They grab headlines, generate gabfests and gobble up airtime, but presidential polls — at least those taken this early in the election cycle — have a short shelf life.

Figures fluctuate and candidates rise and fall as debates, interviews and campaign ads continue to influence voters’ views. A poll taken today may not reflect the political fortunes of next week or next month, let alone next year when the ballots are cast.

A one-week survey beginning today at the Richmond County Daily Journal is a different kind of animal. It will have a lasting and measurable impact on your newspaper in the coming months and years.

As we prepare to mark the Daily Journal’s 85th year of publication on Sept. 8, we’ve produced a 10-question online survey designed to grade our performance on reporting Richmond County’s news. We want to know what we’re doing well and what we should be doing better.

We’re asking you to rate how well we cover public safety, government, education, agriculture, sports, politics, church news, business, arts and entertainment. We want to know which stories you read first, which ones you remember most and which ones lose your interest.

The brief survey gives you the opportunity to have a say in what we cover and how we cover it. We’ll examine each response carefully and use the data to better allocate our newsroom’s resources.

We’ve worked hard to increase both the quality and quantity of local news in the Daily Journal. Our coverage of homelessness in Richmond County sparked the movement that spawned New Life Church’s Place of Grace shelter. We’ve advocated for open government and the public’s right to know. In an effort to shine the spotlight on people making a difference in our community, we launched our well-received Notable Neighbors series.

But there’s still work to be done. There are still stories that need to be told. Comfort and complacency are the enemies of excellence. We’re striving for improvement each and every day, and we need your help to chart our course.

As big-city broadsheets are shrinking, community newspapers like your Daily Journal are on the grow. We’ve seen encouraging gains in both online readership and print circulation this year. We want to keep growing — and keep getting better.

One question on our survey asks which features you’d like to see added to your paper. Should advice columns like Dear Abby return to our pages? We’ll take your advice. Want to see more comic strips in the “funny pages?” We’ll laugh along with you. Movie reviews? Pass the popcorn.

As a gesture of gratitude for sharing your opinions with us, we’ll pick a respondent at random to win a $25 Visa gift card. But the real reward for participating is knowing that your feedback will shape the future of your hometown newspaper in its 85th year and beyond.

Click here to take our reader satisfaction survey.

Responses will be collected through noon next Saturday, Aug. 29. Look for the results to be reported and analyzed in this space over the coming weeks.

A Daily Journal editorial