The good — and bad — at Springfield Business Journal

The Springfield Business Journal recently conducted a survey of its readers, asking them what they liked and disliked about the weekly business newspaper, and editor Eric Olson wrote about those results in the latest issue.

Among the good comments: “Excellent photography;” “Saves me time;” “Solid writing; quality content;” “The brand;” “News without sugar-coating, better than other media;” “Business news not printed elsewhere.”

Among the bad comments: “Interview questions are too private, causing competitive disadvantage;” “Not enough follow-through;” “Not enough on employees who make businesses profitable;” “Starting to see too many investigative reports that are not overly relevant;” “Slight bent toward status quo and the current chamber, city and county officials.”

Wrote Olson: “This information helps each department know more specifically with whom we are communicating. Each staff member has a copy of the survey results to review as needed.

“The information frames editorial content, identifies new circulation markets, targets advertising and marketing campaigns – both for clients and in-house – and creates demographics for our media kit.

“Surprisingly, sbj.net was not mentioned in any of the strengths or weaknesses listed. But other survey questions reveal a large potential market exists, as only 20 percent are registered users of sbj.net and only 13 percent subscribe to the Daily Update e-newsletter.”

Read more here.