AFSA NEWS 74 APRIL-MAY 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FSJ Reader Survey The Foreign Service Journal recently conducted a reader survey to gain a deeper understanding of its audience and their reading preferences. With 467 respondents, the survey provided valuable insights into how the Journal is consumed, what readers prioritize, and where improvements might be made. The survey revealed that an overwhelming majority—96 percent—of respondents are members of AFSA, while the remaining 4 percent are individual subscribers. Respondents were split almost evenly between activeduty and retired members, with the majority of active-duty respondents currently serving overseas. Demographics. In terms of age demographics, the largest group of respondents was more than 66 years old (40 percent), followed by those aged 51-65 (32 percent). Format. When it comes to format preferences, print still dominates with this group of readers. While 40 percent of respondents reported reading only the hard copy, 22 percent favor print but also engage with some digital content. Meanwhile, 17 percent reported reading exclusively online, and just 12 percent balance print and digital equally. Content. Content satisfaction remains high. About 66 percent of respondents believe the Journal strikes the right balance in coverage. However, 21 percent would prefer more Foreign Service–specific content, while only 9 percent want an increased focus on foreign policy. That said, open-ended comments reflected a wide variety of viewpoints on the ideal content mix. Most popular. Among the mostread sections, In Memory leads the way, with 69 percent of respondents Print only Primarily print but peruse digital Half and half Digital only Primarily digital but peruse print Which format of the FSJ do you primarily read? 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Readers’ Reflections on the FSJ With different agencies and constituency groups, you’ll never please everyone. I appreciate the deep dives into my agency (USAID) and read foreign policy pieces relevant to my current work. Life issues are helpful if they hit the stage I’m at (family, college kids, high school transitions, etc.). I read the FSJ to learn about the FS as an institution and about issues affecting my career. I feel the FS is being threatened on multiple fronts and would like to see more of what AFSA is doing to protect it. I find the actionable information on taxes, law, and education helpful, and also appreciate reading personal histories. The FSJ remains one of the few publications I continue to read (and prefer) in print, and I value it, and everything AFSA does for the FS community. I would like to see fewer long articles analyzing foreign policy issues. A lot of our members (active and retired) have great stories to tell from their work, and I appreciate that. If it’s the type of article I can find in mass market foreign affairs publications, I’d prefer not seeing it in the FSJ. There are plenty of other good sources for policy reporting and analysis. General (non-FS-specific) info about finances and retirement is also not so useful. The comparative advantage of the FSJ is it’s by and for members of the FS. I like reading personal essays from other FS folks. I hope you continue to issue a printed version and not shift to digital only. Hard copies of the FSJ are both nice to get and good to keep on the coffee table to hand to people considering Foreign Service careers or who are otherwise interested in what we do.
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