On the next page we have relisted a series of questions we asked F&B readers back in March 2000. Once again, we would like to enlist your aid in completing the survey form.

Actual field tests of depth sounder and / or GPS units are very expensive, time consuming and weather dependent: Are these tests still warranted, in your opinion? Are you still influenced by F&B’s opinion?

The first part of the survey is identical to the one published in Year 2000, and we've done so because this enables the polling to measure trends as well as specific information. For this reason, we have left off some obvious upgrades or modifications that could have been applied to those questions, but to do so would reduce the effectiveness of the poll. A bit further on, on the next page, we start the first of the Year 2006 queries which relate to the possible introduction of classified advertising to F&B, and a brief questionnaire on the sort of cable or internet TV show that you might be interested in.

Destination Choices

Once again, we're polling your views on the destinations the F&B team should address in the coming months and years ahead. This is an incredibly complex process involving no little expense and a great deal of time - two of our most precious resources. Obviously, there's not a lot of point us rushing from one side of Australia to the other if only a tiny percentage of our readership are really interested.

Worse, we could be ‘shooting ourselves in the foot” by ignoring more obvious destinations such as those in the strip between (say) Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The perennial question boating magazine editors and destination writers ask themselves is this: Are people really interested in feature articles on popular, easily attainable places such as the Gippsland Lakes, Batemans Bay, Crookhaven, Forster, Coffs Harbour, etc? Or would they really prefer that amount of energy, expense and time was expended in the pursuit of the more remote regions? Whilst it’s true very few people (generally speaking) are able to reach these very fishy, remote locations, anecdotal evidence suggests it is, nevertheless, where most people dream about going.

It's a vexing issue and we'd like to poll your views on this subject and specifically, once again ask you to list in order of preference (suggesting 1-5 at least) the places you'd most like to read about in F&B in the months ahead.

Cable/Internet TV Show

This is a bit of a can of worms we've played with for many years, but it's a subject whose time has quite possibly arrived.

We've had the wherewithal to produce our own high definition, digital television show for some time. For a variety of different reasons, it is starting to look like it will become feasible in the not too distant future, to broadcast our own TV series or show on cable TV - not for ‘free to air’ TV so much as a fully subscribed, digital, “cable” show.

In other words, for a fee of perhaps $20 a month, readers might be able to log on to a private cable network and watch their very own F&B Boat Show - becoming viewers as well as readers.

Alternatively, and rapidly rising up the possibility tree, we already have the option of making our own show - and showing it through the internet or offering each show by DVD for readers who still want to view it on their wide-screen high resolution TV.

However, making the whole broadcast thing quite intriguing, it now seems we are only a hop, step and small jump to start viewing the internet on our ‘normal’ TVs - especially as the broadband roll-out gathers momentum.

There is an obvious synergy between print media (as in F&B magazine) and digital television, especially in things such as boat tests, engine reports or tests of electronic equipment such as depth sounders. Imagine being able to watch a comprehensive review of the top half dozen full colour depth sounders actually working offshore in 80 or 90 fathoms before making a judgement as to which one you'd purchase - fascinating stuff, eh? You’d have the ‘big picture stuff on TV, alongside the nitty-gritty detail in the magazine. We're interested in pursuing it further, but only if the majority of our readership is interested too.

This is not a chicken and egg situation that we're in. We are completely dependant on our readership for the success of F&B, and in turn, the directions we take in the future must bear the stamp of approval of our readership, or we're just not going to go there . . . !

It's this simple philosophy that has kept F&B to the forefront of Australian boating and fishing magazines over the last 15 years, and with your help in this survey, we'll work even more efficiently at making sure it stays right up there on top of the heap. Footnote: For the record, the information is totally secure in that it's only for the F&B team, only polled by the F&B team. We've asked for names and a day time phone number because the polling process requires that we check a fairly high percentage of the entries to authenticate the forms.
F&B

June 2010 F&B Reader “Quick Survey”

The F&B team currently has a number of choices concerning the editorial directions we take in the next few years. Further, we're also exploring alternative ways of delivering the information we research and prepare in the future. Could we ask for a few moments of your time to answer the following questions?

As we work through all the new media technologies, more than ever before, the results of this survey will directly impact on the future content and the ‘delivery’ of F&B and related products, so your input will be studied intently - and will make a real difference.

Re: The Internet

Q1.	Do you have easy home/office access to the Internet?	Yes	No
Q2.	If not, are you thinking about getting access to the Internet in the future?	Yes	No	Maybe
Q3.	Can you see yourself reading F&B on the Internet screen in the future?	Yes	No	Maybe

Re: Videos for Home TV

Q4.	Would you be interested in purchasing a 10 minute video boat test by the F&B team for (say) $30, if it concerned the boat you wanted to buy?	Yes	No	Maybe
Q5.	Of the following fishing and boating destinations, could you indicate your interest in learning more about them? In other words, which of these destinations would you like to see F&B cover in the next 12 months? (Your order of preference 1-5 would help a lot).

	Bermagui, NSW
	Port Stephens, NSW
	Mooloolaba, Qld
	Hervey Bay, Qld
	Fraser Island, Qld
	Town of 1770, Qld
	Hinchinbrook Island,Qld
	Weipa, Qld
	Borroloola, NT
	Broome, WA
	Exmouth, WA
	Other(s) you'd nominate for the F&B team to visit:

Q6.	Would you be interested in purchasing a 15-20 min video by the F&B team for (say) $30 concerning one of these places, if you were planning to go there for a family or fishing holiday?	Yes	No	Maybe

Re: F&B

Q7a.

What would you like to see MORE of in each issue of F&B?

Q7b.

What would you like to see LESS of in each issue of F&B?

My Favourite F&B Regular Sections

(Your order of preference would help)

Q8.	Blue Hills (F&B Editorial)
	Engine Room (PW)
	Sally's Gallery
	Ebb 'n Flow (Neil Dunstan)
	Gary Fooks' Outboard Database
	Homeworkshop
	Around The Place

F&B's Own Cable / Internet Digital Boat Show

Q11.	If the F&B team made their own 30 minute, weekly TV Show for broadcast through cable TV or the Internet, would you be be interested (subject to the obvious issue of its cost) in subscribing to see it?	Yes	No	Maybe
Q12.	If a TV show was made, could you indicate the content you’d be most interested in? (Your order of preference 1-5 would again help a lot).

	Tests of
	Boats
	Outboards
	Depth Sounders
	Fishing Tackle
	or Reports on
	Seamanship & Boathandling
	Fishing
	Destinations

	Other (suggestions, please):

	Name:
	Daytime Phone:

PS:

Q13.	Do you buy F&B	Each Issue	Often	Occasionally	I'm a Subscriber
	I read Dad's/familys/rello's/dentist's (etc) copy

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