Audience Theory

1. AUDIENCE
THEORIES
LO: TO UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE USE
DIFFERENT FORMS OF MEDIA

2. RICHARD DYER’S
UTOPIAN SOLUTIONS
THEORY
Richard Dyer states that people will respond to a media text if
it offers them compensation for the inadequacies in their own
lives. Through the media audiences can vicariously live their
lives and fulfill their wants and needs, leading them to strive
to a utopian life. This is his ‘Utopian Solutions’ theory:
For each of the inadequacies listed above think of a ‘solution’ which the
media offers people. For example a media solution for loneliness would be
logging onto Facebook and updating a post.
Thinking about advertising, can you find some adverts which offer
people ‘solutions’ to ‘problems’ in their lives?

3. ABRAHAM MASLOW’S
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
THEORY
Abraham Maslow stated that we all have the same 8 basic
needs. Therefore if your production targets these, you will
have a greater chance of success. The top five needs are:
Q. Explain how the Media
make use of people’s
needs across different
forms of Media.
Q. How do advertisers use
these needs to sell their
products to consumers?
Can you find some
examples of adverts to
support your views?

4. USES AND
GRATIFICATIONS
THEORY
Blumler and Katz suggested in the 1970s that the media audiences make active choices about
what to consume in order to meet certain needs. Their Uses and Gratifications Theory tries to
show the different reasons that audiences have for consuming certain media texts.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory
Media Consumers choose media texts that fulfill one or more of these needs:
The need to be INFORMED and EDUCATED about the world in which they live
The need to IDENTIFY personally with the characters and situations in order to learn more
about themselves
The need to be ENTERTAINED by a range and variety of well constructed texts
The need to use the media as a talking point for SOCIAL INTERACTION
The need to ESCAPE from their ‘daily grind’ into other worlds and situations