Warning: If you are not interested in media trends and seniors’ reading habits, today’s blog isn’t for you.

The Simmons Market Research Bureau, the industry gold standard for researching and surveying newspapers, recently conducted a study among the recipients of The Erickson Tribune. Here are some of their findings:

The typical Erickson Tribune reader…

• is an average of 73 years of age
• is married (53.5%)
• has completed a 4-year college program or more (40.3%)
• lives in a household either by themselves or with one other individual (89.4%)
• volunteers their time at churches, temples or for other religious affiliations (53.0%)

• reports an average household income of $50,800
• owns their primary place of residence (88.7%)
• owns a home valued at $300,000 or more (41.7%)
• lives in a conventional community / development with residents of mixed age groups (85.9%)
• receives the publication on a monthly basis (69.6%)
• spends an average of 36 minutes reading a typical issue
• reads at least three-quarters of each issue they receive (59.2%)
• shares their copy of the publication with other individuals both inside and outside their household (49.1%)
• shares their copy of the publication with family members (67.2%)
• has used ideas they found in articles within the publication (65.4%)
• refers to and discusses Erickson Tribune articles with their friends and neighbors (47.0%)
• reads Good Health Starts Here (81.1%), Front page articles (79.2%) and Erickson news briefs (60.3%)
• indicates that Good Health Starts Here and Front page articles are the most relevant sections to their daily activities and interests (68.3% and 61.1% respectively)
• trusts the information they read in the publication (96.3%)
• also reads their local daily newspaper (76.6%) and AARP, the Magazine (59.6%) regularly
• owns a personal computer at home or uses one at work (64.5%)
• has made an online purchase in the last 12 months (39.6%)
• has internet access at home (59.5%)
• has high speed Internet access at home (60.9%)
• spends an average of 6.2 hours on the Internet per week at home

Several of the Simmons’ stats really stick out for me.

1. Erickson Tribune readers are amazing volunteers! They’re living life to the fullest and giving back. With over 6 million readers, that’s a lot of volunteers. I continue to think that retirees are one of America’s most undervalued assets.
2. An overwhelming 96.3% trust the material they read in The Erickson Tribune. I bet that compares favorably to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal and any other paper you’d care to add to the list. This trust is a huge responsibility that is sure to keep the Tribune staff and me up at night. We will work diligently to continue to earn your trust.
3. 59.5% of The Erickson Tribune readers are online and 60.9% of those have high speed internet access. Talk about shattering stereotypes. I wonder how this compares to the Pew data. My guess is that Erickson Tribune readers are jumping to high speed faster than the general public.

Arthur Miller the American Dramatist once said, “A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself.” In a small way, I consider these surveys a form of communication between The Erickson Tribune staff and our readers. We are listening.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.