Hype - Hyperion University's student-run newspaper

About Hype

Hype* is a student-run university newspaper, a weekly publication targeting undergraduates,graduate students and recent graduates of Hyperion University in Singapore. The readers’ age ranged from 18 to 30. The paper covers sports, the arts, local news and national news and student life. It also features opinion pieces and comics drawn by students. Every month, the paper publishes a special edition that includes exclusive interviews with prospective employers and a listing of jobs available for students. Besides the print edition, Hype also has a website and a mobile application. The paper is funded by the university and advertising revenue. It has a circulation of 10,000 and readership of 22,000. Since the paper started in 1995, Hype has remained reasonably popular among the readers. With a student population of 35,000 that includes graduate students but not recent graduates, the editors felt that the newspaper’s reach could be better. There was also a steady decline in its readership over the last five years. When the editors spoke to some students, the feedback was that Hype was “out-dated and irrelevant”, the website and mobile application were “difficult to use”, and the opinion pieces were “boring”. The editors also found out from some graduate students and recent graduates that the writing style was geared towards the younger crowd. However, the majority of Hype’s advertisers and potential sponsors were targeting older readers. The editors were concerned and hoped to act on the feedback by conducting research. Prepare and propose three suitable research questions to help Hype assess the feedback. Indicate appropriate research method(s) for each question, and appraise the research methods regarding their usability and relevance in addressing the editors’ concerns. Lastly, evaluate the usefulness

of communication research for media entities like Hype.