How a Farm Paper Uses Research in Journalism

Abstract

Since 1938 Wallaces' Farmer and Iowa Homestead has been polling Iowa farm people to discover farm attitudes on questions of current interest and to find out what subscribers were reading or not reading. An analysis of the benefits of this editorial research is presented by the long-time editor of the paper.

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References

Ludwig Merritt

, “Hard Words and Human Interest: Their Effects on Readership,” Journalism Quarterly, June 1949.

Lyman Howard

, “Flesch Count and Readership of Articles in a Midwestern Farm Paper,” Journal of Applied Psychology, February 1949.

Murphy Donald

, “How Plain Talk Increases Readership,” Printers' Ink, Sept. 19, 1947.

Advertising Research Foundation, “Continuing Study of Farm Publications, Study No. 4, Wallaces' Farmer and Iowa Homestead,” 1947 Advertising Research Foundation.

Statistical Laboratory, Iowa State College, “InFARMation Please,” No. 1, 1948; No. 2, 1952. Wallaces' Farmer and Iowa Homestead.

Murphy Donald

, “Split of Split-runs Checks Prospect Reading,” Printers' Ink. Sept. 24, 1954.

Pommrehn Richard

, “Split-run Readership Test as a Means of Increasing Advertising Readership,” Mss. M. A. thesis, 1953, Drake University.