Results of the ENT Today Readership Survey: Meeting Our Mission

Periodically, newspapers and journals perform readership surveys to determine the readers’ opinions of the publication. The first ENT Today readership survey since the Triological Society began publishing the newspaper in March 2006 was accomplished with an insert in the May issue. I’d like to report to you the results of the survey.

Overall, ENT Today is very well received. Nearly 70% of the respondents read every issue of ENT Today, and 81% read half or more of the articles in each issue. Not surprisingly, virtually all readers (91%) prefer to read the print version of the newspaper as opposed to reading the electronic version.

The stated mission of ENT Today, as an official publication of the Triological Society, is to excel as a monthly newspaper covering timely, relevant, practical news about otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. Readers can expect in-depth and timely reports on professional meetings, ongoing research, innovative devices and technologies, strategies for improving quality of care and systems management, and articles by opinion leaders on the critical issues confronting otolaryngologists today.

Fifty-seven percent of our readers gave the newspaper a 5 out of a possible 5 points for meeting this mission. The mission-meeting overall score was 4.36, which is an extremely high rating for any publication.

Seventy-seven percent reported the length of the articles to be appropriate. We are particularly pleased to see how you, the readers, find the quality of the articles in ENT Today. The newspaper received the following scores based on a 5-point scale:

• Clear presentation: 4.47
• Readability: 4.46
• Keeps reader up to date: 4.26
• Practical, relevant information: 4.25
• Overall perception: 4.29

In addition to otolaryngology-specific medical content, we have included articles on health policy issues that directly and indirectly involve otolaryngologists, and it appears that our readers enjoy these articles. The content sections that received the highest scores on the 5-point scale were:

• Clinical articles: 4.12
• Special reports (longer, more focused articles): 3.96
• Health policy articles: 3.95

More than 60% of the readers indicated that ENT Today helps them form their opinions, and 50% noted the newspaper is the basis for discussion with colleagues.

Needless to say, we are very pleased with these results, which are due to the hard work of the medical experts who contribute to the articles, the medical writers, the Editorial Board, and Deborah Wenger, the Editor. On behalf of all those who work to make the newspaper a success, we thank you, the readers, for your support. That said, there are areas of improvement that were identified in the survey. For example, 20% of readers would like to see more illustrations and photographs. We take these comments very seriously, and will try to incorporate your suggestions into future issues.