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Reaching Out to New ResidentsImproving New Resident Readership for The
Greeley Tribune
2009
Aimee HruskaKara Killenberg
Kelsey HighlandMarcus Farrell
Executive Summary
This report analyzes new residents (people that have lived in the Greeley community for
less than five years) in order to better understand why they do not subscribe to The Tribune nor
read newspapers in general. Of all people surveyed, most people that read The Tribune subscribe
to it. During the week, a number of people receive it some other way such as at work or school.
This number drops substantially on the weekend. Those surveyed classify themselves as
“Family People,” and additionally, they enjoy cooking/preparing food. When these people read
a newspaper, they enjoying reading about world and national news, activities and events going
on in the area, the weather, and outdoor recreation.
The results found that new residents do not subscribe to The Tribune because they are not
interested in the content and/or they do not feel like they have time to read the newspaper.
Additional reasons for non-subscription include receiving The Tribune for free, not willing to
pay for a newspaper subscription, and a subscription to another paper such as The Denver Post.
When asked whether they read The Tribune on Sunday or during the week, more new
residents said they read it during the week than on Sunday. This could be attributed to the fact
that there are five possible days to read it during the week as opposed to just Sunday. The least
amount of people read The Tribune on Tuesday, while the greatest number of people read it on
Wednesday.
New residents prefer to get their news from television and/or the Internet as opposed to
other media outlets such as newspapers or magazines. When they do read a newspaper, they
prefer reading headlines and brief summaries instead of short stories or detailed articles.
2
The top three stores that new residents shop at include King Soopers, Walmart, and
Target. Within a 60-day period, 75% of new residents surveyed spent a minimum of $50 at one
or more of these locations.
Finally, recommendations for The Tribune include adding a section related to families,
additional advertisements on Tuesdays to increase readership and utilizing informative headlines
and brief summaries since new residents do not like read long, detailed articles. Also, The
Tribune should include a list of activities, events, and places to go in the Northern Colorado area
in an effort to acclimate new residents with the Greeley area. Finally, The Tribune should add
additional world and national news so readers can get all the information they seek from one
news source.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………….2
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..5
How Readers Receive The Tribune……………………………………………………………….5
Reader Characteristics…………………………………………………………………………….7
Reasons Why New Residents Do Not Subscribe…………………………………………………9
Sunday Edition Versus Weekday Edition………………………………………………………..11
New Resident Preferences……………………………………………………………………….14
Where New Residents Spend Money……………………………………………………………16
Recommendations………………………………………………………………………………..17
Appendix I……………………………………………………………………………………….19
Appendix II………………………………………………………………………………………20
Appendix III……………………………………………………………………………………...23
Appendix IV……………………………………………………………………………………...25
Appendix V………………………………………………………………………………………28
Appendix VI……………………………………………………………………………………...30
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This report seeks to determine characteristics of new residents in the Greeley area in order to
better understand why they do not read and/or subscribe to The Tribune. The following
information shows how all readers receive The Tribune as well as characteristics of those
surveyed. There is also information regarding why new residents do not subscribe to The
Tribune, whether or not they read the Sunday and/or weekday editions, preferences regarding
how they receive their news, as well as the stores they shop at the most. Finally, there are
several recommendations that will help increase new resident as well as overall readership for
The Tribune.
How Readers Receive The Tribune
It is important to determine how readers of The Tribune receive the weekday edition as well as
the Sunday edition. The two graphs below show how those that read the Tribune receive it.
5
The graph above demonstrates that of all people surveyed and who actually read the weekday
edition of The Tribune, the majority subscribe to the paper, while, a good portion receive it some
other way such as school or work. Those that buy it most likely buy it at a convenience or
grocery store. (See Appendix I).
In the graph above, the amount of people who subscribe to The Tribune on Sunday versus during
the week remains the same, while the number of people that receive it some other way drops
dramatically. This drop represents the people who receive the paper at school or at work during
the week. (See Appendix I).
6
Reader Characteristics
The graph above is a representation of the averages of how new residents classify themselves.
One means that they strongly disagree with the statement, seven means they strongly agree with
the statement, and four means they do not agree nor disagree. For example, for the statement “I
am a family person,” the average response was a six, which means they strongly agree with the
statement. (See Appendix II).
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The following graph represents what topics news residents enjoy reading about in the newspaper.
A one signifies “Not at all interested” and a five is “Extremely interested.” The top five topics
that new residents are interested in reading about include “National/World news,” “Local News,”
“Weather,” “Activities to do,” and “Outdoor Sports and Recreation.” They are neutral regarding
“High School Sports,” “Advertising Inserts,” “Agriculture News,” and “Obituaries.” (See
Appendix II).
The next graph shows what additional newspaper sections new residents would find interesting.
A one means “Not Interesting” and a seven means very interesting.” As the graph shows, new
residents are interested in “Activities and Events,” “Travel/Adventure,” and “World
News/Events.” They are least interested in “Celebrity News/Entertainment” and a section for
children. (See Appendix II).
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Reasons Why New Residents Do Not Subscribe
The following graphs show the various reasons why new residents do not subscribe to The
Tribune. “No” means that it is not the reason why they do not subscribe while “Yes” is a reason
for non-subscription. (See Appendix III).
Of the 185 “New Residents”
(people who have lived in the
community for less than 5 years)
surveyed, nearly 50 people do not
subscribe because they are not
interested in the content.
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Approximately 50 new residents do
not subscribe because they do not
have time to read The Tribune.
When new residents were asked if they didn’t
subscribe because they got it for free, only
14% said yes so that is not a significant reason
as to why people do not subscribe.
Approximately 28 new residents do not
subscribe to The Tribune because they
subscribe to a different paper instead.
10
25 of the 185 new residents surveyed
believe that The Tribune is too expensive
and are not willing to pay for a
subscription.
Sunday Edition Versus Weekday Edition
This graph shows that of the 185 new
residents, almost 150 do not read The
Tribune on Sunday and only 38 do
read it on Sunday.
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This graph shows that 120 new
residents do not read The Tribune
during the week and 61 do read it at
least once during the week.
The previous graphs are a good indication of the habits of new residents. There are various
explanations for this data such as not enough time on the weekend or they do not like the Sunday
content because maybe it is too long. (See Appendix IV).
More new residents read The Tribune during the week as opposed to on Sunday, however the
Tuesday edition has the lowest
number of new resident readers
of any day. The survey asked if
they had read the most recent
Tuesday edition and only 33
said yes while 149 said no, they
had not read the most recent
Tuesday edition. (See
Appendix IV).
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Wednesday’s edition has the highest readership of any day. This can be attributed to the
advertisements that are placed in the Wednesday edition. 48 new residents said they had read the
most recent Wednesday edition, while 135 had not read it.
New Resident Preferences
13
The following graphs show what source new residents prefer to get their news from, as well as
what they prefer to read when reading a newspaper. (See Appendix V).
Approximately 64% of new
residents surveyed prefer to get
their information from the
internet, while only 36% do not
prefer to get their news from
the Internet.
Approximately 71% of new
resdients prefer to get their
news from television, and only
29% do not prefer television as
their news source.
The above graphs represent
changing trends in the media industry. In the past, most people received their news from the
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newspaper, however in today’s society, people rely on the Internet and the television for their
news. In the coming years, people will also rely on social networking sites such as Facebook to
receive their news.
When new residents do read a
newspaper, 35% prefer to read
brief summaries, 27% only want to
read headlines, 20% prefer short
stories, and only 19% like to read
detailed articles. This graph means
that readers want their news in the
shortest amount of time possible.
They rely on headlines and brief
summaries to get the information they are interested in. Newspapers must utilize headlines in
order to draw readers in and make their newspaper stand out from other competing newspapers.
15
Where New Residents Spend Money
These graphs represent the 3 stores where
new residents shop the most. Nearly ¾ of
those surveyed spend at least $50 at one of
these locations within a 60 day period. The
greatest number of people shop at Walmart
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and spend the most money there. (See
Appendix VI).
Recommendations
Section Related to Families
Those surveyed classify themselves as “Family People,” so The Tribune should have a
section either weekly or daily that relates to “family.” For instance, there could be various
activities and crafts that parents could do with their children. You could also include receipes
that encourage healthy, family meals. Finally, you could work with local restaurants to have
specials advertised in the paper such as “Kids Eat Free on Wednesday.”
Additional Advertisements on Tuesdays
The survey shows that the greatest number of new residents read The Tribune on
Wednesday and the smallest number read it on Tuesdays. The Wednesday edition is popular due
to the advertising section. The Tuesday edition should also offer advertisements. Wednesday
could focus on grocery store and retail store advertisements, and the Tuesday edition could focus
on advertisements at Walmart and Target since new residents shop there the most. This will
increase Tuesday’s readership because people will be interested in seeing what deals are
available at the stores they utilize the most.
Informative Headlines/Brief Summaries
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New residents do not enjoy reading long, detailed articles. Instead, they prefer reading
brief summaries and headlines. The Tribune should improve its headlines in order to really grab
the attention of potential readers. The headlines should also be informative so readers feel as
though they are getting good, substantial information even if they do not have time to read the
entire article. Also, the articles should be brief in order to entice readers to actually read the
article rather than just the headline. Finally, since new residents surveyed prefer to get their
news from the Internet, each brief article could have a web address for those readers who want
more information on that particular article.
Activities/Events in Northern Colorado
New residents are not interested in the content of The Tribune because they are not
involved in the local Northern Colorado community. There should be a section of activities,
events, and places to visit in order to better acclimate Greeley residents with the area. In turn,
this will increase their interest in the local community, thus making them more interested in
reading The Tribune in order to be better informed.
Additional World/National News
New residents are very interested in reading about world and national news. The Tribune
should include larger “World News” and “National News” sections because these people want to
be informed in all news areas. With these additions, readers will feel as though they can get all
of the information they seek from one news source, and in the end, it will save them time. If
everything is included in one newspaper, then readers will begin to rely more heavily on
newspapers as a source for their news because they can get everything from one souce.
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Appendix I
How Readers Receive the Tribune
How did you get the Weekday edition of the Tribune you read most recently?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid .00 3 1.6 2.4 2.4
Subscribe to have it delivered
to home or business
44 23.8 35.8 38.2
Buy it outside of home or
business
28 15.1 22.8 61.0
some other way 48 25.9 39.0 100.0
Total 123 66.5 100.0
Missing System 62 33.5
Total 185 100.0
On Average new residents receive the weekday edition of the Tribune some other way or have it delivered to their home or business.
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How did you get the Sunday edition of the Tribune you read most recently?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid Subscribe to it delivered to
home or business
39 21.1 37.5 37.5
Buy it outside of home or
Busines
34 18.4 32.7 70.2
Get it some other way 31 16.8 29.8 100.0
Total 104 56.2 100.0
Missing System 81 43.8
Total 185 100.0
On Average new residents subscribe to have the Tribune delivered to their home or business.
Appendix II
Reader Characteristics
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Level of agreement with each of the following statements:
N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Very involved in my
community
183 3.35 1.448 .107
spend most of my time in the
city in which I live
183 4.47 1.827 .135
spend most of my free time
outdoors
183 4.20 1.448 .107
would rather read the new
on-line
182 3.94 1.907 .141
enjoy watching/reading about
sports
185 4.72 2.146 .158
am a "family" person 182 6.09 1.388 .103
Like to cook/prepare food 183 5.23 1.764 .130
I have many hobbies 183 4.99 1.477 .109
am a very socially active
person
183 4.89 1.482 .110
am a very religious person 181 4.49 2.073 .154
Politics are very interesting to
me
183 4.17 1.927 .142
When I have free time, I just
want to relax
183 4.98 1.591 .118
I love to read 184 4.79 1.919 .141
My pet(s) are my life 183 3.44 1.940 .143
I am a workaholic 184 3.57 1.587 .117
On average new residents are more likely to be a “family” person and also like to cook/prepare
food, and have many hobbies. When they have free time, they also just want to relax.
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The following sections of the newspaper would be of interest to me:
N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Something oriented to
younger people
185 4.1189 1.74048 .12796
Celebrity News/Entertainment 184 3.6359 1.82065 .13422
Activities News/Entertainment 184 4.7772 1.57831 .11635
More Advertising/Store
Specials
185 3.7351 1.71949 .12642
College News adn Events 185 3.8919 1.65477 .12166
Cooking/Food sectoin 184 4.1522 1.69173 .12472
Travel/Adventure section 183 4.5792 1.67824 .12406
World News/Events 185 4.9189 1.70642 .12546
Reviews-Restaurant/movies
ect
184 4.3207 1.74005 .12828
Children section 185 3.2432 1.84458 .13562
On average new residents are interested in the World News/Events section of the newspaper the
most.
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How interested are you in reading about each of the following topics?
N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
National and world news 185 3.6378 1.07525 .07905
News about state
government adn statewide
issues
184 3.4185 1.12783 .08314
News about your local
community
185 3.6541 .96645 .07105
National sports 184 3.2337 1.29933 .09579
High school sports 184 2.6087 1.20070 .08852
News about crime and the
courts
184 3.1413 1.10222 .08126
Business news 184 3.0978 1.11678 .08233
Entertainment and the arts 185 3.3405 1.03090 .07579
The weather 183 3.7104 1.04737 .07742
Places to go and things to do 185 3.8811 .98186 .07219
Outdoor sports and
recreation
184 3.7065 .99219 .07315
Local college sport programs
such as UNC, CU, CSU
185 3.2216 1.28941 .09480
Personal Finance and
Investing
184 2.9837 1.13790 .08389
News and information
regarding travel
185 3.2541 1.14934 .08450
Advertising inserts 185 2.6703 1.17234 .08619
Restaurants and Dinning 185 3.2108 1.06521 .07832
Rockey Mountain Travel 185 3.2649 1.13258 .08327
Education (local) 184 3.1304 1.08861 .08025
Agriculture news 185 2.4595 1.09332 .08038
Faith/Religion issues 183 2.7486 1.23243 .09110
Professional Sports 184 3.3043 1.30354 .09610
Theater and Movie
entertainment options
183 3.4754 1.04734 .07742
Editorial/Opinions 185 2.7514 1.11940 .08230
Obituaries 184 2.3261 1.03606 .07638
Information regarding deals 184 2.7826 1.20406 .08876
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On average new residents are interested in places to go and things to do topic the most as well
as being interested in topics on the weather and outdoor sports and recreation.
Appendix III
Reasons Why New Residents Do Not Subscribe
Not interested in the content
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid .00 136 73.5 76.4 76.4
1.00 42 22.7 23.6 100.0
Total 178 96.2 100.0
Missing System 7 3.8
Total 185 100.0
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No time to read it
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid no 127 68.6 71.3 71.3
Yes 51 27.6 28.7 100.0
Total 178 96.2 100.0
Missing System 7 3.8
Total 185 100.0
I get it for free
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid no 152 82.2 85.4 85.4
Yes 26 14.1 14.6 100.0
Total 178 96.2 100.0
Missing System 7 3.8
Total 185 100.0
25
I subscribe to another paper instead
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid no 150 81.1 84.3 84.3
Yes 28 15.1 15.7 100.0
Total 178 96.2 100.0
Missing System 7 3.8
Total 185 100.0
Too expensive
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid no 153 82.7 86.0 86.0
Yes 25 13.5 14.0 100.0
Total 178 96.2 100.0
Missing System 7 3.8
Total 185 100.0
These are not the major reasons for why new residents don’t subscribe to the Tribune. Only a
small portion of new residents aren’t interested in the content, have no time, get it for free,
subscribe to another paper or believe the Tribune to be too expensive.
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Appendix IV
Sunday Edition Versus Weekday Edition
Read the Tribune on Sunday
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 143 77.3 79.0 79.0
yes 38 20.5 21.0 100.0
Total 181 97.8 100.0
Missing System 4 2.2
Total 185 100.0
On average new residents do not read the Tribune on Sunday.
Read the Tribune during the week
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 120 64.9 66.3 66.3
yes 61 33.0 33.7 100.0
Total 181 97.8 100.0
Missing System 4 2.2
Total 185 100.0
On average new residents do not read the Tribune during the week.
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Read Monday
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 136 73.5 74.3 74.3
yes 47 25.4 25.7 100.0
Total 183 98.9 100.0
Missing System 2 1.1
Total 185 100.0
Read Tuesday
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 149 80.5 81.9 81.9
yes 33 17.8 18.1 100.0
Total 182 98.4 100.0
Missing System 3 1.6
Total 185 100.0
Read Wednesday
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 135 73.0 73.8 73.8
yes 48 25.9 26.2 100.0
Total 183 98.9 100.0
Missing System 2 1.1
Total 185 100.0
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Read Thursday
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 147 79.5 80.8 80.8
yes 35 18.9 19.2 100.0
Total 182 98.4 100.0
Missing System 3 1.6
Total 185 100.0
Read Friday
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 137 74.1 74.9 74.9
yes 46 24.9 25.1 100.0
Total 183 98.9 100.0
Missing System 2 1.1
Total 185 100.0
Read Saturday
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 147 79.5 80.3 80.3
yes 36 19.5 19.7 100.0
Total 183 98.9 100.0
Missing System 2 1.1
Total 185 100.0
New residents are less likely to read the Tribune on Tuesday than any other day of the week, but
are more likely to read the Monday edition of the Tribune.
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Appendix V
New Resident Preferences
Internet is preferred for media outlet/news
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 66 35.7 35.7 35.7
Yes 119 64.3 64.3 100.0
Total 185 100.0 100.0
Television is preferred for media outlet/news
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 53 28.6 28.6 28.6
Yes 132 71.4 71.4 100.0
Total 185 100.0 100.0
.
Magazines are preferred for media outlet/news
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 147 79.5 79.5 79.5
Yes 38 20.5 20.5 100.0
Total 185 100.0 100.0
Newspaper is preferred for media outlet/news
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid No 100 54.1 54.1 54.1
Yes 85 45.9 45.9 100.0
Total 185 100.0 100.0
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On average new residents prefer the internet and television as their media outlet for news
information.
When I read the news, I mostly prefer reading
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid Headlines 49 26.5 26.8 26.8
Short Stories 36 19.5 19.7 46.4
Brief Summaries 64 34.6 35.0 81.4
Detailed articles 34 18.4 18.6 100.0
Total 183 98.9 100.0
Missing System 2 1.1
Total 185 100.0
On average new residents prefer reading about brief summaries in the news.
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Appendix VI
Where New Residents Spend Money
Approximately how much is spent at King Soopers
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid .00 39 21.1 21.4 21.4
50.00 48 25.9 26.4 47.8
150.00 35 18.9 19.2 67.0
250.00 17 9.2 9.3 76.4
350.00 11 5.9 6.0 82.4
450.00 9 4.9 4.9 87.4
550.00 23 12.4 12.6 100.0
Total 182 98.4 100.0
Missing System 3 1.6
Total 185 100.0
Approximately how much is spent at Target
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid .00 58 31.4 32.0 32.0
50.00 71 38.4 39.2 71.3
150.00 29 15.7 16.0 87.3
250.00 11 5.9 6.1 93.4
350.00 4 2.2 2.2 95.6
450.00 3 1.6 1.7 97.2
550.00 5 2.7 2.8 100.0
Total 181 97.8 100.0
Missing System 4 2.2
Total 185 100.0
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Approximately how much is spent at WalMart
Frequency Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative
Percent
Valid .00 35 18.9 19.1 19.1
50.00 52 28.1 28.4 47.5
150.00 24 13.0 13.1 60.7
250.00 26 14.1 14.2 74.9
350.00 10 5.4 5.5 80.3
450.00 8 4.3 4.4 84.7
550.00 28 15.1 15.3 100.0
Total 183 98.9 100.0
Missing System 2 1.1
Total 185 100.0
On average new residents spend at least $50.00 at one of these locations, but spend most of their money at WalMart.
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