Stephen A. Borg

I think the newspaper does make, you know, I think it does make a big difference to people. But it always intrigues me how many people don’t read it.

Once again, you have two-thirds of the people in the market – households – not getting it. What separates that one-third from the two-thirds? I mean are they – they’re not dying because of it. They’re not – not breathing – because of it. So why – I don’t know what separates that person. Are they less engaged? Are they less important? Obviously they’re less informed, but if you talk to them they don’t feel like they’re less informed.

So I’m a little – while I think there’s a power of the press right now – the power of newspapers to bring about positive change, in many ways I’m more intrigued, right now, [about] how do people not read it? That’s really what I’m interested [in] – not how am I positively affecting the one third. I’m more personally intrigued about the two thirds. Because I’m amazed how many people I know – even friends – that don’t bother to read the paper, and I’m trying to figure out why.

I understand why people read The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal in a way – does a great – they’re in the money flow. They help you either – they help you get rich. They help give you investment tips either as a personal investor or if you’re actually in the industry. They are part of the money flow. And The Wall Street Journal, I think, does a great job of how to spend your money – on the personal side – but it’s all about money in one way or another.

You could argue that The Daily News and The New York Post are actually kinda’ fun in a way. They’re entertainment in a way. They inform you, but their job is to kinda’ to make you laugh.

You know that’s what I’m trying to struggle with The Record. It’s kinda like – what does it do for the person? What separates a reader from a non-reader?

I’m really trying to figure – I’m really trying to wrestle with that. Because on paper these people physically don’t look any different. I can point to a person with kids – no kids. We have many people reading us who don’t have kids. We’re 50 per cent of every demographic bracket. So it’s not like we’re 90 percent in these brackets and 10 percent of these brackets, and – you know – these demographics we don’t appeal to. These demographics we do appeal to. We’re more like 50 [percent of each], so demographics are not precise enough to tell me –-.

So, I’m more intrigued about what – what – why people don’t read us than why they do.