An important finding of the Impact study of readership is that newspapers that operate in ways that put a high priority on readers and customers have higher readership scores. That's a fine statistical result, but for busy newspaper people it immediately raises the question, "So what can we do about it?"

We at the Readership Institute were keen to find out what the most reader-oriented Impact newspapers do, on the job, every day, that is different from their peers. What do they look like, feel like, behave like? How did they move from an internal to an external focus?

Our resulting study, Putting Readers First, looks at the 10 most reader-oriented newspapers in the Impact study to find out what they are like. The top 10 newspapers share many practices in common — the pre-eminent one being that the publisher and his or her executive team are wholly committed to putting readers and customers first. This commitment permeates the whole organization, from the overall mission to, in some cases, individual performance goals; from the way operating committee meetings are conducted to discussion about the next-day's paper around the newsroom conference table.

The newspapers have many more "best practices" in common, practices that may give other newspapers ideas they can adapt and use to become more reader-focused.

Becoming more reader-oriented means hiring and training people who want to be and are capable of being reader- or customer-focused — something that has not been a priority until now at many newspapers. As one editor at a readership seminar said: "I want to hire reader-oriented people, but where do I start? What do I look for?" How to Hire "Reader-Oriented" People has recommendations for how to screen and hire for these qualities.

In addition, the Readership Institute has developed a free online tool that will allow newspapers to self-assess how reader-oriented they are, and to compare their results with the industry and similar-size newspapers. The Reader Orientation Self Test is similar to the survey completed by participants in the Impact study and comes with complete instructions.

In 2003 and 2006, the Readership Institute conducted follow-up surveys of reader orientation at the 100 Impact newspapers; the 2003 results are discussed in Readership Orientation Pays Off in Higher Readership and the 2006 survey in Newspapers Become More Reader-oriented and Newspaper executives: Priorities and perspectives.

In 2008, the Readership Institute returned to the 100 Impact newspapers and surveyed publishers about their "audience orientation." The results are presented in the report "Newspapers inch forward on audience orientation."



Newspapers inch forward on audience orientation - PDF
The 2008 tracking study of audience orientation at the Impact newspapers.

Audience orientation scale - PDF
Survey tool for measuring audience orientation.

Putting Readers First - PDF
Read the results of an in-depth study of the most reader-oriented newspapers: how they create a newspaper focused on readers including stories of real success.

How to Hire "Reader-Oriented" People - PDF
How can you find and hire reader-oriented employees in all departments? This report offers insight into the process as well as practical suggestions on how to do it better.

Reader Orientation Self Test
Launch an interactive online questionnaire designed to rate your newspaper.

Becoming Reader Oriented - PDF
Read the first report produced from Impact's study of reader orientation. Published in January 2001, the report offers a snapshot of the newspaper industry and explains what reader-orientation means.

Readership Orientation Pays Off in Higher Readership - PDF
The 2003 tracking study of reader orientation at the Impact newspapers.

Newspapers Become More Reader-oriented - PDF
The 2006 tracking study of reader orientation at the Impact newspapers.

Newspaper executives: Priorities and perspectives - PDF
Read what the Impact newspaper executives had to say in 2006 about the challenges facing the industry and the changes they need to make.

Impact Study: Overview Page

Culture and Management Practices: Overview Page