For the past few months, The Jewish Link has been running a survey about the newspaper and which parts are most enjoyed by our readership. After concluding the survey on Friday, February 28, we compiled the responses – and the results are astounding!
Results (illustrated below) showed that Jewish Link readers love specific columns and sections, with Nina Glick’s New in the Neighborhood column and Dear Dr. Chani by Dr. Chani Maybruch tied at the top. The Travel Link and Health Link sections were among the most popular of our monthly rotations, and Community News topped the list of most popular weekly sections. As for divrei Torah, the results were spread evenly across the board, with each column receiving about five percent of the vote — narrowly surpassed by Rabbi Haim Jachter, Rabbi Moshe Taragin and Rabbi Reuven Taragin in the top three.
When asked about which result was his favorite, co-publisher Moshe Kinderlehrer loved to see that the vast majority of respondents said The Jewish Link’s length was “just right.”
“I’m so happy that our readers like the length of the paper as I am always concerned if we have the right amount of content and especially as the paper has grown these past few years, and based on the results, it seems like we do,” said Kinderlehrer.
At the end of the survey, respondents were given the opportunity to make comments about their favorite parts of The Jewish Link, and which areas could be improved. They were also encouraged to make suggestions for new columns and sections.
“The Jewish Link is a great way to keep up with what is going on in the Jewish world,” wrote one respondent from West Orange. Other respondents agreed, and suggested even more coverage of local issues in the Jewish community. Wrote one person in Teaneck: “We need more news stories about what’s going on; like when there are internal issues in shuls and what’s being done to mitigate that.” Many others similarly noted that they would prefer a more focused approach to covering relevant news, including more representation from perspectives from outside the mainstream orthodox community and more
in-depth investigative stories on topics such as antisemitism and local politics.
The entire staff at The Jewish Link has been encouraged by the comments about the newspaper being an integral part of the Jewish communal experience. As one respondent from the Bronx put it: “I LOVE this paper…The Jewish Link enhances my Shabbat so much and elevates Shabbat for me spiritually and otherwise, and especially when I was recuperating from surgery and couldn’t get to shul.” Other responses echoed this heartwarming sentiment, highlighting the “connection” that The Jewish Link provides between them and the rest of the Jewish community.
“I enjoy it all,” said one reader. “I read it with a cup of coffee on Shabbat morning. It feels so good!”
After the survey was concluded, The Jewish Link randomly selected three winners to receive Amazon gift cards. Congratulations to Joshua Caplan (Edison), Adrienne Cukor (Teaneck) and Walter Grossman (Fair Lawn) on your prizes!
Thank you to everyone who participated in this survey. We look forward to continuing our vital connection between our readership and the Jewish world at large. As always, we welcome feedback at [email protected].
