As The Trinity Reporter marked its 80th year of publication—and because it’s good industry practice—we sought the opinions of our readers through an anonymous survey, sent to nearly 20,000 individuals via email and advertised in the winter 2019 issue of the magazine. More than 680 readers responded and made their voices heard.
The data we collected pointed to several key takeaways:
- Most of the survey takers are loyal readers who do not miss an issue, and most of them read a moderate amount of the content.
- The majority of respondents rated the magazine excellent or very good on all listed components: legibility of print, cover design, photography, writing, overall design/format, and art/illustrations.
- Most respondents agreed that the magazine strengthens their connection to the college and makes them proud to be a member of the Trinity community.
- Those who graduated in the ’70s made up the greatest share of alumni responses, followed by the graduates of the ’80s, and then by the graduates of the ’60s.
- When results from all alumni are considered, the most common action resulting from reading the magazine was to discuss or share an article or issue, followed by submitting a class note and contacting a classmate or friend. For those who are not alumni, visiting Trinity’s main website and discussing or sharing an article or issue tied as the most common action, while recommending the institution to a potential student ranked third.
- When results from all alumni are considered, Class Notes generates more interest than any other part of the magazine, followed by stories about alumni and their careers, and then obituaries.
- More than half of all respondents indicated that they are unaware of the online version of the magazine, and of those who do know of it, less than 20 percent visit the website to read stories or to access additional content.
We appreciate your taking the time to participate in the survey, and we plan to use the findings to direct our efforts in improving the magazine. If you missed the survey but still would like to comment, please email sonya.adams@trincoll.edu.
Special thanks go to Summit Fellow for Data Analysis Alpcan Karamanoglu and Director of Analytics and Strategic Initiatives David Andres ’04 for handling the logistics of the survey and for providing easily understandable result information based on the data.
View the survey results in a new window.