AUDIENCE THEORYA LEVEL MEDIA STUDIES

MOST AUDIENCE THEORY FOCUSES ON TWO QUESTIONS..

How powerful are the media in influencing the ideas and behaviour of the audience?AndHow does the media shape an audiences perception of the world?Audience theories suggest that representations are open to different interpretations and that their meanings are not fixed.

CONSUMPTION OF MEDIAThere are different ways of consuming media texts

Primary media(texts demand close and concentrated attention from audience, eg. Films in cinemas)

Secondary media(texts provide a background for an audience who are often doing something else at the same time and are distracted, eg. Radio and some TV programmes)

Tertiary media(texts that are consumed by audiences who are almost unaware of their own engagement with the media, eg. Advertising or radio stations broadcasting in shops)

Market-Liberalism PerspectivePolitical-Economy PerspectiveStresses power of AUDIENCE over media producersAudience preference decides what media texts are producedAudience research and pre-testingStresses the power of PRODUCERS over media audiencesMedia is produced to appeal to advertisersThe power of media organisations are open to abuse - promoting political parties etc

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE MODELTWO STEP FLOW MODELUSES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORYRECEPTION THEORYDating from 1920sPassive audienceInformation is unmediatedAlso called the limited effects paradigmSocial effects are important in the way audiences consume textsBlumler and Katz 1974Audiences consume texts for different reasons and in different waysStuart Halls Encoding/Decoding modelTexts have preferred meaning

PASSIVE AUDIENCESEffects TheorySome commentators see the media as a sinister and insidious force.The Frankfurt School (Adorno and Horkheimer) a group of Marxist intellectuals developed a critique of the mass media after expressing horror at the success of Nazi Germany propaganda.They argued the media had considerable power over the behaviour and beliefs of the audience.The passive audience soak up the empty promises of mass entertainment, becoming willing victims who both produce and consume the products of consumer capitalism.The audience are powerless to resist the effects of media messages.

THE TWO STEP FLOW MODELKatz and LazarsfeldReception in which media messages are mediated by others opinion leaders.US presidential campaign 1940Our opinion can form or develop based on what others have to say.Importance of word of mouth

ENCODING/DECODINGStuart Hall drew upon the Gramscian hegemony theory in developing the encoding/decoding model.He wanted to focus on how dominant ideological messages can be resisted or reinterpreted by audience members.At the encoding stage, the producers of texts create messages (codes) which they expect their viewers/readers to understand.When the audience come in contact with the text, we decode the messages to create meaning.Fundamentally, media messages are POLYSEMIC they contain numerous possible interpretations.However, we can be steered towards a preferred reading of a text.

Stuart HallPreferred, Negotiated and Oppositional readings of media textsFor example

McDonalds want you to think....

You may agreeOr.....You may disagree

Or.....You may think that big macs do taste good, but Ill only have them every now and again

So here we have three separate readings of that one advert

In 1980 David Morley did a study of audience responses when watching the BBC TV show Spotlight. As a result of his research, he decided that audiences tend to fall into three groups based on their interpretation of the text.....Preferred ReadingNegotiated ReadingOppositional Reading

The preferred reading is the reading media producers hope audiences will take from the text.

Audience members from outside the target audience may reject the preferred reading,receiving their own alternative message.

Negotiated reading is when audiences acknowledge the preferred reading, but modify it tosuit their own values and opinions.

What is the PREFERRED reading?The NEGOCIATED reading?The OPPOSITIONAL reading?

ACTIVE AUDIENCESThe Uses and Gratifications TheoryThe audience has a set of needs (Blumler and Katz 1975)DiversionIntegration & Social InteractionPersonal identitySurveillance/Information

We use the media to gratify our needs.We actively seek out media products that we really want.Links with liberal-pluralist perspectives (consumers hold the power over producers)

Coronation Street viewers are individuals who are motivated by different impulsesA need for companyThe need to be part of a groupThe need to identify with characters and scenariosRelaxation The need for structure and order offers a reassuring routineTo combat loneliness allows audience to perceive themselves to be part of an IMAGINED COMMUNITY

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS1) SURVEILLANCE/INFORMATION

We want to find out about society and the world.

2) INTEGRATION & SOCIAL INTERACTION

Companionship through identification with television characters

We want to find out more about the circumstances of other people so we can empathise/sympathise with the lives of others.

Sociability through discussion about television with other people.

3) PERSONAL IDENTITY

Finding reinforcement for personal values.

Identifying with a valued other in the media.

Gaining insight into ones self.USES AND GRATIFICATIONS

GRATIFICATION4) DIVERSION

We use the media for enjoyment, relaxation or just to fill time.

NEW MEDIA THE INTERNETUTOPIANThe internet user is savvy, well informed and creativeDistinctions between production and reception are blurredOnline communities allow audiences to interact with each other and producersActive

DYSTOPIANStudies of internet users have shown an unequal distribution in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and social class.There are increasing levels of corporate domination big companies exploit the potential for making money from users.Levels of control and surveillance inhibit the autonomy and creativity once associated with the internet.

WHY DO AUDIENCES WATCH MUSIC VIDEOS?