By Scott Carlson
Recap on readership survey
Nearly 300 people participated in the Bugle’s 2020 Readership Survey this fall and we thank all of you for your responses.
It is gratifying to know how many of you love your community newspaper and are supporting it to keep it vibrant and strong.
One reader said, “I look forward to every issue.”
Another one said, “The Bugle is a great community builder.”
Still another reader commented, “As a former journalist/photog with a small town newspaper all I can say is, ‘more power to you.’ Keep up the good work and stay strong. Keep your focus on the local community/neighborhoods.”
Well, we certainly get that message—local, local and local. Our survey results found that 96 percent of respondents always read the front page, 67 percent the Neighbors column and 62 percent the events.
You also like your district community council news. Fifty percent of respondents said they always read City Files. And 58 percent of respondents said they always read business news.
Additionally, more than half of respondents said they always or occasionally read Transition Town columns and school news. Many people also appreciate sports news and other columns, such as the Birdman of Lauderdale.
Meanwhile, several folks offered suggestions. Some readers want more business news and people features while a few others suggested crime reports, books and arts and stories that connect with renters and younger people. They are all good suggestions and ones that I am reviewing to see how we can make the paper even better. That includes, among other things, upgrading our photography.
All of your feedback is valuable as our Bugle board continues its strategic review of our operations. More reports to come on that in 2021.
Photo galleries starting
They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Well, words are pretty darn important, too. But there are times when we don’t have space for all of our copy, particularly photos.
So, we are starting a new feature on our Bugle website we are calling “Park Photo Galleries.” They will consist of photos that we have had in our print editions along with extra pictures that we didn’t have space to run.
In addition, we are inviting readers to send us interesting photos of community activities or other happenings in your neighborhood. Send photo submissions to editor@parkbugle.org with the tagline “Photo Gallery.” We will then curate and post photos to our website. As time rolls on, we may make changes to strengthen this feature.
Thank you SAP Community Foundation
We are happy to report that the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation has included the Park Bugle as one of eight local organizations that it is supporting with a second round grant for 2020-21. We will be using our grant to further our reporting on how people in the community, from all walks of life, are responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Foundation also included the Bugle in its first round of grants this past summer. Many thanks to the Foundation for its continuing support of the Bugle.
Upcoming Bugle deadlines
Here is a reminder of our Bugle deadlines for the next three issues. As always, we appreciate when writers and readers submit their articles early. Aside from breaking news, most articles can be submitted ahead of the scheduled deadlines.
Please note our publication dates represent when the newspapers go out for delivery. Mail distribution of the paper may take up to several business days because of recent problems with U.S. Postal Service deliveries. In addition, the mails have been slower because of the Christmas holiday that was close to our publication date for this issue. Meanwhile, bulk drop-offs of the paper around town are completed in two to three days after publication.
| Issue | Copy & Ad Deadlines | Publication |
| February | January 13 | January 26 |
| March | February 10 | February 23 |
| April | March 10 | March 23 |
