Fresh off a Big events season and the addition of a Des Moines editor, our newsroom team of three is taking a look at how we can better cover the Silicon Prairie startup community. We have our own ideas, of course, but we really want to hear what’s important to you.

With this in mind, we recently published a reader survey. More than 200 responses have been submitted so far—208 to be exact—but we’re hoping for more. The survey will close at week’s end, but don’t procrastinate, it only takes 10 minutes to complete.

Take the reader survey

Here are 10 takeaways we’ve collected so far along with a bit of commentary about what we’re doing with the feedback.

1. Be “a little less hipster” – This comment made us scratch our heads at first, but another reader’s perspective brought more context: “Be less of a clique and more of a journalistic endeavour.”

2. Don’t publish fluff, always cover the same companies – Cover less “‘startups’ that are nothing more than an idea and a logo,” one respondent commented. We’re guilty of this and covering too much of one company, that’s for sure, but with an editor now in each flagship city, we’re headed in the right direction. At least one reader agrees: “The coverage has been too much on a handful of companies—this has improved in the last few months, however.”

3. More stories about startups in Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City, Cedar Rapids, Lincoln… – We heard from readers around the region that more coverage is needed in their cities. And this is good news for us as it’s the reason we recently added our third editor. We’re looking forward to tackling the missed stories.

4. Cover more established tech companies – “What’s the UI team at TD Ameritrade working on? How have tablets affected readership for Meredith Publishing?” one respondent asked. We don’t have plans to expand our focus in the near future, but it’s good to know this is of interest to many of our readers.

5. Feature entrepreneurs, makers in other industries – Though our name calls to mind tech, some readers want to hear stories outside of that realm. We’ve delivered them occasionally but never consistently.

6. Provide more advice and how-to columns – “Not just what a startup does (product), but you had an article on sales and creating a sales team that was great,” one respondent commented. The article referenced is Hudl co-founder John Wirtz’s Founder Friday post, “I know it’s scary, but ask for the money.”

7. Offer more analysis and opinion – “I can’t remember reading any skeptical, critical or even analytical stories about any company. Ever wonder whether all these companies can succeed? Potential investors do,” one reader commented. Analysis and opinion have been published, but not regularly. We’re working to change that.

8. Better highlight local events – We have a community event calendar and recently changed up weekly event posts to monthly event posts, but we know there’s still improvement to be made.

9. Hold more events, get out of the office – These were the two most popular responses to the question of how our editors can better engage with the startup community. One reader went so far to say we need to “not have a desk at SPN.” Responding to this request, each editor will now have one “floating day” per week where they can get out into the community while the other two editors cover their news responsibilities. Stay tuned for more details on this.

10. Less focus on Silicon Prairie News and SPN events, such as The Big Series – Across multiple questions readers expressed this sentiment, and it’s something we’re not ignoring. It is important for us to promote and share our work—events, for example, play the largest part in keeping our lights on—but we don’t want to “overwhelm” our audience, as one reader put it.

Have a No. 11 for us? Take our reader survey.

Credits: Photo by Malone & Co. / Big Omaha