A2 media coursework

2. O V E R V I E W
The audience are the people who view any given media text, weather it be
a film or a magazine. All media texts are produced with the audience in
mind. There are four main audience theories which are separated by
weather the audience is active or passive.
Passive audiences is an audience that merely observes and event rather
than actively responding it.
Active audiences on the other hand use the media to satisfy their needs,
active media audiences do not just receive information passively but are
actively involved.
Why study audiences?
- By identifying an audience you are able
to predict audience behaviour.
- Allows viewers to adapt their won
understanding of a media text.

3. H Y P O D E R M I C N E E D L E MODEL
The hypodermic needle is a passive theory, as the media text is believed by
the audience without questioning it. It would be active if the audience
questioned it and used it to satisfy their needs, but they do not therefore
showing that this theory is passive. The theory as is a model of
communications suggesting that an intended message is directly
received and wholly accepted by the receiver.
The theory was developed in the 1920s and 1930s after researchers
observed the effect of propaganda during World War I. The hypodermic
needle theory suggests that media messages are injected directly into the
brains of the passive audience. It suggests that we all respond to media
messages the same way.
Hypodermic needle theory has caused concern as it suggests the input of
the media can be quite dangerous as it can have a negative impact on the
audience, mainly among children. Violent video games, TV shows, and films
are the main concern.

4. T W O S T E P F L O W
Two step flow is also a passive theory, the two-step flow of communication
model hypothesizes that ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders,
and from them to a wider population. It was first introduced by sociologist Paul
Lazarsfeld and elaborated in 1944 by Elihu Katz and Lazarsfeld.
This theory consists of two steps as the title suggests, the first step starts with
the 'opinion leaders' who are highly respected, they consume the media text
with full attention, after this they pass on information about the media text as
well as their opinion on it. The second step involves the people who are in
contact with the opinion leader, they receive information from the opinion
leader as well as there opinion and consume it without question, this is
because of the respect the have for them and their social status. This causes
one persons opinion to become many peoples opinions just because they have
a high status in society.
A good example of this model is those with
a large social media following expressing
their opinions on social media about media
content and their followers blindly agreeing
with their opinion without actually
consuming the media themselves.

5. U S E S A N D G R A T I F I C A T I O N S
Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory suggests that media users play
an active role in choosing a particular media text. They both argued that a
media user seeks out a media source that best fulfils the needs of the user. This
theory states what people do with media rather than what media does to people.
Blumler and Katz believe that there is not just one way that people use media
texts. According to the theory, media consumers have a free will to decide how
they will use the media texts and how it will affect them.
Blumler and Katz believe that media consumers can choose the influence media
texts have on them, such as using them to escape from reality or finding
themselves in particular media texts. Uses and gratifications theory rules out the
possibility that the media can have an unconscious rule over our lives and how we
view the world, thus this theory is an active theory as the audience consume the
media with the aim off gaining a specific need out of it, the audience don't
consume the media and accept it without questioning the content as a passive
theory would state. Blumler and Katz stated that individuals may consume a media
text for the following purposes… (on next slide).

6. Diversion
People may use the media as a means of escapism and to relieve from tension and stress of their
everyday lives and routine. People tend to relax watching TV, listening to the radio etc, as they forget
about what is going on in the world around them and only focus on the media text. The way in which
people are satisfied by particular types of media texts is individualistic, e.g. some watch news to relax
and some get very stressed by watching the news. The Program is same but individuals use it to
satisfy different needs
Personal relationships
People may use media to socialize with family, friends and others within society. Recently it’s
becoming less common for people to have social gatherings at weekend on a regular basis due to the
influence of media within the current generation. Instead people tend to socialize using media like the
social networking sites like, Facebook, talking about the latest movies or how well they are doing on
the latest popular video game, e.g. individuals may start to watch a particular T.V series because there
friends watch it so they will have a common topic to discuss when they see each other.
Surveillance
People may use media for acquiring knowledge and information. Each individual acquires knowledge
in a different way e.g. quiz programs, watching the news, reading newspapers, crime programmes
such as CSI or documentaries. These types of people generally avoid programmes such a soap
operas and dramas as they tend to not portray an accurate description of real life.
Personal identity
People may use media to reassure their status and gain personal credibility. Particular individuals
watch TV to assure them that they have a status in society and to help find themselves. E.g. an
individual watching an advertisement on T.V having an interest in the item and purchasing it, the media
had a direct influence on their lives.

7. R E C EP T I O N T H E O R Y
This theory is also passive, the theory argues that producers or directors of media
texts construct a hidden message or meaning that they want to convey
across to the audience within their text. If this is done correctly the audience
will pick up and identify the hidden meaning or message very quickly, but the
audience will need to be reminded of the message consistently throughout the film
so they do not forgot about it. Stuart Hall identified three types of audience
reading messages…
Dominant: What the audience wants to hear from people and agreeing with it, but
with limited knowledge on what is being discussed or happening.
Negotiated: When the audience agrees, disagrees or questions a news
broadcast or political speech due to previously held news.
Oppositional: When the audience recognises the
Dominant message but rejects it due to their culture,
lifestyle or political opinion, when the audience is in this
oppositional state the producer or director are unable to
get any message across to them, as they have already
made up their mind on a person or subject.

8. Videos on each audience theory
Hypodermic needle model: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-toj0weAEM
Two step flow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFpBLeOHfxs
Uses and gratifications: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn9_0mTfT3Y
Reception theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJd1rkDoURA
References
http://mediablogs.keshacademy.com/btoolea2/2013/10/09/audien
ce-theories/
http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevkeyconcepts/alevelk
eycon.php?pageID=audience
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_theory
https://www.youtube.com/user/mediagabbitt