Sun readership keeps rising

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This article was published 28/11/2015 (3842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With a total reach of 37,000 readers per week, The Brandon Sun’s audience is on the rise.

A new Vividata study shows the Sun’s print and digital readership has increased from 34,000 in 2013 and 29,900 per week in 2010.

“It’s been a fairly steady paper as well as a fairly steady market,” said Rahul Sethi, Vivadata’s insights manager.

Vividata is the result of the amalgamation of NADbank and the Print Measurement Bureau. For The Brandon Sun results, the company used NADbank’s 2013 data, combined with 2015 Vividata numbers.

Sun publisher Eric Lawson is pleased to see the positive numbers and attributes it to the strong focus on local news.

“The newsroom at the Sun has worked very hard to focus on quality local content — in news, in sports, in everything we cover,” Lawson said. “These readership numbers show that local content that engages audiences is well read.”

Vividata surveyed 292 adults in the Brandon census agglomeration, as defined by Statistics Canada. It uses telephone recruitment through both landlines and cellphones to get a wider range of respondents.

“We’ll recruit them over the phone and they … complete the study online,” Sethi said.

The Vividata study looked at 80 magazines and 78 daily newspapers across Canada. The company will release quarterly reports, with fall 2016 being the report with 100 per cent new data.

Across the board, Sethi says, there is a steady shift to people reading digital.

At The Brandon Sun, the net digital number of readers is 13,000 per week, which includes those who use the website, app or PDF.

This year, the Sun expanded its focus to include longform features tailored for the web. As Sun editor Matt Goerzen explained, these pieces require months of in-depth research, strong writing, and often video, audio and other visual elements.

“It’s a complete package, and I think they’re becoming more popular with our readers, especially online. Our intention is to do several more of them in the coming months and years,” Goerzen said.

Recently, the Sun won an international journalism award for “Breaking Faith”, which included reporting by Goerzen, web development by Andrew Nguyen, photos and video by Bruce Bumstead, as well as editing by Jim Lewthwaite.

The story, which delves into Henry Lawrence’s battle with asbestosis and his family who took up their father’s crusade against the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba after his widow was denied death benefits, received an EPPY Award from the U.S.-based journal Editor and Publisher.

The paper has also released “The Runaways,” which looks at the dangerous cycle of troubled teenage girls repeatedly running from home and into a world of drugs, alcohol and sexual abuse. “A Brother’s Secret” looks at the life of a man who struggled with a hoarding disorder.

“As a news organization, we have adapted to this trend by including new tools on our website for readers to use, such as our e-Edition, which allows readers to see a highly user-friendly version of their daily news, while still holding true to the newspaper look of the Sun,” Goerzen said.

Glen Parker, the Sun’s sales and marketing director, said the numbers prove the paper plays an important role in keeping the city and surrounding area informed.

“It’s terrific news for our current advertisers and our future, potential advertisers to know that they have that kind of audience available to them,” Parker said.

The primary focus for advertising is still print, but the department is turning toward new digital platforms as well.

“It helps us provide the biggest possible audience for our advertisers, by ensuring that they’re reaching those people who choose to do only digital,” Parker said.

» jaustin@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @jillianaustin