Bearcats Media Survey Results

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| The News Record)

A couple weeks ago, I tweeted a survey. You probably saw it, because I spammed you all to death with it. It worked because, I got a satisfactory number of responses. 165 of you took the time to give me some feedback. Thanks!

Coverage of UC in the media has been a hot button topic among Bearcats for as long as I’ve been a fan. Everybody has something to say about the way UC is covered both locally and nationally. Given the proliferation of Twitter and blogs, sports media coverage is more diversified than ever. I wanted to see where UC fans were taking their eyeballs in search of Bearcats content, and I think the picture is a bit more clear now that I have a decent sample size.

I did my very best to spread this outside of my own follower base, but I’m still looking at this data under the assumption that essentially every one of the responders follow me on Twitter. This isn’t going to be perfect data. I’d like to think this is accurate for any UC fan who uses Twitter. It’s a pretty heavy millennial crowd.

[Note: You may notice this isn’t everything I asked in the survey. Some of the data is boring, some is inconsequential, and some of it is in short answer form and therefore impossible to condense into a blog post. This is just a taste as a thank you for taking the time to answer the stupid thing.]

How old are you?

The youngest reponder was 14 and the oldest was 66. That’s a wide gap, and it’s pretty awesome to see. Most responders were between the ages of 18 and 26, although there’s a strangely high number of 35-year-olds. I don’t know what to make of that.

Where do you live currently?

This surprised me a bit. I wasn’t expecting such a large chunk outside of the Cincinnati area, and I’ve always imagined having more student followers.

Where do you get most of your Bearcats news/content from?

Not a shocker. The type of people that use Twitter enough to answer my questions are the type of people who rely on blogs for their UC coverage. I didn’t give Twitter itself as a response option, but that’s what is coming up for “Other.” A theme I noticed was a lot of people reading Bearcat Journal. For a single website that charges a subscription fee, they command a significant portion of the market.

Which national media outlet is your favorite when it comes to Bearcats news/content?

A decent number of people abstained from answering this question, and the vast majority of “Other” answers are simply stating that they don’t read national coverage. However, when it comes down to it, big bad ESPN is still the #1 national source of UC news/content. How many people think national media does a poor job covering UC? 56.4%

Which local media outlet is your favorite when it comes to Bearcats news/content?

The Bearcats official site held it down, while the big, bad Enquirer came in easily at #2. FOX19 comes out as the top local television station. 44.8% of responders think the local media does a poor job of covering UC, while 23% think they do a good job. That positive response is four times what was given to national media.

Which blog is your favorite when it comes to Bearcats news/content?

OhVarsity!
Down The Drive
Cincy On The Prowl
Cincinnati vs. Everyone
Bearcats Sports Radio

78.8% of responders think the blogs do a good job covering UC. Just 1.2% think they do a poor job.

[Note: This data is skewed because it’s my own followers. Also, I’m an idiot and didn’t list Bearcats Sports Radio as an option, even though they probably do more in-person reporting than all other blogs combined. Despite my accidental snub, they still nearly secured fourth place via the “Other” option. Follow BSR on Twitter. Sorry about that…]

Are there any outlets you subscribe to?

Bearcat Journal won in a landslide over the Enquirer, although the vast majority of responders stated that they don’t pay for any UC news.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. I think I learned a little about your mood towards the media and I’d like to think I’ve located a gap or two that OhVarsity can try to fill moving forward.

If you have any questions about this data, feel free to ask on Twitter and I’ll do my best to answer.