What is he reading?
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I was at Borders book store in Coon Rapids last night when a familiar sight – the front page flag of the Anoka County Union – caught my eye.
In the coffee shop sat a man hunkered down with his new copy of the Union. Hot off the press, even I had not yet got a chance to see the printed version of this week’s edition.
I was sipping an over-caffeinated and over-priced iced latté two tables over, attending my monthly book club gathering.
Nobody had finished reading the book anyway, and yes I’ll admit it was my pick. It’s Arthur Phillips’ The Song is You if anybody’s interested. I think it’s excellent but the rest of the group, not so much. So it’s your gamble.
We had been derailed into conversations about summer getaways and potential new careers for one of our cohorts.
So I could afford a little distraction and spy on this nearby ABC Newspapers reader.
It has been awhile since I’ve witnessed a stranger reading the Union or any other publication I worked for. There have been times when it has made me squeamish and uncomfortable. I admit that when my husband reads anything I write, I like to leave the room.
But as newspapers’ relevancy continues to be challenged in this tech obsessed world, I have a renewed interest in finding out what things on the actual printed page appeal to readers.
Is it a photo of a first grader, a story about road construction, or yet another city council debate?
I would imagine the answer varies as much as our readership does.
While it was tough, I tried to gauge which stories caught this particular reader’s interests and what pieces he gave a little extra attention.
When he was done with the Union he went on to the Coon Rapids Herald and then the Blaine-Spring Lake Park Life. Jackpot – a triple play.
It has frustrated me that we don’t have more readership of the ABC Newspapers than we do. I’ve worked for several weekly newspapers, and read many more from hundreds of communities in the United States and Canada.
While biased I know, I still think both the quality and the quantity of our ECM publications is top notch. The level of community coverage is unrivaled at most of the weeklies covering cities in the metro.
But we’re still struggling to attract new readership – amazing when all that information comes at a cost of about $1 a week while we have no problem shelling out $4.50 for a cup of coffee.
We spent much of our time surrounded by people who care passionately about newspapers (like people who work for them) or the people we cover (who have a high interest in what we write about them). But what about the passive reader? What are they in for?
Hence, my little unscientific study at the bookstore.
I’m not sure if I really learned anything, but it gave me a little bit of renewed optimism while I watched someone page by page appreciate the lengths we go to covering the communities in Anoka County.