CCP 01-16-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Date: January 10,2001 e To: Arden Hills City Council and City staff Communication Committee members From: Mary Nosek Re: Summary of Arden Hills Notes readership study Study summary In September, with the cooperation of the City of Arden Hills, I conducted a readership study of Arden Hills Notes as part of a final project in a masters degree program at the University of St Thomas, The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not Arden Hills Notes is an effective communication tool. Background Arden Hills has had a community newsletter since 1973, However, over the years, the newsletter has undergone several interruptions and changes in format In 1990, in a report on a community satisfaction survey, Bill Morris of Decision Resources commented that the newsletter was read by 94% of survey respondents and was extremely popular, In a 1998 follow-up study, however, the newsletter had lost a significant share of its popularity with 77% of respondents reporting that they read the newsletter, e In my readership study, I wanted to learn how readers feel about the newsletter today, whether it is meeting their needs for information from the city and how it can be improved, Study methods The study was conducted as a survey inserted in the September edition of Arden Hills Notes, Residents were asked to complete the survey and return it via business reply mail at no cost to them. About 310 surveys were returned, representing roughly 10% of the households in Arden Hills, What the survey revealed --General findings: In general, readers who completed to the survey responded very positively, The first seven items on the survey dealt with readers' overall impressions of the newsletter, whether they read it when they received it; whether they thought it was accurate, well-written, inviting to read, and effective, About 98 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they read at least part of the newsletter each month; .