Streets.mn is conducting what we hope will become an annual reader survey. This survey has two purposes:
- To gather demographic information about our readership.
- To get information about general reader habits.
You may access the survey here, or read on: We’ve also got a link at the bottom of the story.
Why Are We Asking?
We are gathering demographic information as part of our ongoing efforts to develop as an anti-racist organization. As we wrote in our Anti-Racism Vision Statement: “Our vision for an anti-racist Streets.mn is one in which our readership, writership, volunteer base and leadership reflect the racial diversity of the state of Minnesota.”
Furthermore, the racial equity analysis that we underwent in 2023 suggested that we use “quantitative assessment, in order to ensure that [Streets.mn] is effectively making steps toward racial equity.” This survey is our first effort to get quantitative information, with the intention that this information will serve as a baseline for ongoing annual surveys to judge our progress as we work to diversify all aspects of our organization.
Although our anti-racism work is our primary motivator, this survey can also help us gauge how well we are advancing equity on other fronts. As we expressed in the Anti-Racism Vision Statement, one of our goals is to “represent racial diversity by also representing the variety of experiences resulting from race’s intersections with other identities.” As such, the first half of the survey asks questions not only about race, ethnicity and language, but also age, gender and sexual orientation.
The second half of the survey includes several questions regarding general readership habits, to help us understand how readers engage with our content. This will allow us to tailor our work to better suit reader preferences.
How it Works
This survey (linked again here for your convenience) is fully anonymous. It will take five or 10 minutes to review and answer questions. All questions are optional, so complete it to your level of comfort. In the interest of transparency, we will publish a report on the survey results.
We’ve set a 30-day window for submissions, so please complete the survey by Friday, August 8. Thank you for participating!