That’s right, every so often I get the silly idea it’s time to take a survey to find out who my reader is. And while it’s always a good idea to have a set of demographics on hand for our advertisers, it’s also a lot of fun (well, relative fun anyways) to read the responses from our readers. Especially the answers to questions which allow for reader input.

But let’s start with the boxes and the most painful answer, courtesy of line #1. How old are you? The cold, hard truth? Old. Well, older, for sure. It appears The Business Times’ “fan base” has aged right along with newspaper readers across the country, with a good chunk of our readership over the age of 50. When I first started as publisher of The Business Times, most readers were above 40.

I could take that as bad news, but I just don’t see the reasons to. After all, the 50-plus generation across the Grand Valley are some of the most active, impressive, caring, giving and serving folks you’ll find anywhere on this planet. They deserve to have their stories told and know the facts about what is going on in our business and civic communities. That goes double for having reports on the actions of self-proclaimed “community leaders”; who seem to cover all age demographics while knowing what everyone wants and needs and thinking only they can provide them. According to our survey, the readers of The Business Times desire to keep up on all of it. And they want more.

The Business Times is working hard to adjust to this new era in newspapers by doubling its publication schedule, covering more and more civic news and covering the stories and in-depth information our readers have been asking for, especially in recent years. After all, community leaders and news always provides plenty of material for stories, and more important, fodder for this column.

One area that has changed a little is we’re more of a boy’s club when it comes to readers than previous surveys. In those surveys, our women’s side of the readership had been making gains all the way up to the last having basically a 50/50 split male to female readership. This one? It’s more 60/40 men to women. Given our survey isn’t the most scientific, that number may have some larger plus or minus margin given the number of stories we write where the main subject is a woman or a couple and their businesses. Even more, many of our community stories reflect a much closer ratio of men to women reporting.

So I’d say business and community women are doing just fine in the Grand Valley based on what people see and read in The Business Times. Which leads us to the next set of boxes and The Business Times bucking the trends once again.

Nearly all of our readers are married. They also own their own homes, with many in their retirement years. And nearly to a one, they give back to their community. I’d say that’s a rare combination for a news periodical nowadays. Our readers are still very active in their communities, which is the most important point next to the fact our readers still make a lot of money, whether retired or not. Advertisers seem to put that high on their list of the many things they like about The Business Times. I suppose it’s why we buck one other major trend for a newspaper—our volume of quality advertisers, which continues to grow.

And yes, we have younger readers as well. A number we fully expect to grow with our weekly format because we know they are just as interested in what’s going on in the business and community world of the Grand Valley. The fact is, we’re getting more and more press releases from this demographic because like national trends, young adults are more involved in these arenas and they need a great source for accurate information. And no publication in the Grand Valley has been a better source for business and community news than The Business Times.

What’s the point of the survey, you ask? It’s good to know where one’s product hits in the marketplace. But to me, it’s better to know where we’re not. If we’re being honest, how else can we grow? Isn’t growing the way to get older without growing old? Which our readers seem to have been doing seamlessly throughout my “publishing” career. After all, many have been with me for decades now, not missing an issue (I know, they probably have but it’s nice to hear) and even more peculiar, they like to read my column. Well, there’s always a few who don’t; and to those I always reply after reading their diatribe or listening to their sermons on the phone, “Thanks for reading!”

Because that’s what it’s all about. The Business Times asking questions and printing answers for folks to read. We do it proudly and most importantly, freely. And now we’re doing it every week for your reading pleasure. And yes, in time, that’ll bring readers in every demographic around. And for those of you who took the time to add some spice to your surveys where lines were provided for your answers instead of boxes.

Thanks for reading. It’s an honor to write for you.

Craig Hall is owner and publisher of the Business Times. Reach him at (970) 424-5133 or publisher@thebusinesstimes.com.