January 15, 2015
To the Readers,
We held our first focus group at the home of Michael and Ann Weil, formerly of North Ward in Rumson and now Red Bank. They were kind enough to assemble a great team of long-term, loyal readers, who spent almost three hours discussing the strengths and weaknesses of The Two River Times.
And we listened, hard.
Joining me from The Two River Times were Dawn Stout, the vice president of advertising, and Judy O’Gorman Alvarez, the Features Section Editor. We went over every element of the newspaper.
They think the local news content is critical – both good and bad news. Although one participant read another local newspaper for the obituaries, most just read The New York Times and The Two River Times. So, what we write about is important to them because we’re their main source of local news.
The readers said they also liked the localization – or news of local interest – of national and international news stories and we were again in total agreement and thrilled with the feedback.
They also liked our redesign, placing stories closer to the front of sections. They bank on Joan Ellis’ reviews before they ventured into a film and they read Linda Stewart’s travel pieces because both Joan and Linda were “intelligent” and “strong writers.” We were thrilled because that’s what we think too.
They noted we have Muriel Smith writing for us and they were happy that someone with a longtime history of the region was pumping out readable and entertaining stories. They also liked Flo Higgins’ horoscopes and Dorn’s photos. And they said the quality of the photos in the paper by John Burton and Tina Colella have improved and we agree with that as well.
That was the good news.
What they didn’t like as much was the tworivertimes.com website. They feel it’s a bit too difficult to navigate and we agree. That’s on the “To Do List.”
They also said our stories ran a bit too long, something we also agree about and are addressing.
Some of the “Wish List” items they brought up are being addressed. There will be restaurant reviews in the newspaper again, with food columns and additional wine columns. That was an important item to every member of the group.
Surprisingly, they also want to see more “themed” sections tied to specific events like Valentine’s Day, July 4th, Labor Day and more. So, that will get done as well.
A really big item for the group was news about health care developments and what hospitals specialized in what area and where was the most up to date equipment. That’s something on the drawing board and we’ll be supplying that as well.
The readers want more news about brand new businesses and we listened again. We have a three section paper today with a two page business section, much centered around the new businesses in our area.
They also expect the occasional investigative piece from us as well as the status of those still suffering from the devastation of Super Storm Sandy. We’ll supply that information as well.
They also brought up many local news opportunities they’d like to see and we’re discussing them.
The nicest part of the evening was seeing that readers came with lists, made incredibly insightful critiques and wanted back what the paper once supplied. It was heartening to know we’re very much on the same page as it were.
They didn’t ask for this one but starting today, we have a correction box on page three and we promise to correct any mistakes we make.
So, our first focus group couldn’t have been more successful. I’d like to hear more voices and opinions.
Let’s have coffee.
Jody Calendar
Editor/Co-Publisher
jcalendar@tworivertimes.com
732-219-5788
