?

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* 13. Please describe your organization’s role in the community as you see it:

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* 14. Do you consider your business model to be stable for the next decade and beyond?

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* 15. What are the biggest determining factors in the likelihood of your organization’s continued success?

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* 16. What content resonates best with your readership? What tools do you use to measure impact/engagement?

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* 17. Other Comments

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* 18. Is your organization part of a larger, parent organization?