Audience Theory

Key Theorists;
- Katz & Blumler - used and gratifications
- Morley
- Hall
- Ang
- Katz & Lazersfeld


Key Terminology;
Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Media
Passive - audience will not question what they are told
Active - they wont always agree with what they are told
Mass Media - the media in general
Utopian Solution - gratification that allows people to escape from their lives
Situation Culture - small scale combinations we are exposed too in everyday life
Encode and Decode - transmitting a message and having someone else decode it

'we must get away from the habit of thinking in terms of what the media do to people and subsitute for it what people do with the media' Halloran 1970

What effect does the media have on audiences?

• Positive; escapism, influences/ views/ opinions / behaviour
• Negative; influences views / opinions / behaviour e.g copying from films/ video games, objectify women, creates stereotypes, you see what they want to show you, filtered/ gatekeeping, personal identity e.g models are skinny, 'mortal panic' e.g media blame video games for violent behaviour leading to the parent panicking and not allowing their child to have the game. 

How do audiences effect the media?

• Positive; fashion e.g society influence, indigo campaigns, like-ability ( media finding out what people are talking about and what they think about it), opinions on what should be included in the media e.g magazines. 
• Negative; social networking, reports in the media may use stereotypes.

Hypodermic Syringe Model

- Developed in the 1930s

- All the audience members react in the same way 

- They all passively receive messages

- The media effects thoughts and behaviour 

Cultivation Analysis

- How we become desensitised to things we see in the media 

e.g seeing someone being killed you wouldn't react as heavily 

Situated Culture - there are many other factors that affect our interpretation of texts e.g upbringing (e.g religion), friends, relationships (e.g a media text may make you doubt your relationship, like romantic films) 

Cultural Apparatus -  a dominating institution such as as the government uses culture to impose values, definitions, opinions etc on the general public. for example benefits. 

Primary Media

- where we pay close attention to the media text in front of us, reading a magazine, cinema. 

Secondary Media

- where the media text is in the background not really watching TC or music based radio

Tertiary Media

- things you aren't giving your full attention too e.g billboards or adverts on busses/ bus stops. 

Active Audience 

- you are not always going to agree with what the media is saying 

- two step model ( Katz & Lazarfeld; 1940s)

- audience often receive the medias message through 'opinion leaders' ( someone you respect, for example an actor/ artist / director

Uses and Gratifications

- Blumler and Katz 70s

- suggest that the audience uses the media to fulfil needs and motivations:

- Diversion; e.g use for entertainment, something to do; book, tv 

- Person relationships and social interaction; audiences become involved with the social lives of people presented in media texts through interviews/gossips

audience cane observe a range of relationships with others and can learn empathy 

- Personal identity; audiences can identify with characters represented in the media

audience can make comparisons between characers and their own behaviour e.g video games, characters that resemble you 

- Surveillance; the media provieds information, education, helping the audience to stay informed and know whats happening in the world e.g news

Class Theorist Research:

Dyer - utopian solution
Hall - encode and decode
Effect Theory - protection of young
Bandurg -Boo Boo Doll experiment
Morley - Nationwide sutduy of entertainment value
Ang - Reception theory different social and cultural gaps