Introduction
How do newsrooms of community newspapers in the United States stay in touch with the communities they cover and serve nowadays? How transparent are they about what and how to cover vis-a-vie collaboration and conversations with their audience? How do journalists understand engagement, collaboration, and conversations with local communities? These issues, among others, were examined in a telephone survey of 529 interviews with managing editors, executive editors, and editors of daily community newspapers in March through May 2011. The data collection was administered by the RJI Insight and Survey Center of Missouri’s School of Journalism.
The questionnaire was developed by Joy Mayer, a fellow of the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) in 2010-11. It was designed to collect the following information.
- Overall engagement with communities
- Community outreach by newsrooms
- Transparency about newsroom and individual journalists
- Community conversation
- Collaboration with communities
- Use of social media for interaction with audience
- Use of web analytics report in news decision making
- Demographics/Journalist information
Sections of this report (click to jump to that section):
Sampling methodology
Characteristics of respondents
Overall engagement with communities
Importance of community outreach by newsrooms
Importance of community conversation involving newsrooms
Importance of collaboration with communities
Use of social media for interaction with audience
Use of web analytics report in news decision making
Transparency about newsroom and individual journalists
Sampling methodology
The sample of the study was drawn from the database of managing editors, executive editors, and editors of U.S. daily newspapers from the American Society of News Editors (ASNE). Because the study primarily focused on how the newsrooms would engage with their local communities for better journalism, editors of national newspapers (e.g., The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today) and metropolitan newspapers (e.g., The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Seattle Times) were excluded from the sample.
At least fifteen (15) attempts were made to complete an interview at every sampled telephone number. The calls were scheduled over days of the week to maximize the chances of making a contact with a potential respondent. All refusals were recontacted at least once in order to attempt to convert them to completed interviews.
Field Operation
Five hundred seventy-one (571) interviews were completed via telephone from March 2 to May 4, 2011 by the trained interviewing and supervising staff of the RJI Insight and Survey Center.
Response rate calculation
| Description | Telephone Numbers |
|---|---|
| A. Total number released | 924 |
| B. Completed surveys 1 | 571 |
| C. Disconnected | 82 |
| D. Wrong numbers | 14 |
| E. Fax | 9 |
| F. Ineligible numbers 2 | 12 |
| G. Refusals | 15 |
| H. Ring No Answer 3 | 152 |
| I. Callbacks 4 | 69 |
B
Response Rate (RR) = ----------------- = 87.2%
B + G + J
Notes:
- After careful review in data processing, 43 completed interviews were determined ineligible because (1) the person who answered the questions was not managing editor, executive, editor, or editor, (2) the respondent was not a journalist, and etc. Therefore, the effective and final data contain 528 completed interviews.
- Ineligible numbers are defined as those in which the listing was (1) not a daily newspaper, (2) not a community newspaper, and etc.
- Ring-no-answers are defined as those in which no one answered to any of the fifteen attempts during the data collection.
- Callbacks are defined as those in which someone answered during the project implementation period but a callback was scheduled because the selected person was not available.
Reference
The American Association for Public Opinion Research. 1998. Standard Definitions: Final Dispositions of Case Codes and Outcome Rates for RDD Telephone Surveys and In-Person Household Surveys. Ann Arbor: MI
Characteristics of respondents
Age & Gender
The average age of the 529 editors was 50.4 years, with a standard deviation of 10.2 years. In addition, 72% of the sample was male.
Primary responsibility
When asked "Is your responsibility in mainly print or online at your newspaper?" about two-thirds (64%) of respondents answered "both," 35% "print,"” and one percent "online." These findings show a significant redistribution of editorial responsibilities in American daily newsrooms from three years ago. In 2008, researchers at RJI conducted a comprehensive study of Online Journalism Credibility, and found that, of the 1,251 daily newspapers editors, 39% were primarily responsible for print, 19%, for online, and 42% for both. They also demonstrate that convergent journalism (e.g., editors work on both print and online platforms) is now the norm in nearly two-thirds of daily community newspapers in the United States. Meanwhile, the fact that 35% of editors were mainly responsible for print well reflects the reality in which a good number of community newspapers still rely on their print products because print counts for majority of their current revenue streams.
Years of professional experience
On average, respondents have worked 16 years (standard deviation = 11.8 years) in their current news organizations, ranging from less than one year to 63 years.
As a paid journalist, respondents have worked 26 years on average, with a standard deviation of 10.8 years. Their professional years as paid journalists ranged from 2 to 63.
Size of newsroom
On average, newsrooms represented in the research had a workforce of 18.4 employees in news staff ranging from 2 to 125, with a standard deviation of 19.8.
Size of circulation (weekday & weekend)
As shown below, 83% of daily community newspapers had a weekday circulation of less than 25,000, and 17% had 25,000 or more.
Similarly, 76% of the newspapers had a weekend circulation of less than 25,000, 25% had 25,000 or more.
At the end of the survey, 89% of respondents desired a copy of the study results, suggesting higher level of interest in research on journalist engagement, collaboration, and conversations with local communities for better journalism.
Overall engagement with communities
At the beginning of the survey, editors were asked to report how closely their news organizations were involved with the communities they serve. They were then asked whether their involvement would increase, remain the same, or decrease over the next twelve months.
As shown above, 88% of editors thought their newspaper was either closely or very closely involved with their communities, on a 5-point scale where 1 was "not at all close" and 5 was "very close." In addition, 44% of respondents reported that their newspapers' involvement would increase, and 56% would remain the same over the next twelve months.
Cross tabulation analysis shows that 43% of newspapers with a circulation of less than 25,000 would increase involvement with their communities, compared to 50% of those with a circulation of 25,000 or more. With majority of daily community newspapers already closely involved, this finding suggests that closer involvement with local community is the way to go!
The survey also shows that 86% of the newsrooms represented in the research have conversations among themselves about how to make the news more social or participatory. Further analysis shows that circulation size of daily community newspapers did not make a difference in how editors responded to the question, as 85% of those with a circulation of less than 25,000 and 89% of those whose circulations were 25,000 or more have conversations.
Does your newsroom have conversations among yourselves about how to make the news more social or participatory?
[n = 523]
To further examine how editors would understand the concept and practice of engagement, respondents were asked to indicate the level of importance of "community outreach," "conversation with community," and "collaboration with community" in their newsrooms.
How important is community outreach in your newsroom?
[n = 526]
How important is being in conversation with your community in your newsroom?
[n = 525]
How important is collaboration with your community in your newsroom?
[n = 512]
In assessing the importance of "community outreach," a combined 72% of respondents thought it was either "very important" or "important." Similarly, a combined 84% of editors rated "conversation with community" as either "very important" or "important." In comparison, about half of respondents (52%) thought "collaboration with community" was either "very important" or "important," 36% "neutral," and 12% either "not important" or "not at all important." One possible explanation about the sharp discrepancies among editors' responses to the three questions is that respondents may have more difficulty in understanding the concept of collaboration than those of outreach and conversation. During the data collection, no definition about the three concepts was provided.
Regression analysis shows that size of newsroom was negatively and significantly associated with the importance of collaboration with community, suggesting that smaller community newspapers regarded collaboration with community more importantly than did larger newsrooms. Other demographic and journalist characteristics such as age, years of professional experience, circulation, and gender did not play a role in predicting the importance, nor did they have any significant impact on the importance of "community outreach" and "conversation with community."
Furthermore, respondents were asked if they thought there would be difficulties or hurdles journalists face in engaging with their communities. Ninety-six percent of them elaborated on the difficulties or hurdles, and their responses are presented in Appendix B – Open-Ended Responses.
Community outreach by newsrooms
As a measure of community outreach by daily community newspapers, respondents were asked whether they would offer training for their communities on things like writing, digital media, and social media. As shown below, 16% of respondents said their newsrooms offer the training, and 84% do not.
Does your newsroom offer training for your community on things like writing, digital media and social media?
[n = 527]
Cross tabulation analysis shows that circulation size was a significant factor in how editors responded to the question c2(1, N = 524) = 10.754, p = .001: 27% of newsrooms with weekday circulation of 25,000 or more offer training to their communities on writing, digital media and social media, compared to 13% of those whose circulation was less than 25,000.
Furthermore, 48% of respondents reported that they invite audience members to their physical newsrooms for matters such as attending meetings, offering input, and interacting with the news staff.
Do you invite your audience to your physical newsroom, for example, to attend meetings, offer input, and interact with the staff?
[n = 527]
Again, 64% of newspapers with a circulation size of 25,000 or more invite their audience to physical newsrooms for interaction with news staff, c2(1, N = 524) = 11.224, p = .001, significantly more than 45% of those whose circulation was less than 25,000.
Does your news organization sponsor community events?
[n = 525]
The survey also shows that an overwhelming majority of daily community newspapers (91%; 98% of those with a weekday circulation of 25,000 or more, 90% of those whose weekday circulation was less than 25,000) sponsor community events, as part of their commitment to community outreach.
In addition, only a quarter of daily community newspapers (25%) would either "very often" or "often" try to share specific content with specific parts of their communities. Meanwhile, a combined 55% of respondents would either "rarely" or "never" do so. Regression analysis shows that those with a weekday circulation size of 25,000 or more shares the information significantly more than newspapers whose circulation size was less than 25,000.
How often do you try to share specific content with specific parts of your community? For example, if you have a story about school programs, you would try to share it specifically with people who have a special interest in schools.
[n = 505]
Community conversation
Do you make decisions about what stories to cover based on what you hear from your audience in person?
[n = 526]
As shown on the previous page, an overwhelming majority of editors (93%) reported that they make decisions about what stories to cover based on what they learn from their audience in person.
When asked whether they would make decisions about what stories to cover based on what they hear from their audience on their websites, 78% of respondents said "yes."
Do you make decisions about what stories to cover based on what you hear from your audience on your website?
[n = 525]
Cross tabulation analysis shows that both newspapers with a weekday circulation of less than 25,000 (76%) and 25,000 or more (90%) make decisions about what stories to cover based on what they hear from their audience from their websites, c2(1, N = 522) = 9.270, p = .002.
Do you seek input from your audience about what to cover?
[n = 526]
Similarly, more than two-thirds of editors (77%) said their newsrooms seek input from their audience about what to cover. Circulation size was not a significant factor in how they responded to the question.
When asked "Do you interact with your audience in the comments section of your news site?" 55% of respondents said "yes." Further analysis shows that newspapers with a weekday circulation of 25,000 or more (63%) interact with audience in the comments section significantly more than those with a weekday circulation of less than 25,000 (53%), c2(1, N = 517) = 3.107, p = .078.
Collaboration with communities
Collaboration with community was measured in newsrooms' invitation to audience for their own stories and more involvement with the news gathering and producing process. The survey shows that 8 out of 10 daily community newspapers encourage their audience to get more involved with the news process and product.
Two-thirds of respondents (67%) also reported that their newspapers invite audience to contribute information to add to stories and make them more complete. Weekday circulation size was not a significant factor in editors' responses to the question.
Do you invite your audience to contribute information to add to stories, making them more complete?
[n = 524]
Do you invite your audience to contribute their own stories?
[n = 522]
As shown above, more than three-fourth of daily community newspapers (76%) invite their audience to contribute their own stories. Furthermore, newspapers with a weekday circulation of less than 25,000 (79%) create the user-generated content significantly more than those whose weekday circulation was 25,000 or more (67%), c2 (1, N = 519) = 5.152, p = .023.
In reporting specific stories, half of respondents said their newspapers would invite audience to help. There were significant differences between weekday circulation sizes, as newspapers with a weekday circulation of 25,000 or more (65%) would invite audience to help them report specific stories more than those with a circulation of less than 25,000 (46%), c2 (1, N = 512) = 10.263, p = .001.
Do you invite your audience to help you report specific stories?
[n = 515]
Use of social media for interaction with audience
Social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook seem to be well used by daily community newspapers, as 84% of respondents confirmed that their newspapers use the new communication technologies.
Do you use social media such as Twitter or Facebook to interact with your audience?
[n = 527]
Cross tabulation analysis shows that newspapers with a weekday circulation of 25,000 or more (98%) would use social media to interact with audience more than those with a circulation of less than 25,000 (82%), c2 (1, N = 524) = 12.974, p = .000.
Among those that use the new media, a combined 82% of daily community newspapers either "very often" or "often" use social media for interaction with audience. Regression analysis confirms that newspapers with larger numbers of employees in their news staff used the new media more often those smaller newsrooms, suggesting that staff size is a critical factor that community newspapers weigh in when deciding matters such as adoption of new technologies.
How often do you use social media to interact with your audience?
[n = 444]
How often do you use digital tools such as social media tools to listen to what your community is saying on platforms or Web sites other than your own Web site?
[n = 521]
As shown on the previous page, a combined 49% of newspapers either "very often" or "often" use digital tools such as social media to listen to community input on platforms or websites other than their own, 26% "sometimes," whereas a combined 25% either "rarely" or "never" do so. Regression analysis shows that newspapers with more news staff used the new tools to listen to what their community is saying on other platforms or websites other than their own more than those with smaller staff members. It also shows that younger editors and those with fewer years of experience in their current news organizations used the digital tools on non-newspaper platforms or websites more than their older counterparts and those with more years of experience.
Use of web analytics report in news decision making
Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of online activities (e.g., traffic to a website) for business research and market research. Web analytics applications can help companies measure the results of traditional print advertising campaigns, for example. It estimates how traffic to a website changes after the launch of a new advertising campaign. It also provides information about the number of visitors to a website and the number of page views. It is a useful tool for monitoring traffic and popularity trends.
The survey shows that 9 out of 10 daily community newspapers receive web analytics reports about Internet data such as page views, length of visits, and traffic of their websites.
Does your newsroom receive Web analytics reports about data such as page views, length of visit, and traffic of your Web site?
[n = 512]
Newspapers with a weekday circulation of 25,000 or more (96%) receive web analytics reports more than those with a weekday circulation of less than 25,000 (88%), c2 (1, N = 509) = 4.301, p = .038.
How often do you receive the report?
[n = 428]
Regression analysis shows that larger newsrooms receive web analytics reports more often than smaller ones (whereas years of professional experience, weekend circulation size, gender, and age of respondents were statistically controlled).
Do you make decisions about what stories to cover based at least partially on the Web analytics report?
[n = 454]
As shown above, 49% of editors reported that their newsrooms make decisions about what stories to cover based at least partially on the web analytics reports they receive. Cross tabulation analysis shows that weekday circulation size was a significant factor in editors' responses, as newspapers with a circulation of 25,000 or more (72%) make decisions about news coverage at least partially based on web analytics reports significantly more than those with a circulation of less than 25,000 (44%), c2 (1, N = 451) = 20.458, p = .000.
The survey also shows that 47% of daily community newspapers have non-journalists on their staff with expertise in technology.
Do you have non-journalists on staff with expertise in technology?
[n = 527]
Again, newspapers with a circulation of 25,000 or more (59%) have non-journalists on their staff with technological expertise more than those with a circulation of less than 25,000 (45%), c2 (1, N = 524) = 5.784, p = .016.
Transparency about newsroom and individual journalists
Concerning transparency about newsroom and individual journalists to the general public as a measure of engagement with community, respondents were asked whether they offer biographical information about their employees in print and online, and whether they would explain journalism process to audience or offer them behind-the-scene information.
Do you offer biographical information about your employees in print?
[n = 525]
Weekend circulation size was not a significant factor in how editors responded to the question.
Do you offer biographical information about your employees on your Web site?
[n = 522]
As shown above, one-third of respondents (34%) reported that they offer biographical information about their employees on their websites. Cross tabulation analysis shows that newspapers with a circulation of 25,000 or more (58%) do so significantly more than those with a circulation of less than 25,000 (29%), c2 (1, N = 519) = 26.968, p = .000.
Related Content
Read a resource for newsrooms: Measuring the success of audience engagement efforts
Read Joy's Highlights from the 2011 journalists engagement survey
Comments
missing part of formula?
Thanks for posting this interesting research. I am a little confused about the response rate formula that's stated as:
B
Response Rate (RR) = ----------------- = 87.2%
B + G + J
What's J? ... It's not listed among the components ... or perhaps I overlooked it.
Thanks,
Bill Sutley
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