On a postcard-perfect evening early last summer, 17 Stanford alumni gathered at a Los Angeles conference center for a roundtable discussion. They could have been doing other things—the Lakers were playing in the NBA finals that night, the traffic was horrendous, and getting to the site was a chore. But they gave up their evening to spend three hours, in separate groups of seven and 10, poking, probing and praising Stanford magazine. It was the last of four focus groups we conducted in recent months, and it reminded us how much people care about this publication and what goes into it.
While we were pleased that most of the comments were congratulatory, we homed in on areas where readers said we could improve. Some wanted more research; others, profiles of interesting people—and not just famous ones. But opinions converged when we asked the participants to name their favorite article from the past year. Nearly everyone in the room said it was the story about the alleged murder of Jane Stanford. We had heard the same thing a week earlier from Bay Area focus groups.
What does the enormous popularity of the “Jane’s murder” story tell us? After all, articles involving strychnine, the mysterious death of a University founder, and a whispered cover-up don’t come along every day. While the narrative itself was “riveting,” according to one alumnus, what made the story meaningful was that the magazine published it despite the potentially scandalous allegations it contained. “It made me proud of the University,” said one participant.
Reaction to the Jane story also underscores alumni’s psychic investment with Stanford. Despite distance, time and a host of everyday distractions, that attachment holds firm, and touching it creates the magic that makes a magazine like ours work.
We followed up the focus groups with a telephone survey. Again, much of the data confirmed what we already suspected—for example, class notes is the most regularly read section of the magazine (96 percent). But there were revelations, too. Feature stories were right behind class notes in popularity, recording the highest readership ever (95 percent).
Our goal is to offer a balance of intellectual substance and human interest; to educate, entertain, provoke thought. We need to cover a lot of ground. The features in this issue are a snapshot of that effort. They include an article about research (the origins of Internet search innovation); an alumni profile (Roger and Cindy Lang, who are using their Montana ranch as an environmental laboratory); current affairs (alumnus Greg Miller’s account of Army interrogators in Afghanistan); and institutional history (restoring the legacy of the University’s first African-American student). If we’ve chosen well, there’s something in that collection to interest every reader, and remind them why the Stanford saga remains relevant in their lives.
Our formal reader research project is complete—thanks to all those who participated. But the conversation is ongoing. We want to know what you want, what we should do better. We can’t promise more “Jane’s murder” stories, but there are other ways to hit the bull’s-eye. With your help, we’ll aim for those.
