The most common response we heard from our readers who replied to our 2019 reader/subscriber survey: We want more local news.
When it comes to our premium subscription content tier, the news was good. More than half of the people who responded (56%) said they feel as if the price they pay for the service ($6 a month or $65 a year) is a fair price for the value they get.
And the overwhelming reason why they subscribe? The majority of respondents said it was “because I care about local news and how it affects my community.”
A majority of the respondents have been subscribers for over one year. Potomac Local News launched its premium subscriber news tier in January 2018 to offer our readers a deeper dive into local news and local government issues. Today, we have about 400 paying subscribers.
And it is those local government issues that survey respondents want us to keep reporting on. When asked what topics should we focus more attention, respondents said local government issued, followed by police and fire issues, transportation, schools, real estate and development, features and lifestyle news, and reporting from the local a courthouses.
On a scale of one (very dissatisfied) to five (very satisfied), we scored a majority of fours (satisfied) as many of you told us you like our coverage of local governments, businesses, and transportation, and features and lifestyle reporting.
Our morning email newsletter received high marks from survey respondents. That newsletter for its ease of use, and for providing a quick summary of the day’s local news.
An awful lot of you also said you wanted more local news content delivered online and in that email newsletter. We’ve listened, and have begun posting more local news with the intention of featuring more of our readers and the organizations in our community they support and, in turn, support all of us.
Many respondents also said they would like to see our premium subscriber news tier go away and for us to revert back to a time when all news on Potomac Local News was free. While I understand it’s never easy or fun to be asked to pay for something that was once free, in the changing world of online content consumption in both news and entertainment, giving our readers an option to choose to pay for deeper reporting, and higher-quality content will continue on Potomac Local News.
Finally, through our annual reader survey is over, it doesn’t mean you won’t have a chance to tell me what you think. I’ve reserved myself to the fact that when many of our readers think we do a good job, the majority of them are silent about it, and move on to the rest of their day. And that’s perfectly fine by me.
When we screw up, our readers are always the first to tell us. For this, I am always grateful.
Please know you may contact me anytime to drop a line, news tip, or anything else.
