APME National Credibility Roundtables
Reader Interactive Project
2003-2004 final report
May 2004
Ken Sands, project director
What, exactly, is the Reader Interactive Project, and how does it work?
Stan Strick, executive editor of the Everett (Wash.) Herald, explained it well to readers in a recent story outlining the project at his newspaper:
I'm sure this has happened to you. You read a quote in a news story or see a story reporting a trend, and you wonder, "How do they choose these people? Who did they talk to before coming to that conclusion?"
Maybe you also thought: "Boy, I wish I had had a chance to get my two cents in."
Now you can. The Herald has created a Reader Network of people willing to be contacted by e-mail for their views on important topics. About 300 people already have signed up.
We're using the power of the Internet to broaden our coverage and dig deeper into the communities we cover. If you have an e-mail address, you can add your name as someone who is willing to respond to occasional queries from reporters pursuing stories and editors seeking feedback.
A total of 30 newsrooms signed up for the Reader Interactive Project in the 2003-04 cycle. Of those, 21 successfully launched their own reader network within six months; five others were preparing to launch; while four others continued to struggle because of unforeseen circumstances.
In addition, project participants from this year and the previous year have joined forces twice in recent months to conduct nationwide reader surveys; first, on election issues prior to the Democratic primaries; and second, on whether graphic photos from Iraq should be used in the newspaper. Both times, the network was engaged successfully, and the resulting stories were published widely among participating newspapers and in the journalism trade press. These nationwide alliances will continue indefinitely, and will grow as more newsrooms adopt the program.
How well is the project being received in newsrooms? Here are a few quotes from editors:
"Just yesterday we produced items on two topics we would never have been able to get close to through any other means." - Bill Felber, Manhattan Mercury.
"The results from the questions we have asked have been incredible. We plan to continue using the bank to get real people into our stories." - Jennifer Porter, Fargo Forum
I see the e-board as an excellent addition to our reporters' toolbox. I expect I will be using it to better craft stories for years to come. - Chris Cobler, Greeley Tribune
"There's no doubt it will become a regular and useful tool for reporters." - Deb Flemming, Mankato Free Press
I was at church a couple Sundays ago and introduced myself to a man in the pew behind me during the "greetings" period of the service. At the end of the service, he asked me if I worked at the News & Record. "Yes, I do," I replied. "My News & Record?" he asked. "I'm glad you feel that way about the paper," I said. "Well, I'm a member of your Reader Advisory Network, so I do feel part of it," he said. Can you beat that!????. - Ann Morris, Greensboro News & Record
Here are individual reports from some participating newsrooms:
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead (N.D.)
The Forum participated in both national credibility questions.
Jennifer Porter, who initiated the project at the Forum reports impressive results and enthusiastic response from readers and within the newsroom:
The results from the questions we have asked have been incredible. Several reporters got so many responses they had a hard time sorting through them all. Word of mouth from reporters who have used the bank for stories has sparked interest throughout the newsroom. We plan to continue using the bank to get real people into our stories.
Some of the questions The Forum has asked:
Fargo crime: (Lead in with new crime statistics) Do these numbers surprise you?; From your own experience and what you hear from others, how safe do you feel in this growing city?; Do you sense any trends emerging over the past few years?; How well do you feel the police department is doing to protect the public, react to citizen concerns and solve crimes?; Do you have any anecdotes about your experience with the police or crime from the past year that you'd like to share? Sent 2/10/04 to 211 members from Fargo -- 52 responded in 5 hours (25%)
Gay marriage: How do you feel about legalizing marriage for same-sex couples? Explain?; Would you support a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage? Explain? Should same-sex couples be allowed the same legal protections as marriages through civil unions? Explain? Sent 2/17/04 to 100 members from MN -- 56 responded in 2 days (56%)
Anniversary of war in Iraq: Has the war changed your daily life, your work or your relationships in the past year? How?; Has your opinion about the war changed? How?; Has your outlook on life changed in any way, as a result of the events over the past year? Explain. Sent 3/8/04 to 100 -- 25 responded in 2 days (25%)
Fargo-Moorhead tourism: When you hear Fargo-Moorhead called a "tourist destination," what do you think? And what do you think of the idea of the F-M Convention and Visitors Bureau spending $100,000 on marketing in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to lure their residents to F-M attractions?; Do you have ideas for attracting tourists to F-M? And what do you consider F-M's top tourist attractions worth a 500-mile ride to see? Sent 3/8/04 to 187 from Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth, all out of state bank members and 46 responded in 2 days (25%)
Low-carb craze: Are you, or do you know, a wheat farmer who is on a low-carb diet? We would like to interview this person, so please give us their name and phone number or e-mail address.; What low-carb products have you seen on the market? Any that you think are really unusual? Any you tried that are really good, or really bad?
Greeley (Colo.) Tribune
The Tribune has used its reader network regularly since it first was installed in December, 2003. The Tribune participated in both national surveys. Here's what editor Chris Cobler said about the Tribune's use of the network:
We're trying to ask a question of readers at least once a week. Typically, we've used it to generate story leads. For example, when we want to do a story on the Atkins diet, we asked our e-board for people who had good or bad experiences with it. We received about two dozen responses. We also asked the e-board for pros and cons of online dating and generated a similar response.
We've built our e-board membership to more than 500, which we're pleased with at a 25,000-circulation newspaper.
One credibility question we asked was about online journalism ethics. I asked the question while I was attending the Salzburg Seminar in Austria studying this topic. We used the responses in our Salzburg discussion and then I posted selected comments on my editor's blog. The Salzburg Seminar was titled "Ethics in News Reporting and Editing."
I see the e-board as an excellent addition to our reporters' toolbox. I expect I will be using it to better craft stories for years to come.
The Tribune gained some national trade press attention when it asked readers a credibility question on deadline:
We used our e-board and my editor's blog to survey readers before deciding whether to publish the latest disturbing images from Iraq. I sent a query to the 565 members of our e-board shortly after 2 p.m. today. By tonight, we have received more than two dozen e-mail responses and a half-dozen more comments posted to my blog. In the mall e-mail we sent, I referred readers to my blog to see the three photos distributed by AP.
After listening to our readers, we decided to publish the photo of the human pyramid on an inside page with the jump from a front-page story. With the A1 story, we published an advisory warning readers of the disturbing nature of the image inside and also referred them to my blog for more discussion of the images.
Your suggestion after the Fallujah photos made me think about surveying readers in advance of publication today. Thank you again for your help with this project. We have benefited greatly from this new conversation with our readers.
The Ledger - Lakeland, Florida
Nancy Graham Jump, news systems editor, reported that the project startup was time-intensive, but worthwhile. The Ledger participated in the national surveys. Here are some of the other questions they've asked readers:
The first survey asked the following questions regarding our local primary election and the 1/2 cent sales tax referendum: If you are a Democrat: Are you going to vote in the presidential primary? Who will you vote for? Does it matter that the nomination is all but wrapped up by the time you get to vote? For everyone: Are you going to vote for the indigent health care sales tax increase or against it? Why or why not?
Our second survey was timed to coordinate with the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the war with Iraq. We asked: The war with Iraq began in the United States on the night of March 19, 2003, and nearly half a world away in Iraq early on March 20. A year has passed. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been captured. No weapons of mass destruction have been found. A governing council of Iraqis is meeting and working toward a democratic election of the country¹s leaders. The Ledger would like to share how this year of war has touched its readers. Has the war changed your daily life, your work or your relationships in the past year? How? Has your opinion about the war changed? How? What about your opinion of President Bush? Do you think he made the right decision to go to war? Has your opinion of him changed because no weapons of mass destruction were found? Do you personally know anyone who was killed in the war? How has that influenced your opinions of the war? And, finally, do you think capturing Saddam Hussein and the ensuing changes that will be made in Iraq will in any way change the "order" of the world and/or reduce terrorism? If so, how?
We sent that survey to 50 participants and received 30 responses. The responses were so detailed (we neglected to put a limit on the number of words) and we received so many that we decided to run them in their entirety on our website in addition to using excerpts in the story that ran in the paper.
Editor Lenore Devore said the system is working well for The Ledger.
There has been a bit of frustration on the part of our readers who send in responses that aren't used, but we're learning how to deal with that (putting them online, sending the question out to a limited group first to gauge response, etc).
We also need to get more buy-in from the staff -- especially our Metro staff. Other than that, I hope we put it to a lot more use!
Manhattan Mercury
Bill Felber, editor or the Mercury, has used the reader network regularly. The Mercury participated in the national surveys. Here's a report from Bill:
We are blazing. We have set up 11 reader panels, and they are providing us with a panoply of reader feedback and reader-generated stories. Just yesterday we produced items on two topics we would never have been able to get close to through any other means: Sunday sermons, and neighborhood back-fence conversation topics. We did a lengthy piece on Sunday on the issue of cell phone performance within our readership area, and readers provided quite a lot of personal experience that was helpful in putting together that story.
Other topics we have recently tackled: A local downtown redevelopment program; Same-sex marriage; Favorite non-aerobic fitness routines; The impact within neighborhoods of the closure of a neighborhood school; "The Passion of the Christ;" the availability of illegal drugs locally.
Bill also mentioned an interesting question he asked readers right before the Kansas presidential primary, which gave him a lot of insight:
We asked members of our "politics" readers panel whether they have already made up their minds in the presidential election contest between Bush and Kerry. We gave them four options: I'm absolutely certain how I'll vote, I'm basically certain, but there's a small chance I'd change my mind; I'm only beginning to formulate an opinion; I'm really undecided at this stage.
We had 71 members of our panel respond to the question. Here are the results:
Absolutely certain: 60
Basically certain: 8
Only starting to decide: 1
Undecided: 2
I knew the election was polarized, but to think that seven months away from the election 85 percent of the folks on our panel are already completely locked in and another 11 percent are basically locked in strikes me as astonishing.
News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.
Ann Morris, managing editor of the News & Record says the network is "going great guns." The News & Record also participated in the national surveys.
We've asked on a wide variety topics, everything from serious local issues involving the misuse of city tax funds and city officials' responsibility to lighter questions, such as how 'Sex and the City' should end. We asked for Super Bowl predictions (after all, we're home to the Carolina Panthers) and we asked about 'The Passion of the Christ." We've published reader responses online and excerpted them in print, and also found real people to interview for stories. Our response rate is an incredible 20-25 percent.
Thanks for all your help on this project. This is one of the best things we've done in a long time. Here's a great anecdote for your files: I was at church a couple Sundays ago and introduced myself to a man in the pew behind me during the "greetings" period of the service. At the end of the service, he asked me if I worked at the News & Record. "Yes, I do," I replied. "My News & Record?" he asked. "I'm glad you feel that way about the paper," I said. "Well, I'm a member of your Reader Advisory Network, so I do feel part of it," he said. Can you beat that!????
Quite an endorsement, indeed.
The Wenatchee World (WA)
Gary Jasinek, editor of the World, used the network to survey reader opinion on the one-year anniversary of the war in Iraq:
In two days, we received 105 responses to our query on the war in Iraq.
Almost all of them were thoughtful. This is one powerful tool.
The World also asked readers what they thought about several changes that had been made in the paper. "About 60 people wrote back. We were very encouraged by that response to the mailing."
The World also participated in the second national survey. The newspaper plans to continue using the network.
McAlester News-Capital & Democrat (OK)
The News-Capital & Democrat underwent a change in management during the launch of the project, but still managed to participate by hiring a knowledgeable high school student (!) to put together the database.
The newspaper participated in the first national survey, but communication has been spotty since then. I suspect the intern's position has ended, because she doesn't return messages, and the new editor also has been incommunicado. So I'm not really sure how or if they continue to use the network.
Courier-Journal, Louisville
Pam Platt of the Courier-Journal has been an enthusiastic supporter of the reader network at her newspaper, and uses it regularly for her column.
We participated in the national survey questioning in January. We used it to get reader feedback into our package dealing with the governor's budget speech. I asked members of our RAN several questions dealing with accuracy in our newspaper, and I'm about to ask them for input on our Kentucky Derby coverage.
I wrote a column about the national survey, and this week's column includes responses to the accuracy question. (By the way, at the time of that questioning, we had about 120-130 members of the network. Almost 90 responded to the questions, which leads me to believe they really care about getting the credibility questions and giving us their answers to them.)
The newspaper also participated in the second national survey. Pam also wrote about the surveys for APME News.
The Free Press (Mankato, MN)
The Free Press participated in both national surveys. Deb Flemming reports on other progress:
We've used it once since the national election survey and plan to use it later this month with a story about how women who work define success. Your e-mail on the Iraq - one year later prompted me to ask a similar question. Received some thoughtful answers, which ran as a sidebar to a traditionally reported story. The best part, a few more reporters and editors see the value of the tool. There's no doubt it will become a regular and useful tool for reporters.
Globe Gazette (Mason City, IA)
Bob Steenson, news editor, reports impressive results. The paper has participated in the national surveys. Here are some of the questions the Globe Gazette has asked readers:
Asked News Link members about their reaction to a surprise City Council decision to change from a 50-year ambulance company to a new service that would be started by the local fire department. Received more than 40 responses, of which 35 were usable. Responses resulted in a story for the newspaper quoting from about a dozen responses, and all 35 were posted online. We also did extensive other coverage on this issue and opened a bulletin board on our Web site that received hundreds of entries.
Asked for reaction to the Janet Jackson exposure on the Super bowl halftime show. Received about 40 responses. Developed a newspaper story using several responses as part of other coverage.
Asked for reaction to the question of gay marriages. Received 30-some responses, but most of them were very similar (it's either no big deal or an affront to God). Developed a story using a handful of representative responses.
Asked readers what news they are sick of reading or hearing about. Developed a package for a Sunday centerpiece.
Asked News Link members to help us find people who had left the state, and people who had left and returned. This was intended as a feature for a quarterly business magazine, but it happened that I was finishing the story as the latest Census figures came out this week. Story citing many responses ran with other coverage.
And what's been the reception in the newsroom?
Everyone around here is kind of amazed. Send out a message and within an hour or two we have a dozen or so responses (all our questions have gone out late in the afternoon because of my work schedule. Response will probably be even quicker if we start sending out earlier in the day). By the next morning we typically have 30-50 replies.
(Elmira, NY) Star-Gazette
Bill Church of the Star-Gazette reports significant progress in using the network. The newspaper participated in the national surveys. How's the project received in the newsroom?
To use a well-worn business phrase, I'm cautiously optimistic. We're still in the beginning stages of this effort, so it has a top-down bent. But as frontline editors see the appeal, they'll jump on it. In turn, some of our better reporters will see the advantages. It's learning the language, then making it part of our everyday vocabulary. We've already made strides in just a month or so. I'd like to believe we'll continue on that expansive path.
And here's another way in which the network will be used in the future:
We're incorporating the Star-Gazette Readers' Network into a larger-scale project to continually assess and analyze readership satisfaction and news-interest trends.
Memphis Commercial Appeal
The Commercial Appeal participated in both national surveys, but is not actively using the network locally because of a recent change in staffing at the paper. Editor Chris Peck remains committed to the project, but the editor who was spearheading the project left the paper and another editor has not picked up the e-mail project yet. However, in the meantime the network is in place and the paper plans to continue participating in national surveys.
Lincoln Journal Star (Neb.)
Steve Thomas, managing editor of the Journal Star, said the paper has used the network to get feedback and story ideas.
We ran a six-page special section about a company based in Lincoln that supplied used car warrants and that went bankrupt. We also asked the readers for feedback and suggestions about follow stories. We've also used the network to seek ideas about how to localize the bombings in Spain, the local school board search for a president and story ideas for our expanded seniors section. In all these cases, the network has worked out well. We've gotten plenty of participation.
The newspaper also has participated in the national surveys. Here's a quote from Steve about the election survey:
Many politicians would prefer us focus solely on their sound bites and the mudslinging against their opponents. But our readers clearly want more than just horserace-type coverage of elections. They depend on us to ensure that politicians address the issues important to them. Many times, the voice that gets left out in elections is that of the citizen. If we make a conscious effort through efforts such as this (the APME survey), we can bring them back into the election process. Our job as journalists is not to drag people to the voting booth and force them to cast a ballot, but we are obligated to give them everything they need to make an informed decision if they decide to vote. And if we do that, inevitably more people are likely to vote.
The Newport Daily News (Newport, RI)
The Daily News has participated in both national surveys. Sheila Mullowney reports that "the response has been really good so far!"
The response has been really positive; as you suggested, people are flattered to be invited and they think, as I do, that it is going to be an interesting experience.
Here's another quote about the project from Sheila's editor's column in the paper:
Of course, this doesn't mean we will abandon traditional reporting methods, including going out into the communities we cover, attending meetings and events, interviewing individuals and groups in person and calling sources on the phone. But e-mail offers us a fast and efficient method of soliciting and incorporating a wide range of opinions and experiences into the paper on a regular basis.
The Post-Crescent, Appleton (Wis)
The Post-Crescent has participated in the national credibility surveys. Here's the other way the network is being used on an ongoing basis, according to Andrew Oppmann:
We've enjoyed good success with our effort, which we call the Reader Reaction Forum. We feature a question of the week on Monday's editorial pages, with about 50 or so folks getting a swing at the plate one week, then a different 50 or so folks getting a swing next week. We've gotten good response and view it as a way to keep our page more local and current.
Everett Herald
The Herald wasn't ready in time to launch its network for either of the first two national surveys, but Editor Stan Strick was quite pleased with the first time it was used:
We inaugurated the Herald's e-mail reader network this morning with a question about the impact of gas prices on people's behavior. So far, we've gotten about 125 responses. This is going to be a great tool to get more people into the paper. Thanks for your help.
Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester
Here's how the newspaper has used the network, according to Scott McIntosh:
We at the (Rochester, N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle used our reader interactive project recently to solicit feedback from our reader advisers about the Jack Kelley scandal at USA Today. Since USA Today and the Democrat and Chronicle are both owned by Gannett, this hit very close to home.
On Thursday, April 22, we sent an e-mail to our 386 reader advisers asking them to read the story in the next day's paper and then answer some specific questions about the story. We received over 100 responses through the weekend. I was able to pull together a report on their responses, which we used in a three-day in-house credibility seminar, and our editor Karen Magnuson used a couple of reader comments in a column.
Currently, we are working on a story to be published in the next week or so based on the nearly 300 e-mail responses we received about Rochester's new fast ferry that will travel between Rochester and Toronto.
How is the network being received in the newsroom?
Reporters and editors are amazed at how useful this list is. We have very detailed information in terms of race, political affiliation, residence, etc., so we are able to pinpoint exactly what demographic we're getting. In addition, our reader advisers are primed and ready to voice their opinions, which the reporters love. So, I think, as we use this tool more and more, it will become extremely popular in the newsroom.
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Successful launches: 21
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead (N.D.)
Greeley (Colo.) Tribune
The Ledger - Lakeland, Florida
Manhattan Mercury
News & Record, Greensboro, N.C.
The Wenatchee World (WA)
McAlester News-Capital & Democrat (OK)
Courier-Journal, Louisville
The Free Press (Mankato, MN)
Globe Gazette (Mason City, IA)
(Elmira, NY) Star-Gazette
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Lincoln Journal Star (Neb.)
The Newport Daily News (Newport, RI)
The Post-Crescent, Appleton (Wis)
Everett Herald
Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester
The Augusta Chronicle (GA)
Janesville Gazette
Bristol Herald Courier
Beaufort (SC) Gazette
Getting ready to launch: 5
Olympian
Post and Courier, Charleston (SC)
The Daily Star (Oneonta, NY)
Winston-Salem Journal (NC)
St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press
Still working on it: 4
Ashland Times-Gazette (Ohio)
South Bend Tribune, (IND)
Fort Collins Coloradoan, (Colo.)
Omaha World-Herald