A readership survey of the alumni magazine of a small, church-related university

This research assesses the opinions of the audience of the alumni magazine of a small, church-related university. Target areas in the research included writing and design quality, reading patterns, shelf life, viability as a news source, amount of coverage, interest level per regularly covered topics, and general readership characteristics. Of secondary interest in this study was the area of monetary donations. Part of this research sought to determine if a relationship existed between such donations and the reader’s overall opinion of the magazine. To provide a backdrop for the study, the practice of public relations was examined, specifically public relations in a higher-education setting. The role of alumni magazines in the broad scheme of higher-education public relations was discussed. The relationship between communications research and public relations also was discussed, and alumni research was examined to shed light on the special concerns of fund-raisers who generate monetary support for small, church-related colleges and universities. Also covered in this study was the importance of a magazine’s formula and format as determinants of its overall success. A random sample was drawn, and a questionnaire was mailed to 300 individuals who names appeared on the magazine’s mailing list. A total of 104 usable surveys was returned, resulting in a 35% response rate. In general, findings indicated respondents had a favorable opinion of the magazine. They were pleased overall with both the magazine’s writing and design, and a majority of the readers who participated in this study said they looked to the magazine as either their first or second source of news about the university. Sections devoted to alumni were very popular with respondents, and many suggested more such information be featured in forthcoming issues. There also was a moderate association found between overall opinion of the magazine and the act of giving money to the university. The researcher recommended enhancing the magazine’s offerings by including more news about physical changes to the campus (the No. 1 reason respondents said they read the magazine), as well as additional news about alumni-related issues. It also was recommended the magazine broaden its scope to appeal to a wider range of readers, therefore exposing it and the university to a larger audience. Opportunities for further study lie in the areas of audience research, more comprehensive readership surveys, the magazine’s mailing list, and comparative studies with like publications.