# Developing Editorial Priorities Through Surveys A survey is a simple yet powerful tool for developing editorial priorities. The key is to ask your readers in a straightforward way: Which questions matter most to you on topic XY? These surveys are suitable for many occasions: local or state elections, referendums, or specific topics such as housing, local infrastructure projects, or the local impacts of climate change. In principle, you can conduct such a survey on any topic. The goal is to discover new perspectives and research angles that the editorial team might not have considered. At the same time, the responses help prioritize topics and produce content that genuinely interests the community. *** #### **Survey by The Bristol Cable on the local impacts of climate change** The Bristol Cable begins almost every investigation with a survey to identify the research approach most relevant to the community. For climate change research, people in Bristol were asked about their concerns, questions, and knowledge regarding the local impacts. You can learn more about how The Bristol Cable conducted this process here. The questionnaire was structured as follows: > * What would you like to know about Bristol’s role in climate change, for example how Bristol’s businesses contribute or how the city is addressing it? (open-ended) > * What questions do you have about the impact climate change will have on Bristol? (open-ended) > * Are there specific topics or issues related to climate change that you think we should report on? (open-ended) > * Are you an expert on climate change, or have you personally experienced its effects? (Yes/No) > * Would you like to receive regular updates on climate and environmental topics via email? (Yes/No) *** #### **Key topics for election coverage** Some local newsrooms in Germany have already applied the same approach under the title **“Deine Stimme, deine Themen”** for various federal, state, and municipal elections. Readers are asked which topics matter most to them in the context of federal, state, or local elections and what questions they have for the candidates. The editorial team then aligns its coverage not with the politicians, but with the questions of the citizens. You can find more information about the implementation of this approach [here](https://wiki.beabee.io/community-journalismus/english/community-centred-methods/community-centered-election-coverage). > 1. Which three topics are most important to you in the local election campaign?\ > (Good governance (bureaucracy, cost-saving measures, debt, service quality), daycare / after-school programs / schools, climate / energy, culture / sports / leisure, migration / integration, safety / public order, social cohesion / participation (e.g. youth and senior centers, clubs, inclusion), urban development (neighborhoods, vacancies, local amenities), transportation (bus & train, roads, bike paths), economy, trade, and business, housing, another topic) > 2. Which specific question about your chosen topic concerns you the most?\ > (This question builds on your first selection.) In some cases, the questionnaire was supplemented with demographic information such as neighborhood, age, or gender in order to better contextualize the responses. Depending on the scope of the topics – such as during an election – it is advisable to first ask about broad topics or categories using multiple-choice questions before allowing readers to enter their specific questions in an open text field. This makes analysis much easier later on. On the other hand, if a clearly defined main topic already exists and further subdivision is difficult, the survey can also rely solely on open text fields. {% hint style="success" %} Here you can find a survey template for developing editorial priorities, ready to use in beabee:\ [Go to the beabee template](https://demo.beabee.io/crowdnewsroom/deine-themen-fur-unsere-berichterstattung?lang=en) Are you a beabee user and want to use the template? Simply contact . If you don’t want to use beabee, you can recreate the survey in other tools. {% endhint %} *** #### **Analysis** There are different ways to analyze survey responses. Depending on the number of answers, not all questions and topics can be incorporated into your reporting. In this case, it is useful to prioritize content based on frequency. At the same time, pay attention to particularly unusual or unexpected questions that offer new perspectives or raise topics you hadn’t considered. These insights can be worth exploring – even if they are mentioned only rarely. ***

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