This document summarizes several theories about how audiences interact with and are influenced by media: 1) The Hypodermic Needle Theory suggests that media can directly influence audience opinions and feelings if presented in a certain way using imagery and context. 2) Uses and Gratifications Theory explains why audiences consume certain media to fulfill needs like diversion, social interaction, identity exploration, and information gathering. 3) Cultivation Theory proposes that heavy, long-term exposure to certain media portrayals can influence audiences' beliefs about social reality. However, it is difficult to prove this effect on individuals. 4) Two Step Flow Theory describes how media messages are filtered through opinion leaders in social groups before reaching a

1. Audience - Research

2. The Hypodermic Needle
 This theory talks about how audiences react to different media types. The
theory tells us that the text or an image may effect the audience in opinion or
feeling If interpreted in the way the media type puts it across. Within
magazines, the publisher may put a person across in a certain way using
imagery and mise-en-scene to fit the story written. I think that the theory has
its flaws but when looking at a media type, using props does make people
think of a certain style or specific personality in which is important for the
media type to have character.
This is useful to my work as it gives the idea that when looking at the work im
creating, I need to put across and represent it in a certain way so it is
interesting and understandable to the audience looking at it.

3. Uses and Gratifications
 Bulmer and Katz published a theory in 1974, it explained why users of a text
might use it:
 Diversion – to escape from everyday life and normal everyday routines.
 Personal Relationships – reading texts for emotional interaction, replacing
TV drama with real life problems
 Personal Identity – learning about yourself in a text, looking at social groups
and creating yourself from it.
 Surveillance – finding useful information, such as weather or sports news in
which you may find interesting.
This could be of use to my project as I can look at all these 4 points aiming at
a specific group of people, to make my project a lot more successful to its
audience.

4. The Cultivation/Culmination theory
 The theory is about the effects on an individual if they were to watch
something over and over again for a long period of time. It talks about
desensitisation and the way in which someone may behave before and after
the process of continuous viewing of a specific thing. Someone may be
sensitive of blood or violence but after years of viewing a specific related
genre it may make someone less bothered about it in real life.
 This theory is very hard to prove correct with individuals behaving and
viewing different things in very different ways. Many people over time have
tried to prove the cultivation theory correct but no success has yet been
founded.

5. The Two Step Flow
 This theory looks more precisely at the relationship between a text and its
audience. The media has become a huge part of life around the world in
many different media types. This theory suggests that the audience digest
information from a text in which then links to their personal opinions in which
then may or may not make a influence on the person.
 For my project I will have to look at the individual genre being studies and
will then have to make precise decisions in which my audience will then
influence them and their opinions in order to create a relationship between
the text and its readers.

6. Mass Audience Theory
 The mass audience theory suggests that a text may be opinionated for every
person who receives it.
 Though criticisms of this are that everyone’s personal beliefs or opinions are
all based on different upbringings in which will influence us in many different
ways. If everyone was to like or view texts the same then there would be no
use in genre.
 Though it does bring up the view point that some texts are powerful than
others and that it is not always personal judgement which leads to such a
decision in viewing specific texts.

7. Audience as individuals
 The uses and gratifications theory looked at previously is an example on
audience individuals and that we all use different media types (such as
magazines) for different reasons.
 When creating such a text we have to look at what place it will take in
modern society, intelligence, gender and cultural differences. These will then
effect the meaning of the text.
 When creating my magazine, things such as the things mentioned above will
need to be considered when making a magazine for a certain audience. Age,
social grouping, and cultural differences. Only when these things are
considered will I have made a magazine which will be attractable for a big
enough target audience. People’s ideologies will all be different and media
types have to consider this.