Home / Archive / Publisher's letter: Jan. 2006
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Publisher : January 2006
Expanding credibility
No business can succeed for long unless it is reliable, worthy of a reader’s or advertiser’s confidence. Nowhere is that truer than in the publishing world, where our stock in trade is trustworthy information and analysis. As Rance Crain, editor in chief of Advertising Age, recently wrote: “If the credibility of your publication or your brand starts to erode, one little give-back at a time, before you know it your publication or brand loses its reason for being.”
We see credibility in all of our operations as one of our most significant goals, and we put editorial accuracy and fairness at the center of our efforts. We apply the same high standards to our circulation to ensure that we present our readership numbers and demographics precisely as they are. While that may seem a no-brainer, in fact it is not. Think, for example, of the summer of 2004, when major newspapers including the Chicago Sun-Times and Long Island’s Newsday were censured for falsifying circulation numbers in order to boost slowing advertising revenues.
Such deception was commonplace a century ago: Big, publicly traded media companies competing in a fiercely competitive marketplace routinely made false and misleading claims about their readership. So egregious were these claims that publishers, advertisers and ad agencies felt compelled to launch watchdog organizations to independently verify circulation figures. One of the oldest and largest of these organizations is the BPA, which today audits 3,000 media properties worldwide, more than 2,000 of them business publications such as Comstock’s.
For any publication, a BPA audit is a long, difficult and expensive process that includes revamping systems and processes to meet stringent standards for gathering and reporting circulation data. Thus the BPA seal of approval is evidence not only of accurate reporting of readership data, but also of a mature and successful publication able to invest in improving the quality of its operation.
We’re proud to carry the BPA designation in this issue for the first time, a goal that’s been in our sights for quite some time. Now both advertisers and readers can take confidence in the fact that our current average circulation of 21,000 readers — soon to be 25,000 — represents the highest-quality business readership in California’s Capital Region.
A year and a half ago, in our 15th year, we made a commitment to move to the next level of excellence. You’ve seen the most visible results in recent issues: We’re taking the lead in coverage of major regional issues; our articles are focused and well-written; our design is more attractive and accessible.
There are other important changes, such as improved customer service; the beginning of a region-wide marketing campaign to increase our visibility; and now, a media-audited circulation. Like all of you, we realize that no business succeeds over the long term unless it is committed to a planned, strategic process of improvement, one that achieves a high level of quality in the interests of better serving all of its customers. We are committed to doing just that, and also, of course, to expanding our credibility in the process.
With those goals in mind, we look forward to an outstanding 2006 for the magazine and wish the same for our loyal readers and advertisers. May you have a happy, healthy and successful new year!
