McALLEN, RGV – The Rio Grande Guardian is popular with readers because of the in-depth reporting style of its reporters and the types of stories they cover, an independent survey has revealed.
Red Ant Digital of McAllen surveyed 80 RGG readers online using the Google Consumer Insights analysis tool.
Red Ant asked the following open question: ‘What do you like the most about the Rio Grande Guardian?’ Its team then classified the responses into six major groups based on the topics mentioned.
The most popular response was general reporting style with 27.5 percent of readers referencing terms like “in-depth reporting,” and “facts and unbiased reporting” and “updated information.”
The second most popular response was the type of local coverage with 25 percent of readers referencing terms like “Valley-wide news” and “reporting on issues affecting the Rio Grande Valley” and “local veteran news reporting.”
The uniqueness of the stories was also popular with 17.5 percent of readers referencing terms like “unique news that nobody else covers” and “reporting on issues not reaching other news channels” and “exclusiveness of stories,” etc.
Fifteen percent of those who responded to the survey said they liked the Rio Grande Guardian’s focus on the border region. They referenced terms like “border business segment” and “current information about the U.S. border.”
Five percent of those who responded to the survey said they like the “new look” of the Rio Grande Guardian, saying they liked the “fresh look” and the “mobile format.”
Five percent of those who responded to the survey said they liked the fact that the Rio Grande Guardian covers politics. They gave responses such as “state legislative politics with Valley angle” and “local politics coverage.”
Red Ant Digital also asked readers how often they visit the Rio Grande Guardian website. The answers were:
● At least once a day: 57 percent
● At least once a week: 25 percent
● Several times during the day: 10 percent
● At least once a month: 5 percent
● First time: 2.5 percent
Ninety-seven percent of responders to the survey said that they would recommend the Rio Grande Guardian to their friends.
“It is pleasing to know our readers like the approach we have been taking,” said Rio Grande Guardian Publisher Steve Taylor. “We pride ourselves on covering stories in depth and on ferreting out stories no one else has yet found. We have an incredibly loyal readership and we are pleased to be catering to the news they want to learn about. I want to thank Alex Garrido and Red Ant Digital for conducting this survey and marketing our brand so well.”
In addition to the survey, the Rio Grande Guardian recently certified its traffic information with the prestigious Quantcast’s Publisher Program. The program provides an index of interest for the average visitor; this index is based on both online and offline behavior and is used by Gallup and Pew Research for affiliation and engagement respectively.
On average, the Rio Grande Guardian receives 12,000 unique U.S. visitors per month that can be certified through Quantcast. The average visitor profile of the Rio Grande Guardian is unique. Not only does the average visitor of the Rio Grande Guardian tend to be college educated, but also has attended graduate school. The vast majority of the readers tend to be over 35 years old and are very active politically.
“This is great information for our sales team and for prospective advertisers,” Taylor said. “To have an index of 121 for those earning $100,000 to $150,000 a year when the average is 100, and to have an index of 175 for those who went to graduate school when the average is 100 is quite remarkable. It shows we are popular with highly educated readers and that those readers likely have higher than average disposable incomes.”
