Overview of Survey Respondents

Key points:

• 57 percent of respondents have been working in local papers for 10-plus years

• 36 percent of respondents have been working in local papers for over 20-plus years

• 39 percent of respondents were over 50 years old

• 54 percent of respondents defined themselves as editors or reporters

  Just over half of our respondents were editors or reporters

  We began our online survey by asking a few questions designed to ascertain the job title, age, and years of experience of our respondents.

  The self-declared job titles of those who completed our online survey were primarily either editor (section/managing) or reporter. Together, these two categories represented roughly 54 percent of all respondents.

  The remainder of participants included those who ticked “other” (24 percent) or “digital/social media” (5 percent) from the job options provided.

  
  Image 2: Primary Job Function of Survey Respondents

  57 percent of participants have worked in local papers for 10-plus years

  The largest single group of our respondents (36 percent) told us that they had been working in local newspapers for more than 20 years. The second-highest category (21 percent) had been working in the sector for between 10 and 19 years.

  39 percent of respondents were over 50 years old

  Alongside this, we also asked respondents how old they were. Their ages were relatively evenly distributed, but did skew older: 18–30 (27 percent), 31–49 (33 percent), 50-plus (39 percent).

  
  Image 3: Years of Experience Working in Local Newspapers