Daily Circulation: 115,959
Sunday Circulation: 151,816


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
Our Newsroom is committed to coverage that Knight Ridder editors have identified as the seven tenets of good journalism: Watchdog, Trust, People Like Me, First and Only, Useful, Easy to Use, Storytelling. First measured by KR with a telephone survey in fall 2002, we'll be rated again annually.

Brand
Launched a brand exploration process in 2002. We have continued to sustain our core message - The State DELIVERS - with our very limited marketing and promotion budget.

Service
Organized a companywide customer support group, emphasis on cross training and taking "Pride Every Time" with customer interactions.

Culture
Knight Ridder attitude survey, Voices 2003, seeks to link employee engagement with customer service and business results.



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?
Emphasis on women readers through content improvements and ongoing feedback through an email group (although efforts have waned in the past year).



What is the most persuasive indication you have that your readership efforts are producing results?
Not - our readership numbers are down in a recent ABC audited survey.



What is the most important lesson you have learned as you have worked on readership in the last few years?
I think we're just now getting serious about it, having witnessed a decline.



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?
Make the ROI case for marketing expenses.

Getting Traction on Readership

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