In a poll of almost 1,000 residents, the Santa Clarita Valley chose The Signal as the No. 1 choice for local news, choosing the 99-year-old daily newspaper out of all local media outlets, as well as the internet, social media and regional TV outlets.
“We appreciate our community’s recognition in this recent poll from the city of Santa Clarita,” said Signal Publisher Richard Budman. “Our most important goal is to make sure we provide accurate, relevant and timely news to the Santa Clarita Valley, and these numbers indicate the hard work of The Signal’s staff is recognized by our neighbors — which we greatly appreciate.”
The city hired TrueNorth Research to poll nearly 1,000 residents to “provide the city with a statistically reliable understanding of its residents’ satisfaction, priorities and concerns as they relate to (city) services and facilities,” according to city of Santa Clarita officials. The city’s population is approximately 225,000 people, according to city officials in April.
The questions sought to ascertain what were residents’ biggest concerns, but also where residents turned to in order to get information about those concerns.
The Signal also had the most effective reach of any local outlet according to residents’ preferences for social media sites, as well.
The random sample that included 968 respondents, also showed that traffic congestion was considered by residents as the most critical issue facing Santa Clarita, which garnered 37 percent of responses, according to the report released this week.
This was similar to the result the city garnered the last time it polled residents two years ago, which also indicated that traffic was the largest local issue. The same issue came in second at nearly 20 percent in 2014.
Tammy Murga contributed to this report.
