From The Editor's Desk: Tell ‘The Post’ how you find (or don’t find) its print product each week

Staff members at The Post are fairly proud of the efforts they put forth each week to collectively produce a 24-page print tabloid on Thursdays. And while that pride can not reasonably be measured, the results of our work, fortunately, can be quantified.

There are roughly 6,500 copies of The Post to be found at more than 125 distribution points or “drop boxes” on campus, Uptown and in the county each week, so there are plenty of ways for The Post’s readers to find the print product. That is not counting the copies The Post’s staff members pass out at Ohio University’s Alumni Gateway on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Anecdotally, we have reason to believe that some devoted students, OU faculty and Athens residents pick up the paper week after week. I am fortunate enough to hear from those readers who frequently email me or stop me on the street to say what they liked or did not like about the most recent issue. Sometimes, I know The Post is being read just by hanging around local coffee shops or restaurants. That is a really warm, fuzzy feeling by the way: seeing someone reading the newspaper you work so hard to produce.

Still, reporters are suckers for anecdotes too often — it is far better to be a nerd for data. The Post’s staff members will be going out this week to every single one of our distribution points to count the number of papers left after about eight hours of existing in the drop-box, and will return on Tuesday to quantify how the print product does after a few days on the shelf. That will help us determine how many people actually read us in print, versus those who find us on thepostathens.com. We will be able to discuss and use that data as a staff.

It helps to hear from the reader in this situation, too. For those reading this column in print — how did you get here? Was The Post difficult for you to find? Do you miss an old distribution point we have since cut, or do you wish we would move one of our drop boxes to better find you? Did I hand this to you personally? If so, say hello, and thank you for reading. We only hope to make this a better experience for you. That is the motivation behind our efforts week after week.

Emma Ockerman is a senior studying journalism and editor-in-chief of The Post. Want to talk to her? Email her at eo300813@ohio.edu or tweet her at @eockerman.