Audiences

Hypodermic needle theory

 Mass media injects thoughts, values and beliefs into the audience which changes their views
and opinion and alter behaviour.
 Suggests media is powerful and controlled
 Assumes audiences are passive
 Theory came from when military propaganda
 Power of association is where a brand is associated with something cool making people
wants to buy the brand/ product e.g. red bull and cool sports performing.
 Aspirational model is where people want to buy the product to be a better version of
themselves e.g. Levi jeans and super model.

Uses and gratification theory

 Looks at the audience as an active audience

 How audience reacts to mass audience
 Assumes the audience choses the media they want to watch
 Why we consume certain types of media:
1. Inform and educated – to learn more about a topic
2. To be entertained – to laugh or cry
3. Personal identity – identify with the situation or the characters
4. Integration and social interaction – chat about programs later with people e.g. at
school
5. Escapism – pure escape e.g. – Si-fi

Reception theory

 Stewart Hall came up with this theory

 The producer encodes media with messages, ideas, views etc. and the audience decodes it.
 Only there ways in with the audience will respond:
1. Dominant – intended meaning by the producer
2. Negotiated – mixed response (partly agree with intended meaning)
3. Oppositional – thinking the complete opposite