This document summarizes several key theories in audience and media studies: 1. Audience response theory explores how active audiences engage with and interpret media texts in various ways, rather than passively accepting messages. 2. Cultivation theory suggests that repeated TV exposure can subtly shape viewers' perceptions of social reality over time. 3. Uses and gratifications theory views audiences as active in choosing media to fulfill needs like information, entertainment, or social interaction. 4. Reception analysis and the idea of dominant, oppositional, and negotiated readings looks at how audiences can decode media messages differently than intended.

1. AUDIENCE THEORY
By Preesha Patel

2. AUDIENCE RESPONSE THEORY
• The cultural theorist, Stuart Hall, explored how people make sense of
media texts and claimed audiences were active not passive.
• An active audience engages, interprets and responds to of media text
in different ways and is capable. Of challenging the ideas encoded in
it.
• A passive audience is more likely to accept the meaning/message in a
media text without challenge and are therefore more likely to be
directly affected by the messages.

3. MASLOW’S
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
• Mangers can make use of a number of
motivational theories help encourage employees
to work harder.
• Taylorism argues that staff do not enjoy work and
are only motivated by organising employees’ work
and paying by the results, for example price rate
pay – payment per item produced.
• Maslow suggests that there are five hierarchies or
levels of need that explain why people work. Staff
first want to ,eat their survival needs by earning a
good wage. Safety needs such as as job security
then become important, followed by a social self-
esteem and self-accomplishment needs. Moving
staff upwards a Maslow level is motivational.

4. Cultivation Theory
• Cultivation Theory suggests that repeated exposure to television over
time can subtly ‘cultivates viewers’ perceptions of realities. George
Gerbner and Larry Gross theorised that TV is a medium of the
socialisation of most people into standardised roles and behaviours.
• This theory suggests Television influences its audience to the extent that
their world view and perception start reflecting what they repeatedly see
meaning TV is considered to contribute and perceptions start reflecting
what they repeatedly see meaning TV is considered a contribution
independently to the way people prescience social reality and will have
an effect on the audience’s attitudes and values.
• Being less shocked by violence the audience may then be more than
likely to act violently. The criticism of this theory is that screen violence is
not the same as real life violence. Many people have been exposed to
screen Maurer and violence, however there is no evidence that this has
leas audiences to be less shocked by real life killings and brutality.

5. TWO STEP FLOW
THEORY
Two Step Flow theory was developed by Katz and Lazarsfeld. The
theory consists of two steps:
• Firstly – opinion leaders then pass their own interpretation along
to others such as friends and family members (the influenced).
• Secondly – opinion leaders pay close attention to the media and
its message. They are influential among their peer group as they
are usually more informed then their friends of family.
The influenced are not as well informed and os look up the opinion
leaders and crucially trust their opinion and interpretation of the
media.
Examples of Two – Step Flow theory include elections for example in
2017 UK general Prime Minister Teresa May did not take part in an
election debate with six other party leaders. An opinion leader may
have watched the debate on the television and then told their friends
who have not watched the debate that the Prime Minister bottle out
as she was scared to debate with other leaders.

6. RECEPTION ANALYSIS
Reception theory as developed by Stuart Hall that media texts are encoded and decoded.
The producer encodes messages and values into their media which are then decoded by
the audience. On the other hand, different audience members will decode the media in
different ways and possibly not in the way the producer originally intended.
Stuart Hall states that the audience members adopt one of the following three position
when they decode the text:
• Dominant, or Preferred Reading – How the producer wants the audience to view the
media text. Audience members will take this position if the messages are clear and if
the audience member is the same age and culture; if it has an easy to follow narrative
and if it deals with themes that are relevant to that specific audience.
• Oppositional Reading – When the audience rejects the preferred reading and creates
their own meaning of the text. This can happen if there media contains controversial
themes that structure perhaps not dealing with themes in modern day. Oppositional
reading can also occur is the audience member has different beliefs/values or is of a
different age or a different culture.
• Negotiated Reading – A compromise between the dominant and oppositional
readings, where the audience accepts parts of the producer’s views, but has their own
views as well. This can occur if there is a combination of some of the above.

7. USES AND
GRATIFICATIONS THEORY
Uses and Gratifications Theory was developed by Bulmer and Katz suggesting that media
users play an active role in choosing and using google the media. Bulmer and Katz believed
that user seeks out the media source that best fulfils their personal needs.
The uses and gratifications theory assumes the audiences chooses what it want to watch
for five mains reasons:
• Information and Education – The viewer want to acquire information, knowledge and
understanding by watching programmes like The News or Documentaries.
• Entertainment – Viewers watch programmes for enjoyment.
• Personal Identity - Viewers can recognise a person or product, role models that reflect
similar values to themselves and mimic or copy some of their characteristics.
• Integration and social interaction – the ability for media products to produce a topic
of conversation between people. For example who is the best contestant on The X-
factor who which was the best goal shown on Match of the day.
• Escapism – Computer games and action films let viewers escape their real lives and
imagine themselves in those situations

8. AUDIENCE AND MEDIA
STUDIES 2. 0
• David Gauntlett – Producer as Consumer
(Prosumer): “Media Studies students regularly
make their own short film productions but are also
regular consumers of the media – in doing so they
are both producer and consumer blurring the
boundaries of traditional media consumption”.
• In modern day, there are distributions/social
media platforms systems such YouTube, Instagram
and Blogs that allow us the opportunity to relate
media and generate are own personal audiences.
Audiences can create their own distribution
systems without mediation form in institutions or
companies.