Notebook: Survey says
Gallicho, Grant
^ NOTEBOOK SURVEY SAYS Who's reading 'Commonweal'? bout every four years since the 1980s, Common-weal has conducted a reader survey, and each one has provided a fascinating snapshot of who's...
...Gandhi considered the promptings of her own "inner voice...
...For the editors, the chief benefit is learning a lot of detailed in-formation about our loyal readership...
...For a little over thirty-six hours, the country was kept in suspense as Mrs...
...Readers could also fill out the survey online...
...A cursory glance through the Correspondence pages of any issue demonstrates how invested our readers are in the magazine...
...It was a wonder she could hear anything at all...
...Given the opportunity to call us "dull," " 91 percent disagreed...
...We agree on all answers except no...
...Infused knowledge...
...Sort of...
...Almost all respondents included commentary, some of it extended, and much of it instructive...
...Over 90 percent agree that it's "stimulating...
...And 40 percent read the New York Times...
...49.6 percent went to "both Catholic grade/high school and Catholic college...
...As you might expect, Common-weal subscribers are voracious readers (almost half buy between eleven and fifty books a year—and 2 percent buy more than a hundred...
...What do readers do for a living...
...Forty-five percent get the National Catholic Reporter...
...Our 1999 batch of reader re-views weren't quite so glowing: then, only 72 percent of sub-scribers said we weren't dull...
...Since 1962—high school girlfriend...
...Not Common-weal readers...
...How did you first hear about Commonweal...
...When you crank down the rating from "like very much" to a mere "like," readers' range of interest widens a bit...
...Six percent said it has "improved greatly...
...Would that we could reprint all the gems, but space is short, so, without further ado, the greatest hits...
...C. Seven to ten...
...Several names made repeat appearances: Andrew Greeley, Richard McBrien, the Steinfelses, Garry Wills...
...they would not, under any circumstances, submit gracefully to Sonia's taking office...
...Forty-seven per-cent said it has "improved...
...That question transfixed this nation last month...
...If our 2003 survey taught us anything, it's that every reader counts...
...64.3 percent are men, 35.7 percent women...
...His mother, Indira Gandhi, and his grandfather, Jawarhlal Nehru, were also both prime ministers of India...
...The Commonweal staff found this heartening, but not entirely surprising...
...In opinion journalism, this is a good thing...
...There is a church west of Buffalo...
...Like the church, Commonweal is always in need of improvement...
...A. Two to three years...
...This percentage seems even more impressive when you consider that 76.8 percent of our readers are laypeople "not in paid ministry...
...This means we're annoying at least thirty percent of our sub-scribers at least fifty-one percent of the time...
...It consisted of thirty questions spread over eight pages...
...And, of course, the not so obvious: "First Things...
...Book reviews, our columnists, stage and screen critics, and the Last Word, and of course, our longer articles, all fared quite well...
...D. Eleven to fifteen...
...Runner up: "microwave engineer...
...Not a bad turnaround...
...We must confess the editors have on occasion poundedtheir keyboards in frustration wondering if Rome, President George W. Bush, or Mel Gibson is listening...
...Throughout the election campaign, Sonia had insisted that her interest was not in becoming the prime minister but in the good of the country...
...68.2 percent have received an academic or professional graduate degree...
...But what do they think of the actual content...
...8.9 percent as "conservative...
...Best of all, the magazine seems to be doing just fine, by your lights...
...But, happily, our readers are...
...Like Sonia, my husband is Indian and my children were born and raised here...
...We could chart the editorial schedule of Commonweal for the next decade with the good ideas in the comments...
...But as ridiculous as their agitation was, it was still not difficult to under-stand...
...Pop quiz: How long have most Commonweal readers been subscribers...
...Eavesdrop-ping on my mother's discussion groups as a child...
...Many excellent topics were suggested: ecumenism, the role of the laity, women, bioethics, and the staff favorite: "our relation to animals" (see "Listening to Koko," page 14—ask and ye shall receive...
...and a healthy 69.5 percent said that politically they and the magazine were "about the same...
...When the Congress Party won, its mandate was clear: a secular state led by Sonia Gandhi—in sharp contrast to the Hindu supremacy of the outgoing Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP...
...Catholic, the Wall Street Journal, and more...
...To wit: 68.9 percent do faith-related volunteer work or ministry "at least occasionally...
...bout every four years since the 1980s, Common-weal has conducted a reader survey, and each one has provided a fascinating snapshot of who's reading the magazine at a given time...
...We've now got the goods...
...I consider myself a part of this country in many fundamental ways...
...So, we know that many of our readers are getting their subscription dollars' worth...
...And we had a tie for the bronze: book reviews and the Last Word...
...So, what did all these invested, engaged, longtermers have to say for themselves...
...This survey is a collaborative effort by two people who share a subscription...
...What wouldn't they do...
...That's what you call a long-term relationship (considering the median duration of marriages in the United States is 7.2 years, we think we're doing OK...
...14.5 percent are ordained (which might account for the high percentage of male readers...
...Born in Italy, Sonia is the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, himself once prime minister, who was assassinated while running for reelection in 1991...
...Bad news is 2.4 percent said the magazine has "worsened" (could any of those be First Things readers?—Kidding...
...BJP officials, in an appalling display of poor loserdom, clamored, shouted, and outdid them-selves in their efforts to reject the idea of a foreigner ruling the country...
...But as a foreign woman, I am still not comfort-able with a foreigner as prime minister...
...Editorials proved the most popular regular feature in the magazine (58 percent...
...Don't know why I still subscribe...
...Foremost, Commonweal readers are engaged with the magazine...
...17.1 percent said "less liberal...
...Don't need your political ranti-ngs...
...Question 12 was straightforward on this point...
...But they're not annoyed enough to give us the silent treatment...
...Commonweal readers are not only engaged, they are ecumenical and democratic in their tastes...
...Amazingly, the answer is E. About half our subscribers have been receiving Commonweal for more than fifteen years (nearly 80 percent for more than seven...
...Some highlights from the shorter answers: "I love C. An umbilical cord to the church...
...Of the five thousand questionnaires we sent to randomly selected subscribers, more than two thousand were returned—an unheard-of 40-percent return rate...
...I am a foreign woman and I have lived in India for nearly twenty-five years...
...Sixty-two percent give their issues to someone else—that's called spreading the good news...
...GRANT GALLICHO O F SEVERAL MINDS JO MCGOWAN SONIA The power of renunciation would wear widows' white, they would shave their heads...
...E. Fifteen-plus...
...Politically, 69.2 percent self-identify as "liberal centrist...
...Letters came in a strong second at 49 percent...
...They would resign from office, they would boycott the swearing-in ceremony, they Impressive pedigree COURTESY SONIAGANDHLCOM Commonweal 8 June 18, 2004...
...For starters, they like to share...
...The breakdown continues: 95 per-cent of those who answered the survey are Roman Catholic...
...Regardless of whether you are a longtime sub-scriber or a new acquaintance, if you've ever found yourself furtively wanting to know what your Commonweal reading partners are like, you can stop holding your breath...
...We received almost thirty legal-sized, ten-point-font, single-spaced pages of material...
...Diversity abounds: farming, "house dad," "senior judge," actor, and, this category's winner: "hermit...
...In spite ofthis, when the Congress Party won (against all expectations—even Sonia was astonished), as leader of the majority, she was invited by President Abdul Kalam to become the prime minister...
...Like her, I speak Hindi, eat Indian food, and wear Indian clothes...
...And we're committed to the task...
...1.9 percent Episcopalian...
...One of the principal reasons periodicals conduct surveys is to provide advertisers with accurate data about potential customers...
...And now the most dangerous request of all: "Please use the space below for any additional comments you might have about Commonweal...
...B. Four to six...
...3.2 percent professed religious...
...But some unexpected ones showed up, too: for example, David Tracy (doubtless on vampires) and Anne Rice (on hermeneutics, of course...
...Please don't stop...
...And funny...
...And we mean loyal...
...More bite and less pipe-chewing...
...In the end, the survey held some good surprises...
...We were able to see what you like and why you like it...
...Commonweal readers are busy people...
...Lots...
...A little more than half subscribe to the Jesuit weekly, America, and about the same number also receive their diocesan paper...
...A loud A Commonweal 7 June 18, 2004 voice saying `Get smart...
...Eighty-four percent said they'd read all four of the previous issues, and 35 percent said they read each new issue, on average, cover to cover (40 percent said they read three-quarters of each issue...
...Would you say Commonweal is better or worse than it was three years ago...
...Most impressive was the response in the survey's comment section...
...S hould an Italian woman be the prime minister of India...
...Forty-five percent said it has "stayed the same...
...13.4 percent said Commonweal is more liberal than they are...
...What topics and writers would you like to see in Common-weal...
...The recent elections in India were fought with Sonia Gandhi's leadership as one of the most important issues at stake...
...Like her, I am committed to this country and content to spend the rest of my life here...
...So the three people who said the magazine has "worsened a great deal" will shortly be receiving a visit from the editors...
...The vast majority are "familiar with" a long list of publications: Catholic Digest, Crisis, First Things (15 percent of our subscribers read FT), the Nation, the National Review, New Oxford Review, the New York Review of Books (17 percent of Commonweal readers also get the NYRB), the New Republic, U.S...
...13.1 percent never attended Catholic schools...
...Most people who respond to surveys don't bother to write in comments and suggestions...
...It was answered finally by the people them-selves, who said yes, emphatically...
...Our most recent survey, conducted last fall, proved no different...
...Tendentiously 'liberal...
Vol. 131 • June 2004 • No. 12
