Clarion readers write…

Last week we put out our first ever readers’ survey. We wanted to know what you thought of the Clarion and how to make it better.

An astonishing 12.5% of subscribers filled it in. Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to make your views known. Here's what you said, and our first thoughts on it.  We’ll have more in due course, but only when our team has sat down with a full print-out over a pint at the Medley.

The headlines

90.48% of you said the current newsletter length was good, with the remainder evenly split between 'too long' and 'too short'. "I'm open to read any items and can always scroll past them if I am less interested." We feel that's fairly conclusive; two a week at this length is also (just about) manageable for our current volunteers, so we'll carry on. 

Here’s what you said you liked most:

You like city news, sustainable transport, politics, and events. (We're particularly delighted you like the events – because we don't post them on social media for instant feedback, only in the newsletter, we’ve been working blind on these.) ‘Notes from Clarion HQ’ also made an appearance as a favourite feature – we've sometimes wondered if it was simply too self-indulgent, so thank you for the reassurance!

So what don't you like?

We admit to a flaw in our survey design: it made you pick at least one item. We suspect most of you clocked that ‘sport’ was a fake category and not really something we cover. None of us are sporting experts, though we're always open to submissions!

15% of you said you didn’t enjoy the politics – not that many, but still third place. A few of you clarified that this was less because of the writing, and more because of a general falling out of love with politics. We think politicians need scrutinising, as well as shining a light on good things they do, so we will keep on with this section.

'Town v gown' is alive and well in 2026! Our university and research coverage also got a ‘no thanks’ from 15%. Some of you like hearing about what happens behind the stone walls, while others said "Oxford University gets enough publicity already", or even “Their influence can be quite pernicious”. We would like, perhaps idealistically, to help break down this centuries-old division – as you will see from a series of articles that will be coming your way this autumn. One particular request: we'd love to hear more from Brookes. If you're reading this from the dreaming towers of Headington, get in touch!

What should we cover more?

• Arts, music and culture: You would like to see more local gig listings, venue updates, and album/theatre reviews, particularly given the end of Nightshift. A couple of people asked for more notice: “Earlier notification of weekend activities – perhaps an outlook for the next few weeks would help with family planning.” We’re not sure family planning is something we can really help with, but we do take your point.
• Food, dining and pubs: You would like to see restaurant reviews, independent cafe highlights, and new food business openings. We'll keep on with the highlights, but for more detailed reviews, let us signpost you to the excellent Bitten Oxford and the increasingly wide-ranging Edible Reading, on whose toes we have no desire to tread. Keep sending us details of new openings near you and we'll post as many as we can. 
• Planning and politics: You made requests for deep dives on local developments, particularly around unitary councils and devolution. (You can’t have too much cheese, right?) “Keep up the good work on planning issues, where your coverage is really excellent. Make sure that you delve deeply into the Oxford Growth Commission report.” You would like us to investigate the Cowley Centre redevelopment, GP/dental provision, and water/sewage infrastructure. (Have you seen our Infrastructure Week series?) Some of you asked we add the party in after each MP/ councillor mention. You would also like more coverage of hyperlocal politics (town and parish councils). Are we searching for Oxfordshire’s answer to Jackie Weaver?
• Community and volunteering: You want more spotlights on grassroots campaigns, charity initiatives, and local community groups. “Maybe a few more mentions of local charities/projects people are involved in around Oxford, as ‘good news’ anecdotes, and perhaps to help nudge more of us to volunteer locally?” We are absolutely here for this. In the past we’ve collaborated with organisations like Refugee Resource and Oxford Mutual Aid: if you are running a community group or charity, we want to hear from you.
• Environment and nature: You want us to continue to focus on local river health, biodiversity, urban green spaces, and active travel. Which we will, of course – but we know there are a lot of subject specialists in the Clarion readership. Again, if you have a specific (pollinating) bee in your bonnet, our inbox is open – whether for tips, or if you want to work with us on an article, bylined or not. Your responses highlighted some of the great work being done across the county by volunteer groups: “There's a large number of nature conservancy sites and groups in the county doing sterling work for biodiversity.”
• Sport: OUFC has a thriving ecosystem around forums, podcasts and more. We don't think there's much we can add to that beyond planning coverage of the new stadium, but let us know if you think differently. We did hear a few calls for grassroots sports and non-league coverage. We've got to be honest with you, this isn't in our current skillset. But if it's in yours, well…

Any other feedback?

Folks, your comments had us blushing. We read every one: the good, the bad and the ugly. Thank you. We will let the numbers do the talking.

We're glad we did the survey – while our newsletter software does show us you're receiving, opening and (hopefully) reading the newsletter, it can't tell us if you like it. But it seems you do! A particular favourite: "I felt much more part of the city once I found you after I moved here."

Mostly you think we provide, if not necessarily balanced reporting, a balance to other media outlets that exist locally and nationally. You seem to like our sense of humour (that's a relief) and independence from any party's, or proprietor's, position. Interestingly, those of you who believed we filled the gap left by other media strongly correlated with those who enjoyed our politics coverage. "You are essentially my only source of local news now. Democracy dies with no info."

We're pretty open about our biases and most of you understand that! We are broadly progressive, concerned about climate change, supportive of active travel and that's not changing. That said, we hadn't appreciated how much people with diverging views would still want to read the Clarion – the words "cycling lobby" did appear a few times (guilty as charged). A reflection, perhaps, that there aren’t as many Oxfordshire media choices as there ought to be. But we thank you for your forbearance and maybe, one day, we'll win you over.

We liked hearing "I like getting news from outside my East Oxford bubble" and "Sometimes feels a bit East Oxford-centric" in quick succession. (We're not all from East Oxford…?) Point taken, though. We are aware that our coverage invariably reflects our volunteers' backgrounds and interests, perhaps more so because we're writing in our spare time. We will try to keep an eye out for news from elsewhere, and if you have stories from outside our bubble we should be covering, we want to hear from you.

Cats 🐈

This cracks us up. You have extremely strong, and divergent, views on our cat coverage. Many of you picked it out, unprompted, to comment on. But this feedback is entirely split – ranging from devotion to our cat content (and particularly Ozymandias), to suggestions to keep feline updates brief, and/or expand Ozymandias content to a broader range of cats. Okay then!

One reader finds it a bit “a bit weird that you feature the same cat all the time. Is it because one of your editors is Dinah's husband?” This is absolutely our favourite attempt ever to unmask our identities, but we can (regrettably) confirm neither of Ozymandias’ humans have ever written for the Clarion. Then, two responses later, we read “Massive thanks for bringing us into the orbit of Ozymandias.” We know he’s big but he’s not quite gravitational.

How we’re run

Quite a lot of you asked us how you could contribute to the running costs of the Clarion, which is very lovely of you. We are looking at it, but our current setup is unusual. Monetisation to cover our very minimal costs (while saving for the inevitable litigious rainy day) depends on a bank account and formal constitution, which we don't yet have, but which is probably inevitable. And that, in turn, precludes writing anonymously…

A few of us have been, organically and slowly, un-anonymising. Some of you know who some of us are! But our recent coverage of Raise the Colours, writing about (inter alia) people who’ve served 15 years for assault, has made us aware we need to do this carefully. When we find our way through this legal maze, we'll update you.

Technical/layout comments

A few of you have noticed that captions don’t always appear next to pictures. This is an artefact of how our publishing software (Ghost) works. When we feature a ‘gallery’ of several pictures together, it only allows us to supply one caption for the whole gallery.

On desktop computers this looks fine – rather nice, even, with a grid-like layout. But on phones or email, the pics appear in one long stream with the caption underneath, meaning the caption can be some way from the top pic. We could include them as individual pictures with their own captions, but for portrait pictures in particular, that breaks the desktop layout. We can't promise a perfect fix but we'll see what we can do.

Similarly, a few people suggested a table of contents at the top. A neat idea but, again, not something we think Ghost can do without a lot of poking. We do try to keep everything in the same order each time, so you can feel your way around the newsletter.

Our thoughts on this feedback

A huge thank you for completing it, and caring enough about the Clarion to do so. We love that you take time out of your busy weeks to read our newsletter, and pass it on to friends and colleagues.

We are a growing collective of writers and collaborators – a core WhatsApp group of 13 writers, plus a loose array of friends and supporters who send us tip-offs on everything from bus timetables to Oxford history to flag-waving agitators. We are grateful to all of these supporters, and also to the professionals in press offices and PR agencies who indulge our (occasionally eccentric) requests. Our inbox is always open for tips, and even more, for articles from local groups and organisations – bylined or not.

Where do we go next? We’ve evolved slowly over our four-and-a-bit years, and this will continue. As we consider our future shape, your survey responses will be incredibly helpful. But for now, we’ll see if we can tick off a few quick wins. We've already split Tuesday’s university/research section in half to create a new business/tech item. We will see if we can work out a balance on picture captions. We'll start adding party after each MP or councillor. And our writers' cats are preening themselves in anticipation of “a broader range of cats” (or, in the case of one particularly rotund orange example, a range of broader cats). Don’t worry, though, Ozymandias. We still love you.