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Banner to Launch ‘Focus Group’

Posted

The McKenzie Banner is preparing launching a “focus group” of 12 individuals from a variety of age groups - young, middle aged, and senior adults, including readers and non-readers to better determine what the audience wants in their local newspaper.
Group members will be asked what news articles they like, what they dislike, what photos they like and dislike, and whether or not they like or dislike the design of the newspaper.
The McKenzie Banner will soon start its 150th year of publication. It started just five years after the Civil War. Some news topics have been a tradition for the entire history of the newspaper.
Selected participants will meet during a single free lunch or dinner meeting and divide into three groups of four. The time and date are to be determined.

The Banner considers its local service area as within 20 miles, including the north, west and central portions of Carroll County, along with Gleason in Weakley and Paris in Henry.
Persons within those geographic areas are urged to participate in this one- to two-hour meeting. The Banner is eager to get a cross-section of age groups along with readers and non-readers.
Becky Newbold, editor of the Lewis County Herald and a graduate of Bethel College, conducted a similar “focus group.” It yielded positive results for the newspaper. The Banner contacted her for ideas on the subject.
The Herald asked for “impressions of the front page, the classified page, the flow of our pages, photos, sports, headlines, everything we could think to ask, we did.  And this group took the task seriously,” wrote Newbold.
Now for the request. If you are interested in helping improve your local, home-owned newspaper, please e-mail or phone with your request to participate to Joel Washburn, publisher. The contact information is washburn@mckenziebanner.com or phone 731-352-3323.

Banner, McKenzie Banner, 2019, Focus Group