Daily Circulation: 217,396
Sunday Circulation: 282,072


List the major steps you have taken in the last four years to increase readership. Please organize your response under four headings: content, brand, service, culture.

Content
We have done a number of things, but the most significant would be creation of a Health & Fitness section, expansion of business coverage with a strong emphasis on local and efforts by the Features Department to attract young readers.

Brand
We have stepped up our media spending and tie-in with CareerBuilder.com and our online presence in general.

Service
We have pushed customer service even to the extent that we ran a advertising campaign showing photos, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of the top 5 executives in circulation seeking customer comments.

Culture
We are adapting to more immediacy on our Web site with news that appears first online, then in the newspaper if the timing is right. That's a significant change in attitude.



What is the most innovative, successful or noteworthy thing you have done on readership that you think other papers might learn from or want to emulate?
By most accounts, our Health & Fitness section has hit the mark. It is intensely local and the design of the section is compelling. It is full of information that readers find useful. Readers have indicated that they appreciate the local faces and names of doctors and others featured in the publication. It enables them to make a stronger connection to the publication.



What is the most persuasive indication you have that your readership efforts are producing results?
We get regular feedback from readers about the Health & Fitness section and the Business section. Readers always mention the local nature of the sections.



What is the most important lesson you have learned as you have worked on readership in the last few years?
It's all about relevance and execution. Readers respond to things that are relevant to their lives, but they have a high expectation for quality. They also want information quickly. They don't want to have to read deep into a story to get the gist.



What would you like to do on readership that you have not been able to do and why haven't you been able to do it?
Expand our nation and world report.

Expand our professional sports coverage — baseball, basketball, football, etc.

Other priorities have prevented us from adding the resources necessary to meet these desires.

Getting Traction on Readership

Survey Responses by Topic & Newspaper