Rumours regarding the demise of print publications are greatly exaggerated. At least that’s the case for IT World Canada’s enterprise publication brands, according to our readers’ survey conducted in May. More importantly the value of IT print publications like ours is clearly apparent and is effectively serving your information needs.
We asked more than 670 readers of ComputerWorld, Network World and CIO Canada magazines how much time they currently spend reading our magazines as compared to a year ago. Nearly 50 per cent told us they spend about the same amount of time, while 17 per cent say they spend “somewhat” or “significantly” more. Conversely, 20 per cent told us they spend “somewhat less” time while approximately 11 per cent say “significantly less.” Only three per cent say they’ve stopped reading IT magazines altogether. We think that means print publications like this one you’re reading continue to be desired and serve an important purpose for you.
You also told us our magazines are important. Our survey showed nearly 60 per cent of you said IT magazines are your most valued information source, exceeded only by online IT professional news/feature Web sites, such as www.itworldcanada.com and www.itbusiness.ca. Nearly 80 per cent of you said these online properties were among your most valued IT product/services information sources. By comparison online daily newspaper websites and general newspapers in print ranked near the bottom of the list as valued sources for the kind of content you’d typically read in IT World Canada media. Approximately 10 per cent of you say these mainstream media types are your most valued sources of information about IT products and services.
We think these results tell us there’s an important reason for our existence — especially in print. We’ve continually taken a position with our enterprise brands that these are intended to provide information about IT that is helping you, the reader, do your job as an IT professional.
What we also learned in our readers’ survey about our print and online media brands is the importance of Canadian content. We asked the question: how important is news and information that cites Canadian sources and examples? A whopping 90 per cent of you said it is “important” or “essential.” Only two per cent said it is “not important.”
Finally, we also wondered about the other IT professional magazines and print journals you also read. We were surprised and thrilled to discover that 34 per cent of you tell us you do NOT read other IT publications — only ours. We’re flattered and truly appreciate such loyalty and support. We’re inspired to continue being the primary online and print sources of your IT information needs. Please continue to tell us how we can do a better job.