MANSFIELD — Richland Source turned 3 years old Saturday, just a baby in business terms. But this entity is walking on its own and starting to run in some instances. Our readers deserve a lot of credit for that.

Our growth in page views alone has been explosive in 2016, doubling from January to May. We’ve advanced from strictly covering Richland County to operating three sections, Richland Source, Crawford Source and most recently, Ashland Source.

In the past eight months we’ve sponsored a popular mayoral debate, helped craft a high school basketball tournament, and boldly gone where few news agencies dare to go. Seriously, did you catch Friday’s staff video on fine cicada dining?

Clearly we are growing and becoming more popular throughout north central Ohio on a daily basis.

With that thought in mind, it seemed a good time to check in on the most important people in this operation. The readers.

So, we issued a Reader Survey in May seeking feedback on what we do well, need to do better, and general impressions of the region’s lone online-only news agency. Nearly 1,000 people responded, from California, Florida, Texas and naturally, all over Ohio.

Their voices offered a myriad of interesting opinions from a wide-ranging and ever-changing background.

Almost 64 percent of the respondents were female. Mansfield, Lexington, Madison and Ontario, in that order, were the top-four school districts where these readers live.

What do respondents value most in a local news organization?

At 85 percent, accurate reporting was by far the most popular answer, responding to breaking news (66 percent) and fairness (61 percent) were next in line.

Among at least 527 readers who responded to a series of three questions on accuracy, more than 90 percent rated Richland Source about as accurate or more accurate compared to other local news outlets.

More than 97 percent of respondents believe Richland Source has about the same or a better attitude than our competitors, while more than 96 percent rate us as a similar or better value than our competitors.

In terms of overall news product, 74 percent said they were very satisfied or extremely satisfied with Richland Source.

Those are all numbers we’re proud to trumpet, and figures any company would be thrilled to embrace.

“I’ve lived in Maryland now for 14 years and I can read the Source and feel like I know what’s happening in my hometown and relate to my family and friends still there,” one reader noted.

What do we do best?

A mix of news that seems to reflect the community accurately was the top response, at 74.61 percent; while delivering a variety of news about the community was second at 62.33 percent. Discovering unique and interesting stories was third at 48.53 percent.

Readers like our attention to local history, and our understanding of time and place and the ripple impact in the community and beyond.

“Love the history dude,” one reader noted. “Great stories.”

That would be Tim McKee, and he’s one of our favorites, too.

Where do we need to improve?

In-depth investigative reporting topped the list of improvements at 37.63 percent, followed by responsiveness to breaking news at 34.09 percent and local crime reporting at 28.79 percent.

All of those are certainly fair judgments. Improving in-depth and investigative reporting is something we’re targeting this year. Dillon Carr’s piece, When the River Rises, was one such example that is clipped on our website. Others will follow as this year unfolds.

However, gavel-to-gavel coverage of trials and daily reporting of police calls is not something in Richland Source’s gameplan. Although these are clearly page-view bonanzas, that simply doesn’t fit our culture. We report on crime and corruption stories, as a responsible news outlet should.

However, those items are not going to be the cornerstone of what we do, largely because we feel that reflects only a small fraction of what’s truly happening across our region. We would rather take a more measured approach to stories impacting the vast majority of our population across north central Ohio.

Also, in investigative reporting, it’s not just exposing the ills of a community or local agency that interests us or our readers. We’re looking at potential reasons, and hoping to help find solutions. We want to raise awareness, perhaps ignite the conversation that leads to a constructive dialogue or even a resolution.

That’s the mission that drives us.

When we see those numbers about attitude that are reflecting in the community, we know our readers get this. It’s what we’re all about.

Others mentioned a gap in national and state news. One reader was looking for Hints from Heloise and Dear Abby. Those are holes to be sure. However, we don’t subscribe to the Associated Press or other national media outlets. We were founded on telling our story and we’re going to remain a hyper local media operation.

Some called us too liberal. Others insist we’re too conservative. We take both criticisms jointly as a sign we’re playing the middle of the field.

What’s next?

We’ve launched an initiative titled Richland Live, profiling the local music scene in an active way. For instance, we’re hosting a series of After Hours concerts right here in our newsroom that are invitation-only events (mostly because we can’t jam everyone into our space that would want to see these bands do their thing).

We film the bands, synchronize the music and offer the videos online for the community. We’re also a title sponsor for the Richland Source stage in the Brickyard, and volunteer actively to boost Downtown Mansfield Inc. and it’s city-wide bash Final Fridays, which will continue throughout the summer.

We’re spotlighting historic local homes that are undergoing major renovations from energetic homeowners, particularly the Park Avenue West corridor. We’re also hitting a number of area restaurants to share their favorite dishes via video.

Naturally we will be a presence at the multitude of summer events, including county fairs, festivals and shows that make living here so unique.

We’re trying to have fun (note our April Fool’s Day package of stories). We’re trying to accurately reflect the hardworking mentality and enthusiastic take on life so many of our readers have in north central Ohio.

We’re going to continue to try new things. Not all of them will succeed. But we’ve come this far thanks to the support of our readers. With responses like this, we’ll continue to study how we can best keep pace with your passions and expectations.

This survey told us that 72.31 percent would very likely recommend Richland Source to a friend or family member.

To that we simply say thanks so much for reading Richland Source.