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 Readers’ Responses
A summary of the findings from our January survey.

CWR is grateful to the 339 readers who took the time to fill out the survey that appeared in our January issue.

The results of that survey were enormously encouraging. Our readers (or at least those who responded) seem well satisfied with CWR. (In fact most respondents simply skipped over the questions that called for a negative answer!) Our readers also form a very literate group, as evidenced by the number of publications to which they subscribe and the number of books they read.
The news is not uniformly good, of course. As we suspected, CWR has relatively few young readers. And we do wish that readers would be more willing to patronize our advertisers!

This summary report includes all but two questions from the January survey. Our open-ended request for suggestions about how we could improve CWR produced a striking variety of answers, and we hope to implement several of those suggestions. But we could find no way to summarize those suggestions neatly in this report. Also, the vast majority of respondents skipped over our final survey question, about charitable donations (perhaps because the question was phrased awkwardly), so we have not included that question in this report.

In the following summary, all answers are expressed as a percentage of the overall response to the survey. Since few readers answered every question, in most cases the total is less than 100 percent. In a few cases, where multiple answers were possible, the total is over 100 percent.

Are you a regular subscriber to CWR?

Yes 94

No 2

If so, how long (in years) have you subscribed?

Less than 1 year 1-2 years 3-5 years more than5 years

12 9 34 29

How much of CWR do you read in a typical month?

All or almost all of the magazine Most major stories A few stories that catch my eye

80 13 4

Roughly how long do you spend reading a typical issue?

Less than one hour 1-2 hr 2-3 hr 3-4 hr More than 4 hours

7 10 30 14  23

When you finish reading CWR, do you:

Throw it away Save it for future reference Pass it along to a friend or relative

14 38 48

What quality or qualities do you find most attractive about CWR?

The accuracy of news coverage The breadth of world news coverage The editorial tone The analysis of issues

29 45 41 43

What quality or qualities do you find least attractive about CWR?

The accuracy of news coverage The breadth of world news coverage The editorial tone The analysis of issues

4 13 9 8

How would you rate the following regular features of CWR?

Titles Editorials Letters World Watch Feature stories Profiles Interviews Essays/opinion Last Word

Excellent 60 29 50 60 39 46 52 53

Good 27 50 35 31 30 37 33 32

Fair 4 13 8 5 6 7 5 8

Poor 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

What is your favorite regular feature of CWR?

Editorials Letters to the Editor World Watch Feature stories Profiles Interviews Essays/opinion columns Last Word

13 7 27 15 4 1 12 12

What is your least favorite regular feature?

Editorials Letters to the Editor World Watch Feature stories Profiles Interviews Essays/opinion columns Last Word

1 9 10 2 1 2 4 8

During the past six months, have you:

Discussed an article in CWR with your relatives, friends, or colleagues? Clipped or copied an article from CWR to send to someone? Made reference to an article in CWR in a discussion or debate? Formed a decision or changed an opinion on the basis of an article in CWR?

75 48  33  43

As a rule, do you think CWR stories include:

too much detail not enough detail about the right amount of detail

7 2 80

Which aspects of CWR coverage do you find valuable?

Titles Round up of world (World Watch) Coverage of Vatican affairs Feature stories In-depth analysis of Catholic affairs Interviews with religious or political leaders Profiles of religious or political leaders Essays, opinions, and commentary

Very valuable 48 60 38 67 35 34 46

Sometimes valuable 29 25 46 17 43 44 31

Not very valuable 3 1 4 2 4 5 7

How would you rate CWR coverage of the following issues:

Titles Vatican news Papal speeches and tours New Church documents The War on Terrorism Ecumenical affairs The Middle East Religious freedom Liturgical changes Theological dissent Catholic education Homosexuality Family life Pro-life activities General political concerns General cultural concerns

Excellent 61 52 55 39 39 48 62 66 60 42 46 43 46 47 40

Good 29 35 28 36 37 36 25 17 18 33 30 35 34 41 39

Fair 3 4 6 10 12 6 6 5 6 12 9 9 9 12 9

Poor 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 1

Are there any particular issues on which you think CWR coverage has been particularly good?

Middle East Church documents Homosexuality Liturgical changes Religious freedom Vatican news War on terror Ecumenical affairs Pro-life coverage

10 1 5 14 1 1 1 2 2

Are there any particular issues on which you think CWR coverage has been particularly weak?

Church documents Pro-life coverage Homosexuality War on terror Middle East Ecumenical affairs

1 1 1 1 1 1

What new features would you like to see added to CWR?

Titles More coverage of world news stories More coverage of news from the Vatican More analysis of Catholic affairs More opinion columns and commentary: Culture-oriented features (such as book and movie reviews)

Very attractive 25 35 52 26 19

Sometimes attractive 20 25 19 26 17

Not attractive 18 4 3 15 24

Are you likely to renew your subscription (or to become a subscriber, if you are not already)?

Yes 60

No 4

If you are not likely to renew (or to subscribe), which factors will weigh in your decision? (Check all that apply.)

Subscription cost is too high Don’t have enough time to read Dissatisfied with quality of news coverage Unhappy with editorial tone

4 2 1 2

What is your favorite publication other than CWR?
(most common answers)

Crisis Inside the Vatican The Wanderer First Things National Catholic Register New Oxford Review This Rock Latin Mass Touchstone Wall Street Journal Catholic Answer Homiletic & Pastoral Review Washington Times

14 12 12 9 7 5 4 4 3 2 1 1 1

In your own words, how would you classify your religious beliefs?

Conservative Catholic Orthodox Catholic Loyal/strong/dedicated Catholic Other

14 22 41 1

In general, in its coverage of religious issues, do you think CWR is:

too conservative about right too liberal

4 61 1

How would you classify your political views?

Very conservative Conservative Moderate Liberal Very liberal

23 54 15 1 1

In general, in its coverage of political issues, do you think CWR is:

too conservative about right too liberal

4 87 1

Personal information

How many people in your household typically read your copy of CWR?

1 2 3 4+

47 27 3 2

What is your age?

under 18 19- 25 26- 40 40- 60 over 60

0 1 7 38 54

What is the highest level of education that you completed?

Grammar school High school College Graduate or professional school

1 12 32 53

What is your approximate annual household income?

under $15,000 $15,000- $29,000 $30,000- $59,000 $60,000- $79,000 $80,000 or above

6 11 25 19 28

How many periodicals (newspapers and magazines)
do you read on a regular basis?

1 2 3 4 5 6+

2 4 9 12 14 40

How many religious publications?

1 2 3 4 5 6+

5 11 21 17 13 18

Do you read a Catholic diocesan newspaper regularly?

Yes 71

No 22

Roughly how many books do you buy each year?

0 1-5 6-10 10-20 20+

2 29 21 21 21

How many religious books?

0 1-5 6-10 10-20 20+

1 57 22 11 9