2. THREE QUESTIONS
• Why do audiences chose to consume certain texts?
• How do they consume texts?
• What happen when they consume text?
3. AUDIENCE THEORY
• There are three theories that we can apply in order to get a greater
understanding of my target audience:
• The effects model or the Hypodermic model
• The uses and gratifications model
• Receptions theory
4. THE EFFECTS MODEL
• The consumption of media texts have an influence or effect on the
audience
• It is normally considered to be negative
• Audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence
• The power is within the message of the text
5. THE EFFECTS MODEL
• This model is also know as the Hypodermic
• Here audiences are injected with the media texts by the powerful,
syringe like media
• The audience is powerless to resist
• The media works like a drug and the audience become addicted
6. THE EFFECTS MODEL
• There is key evidence to support this:
• The Frankfurt School theorized in the 1920’s and 30’s that the
mainstream media acted to to restrict and control audiences in order to
benefit the corporate and capitalist government
• The Bobo Doll Experiment- This was a very controversial piece of
research that showed children apparently copy violent behaviour
7. THE USES AND GRATIFICATIONS
• It is still seen an being unclear as to whether there is a connection
between the consumption of violent media and texts directly influence
violent actions
• It also appears flawed as many people seem to consume violent media
and texts and do not take out any violent acts
• So another theory is needed:
• The uses and gratifications theory
8. THE USES AND GRATIFICATIONS
• This actually the opposite to the effects model
• The audience is active and uses the media rather than being used by it
• The audience uses the media for it’s own benefit and gratification
9. THE USES AND GRATIFICATIONS
• The power here is found with the audience and not the producer
• This theory suggests what audiences do with texts and how they use
them
• They are free to reject, use or play with the media meanings as they see
fit
10. USES AND GRATIFICATIONS
• so the audience use the media to help with certain needs:
• Diversion
• Escapism
• Information
• Pleasure
• Comparing relationships with others
• Sexual simulation
11. RECEPTION THEORY
• Developed by the Academic Stuart Hall in the 1970’s at Birmingham
University
• This looks at how the media and texts are encoded by the producers and
decoded by the audince
12. RECEPTION THEORY
• This theory suggests:
• When a producer composes a text they encode it with a meaning or
purpose that they wish to covey to the audience
• In some cases the audience will correctly decode and understanding the
meaning put within the text by the producer
• In other instances the reader will incorrectly read the text and reject the
message
13. RECEPTION THEORY
• Stuart Hall identified 3 types out audience reading:
• Dominant/prefered- when the audience correctly decodes the message
conveyed by the producer and overall agrees with them
• Negotiated- where the audience accepts, rejects or refines the text in the
light of previously held views
• Oppositional- when the dominant meaning is understood but rejected
by the audience for cultural, ideology or political reasons
