By: Latin American and European newspapers have proven so much more interested in applying the findings of The Readership Institute than U.S. publishers that the research center suspended domestic operations. But in the American heartland, the 40,000-circulation Sioux City (Iowa) Journal proves every day that one "readership driver" identified by the Institute works.
When Editor Mitch Pugh arrived at the Lee Enterprises-owned Journal in 2007, he focused the 32-person newsroom on giving readers "something to talk about" in the paper and online. The Journal already had a couple of very popular local columnists with a knack for finding the engaging, sometimes irreverent, stories that get readers talking. "It just was not part of the everyday DNA of the newsroom," Pugh says. It is now.
In the past 12 months, according to researchers Tom Wilkerson & Associates, Journal readership is up about 5% on weekdays and 6% on Sundays. Total market reach increased 5.3%, and the number of readers accessing its Web site "yesterday" jumped 86%.
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