Who is the audience &

why?FOCUS

Media Studies GCSE Controlled Assessment 1

Lesson 3Question: Analyse the front cover of two magazines. How do the covers

engage the interest of their audience?

Learning Objectives To be able to describe and explain the

categorisation of audiences.

To be able to apply understanding of audience profiling to create an audience profile.

To explore and understand 3 key media theories; Representation, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs and Uses & Gratifications Theory.

Learning Objective 3 Now that we have completed LO 1 & 2 you

should be eager to get onto the nitty-gritty of LO3!!!

To explore and understand 3 key media theories; Representation, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs and Uses & Gratifications Theory.

Open your books and add the following headings and questions to three blank pages

Headings = REPRESENTATION, MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS AND USES & GRATIFICATIONS THEORY

Questions = What is it, how does it work how can I use it to analyse magazine covers? Check the next slide if this does not make sense.

REPRESENTATION

What is Representation?

How does it work?

How can I use it to analyse amagazine cover?

MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

What is Maslows Hierarchy of Needs?

How does it work?

How can I use it to analyse amagazine cover?

USES & GRATIFICATIONS THEORY

What is Uses & Gratifications Theory?

How does it work?

How can I use it to analyse amagazine cover?

What is Representation & how does it work?

Representation is the way in which ideas, people and places are re-presented to us in a media text.

Representation works by using messages and stereotypes in the media to make the audience believe certain things about the ideas, people are places that are being re-presented to us.

Here are some key questions to use when analysing the representation in a media text;• Who is being re-presented?• How are they being re-presented?• What elements of their character is being emphasized or

ignored?• Is it realistic?• Who might be harmed by this re-presentation?• Who might benefit from this re-presentation?

Example of Representation on magazine covers

Use the questions on the previous slide to describe the Representation of fashion magazines (the examples below)

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy ofneeds & how does it work?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is a theory which suggests there are 5 stages people go through in life. The theory says that at each stage we have different motivations that drive us.

If we apply these stages to media then we can use them to try to understand the motivations behind our target audiences as well as another piece of evidence to support our arguments.

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy ofneeds & how does it work?

This diagram shows you the different levels.

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy ofneeds & how does it work?

Think of the levels as relating to growing up. When you are a little baby your only motivations

are food and sleep. (RED) As you become a toddler your motivations are

feeling safe and loved. (ORANGE) As a teenager you want to be liked and accepted

by your peers and you might start to have feelings of intimacy for others. (YELLOW)

As a young adult you are career driven and want to achieve things for yourself. (GREEN)

As a middle aged person (and possibly a parent) you start to concern yourself with the bigger picture – the world and how you might have an impact. (PURPLE)

Example of Maslow’s Hierarchy on magazine covers

Match each product to a stage on Maslows Hierarchy of Needs and explain why you think it matches the motivations for that stage.

Example of Maslow’s Hierarchy on magazine covers

Now write a short paragraph explaining which stage of Maslow’s Hierarchy you think the audience for your magazine is at and why.

What is Uses & Gratifications Theory & how does it work?

Uses & Gratifications Theory focuses not on the product but on what people do with the media.

This theory suggests that audience members actively seek out media product to satisfy their needs.

It also suggests that, since the audience are being active, they pick and choose the messages and ideas that suit them from a media product and ignore the rest.

What is Uses & Gratifications Theory & how does it work?

Uses & Gratifications Theory can link very well with Representation and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

An example of Uses & Gratifications Theory for magazines

The target audience for Inked is mostly men. HOWEVER Adam Levine is a pop star, traditionally

an icon more appealing to women than men. Using Uses & Gratifications Theory you could argue that the mainly male audience CHOOSE TO IGNORE THIS and buy the magazine for its contents rather than its cover. THINK – why then would the producers put a male pop star on the front? (answer this in your books alongside your notes)