T O L O O K I N T O T H E A U D I E N C E T H E O R I E S A N D H O W T H E Y C A N B E U S E D I N T H E

C R E A T I O N O F Y O U R M A G A Z I N E

Audience Theories

Generic Conventions and Audience Theories

There are a few ways that you can describe an audience for example:

Age

Gender

Culture

Education

Class

Region

Uses and Gratifications Theory

This was a term created by Blumler and Katz in the 1970’s. It suggests that the audience uses the media to fulfil needs and motivations: Diversion which is entertainment, relaxation, something to do Personal relationships and social interaction which means audiences can

become involved in the social lives of people presented in media texts through interviews and gossip, audiences can observe a range of relationships with others and understand the dynamics involved and audiences can learn empathy

Personal identity means audiences can identify with characters represented in the media, and they can make comparisons between characters and their own behaviour.

Surveillance is that the media provides information and education, helping the audience to stay informed and know what’s happening in the world.

The uses and gratifications model is the opposite of the effects model talked about in a few slides, as the audience is active and they use the text instead of being used by it. The audience uses the media texts for its own gratification or pleasure.

The power therefore lies with the audience and not the producers and far from being duped by the media, the audience is free to reject, use or play with the media meanings as they fit.

Audience Control

The audience is in control and consumption of the media and this helps people overcome issues such as:

Learning

Emotional satisfaction

Relaxation

Help with issues of personal identity

Help with issues of social identity

Help with issues of aggression and violence

Reception Theory

Encoding and Decoding was first introduced by Stuart Hall in the 1970’s.

Texts are encoded with meaning (semiotics)

Different audiences respond (decode) in different ways

Both encoded and decoded meaning will be understood in the context of the social and cultural background of the producer and audience

When a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience. In some instances audiences will correctly decode the message or meaning and understand what the producer was trying to say, in some instances the audience will either reject or fail to correctly understand the message.

Readings

Dominant reading is where the audience uncritically accepts the intended meaning of the text.

Negotiated reading is where the message is partly accepted and partly rejected – meaning they agree and accept to a certain extent. People may believe the story if they have read it elsewhere in a trusted magazine, or they may be uninterested in the story and find the source unreliable.

Oppositional reading is where the audience rejects the message, this could be because the story is seen as gossip, the source isn’t trusted or the audience does not value the celebrity and their viewpoints.

The Effects Model and The Hypodermic Model

The consumption of media texts has influence upon the audience, and it is normally considered that this effect is negative.

Audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence, so therefore producers have to think about the message they are trying to put across

The power lies with the message of the text and is very important that it is worded correctly so that it will not be seen as offensive.

The hypodermic model is when messages in media texts are injected into the audience by the powerful syringe-like media.

The audience is powerless to resist the messages they are given and therefore the media works and almost captures the audience.