It's here & it's anonymous:
http://adamwalton.co.uk/questionnaire.html
Some of the responses, so far, have been very illuminating.
The fact that I've had responses is illuminating in itself.
One made me laugh.
I'm not going to post it here because I promised anonymity and although re-posting an anonymous questionnaire doesn't exactly contravene that promise, it's not something I said I was going to do, either.
Anyway, amongst some very telling observations, this replier implied that I am "seeking approval" for my show / what I do.
Dead right I am! Presenting a radio show for Radio Wales, and -- I suspect -- most of the provincial stations, is a bit like throwing a handful of dandelion seeds up into the air during a heavy storm.
You get no idea how many of the seeds get to land safely and germinate.
You don't know if they get eaten.
You don't know, for the most part, whether anyone anywhere gives a toss about dandelion seeds in the first place.
I've spent 14 years throwing dandelion seeds into the air.
It's bloody good fun, but you reach a point -- on occasions -- when you wonder whether it's actually doing any good. I think I see more dandelions, these days. But -- clearly -- I have dandelions on the brain.
Feedback to the show [e-mails & txt messages] is okay, but it's mostly from the bands that I am playing.
I think that I would be doing those bands a disservice if I didn't try to broaden the audience.
So, although it is deeply uncool and undermines an already paltry amount of kudos, I am keen to know what people think about this thing that I love and invest so much of my time & emotion in.
If I worked for Radio 1 or 6music, no doubt these kind of opinions would be forthcoming from senior editorial staff whether I wanted them, or not. And there would -- I imagine -- be reams more feedback from listeners because of the larger listening pools for Radio 1, at least.
I work in a bit of a vacuum.
My producers, Al and Jeremy, have only been coming in to studio since November. I'm pretty self sufficient [but they are definitely helping me to improve the organisation of the show -- and it is better, I think, as a result].
They're positive about what I / we do.
But I want to know what the listeners think.
I want to know why some people drift away, never to return: people whose opinions and intelligence I have valued, while they have corresponded with the show.
I want to know it anyone is in agreement with me, that the best kind of new music show is the one that is constrained by as few genre boundaries as possible.
I want to know if it's possible to have a radio show that features a 1/2 hour techno mix, but also plays exquisite, tender songs with harps in by the likes of Georgia Ruth Williams.
The point is this: I want to know all of this stuff, but I'm not sure that the knowledge will change anything.
Sure, the questionnaire is there to give me an insight into what *you* think are the weaknesses in the show. That's where your views will be constructive.
So, yes I am seeking approval. In a job where I'm making all the noise, sometimes I think it's important to turn the volume down to hear what people are saying, before I crank it right back up again, louder than before.
©Adam Walton
2010
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