We Say – Feedback gold

Thank you to the hundreds of readers who took the time to fill in our recent survey in the paper and online. It was heart-warming to get such a positive response and it was lovely to meet some of you who dropped your responses in personally.

You’ve provided some valuable feedback which is being collated and will help us map a way forward for both the Mahurangi Matters and Hibiscus Matters, as well as our digital platforms. We all enjoyed reading through your comments about the paper, including your feedback on what you love about it and ideas about what could work better. More humbling was your general enthusiasm and appreciation for what we do, so thank you for that.

The immediate message we have taken from your responses is that you appreciate the home delivery, free of charge so, at least for the foreseeable future and while we can continue to justify it financially, this will continue. We will review this decision next year.

Part of being able to continue the deliveries is your support for our advertisers who make it possible.

So, next time you use a local business that you have found through the Mahurangi Matters, don’t forget to tell them that their ad worked!

Part of the work we have been doing over the past few months is to take a closer look at how we communicate with online readers especially younger members of our community. Staff shortages are hampering our efforts to expand in this area, but last week we were excited to launch The Loop, a weekly online newsletter that previews upcoming local events. It’s free and will be delivered by e-mail every Friday. If you haven’t signed up already, jump onto the localmattersne.wpengine.com home page where you will find a link to register. Look for The Loop.

We remain committed to not just keeping local journalism alive, but to seeing it thrive, so watch this space as we take your feedback and continue to strive to be relevant, reliable and entertaining. While the survey has closed, we welcome feedback at any time so don’t hesitate to get in touch with your ideas at gm@localmatters.co.nz