Questionnaire

As part of my research I have conducted an internet survey into radio dramas to which I have received some favourable responses. Here, I have focused on how often a listener will in fact listen to the radio drama and by which medium they listen since the internet has attracted a large proportion of listeners with the convenience it offers.  This is because this knowledge can be important in expanding the reach of a radio station as more active steps can be made to publicise its existence.

Also I have tried to ask questions which would give me some idea as to what an audience is looking for in radio drama since I believe that this field of entertainment like any other can only be properly maintained if it aims to satisfy the target audience.

The questionnaire I have created is as follows.

1. Are you male or female?

2. How old are you?

3. Do you listen to the radio?

4. Do you listen to radio drama?

5. If the answer to the previous question was yes than how often (on estimate) would you say you listen to radio dramas per week?

6. Which genre would most appeal to you and why?

7. Given a choice do you prefer 90 minute dramas or dramas which have been slip into 15-45 minute dramas and broadcast over a period of days or weeks?

8. What is it about audio theatre that appeals to you?

9. Do you listen over the radio, the internet or other? 



Male or Female?

How old are you?

How often (on estimate) would you say you listen to radio dramas per week?

Which genre would most appeal to you?

When asked why they liked the genres they did the people who filled out the questionnaire mostly agreed that whilst they liked their specific genres they also wanted aspects of humour within the drama. For example in explaining this one person wrote

‘Something with humour. There is already plenty of drama in my life so I gravitate toward comedy which is good for relaxing after a hard day. And I feel that comedy works well with just voice acting and sound effects.’

However, after conducting this questionnaire, I found that whilst the science fiction and murder mystery genres did not by any means show the majority they appealed to a greater number of people then all the other genres which were discussed individually.

This result encouraged me to produce a science fiction drama however it also prompted changes to be made to the original ideas since I had previously been thinking of creating a drama with stronger aspects of horror but found from the feedback given that this was not what the audience would want. Therefore the script eventually written was rather lighter and simpler than the original idea, so that those consumers who did not want to think too much or be shocked by the drama could simply be entertained.

Given a choice do you prefer 90 minute dramas or dramas which have been slip into 15-45 minute dramas and broadcast over a period of days or weeks?

Whether the drama should run as a full length programme or as a series of episodes spanning days or weeks was something which was discussed at length. A full length play would allow the audience to listen to an unbroken storyline but they would also have to listen for a longer period at one specific time and the chance for attracting new listeners to the drama would be reduced. A series of episodes was thought to be the better alternative since it would ultimately enable a longer running time, allowing more scope for the overall plot as well as offering new listeners a better chance to follow the story at a later stage. Another advantage with episodic drama in the real industry was that if the consumers liked the drama they would keep returning to hear the next episode, something which would help to maintain the station’s ratings and attract advertisers. However, there are some who find the nature of episodic drama irritating which was a great concern and as such I was keen to learn the consumer opinions in conducting this survey.  The majority of those who responded agreed with favouring episodes, one individual wrote

‘I prefer the shorter because if I leave off, I will be somewhat satisfied with the story. There are more conclusions and smaller plot lines. I think you can build up a really good world with that in mind. The longer dramas tend to have more fluff.’

                                           Do you listen over the internet, the radio or other?