New evaluation: Awareness of Omnibus has Increased Significantly

In October, the editorial committee for Omnibus invited all staff and students to participate in a survey as part of the evaluation of the newspaper, which the committee is required to conduct every four years. Now the result is ready. 

The latest evaluation, conducted in 2021, pointed to the need to raise awareness of Omnibus. The new evaluation shows that this has been successful. Of the 3,087 staff and students who participated in the evaluation, 93.5 per cent responded that they are familiar with the newspaper, and 82.5 per cent responded that they read it. As before, awareness and use are highest among technical and administrative staff, at 98.4 per cent, and lowest among students, although 89.3 per cent of students are now aware of the newspaper.  

Since the evaluation in 2021, Omnibus has been given the opportunity to send newsletters to all staff and students twice a month. This is considered to be the primary reason for the significant increase in both awareness and use. Newsletters are currently Omnibus's primary channel – and the preferred one among readers. Across all groups, there is a high level of satisfaction with the publication frequency, content and layout. 

"The evaluation confirms what we’ve already observed in terms of increased traffic and increased interest among staff and students in using the newspaper and contributing to it with relevant article ideas and topics for debate. I see this as an indication that the university's students and staff consider Omnibus as a relevant body," says editor-in-chief Marie Groth Andersen. 

Satisfaction with content and angle

64.5 per cent consider the content of Omnibus to meet their wishes concerning topics covered to a high or very high degree. There is greatest interest in reading about students’ conditions, the management’s decisions/actions, and current AU issues. The report shows that Omnibus is increasingly perceived as relevant and comprehensive in relation to readers' preferences for subject areas. 

The evaluation also examined attitudes towards the editorial line in relation to whether the journalism is too critical or uncritical of AU’s management. While there used to be greater demand for sharper criticism, the evaluation is now more balanced – or as phrased in the report: "In the field of tension between critical and unifying journalism, the majority perceive the level as balanced, while a minority call for more edge." 

More than Aarhus 

The evaluation also highlights areas where there is room for improvement. For example, the evaluation points out that Omnibus' coverage is perceived as being centred on Aarhus and on students and researchers, at the expense of AU's campuses and locations outside Aarhus, as well as staff in administration and operations. In addition, the evaluation shows that several of the English-speaking respondents are calling for more English-language content, even though almost all of Omnibus's content is already published in both Danish and English. This suggests that there is a need for clearer access to English-language content. 

Since the evaluation in 2021, Omnibus has also been given a new visual design. In the 2021 evaluation, the previous layout was considered cumbersome and somewhat outdated. In the current evaluation, the new layout is assessed as clear and professional across the groups, but the layout could be made more inviting, visually vibrant and contemporary, the report concludes.

The evaluation will form the basis for the committee's and editorial team's work on developing the newspaper in the coming years. 

It is positive that Omnibus is a well-known and recognised medium among members of academic staff, technical/administrative staff and students alike. The evaluation has given us a solid foundation for maintaining and developing this status," says Professor of Political Science Svend-Erik Skaaning, chair of Omnibus' editorial committee.

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Lisa Enevoldsen.