media audiences

Lesson objectives

one Know how a media industry identifies

audiences for its products

two Understand how media products are

construcred for specific audiences

three Understand how audiences can

respond to media products

audience is used to describe a

group of individually unidentifiable and mutually anonymous people, usually

united by their participation in media use.

It is used to refer to large groups of people like the

mass audience …

for television programmes,

newspaper readership,

people attending a sporting event,

or a music concert.

People is such groups are seen as

having little connection

with each other, other than

interest in the event they are

attending or witnessing.

The word audience may also

be used to refer to a relatively

small groups like people

who attend …

a school play,

a theatre performance,

or a poetry reading.

media product is anything made by the

media industries.

media products are made

for a particular audience. We

enjoy some media products, but we may be uninterested in others.

Analysing a media product is much easier once you have

identified the target audience.

target audience is a specific

group of people at which a

product or marketing messages are aimed.

Once you know your target audience you can start to look

for particular features of the

product that appeal to that

audience.

A common and traditional method of audience research is known as

demographics.

producers need to know the

demographics of a potential

audience so they can shape

their product to appeal to a

group with known viewing habits.

psychographics is a way of

describing an audience by looking at the behaviour and personality traits of its members.

psychographics labels a

particular type of person and makes an assessment about their viewing and spending habits.

audience theory

the hypodermic model In this model the media is seen as powerful and able to inject ideas into an audience who are

seen as weak and passive.

It was thought that a mass

audience could be influenced by the same

message.

Powerful German films such as Triumph of the will seemed to use propaganda methods to ‘inject’ Nazi cause into the German audience.

That is why this this theory is

known as the hypodermic model.

It suggests that media can

‘inject’ ideas, values and attitudes

into passive audience who

might then act upon them.

This theory also suggests

that media products have only one message which the audience must pick up.

This theory stems from a fear of

the mass media, and gives the

media much more power than

it can ever have in a democracy.

It also ignores the obvious fact that not everyone in

the audience behaves in the same way.

Two Step Flow Theory Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955)

assumed a slightly more active audience. They suggest that

messages from the media move in two distinct ways.

First, individuals who are opinion

leaders, receive messages from

the media and pass on their own

interpretations in addition to

the actual media content.

The information does not flow

directly from the text into the minds

of its audience, but is filtered

through the opinion leaders who then

pass it on to a more passive audience.

The audience then mediate the

information received directly from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders, thus

being influenced not by a direct

process, but by a two step flow.

This theory appeared to reduce the power of the media, and some

researchers concluded that social factors were also important in the way in which audiences interpret texts. This

led to the idea of active audiences.

uses and gratification theory This model stems from the idea

that audiences are a complex mixture of individuals who select media products that best suit their needs.

This model suggests that media

audiences are active and make

active decisions about what

they consume in relation to their social and cultural setting and their needs.

The message of the media is not being forced on them as

such, they are choosing to

interpret its message.

Here power lies with

the audience not the producers.

The main idea is that media does

not fully control an audience, but rather the media is subjective per person as they use it to meet their needs.

Blumier and Katz (1975) went into greater detail and identified four main uses:

Surveillance – our need to know what is going on in the world By keeping up to date with news about local and international events we feel we have the knowledge to avoid or deal with dangers.

Personal relationships – our need for to interact with other people This is provided by forming virtual relationships with characters in soaps, films and all kinds of drama, and other programmes and other media texts.

Personal identity – our need to define our identity and sense of self Part of our sense of self is informed by making judgements about all sorts of people and things. This is also true of judgements we make about TV and film characters, and celebrities.

Our choice of music, the shows we watch, the stars we like can be an expression of our identities. One aspect of this type of gratification is known as value reinforcement. This is where we choose television programmes or newspapers that have similar beliefs to those we hold.

Diversion – the need for escape, entertainment and relaxation All types of television programmes can be ‘used’ to wind down and offer diversion, as well as satisfying some of the other needs at the same time.

Next class will be on

moral panics

homework task Read chapter on ‘Media audiences, interpreters and users’ by Sonia

Livingstone. In your reading pay extra

attention to the concept of moral panic,

which we’ll discuss at the next class.