Audience theory examines how media consumers engage with media based on their interests and lifestyles. Producers aim to target specific audience demographics, like those aged 24-54 who are most likely to have a higher income. Uses and gratification theory explores why people choose certain media for purposes like social needs, entertainment, or gaining knowledge. Reception theory considers how audiences interpret media based on their social positioning and can take dominant, negotiated, or oppositional readings. Audience positioning involves composing media to convey certain ideologies to audiences in a way they can understand.

1. Audience Theory

2. Description
 Audiences have a very important relationship with the
products they use or media they consume. A lot of what
user’s consume is based on their lifestyle and interests and
can often be conveyed in certain ways.

3. Media consumers
 Media consumers have a large relationship with what they
watch and read in the media. The makers of all types of
Media produce their pieces for their audiences to read in a
certain way but this could be said otherwise as each
individual reader comes from different backgrounds, lifestyles
and also have different interests.

4. Aiming at Audiences
 Media consumers can be organised into groups based on
things like lifestyle and interests or income. These figures or
facts are then used by advertisers, broadcasters and
producers so they can optimize who they target for their
product.
 Most magazines are produced to make the biggest amount of
money possible so in doing this they aim at audiences
between ages 24-54 so that they can target those who are
most likely to have a good income.

5. Uses and Gratification Theory
Definition
 Uses and gratification theory is the understanding of what
people do with media or why they use it.
 Some people may use it for social needs or some may use it
to gain knowledge.

6. Why do people choose certain
Media?
 People may choose to watch/read/listen to media to become
knowledgeable in a certain group i.e. friendship group.
 Others may do it for the gain of knowledge.
 Others may do it for entertainment.

7. Blumler and Katz
 Both of these theorists published their own views describing
that people may choose media for different purposes:
 Personal Relationships would suggest that people would
choose media for social or relationship interaction.
 Escaping from everyday problems by indulging in what Media
offers.
 For a certain identity, maybe to learn something new or
reflect on certain values.
 For Surveillance, this would help benefit the user.

8. Laswell
 Laswell suggested that the Media served people for different
purposes in society:
 Entertainment
 Cultural conversing
 Correlation
 Surveillance

9. Reception Theory
Description
 Reception theory is the theory that the audience should be a
part of the creation process to help cater it to them, it is also
how the audience interpret the piece. It is the interaction
between the audience and the piece of Media.

10. Stuart Hall
 Stuart Hall stated that the interpretation of mass media is
affected by different social positioning and social groups.
 There are three models he speaks
about, dominant, negotiated and oppositional.

11. Dominant Model
 The reader/watcher is in agreement and shares the same
beliefs as what is said and then tries to reproduce the
preffered reading to others.

12. Negotiated Model
 The reader/watcher partially agrees and shares beliefs with
what is said but sometimes may resist or modify the piece in
a way which shows what they are interested in, they have
experienced and what position they stand.

13. Oppositional model
 Oppositional reading is for those who reject the piece putting
them in a directly opposite relation to the dominant place.
They understand what is being said but choose to reject it as
they believe in an alternative.

14. Audience Positioning
Description
 Audience positioning is the composer of the piece putting the
audience into a position so that they can understand the
ideology behind.
 It also helps to put ideology into the audience’s head and
helps benefit the audience’s reading experience.

15. Example
 The image to the right is trying to convey the
idea that apples are good. This being shown
by a green tick next to the apple.
 The image to the right is now showing that
apples will make you strong and healthy, this
is shown by the person who is smiling and
also has large muscles.
 The image to the right shows now that
somebody being put together with the apple
shows that you become strong and healthy.
 This positioning is telling the audience that apples are
good and are a positive thing by putting this idea.