The document discusses several theories about how audiences interact with and are influenced by media. It begins by describing the hypodermic needle model from the 1920s, which proposed that audiences passively receive information from media without questioning or processing it, and are easily manipulated. It then discusses criticisms of this model and the two-step flow theory proposed in the 1940s that information spreads from media to opinion leaders to less active associates. Later theories discussed include uses and gratifications theory, which suggests audiences actively use media to fulfill certain needs, and reception theory, which considers how meaning is encoded in media texts and decoded by audiences.

1. Audience
Fateh Khaled

2. • They way we interpret things from the media can cause a
significant change to our future.
• The mass media is changing the way we live and
everything can be done so easily via the power of digital
media.
• The audience are subconsciously taking in information
from the media whether it’s music consumption, TV
consumption or even news consumption; it has an effect
on us all.
Introduction

3. • This theory was proposed during the 1920’s (where mass
media was still considered new) and it was to explain how the
audience would react to the mass media.
• It suggests that audience passively receive the information
transmitted via a media text, without any attempt on their part
to process or challenge the data.
• The model also suggests that the information from the text
passes into the mass consciousness of the audience is
unmediated, for example; the experience, opinion and
intelligence.
• Therefore, we as an audience are manipulated by the creators
of media texts and that our behaviour can be easily changed.
The Hypodermic Needle Model

4. • One major issue of the Hypodermic Needle Model is that
it quickly proved that it was too clumsy for media
researchers seeking to more precise explanation for the
relationship between the audience and the media text.
• Some would say that this theory is also out-dated, this
theory derives from the 1920’s and since then mass media
has developed a lot more since then so there is a debate
whether some of the rules of this theory can still be
applied today
Criticsms

5. • Due to the criticisms of the Hypodermic Needle Model, a more
sophisticated explanation was proposed.
• During the 1940 presidential election campaign Paul
Lazarsfield, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet and
published their results in ‘The People’s Choice’.
• Their findings show that information does not flow directly
from the text into the minds of the audience unmediated but it
is filtered through ‘opinion leaders’, this is then passed onto
less active associates that they have influence over.
• The audience then mediate the information received directly
from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the
opinion leaders, thus being influence by a non-direct process
but a two step flow.
Two Step Flow

6. • 1960’s was revolutionary for the world of technology, this
is because it was the first generation to grow up with
television.
• Far from being a passive mass, audiences were made of
up individuals who actively consumed texts for different
reasons and in different ways.
• Laswell (1948) suggested that texts from the media had
particular functions for the individuals within society,
these are listed below:
• Entertainment
• Cultural Transmission
• Surveillance and Correlation
Uses and gratifications

7. • Audience therefore use media texts to gratify needs for:
• Escapism – To escape from everyday problems
• Information – Gain extra knowledge from different sources.
• Pleasure – For example coming back from work; turning
the TV on and relaxing
• Comparing relationships and lifestyles
• Diversion
• Sexual Stimulation
Continued

8. • The reception theory was proposed by Stuart Hall at
Birmingham University during the 1970’s.
• This theory considered how texts were encoded with
meaning by producers which is then decoded by the reader.
• By using recognised codes and conventions and audience
expectations (relating to aspects of genre) the producers
can actually position the audience, this therefore means
that it creates a certain amount of agreement on what the
code means – this is referred to as preferred reading.
Reception theory

9. • Stuart Hall proposed three types of audience decoding:
1. Dominant - This is where the audience decodes the message
as how the producer want them to, for example watching a
speech on a particular topic and agreeing with it.
2. Negotiated – This is where the audience rejects, accepts or
even refines elements of the text according to views held
previously, for example neither agreeing or disagreeing with
a speech on a particular topic.
3. Oppositional – This is where the dominant view intended by
the producer is recognised but the viewer rejects it, this can
be due to political, cultural or ideological reasons. For
example total rejection of a speech on a particular topic
Types of audience encoding