Media Audience Theory

Media Audience Theory

1. Hypodermic needle

   • Suggests audience are passive and accepts the message injected into them by the mass media

2. Two step flow

   • Filtered through opinion leaders
   • Primary audience watch the media
   • Secondary audience absorb what the opinion leader think without looking at the media message

3. Reception theory

   • Text is encoded by the reader
     • Then decoded by the reader
   • 3 types of readings
     • Oppositional
       • Dont agree with message
     • Negotiated
       • Agree with message but work it out so it suits them
     • Preferred
       • Agree with what the institution are trying to convey

4. Uses and gratifications

   • People use the media to satisfy their needs
   • Surveillance
     • News
   • Personal relationships
     • Used for social purposes e.g cinema