Newspaper Questionnaire Analysis

1. Question – Are you Male or Female?
I handed my questionnaire out randomly to people within my Sixth Form classes as well as people outside of College. I asked a whole range of people, I asked young and old people as well as people from both Genders. By doing it this way you will have a much detailed and more reliable set of results. What people like to see in magazines sometimes changes due to their age or gender, so by getting round this I asked a whole range of people. I asked thirty people the questionnaire with the majority being Male with 60% and Female with 40%. Even though I have asked more Male's then Female’s I believe that my questionnaire will still provide me with good information because it’s a very reliable number of people from both sexes.

2. Question – How old are you?
I asked this question to the people I choose to ask so that you can see which ages like what and you might be able to see a growing trend. The majority of people which I asked the question to was the age range of between 11-20. This was due to all students studying at my College are either seventeen or eighteen years old so there ages fit into this bracket. The next highest bracket was between 41-50 as this is the general age of most parents so this was quite high. I asked a whole range of ages from people in the teens to people in there sixty’s, this will give us a range of data which will help a lot when making the newspaper as we will have a whole range of opinions. All the ages which I asked gave me very useful information which will be good for my newspaper because I have very useful feedback.


3. Question - What is your current occupation?
Out of the thirty people asked this question the majority of the people asked classed there current occupation as being a student. This is due to the fact that they were currently studying at College/School when they were asked the questionnaire. Many classed themself as being Student but also worked part-time but they choose the Student option because this is there main occupation. There was many people in full-time work and people also in part-time work. There was no unemployed people which I asked the questionnaire to. This shows that generally in the area in which I live in is quite a wealthy area. So this could mean most people we want to know what’s going on and wouldn’t mind paying the small amount of money for a newspaper.


4. Question – Would you say that you read newspaper regulary?
Out of the thirty people asked the questionnaire the majority of people said that they would say they regularly read newspapers with 93% saying they believed they did. This is a very large amount of people because I only asked thirty people so only around two out of these people didn’t read them regularly but this doesn’t mean that they didn’t not read them at all. This question shows us that there is a large market to target by selling a newspaper so there will be a lot of people looking to buy or read are newspaper. This will create a popularity within the area of the newspaper hopefully resulting in the increase of newspaper sales.


5. Question – If so, how many times a week would you say?
This question shows how many people from the question above actually read there newspaper regularly. Quite a few people only read it twice a week this could be mainly down to the fact that the weekly paper is only once a week sometimes twice. A lot of people either read the paper three times, everyday or other. This shows that these people would have read the paper more than three times a week as the other options are listed. This means that people still tend to read newspapers and that there is a big market to target.


6. Question - Do you think that I should create a Local Newspaper rather than a National one?
The opinion of the people I asked reflected my opinion on this question. I thought that it would be a much better idea to choose to make a Local one rather than a National one. A Local one relates to me more because the information inside could have something to do with my area or even could affect me in some way. Also I tend to read the Local newspapers much more than the National newspapers mainly down to this reasons. But this will mean that I will have much more experience of reading these types of papers. This will mean that I will be able to create a much more interesting newspaper and know what type of articles, advertisements and other contents which should be included. So I am glad that most people who were asked the question also thought that I should create a Local newspaper.


7. Question - When reading your Local Newspaper do you find the stories and other contents inside more interesting because they link closer to your environment and could effect you personally?
As I read the Local newspaper a lot, I will be able to relate to these people opinions. 83% of people thought that they like to read stories about something which could relate to them. I will include articles which relate to the Local community and stories which will hopefully interest people. Only 17% said that they liked to read National papers which don’t really relate to them to much so this shows that there is a big market to target as many people like reading about their Local community. So I will try and include advertisements and interesting articles which people within the Local community would like to read.


8. Question - What age group do you think that I should target for my newspaper?
Eighteen out the thirty people asked this question thought that I should target my newspaper to the ages between 21-40. The second highest that people thought I should target my newspaper to was between the ages of 41-60. I am going to try and target the newspaper I make to the largest market as possible. I am going to target both of these age groups so I am going to target people between 21-60. But from asking people at College they liked reading articles in the local newspaper so I will also try and target these people as well. I want to do it this way so there is a bigger market to target hopefully resulting in more sales of the newspaper.


9. Question - Do you receive a weekly Local newspaper?
Out of the thirty people asked the questionnaire only one person said that they didn’t receive a Local newspaper. This was because they was not sure if they received one so they listed themselves as not receiving one. 97% of the people said they received Local newspapers which shows that a lot of people have the opportunity to read the newspaper and they do. This shows that I will have a competitor in the market so this means that I will need to include quality articles, advertisements and other contents so that people like to read my newspaper. It doesn’t matter if they were to also read that people just that they read mine as well.


10. Question - How much would you be willing to pay for a Local newspaper if there was to be a price?
From looking at the chart shown above we can clearly see what price people thought was the most reasonable for the newspaper out of the ones which I had listed. Nearly all people asked the questionnaire thought that the 30p price for a magazine was the most reasonable and this is the price I am now likely to use due to many thinking it was fair. Many people thought that the 20p prices and down were to cheap and other thought that prices of 40p and more was to expensive and most thought that 30p was the most reasonable. I also thought this was the best price to sell at which could mean many people will now buy the magazine in which I am selling as I am satisfying their needs by offering at the right price. To pay 30p a week for a excellent newspaper will be very good and will work out cheap in the long run.


11. Question - Would you prefer the newspaper to be Colour-full or Plain?
80% of the people asked the questionnaire thought that newspapers were much better colour-full rather than plain and simple. Some newspapers go for the plain look such as “The Guardian” and others go for the colour-full vibrant look for example “The Sun”. All newspapers have different codes and conventions which they follow to satisfy their audience, if my audience mainly want a colour-full appearance I will follow this criteria and make a colour-full newspaper. If I follow what potential customers like to see in their newspapers it will mean that my newspaper is more likely to sell and satisfy my customers in the area which I am targeting.


12. Question - When you read newspapers would you read it on the Internet or buy it from the Shop?
The two options which I gave the people who asked the questionnaire said similar things, some brought the newspapers from the shop and read them where as some read them on the internet because the information was free and more accessible. We will be operating are newspaper both ways, we will be selling are newspapers in local shops in the village and we will also have a website with all the local information on too. This will make are information on the local area more accessible to the people in the area because 33% said they brought from the shops and 33% said they read on the internet with 27% saying they didn't mind what method they used both. So this shows we will be satisfying most customers by offering both oprions.


13. Question - Do you like to have advertisements in the paper when you are reading them?
80% of the people who were asked the questionnaire said that they liked having advertisements in the magazines. This was mainly down to the fact that the advertisements could relate to them because some people might be looking for a local builder or another local service so they can see prices and phone numbers. Where as when you get advertisements in the national papers they don't really relate to you as much as the local advertisements will and your more likely to use their service. Only 20% said that they didn't like advertisements, this is the miniority so I will put a few advertisements in the newspaper.


14. Question - Would you prefer to read long or short articles when reading a paper?
Generally with this question there was a mixture of feedback some people liked when reading an article. A main long article came out as the most favoured option but this was closely followed by the short article option. Also there was a choice of mixture which also had a few people favouring as they didn't mind they like reading either and have a mixture within the paper. As there was a mixture of what people favoured I will have decided to create a fairly large article and also a few small articles. I will include pictures with these articles and also have advertisements to make the pages look more interesting. By create my newspaper this way I will be able to satisfy a larger amount of people.


15. Question - What type of contents do you like to see when reading a local newspaper?
From this question the two favoured topics to be wrote about was "Sport" and "General news". I will try and include both a sport article as well as some articles including some general news from the area. I think that these are two very good topics and that they would be an interesting article for local people to be able to read. I will write the main article of the newspaper on sport and the smaller less detailed articles on general news. 12 of the people asked the questionnaire said that they wanted a sport article and 8 out of the thirty asked wanted a general news article, so this means that twenty out the thirty asked either wanted a sport article or a general news on, this is the majority so I will include both topics.


16. Question - What do you think is the most suitable name for my newspaper?
I have decided to name my newspaper "The Crowthorne Times", this is because it came out clear favourite in the question of the questionnaire. This choice had over half the people choosing it so this means that it must be a very catchy name and will look good on my newspaper. I also thought that this name seemed fitting for my magazine. I think this name seems catchy but also it seems very professional and sounds like a good paper. So I will name my magazine "The Crowthorne Times".


17. Question - What do you think the main article in the newspaper should be about?
I asked this question but I did not write any topics for them to choose from. A few people did not mind what the main article should be about but many people commented saying that I should include a sport article. As there was not much feedback regarding this question I will use the feedback I did gain and create a main sport article as the main article.

18. Question - Is there anything else which you would like to add which would help me in making my local magazine?
Only one person commented on this as it was not a listed question it was opptional. The one person write saying "Try and make your newspaper look unique". I will listen to this person's opinion but I will base my newspaper on other ones already created and try and put my own ideas on to it as well so that hopefully I can create much better newspaper.