The audience currently appears to hold the key to several mysteries surrounding the way the mass media work and even to the very survival of mass communication as we know it. The mass media article refers to a culturalist theory, however, there is little evidence of its use in relation to mass media. However, different audience members will decode the media in different ways and possibly not in the way the producer originally intended. The media logic theory states that common media formats and styles serve as a means of perceiving the world. Consumption the act of using resources, goods or a service. Katz stresses two mediating factors which stand between the media and their audience. The uses and gratifications theory has beendebated as to its accuracy and relevance in evaluating an audience sutilization ofmass media. There are many examples of this model in the theory and. Priming media messages may stimulate recall of stored ideas, knowledge, opinions, or experience. In these theories, the propagandist dominates the audience and controls the messages that reach it.
Obstinate audience theory this theory assumes that there is a transactional communication between the audience and the media. There are three theories of audience that we can apply to help us come to a better understanding about the relationship between texts and audience. Audience theory in media studies by camelia galea on prezi. Stuart hall developed reception theory, popularly known as audience theory or readers reception theory, in 1973. According to this theory, there is an internal link between media, audience and large social system.
A2 media studiesaudience theory learning objectives. Media audiences, interpreters and users 1 introduction. The bullet theory or hypodermic needle theory postulates that the media needle injects the message into audience mind hence causes changes in audience behavior and psyche towards the message. Audience theories types of audience theories hypodermic needle effect the hypodermic needle theory is related to passive audience specialy massmedia from 1950s1960s and has a direct, immediate and powerful effect, the information and message is purely injected through. Media and audiences with karen ross, 2003, and new media worlds. Recent research indicates that agendasetting theory can be multidirectional. Consider a study by taylor, alexopoulos, and ghaznavi 2016 that provided a content analysis of sexual interactions in one hundred television shows set in workplaces. The handbook of media audiences wiley online books.
Media dependency theory is one of the theories, first of its kind which regards audience as an active part in communication process. Strengths weakness although many people still talk about the media in this way, this theory is disregarded as an outdated way of thinking about media influence. The uses and gratifications model here, power lies with the audience not the producers this theory emphasises what audiences do with media texts how and why they use them far from being duped by the media, the audience is free to reject, use or play with media meanings as they see fit. A strong argument suggests that audiences may be passively affected by the sexist, violent representations in gtav as it is a more realist text than other shoot em up action adventure games. In the second part of the essay will be illustrate how those two approaches contribute to our understanding of media audiences. The power of propaganda resides in its ability to quickly reach vast audiences and expose them to the same simple but subversive messages. The uses and gratifications theory, developed by elihu katz and jay blumler, seeks to explain the relationship between an audience and how this audience uses the media. Media dependency theory, a systematic approach to the study of the effects of mass media on audiences and of the interactions between media, audiences, and social systems. This theory therefore refers to mass media audience members as passive and hence at the mercy of mass media contents. On the other hand, two step flow theory explains that the audiences will be influenced by the media or other opinion leader. This is the fourth in the series of audience theory this looks at stuart halls reception theory.
Young audiences ultimately may begin to view women differently and think that the. Persistent long term exposure to tv content has small but measurable effects on the perceptual worlds of audience members. He describes and explains the main types of audience, alternative theories about the audience, and the main traditions and fields of audience research. The analysis refers to relevant theories to mass media relationship with the audience, and use data. Media effects include theories that explain how the mass media influence the attitudes and perceptions of audience members. Reception studies audience centered theory that focuses on how various types of audience members make sense of specific forms of content sometimes referred to as reception analysis. Second, it gives an overview of the main theories in this area. Virginia nightingale held the position of associate professor with the school of communication arts at the university of western sydney until her retirement in 2010. Heavy tv viewing creates an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world. Details the study of audiences and how it is changing in relation to digital media recognizes and appreciates valuable traditional approaches and identifies how they can be applied to, and evolve with, the changing media world offers diverse. Throughout most of history, the idea of the audience has meant a facetoface audience in the presence of a communicator or entertainer, whether at a political meeting, the theatre or a concert. Reception theory this theory extended on the concept of active audiences and how they.
Theoretical approaches to media content, tools for understanding audiences, and the basics of newspaper, television, radio, and film production are covered in this media studies textbook. Afl progresswhere would you place yourself on athermometer of understanding about audience. His essay encoding and decoding television discourse focuses on the encoding and decoding of the content given to the audience no matter the form of media such as magazinespapers, televisionradios, games. Marxist media theory daniel chandler opposition to functionalism opposition to liberal pluralism base and superstructure media as means of production ideology media as amplifiers the constitution of the subject differences within marxism the frankfurt school althusser gramsci and hegemony stuart hall limitations of marxist analysis. Sonia livingstone media audiences, interpreters and users. This framework focuses on how message appeals are packaged in terms of gainframe promotion of positive behavior. Media theory refers to the complex of socialpoliticalphilosophical principles which organize ideas about the relationship between media and society. Today, the deep rooting of media in the cultural consciousness means that media consumers need engage for only a few moments with a particular television program to understand that it is a news show, a comedy, or a reality show. It was introduced in outline by the american communications researchers sandra ballrokeach and melvin defleur in 1976. The producer encodes messages and values into their media which are then decoded by the audience. The zimmermanbauer study found that the audience also participates in the communication by influencing the message. The uses and gratifications theory has beendebated as to its accuracy and relevance in evaluating an audiencesutilization ofmass media. In their words, the swinging pendulum of audience theory is underpinned.
Pressures and demands 12 the production of media culture part 5 content media content. A media text itself has no meaning until it is decoded by an audience. In uses and gratifications theory blumler and katz. Huffing and tugging at each end is an assorted lot of key media theorists championing their perception of the social reality. The effects model or the hypodermic model the uses and gratifications model reception theory. Some of the strongest and most contested claims for the autonomy of the active audience have been made in rebutting theories of media or cultural hegemony. Relationships between media and audiences lse research online. Uses and gratifications theory and its connection to public relations. Understanding audiences within everyday discourse the word audience is commonly used unproblematically. The agendasetting process is a very fluid, dynamic attempt to get the attention of the media, the public andor policy makers. Audience theory free download as powerpoint presentation. An introduction to audience theory, designed for l3 media studies.
Proponents of active audience theory claim that scholars cannot assume that the meaning of a text is fixed in advance of its reception because meaning is the product of a negotiation between the audience and the text in a particular context of reception. On social media, i construct my identity for an audience on social media, i manage my identity as a brand on social media, i display imagined affordances on social media, i choose the features of myself i want to share with others microblogging is convenient for the presentation of cultural, social, and political interest. Regarding polarization of media relationship phenomenon with the audience, this paper focuses on. Media, audience activity and everyday life the case of japanese engagement with media and ict toshie takahashi a thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement fos r the degree o f doctor of philosophy media and communications mediatlse and the departmen ot f social psychology london schoo ol f economics and political science. For the first time young audiences are watching less tv due to the fast, interactive media that they have become exposed to. An overview of text, genre, and narrative analysis provides a context for understanding the relationship of language and society to the media. This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the complexity and diversity of audience studies in the advent of digital media.
Active audience theory is seen as a direct contrast to the effects traditions, however, jenny kitzinger argues against discounting the effect or influence media can have on an audience, acknowledging that an active. Theory and principles of public communication campaigns. Audience theorists adorno passive consumption, hypodermic model frankfurt school. Audience theory there are three theories of audience that we can apply to help us come to a better understanding about the relationship between texts and audience.
Throughout the world, though especially in industrialized countries, people routinely spend a huge amount of time with different forms of media, often more time than they spend at work or school or in face to face communication. First, this entry touches on the history of media effects. Key aspect areas of interest categories genre, purpose, tone, style. This theory shifts our attention to the reception of media texts and how meaning is created. Reception theory as developed by stuart hall asserts that media texts are encoded and decoded. The theory refined the ability to predict the influence of media messages on audience behavior,dave, 2009 and the reason why people sometime does not influence by media. Media effects and our view of the world while discussion of media effects often centers on dramatic issues such as violence or propaganda, scholars have identified a number of more subtle potential effects.
New perspectives with karen ross, 2003 and critical readings. End of audience theory clay shirky key terms for the theory. Pdf central to media studies is the audience concept. Polysemic the characteristic of media texts as fundamentally ambiguous and legitimately interpretable in different ways. They argue that people use the media for their own purposes see uses and gratifications. Media audiences, interpreters and users lse research online. At the same time, the search for the key to the mystery of the audience itself is still under way and it has been hard to keep up with new developments in thinking. As evans 1990 notes, recent audience work in media studies can be characterized largely by two assumptions.
The audience actively selects what messages to pay attention to. The effects model or the hypodermic model the uses and gratifications model. To understand the key types of audience theory to apply audience theory to an example music video 2. The theory suggests that social and daily experiences can affect the way an audience reads a media text and reacts to it. Today, the mass audience concept underlies most work in media marketing and audience segmentation.
Hall suggests that an audience has a significant role in the process of reading a text, and this can be discussed in three different. In audience analysis, author denis mcquail provides a coherent and succinct account of the concept media audience in terms of its history and its place in presentday media theory and research. Audiences are more active than this theory suggests. The dependency theory is expanded from the theory of uses and gratification. Issues, concepts and methods of analysis 14 media genres and texts part 6 audiences 15 audience theory and research traditions 16 audience. This resulted in a reconsideration of the mapping of good and bad, masculine and feminine. Finally, using three of the most recent theories within media effects. But, as historians of the media are keen to point out, the idea of the audience is much older than this.
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