First off, thank you to those who filled out our 2024 Audience Survey! Your feedback lets us know how we’re doing, and it’s much appreciated!

A total of 40 people completed the survey, or about 1% of our audience. 

Replies came from 29 communities all over the state, as well as one reader from outside Minnesota (all but a few people filled out their zip code). 

The survey respondents gave us a lot of information, but I want to focus on three key areas today: 
• Event preferences.
• Most important issues facing greater Minnesota.
• Interest in issues we cover.

Events

We gleaned a lot of insight from the survey, as far as events go. I think it’s fascinating that those who responded want to see us organize and host a community festival. More on that in the future.

The number of people interested in virtual lunch and learn sessions, lectures and featured speakers, and panel discussion events did not surprise me given the response to our recent Recycling Panel Discussion. The event went smoothly and seemed to attract a sizable audience. I see us planning more of these types of events next year. 

Despite the low number of votes for moderated discussions, that’s one we’re not willing to part with yet. The people who attend our Shades of Purple: Dialogue across difference series give us such positive feedback that we feel it’s important for the program to continue. If you haven’t yet had a chance to take part in one of our moderated conversations, please stay tuned for information about upcoming events and attend if you’re able. 

Issues facing greater Minnesota

We asked “What do you think are the most important issues facing greater Minnesota?” The variety among the top five answers to this question surprised me a bit. 

Climate change earned the most votes with 22, followed by health and well-being with 18, housing and polarization each with 17, and land use with 15. 

We are planning coverage on climate change and housing for 2025 already, but we will brainstorm ideas in the other three areas over the next few weeks. 

Interest among topics we cover

Readers want more visual stories from Project Optimist. It received 15 votes, which tied for the third-highest response in the “what do you like that we already cover” category.  We had a lot of fun with our Biophilia series in 2024, and we plan to keep that going in a slightly different format next year. 

Three stalwarts of our coverage comprise the top three choices: the environment (32 votes), social issues (29 votes), and solutions journalism (15 votes). We hear from readers often that these coverage areas draw them to our news organization, so it was nice to see that hold true in the survey. 

What’s next

We asked survey respondents 41 questions. They shared much with us about their news consumption habits and how Project Optimist fits into it. 

Three-quarters of respondents regularly use our newsletter, so that will remain a mainstay of how we distribute our stories. 

We included some open-ended questions where participants could leave feedback about Project Optimist, what makes our coverage unique, and more. Expect to see some of those comments (anonymously) in future fundraising pushes. 

We also want to keep making inroads in communities that were not represented in the survey. A significant majority of respondents (80%) indicated their racial or ethnic heritage is white. That tracks with greater Minnesota, but we would like our organization to be a place where diverse groups in greater Minnesota can find news about their communities, too. This is something we’re working on, and we’ll share more with you once we finalize the details.