How Editors and Readers Rank and Rate the Importance of Eighteen Traditional Standards of Newspaper Excellence

Abstract

This survey explores whether readers and editors agree on what makes a good newspaper. The results show that readers and editors of newspapers agree on the importance of many traditional journalistic standards, such as integrity, impartiality, editorial independence, strong local news coverage, accuracy, and good writing. However, readers do not value professional staffing goals and enterprise reporting as highly as do editors, particularly editors at larger newspapers. Other results of this study more finely distinguish differences between editors and readers at newspapers of different circulation sizes.