The document discusses several audience theories: 1) The hypodermic needle theory suggests that audiences passively receive ideas from media texts without processing or challenging the information. 2) The two-step flow theory suggests that audiences are more influenced by media when they discuss it with others, particularly opinion leaders. 3) Uses and gratifications theory holds that audiences have different reasons for consuming media, such as for information, identity, and social interaction. 4) Reception theory examines the relationship between media texts and audiences, noting that encodings by producers can be decoded differently by audiences, though recognized codes and genres help produce shared meanings.

1. Audience Theories
Charlotte Thistle
Josh Timms
Mica Joseph
Emma Hart

2. Hypodermic Needle Theory
• The hypodermic syringe theory suggests that
the media is a syringe that injects ideas,
beliefs and attitudes into the audience. It
suggests that audiences passively receive the
information transmitted via a media text,
without any attempt to process or challenge
the data. As an audience, we are manipulated
by the creators of media texts, and that our
behaviour and thinking might be easily
changed by them. It assumes that the
audience are passive.

3. Hypodermic Needle Theory
• We will be using this theory within our music
video because our audience will be passive
• Additionally, we are ‘injecting’ beliefs into the
audience as we are using continuity editing
and showing that George is upset that his
girlfriend has died

4. Two-Step Flow
• The two-step flow theory suggests that we are
more likely to be affected by the media if it
with discuss it with others. Our opinions are
affected by the way our friends and family
view the media e.g. views on documentaries.
The people who we discuss the opinions with
are called the “opinion leaders”. This
diminished the power of the media in the eyes
of researchers, and caused them to conclude
that social factors were also important in the
way in which audiences interpreted texts.

5. Uses and Gratifications
• The uses and gratifications theory states that we
all have different uses for the media and we
make our choices over what we want to watch.
We are expecting 4 things from our media which
are:
• Information: we want to know what is happen in our society
and want to satisfy our curiosity.
• Personal Identity: we may watch the television or read the
newspaper for models of our behaviour such as being able
to identify ourselves with television characters.
• Integration and Social Interaction: we use the media to find
out more about other people’s circumstances through
empathy and sympathy.

6. Reception Theory
• The reception theory is the relationship
between text and audience. The text is
encoded by the producer, and decoded by the
reader, and there may be major differences
between two different readings of the same
code. However, by using recognised codes and
conventions and drawing upon audience
expectations relating to aspects such as genre
the producers can position the audience and
create a agreement on what the code means.

7. Reception Theory
• The reception theory is the relationship
between text and audience. The text is
encoded by the producer, and decoded by the
reader, and there may be major differences
between two different readings of the same
code. However, by using recognised codes and
conventions and drawing upon audience
expectations relating to aspects such as genre
the producers can position the audience and
create a agreement on what the code means.