Study shows Register is highly regarded, trusted by readers

By Roxanne King

This column is the first in a series marking Catholic Press Month and the Denver Catholic Register’s Join the Mission campaign.

Did you know that the Denver Catholic Register is the largest subscription weekly newspaper in Colorado and the third largest subscription newspaper in the state?

Most people I share that with are surprised—and pleased—by those facts. I share them with you now to alert you that February is Catholic Press Month, a time set aside to acknowledge the value of the Catholic press. 

To kick off this year’s observance of Catholic Press Month, I also thought I’d share some exciting results from a study the Denver Catholic Register commissioned last May that shows the newspaper is well regarded and trusted by its readers.

Local research firm Market Perspective conducted the survey May 17-30 via phone calls to 305 Register readers (about equal numbers of men and women)

across the Denver Archdiocese. The study has a maximum statistical margin of error of 5.6 percent.

Study results
“Readers like the DCR—(the) vast majority rate it highly,” the survey states. Indeed, about eight in 10 readers rated it “excellent” or “good.”

Asked if they had suggestions for improvements, more than half (51 percent) of those polled did not.
The survey shows the Denver Catholic Register is regularly read by those who get it.  On average, DCR readers had read through more than three of the last four issues (3.4 issues), the report said.  Additionally, nearly half the readers (46 percent) said they keep the newspaper for reference and hold onto it for at least a week.

Also affirming: in more than half of the households (51 percent), the survey shows, at least two people in the home read the newspaper.

The most popular content in the Register? The top five items among readers indicating a preference are: the archbishop’s column (24 percent), articles in general (21 percent), the quiz and Q-and-A’s (10 percent), followed by syndicated columnist George Weigel and the saint feature (each garnered 9 percent).

Those surveyed also expressed a high level of trust in the newspaper’s advertisers with 59 percent saying they are more confident about the quality of products advertised in the Register over other publications.

All of this is excellent news for the Denver Catholic Register, which will mark its 113th birthday next month.
With more than 88,000 subscribers, we at the Register are proud to be the flagship media tool Archbishop Samuel Aquila uses to communicate with the faithful of the Denver Archdiocese. With every issue we seek to inform, inspire and engage you with the good news of Jesus Christ and his Church.

Join the Mission
Catholic Press Month is also when the Denver Catholic Register launches its annual Join the Mission stewardship campaign, whereby readers who receive a complimentary copy of the paper as part of parish membership are invited to voluntarily contribute the $35 a year subscription cost to help cover its expenses and ensure its vital mission of evangelization. (Read the ad on Page 5 to find out how to Join the Mission. If you join by April 1, as a token of our gratitude we’ll send you a digitally signed photograph of Archbishop Aquila.) Be aware that this campaign is strictly voluntary; if you cannot contribute you will still receive the newspaper!

In October, Pope Benedict XVI opened a special Year of Faith to encourage Catholics to deepen knowledge of their faith “so as to reinvigorate it, purify it, confirm it, and confess it.” The Denver Catholic Register aims to help you do just that. We hope you’ll prayerfully consider Joining our Mission.

Roxanne King is editor of the Denver Catholic Register.