Mass Media Case Study

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 Table of Contents
Analyzing the motivations that audiences have for using a particular form of entertainment
media ............................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3

Thesis Statement ............................................................................................................................. 3

Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 3

Data Collection ............................................................................................................................... 5

Findings........................................................................................................................................... 5

Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Significance of the research ............................................................................................................ 8

Recommendation ............................................................................................................................ 8

Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Reference List ............................................................................................................................... 10

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Student’s Name:

Professor’s Name:

Course:

Date:

Analyzing the motivations that audiences have for using a particular form of entertainment
media

Introduction
Mass media is referred to a diversified collection of media technologies, which is reaching huge
audience through mass communication. In this context, it is crucial to understand how mass
media is influencing the audiences and what the key motivators are. In this context, it is
noteworthy that there are several mass media theories, which are helping in understanding
different case studies in regards to mass media. In this context, it is noteworthy that the following
assignment is focusing upon analyzing a mass media case, with the help of theories related to
mass media (Wegmann, Stodt and Brand, 156). In this context, the assignment will aim to
explore the motivation that the audiences have for using a particular form of entertainment
media, with the use of entertainment theory. In regards to a particular mass media case, the Ted
Talks have been selected. Selecting this, the following research would explore how this form of
media is motivating the audiences, aligning with the principles of the Entertainment theory.

Thesis Statement
Audiences possess motivations for using a particular form of entertainment media

Literature Review
About the show

TED is a non-profitable organisation that has been bringing in several expert people of their
fields to motivate and educate the crowd. TED believes in spreading the idea that are worth
spreading to the common folks. The TED was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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after which it shifted to the Long Beach, California, United States. TED has also been showcased
and featured at several locations all over the world. The whole TED is based on the ideas worth
spreading. TED conferences include a wide range of topics like science, technology, design,
business, personal growth and others. These things are often demonstrated to the crowd by the
use of a story, which makes it easy and fun for the crowd to learn.

TED speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes under which they have to express their ideas
in the most engaging and motivational ways. The revenue of the TED has been reported as $66.2
million until 2015. TED conferences and talks are available to the people for free viewing
through the internet. TED has reported that there academics videos have been watched more than
average times by the viewers than the art and design videos (Ludewig, 1).

Motivation for using particular Entertainment media

In the mass communication process, there is a linking of the gratifications and the uses, which
puts the needs satisfaction and media evidently on the audience laps. The gratification theory
states that the people will chose a form of media, which they think will give them satisfaction.
This approach is different as it provides a scope of what the people do to the media and not vice-
versa. The people chose the media based on their psychological and physiological needs. Katz
and Bulmer stated several assumptions that build a framework for understanding the people's
approach towards a media. The first framework provided that the audience is an important part of
the media and the media and other patterns of media are always designed to be oriented towards
the people's gratification (Gallego, Bueno and Noyes, 82).

The framework also states that apart from being goal-oriented, the choice to get gratification by a
media solely depends on the audience's choice. The needs that are served by the mass
communication always comprise of a wide range of human needs, and these needs can only be
met through mass media consumption. This is clearly related to the one that the TED provides to
the people. The TED tries to satisfy the needs of the people through the medium of mass
communication. The framework also provides that the people are always aware of their self-
interest. The TED uses this theory and provides the discussion and motivational ideas on several
topics that interest the people. The use and gratification approach accentuates motives and the
self-interest needs of the audience. The people are also found to convey the same message over

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varied conversations. The individuals’ background, his experiences, interest, education and the
basic requirements affect the needs and gratification the people need from the people (Wegmann,
Stodt and Brand, 156).

Data Collection
To gain data used in the current research, I have conducted literature search, with the help of the
online databases. I have mainly used Google Scholar and Pubmed. In addition, I have also used
some authentic literatures and reports on the internet, with the use of some keywords. These
keywords have also been used in the online databases I have mentioned, while searching for the
literatures. In this context, the keywords included in the literature search are “motivation for
entertainment media, Ted Talk and audiences, motivation of audiences towards Ted Talk, types
of motivation of audiences, entertainment theory, audience theory, psychology of entertainment”.
Using the keywords, I have searched and selected the best literatures and articles related to the
key issue that is being focused in the current research. Further, after gathering the important
literatures, I have analyzed those literatures and extracted the data, from which the findings have
been developed and analyzed further. Several readings have also been explored, including books,
which helped me to shape my knowledge base on this subject. I have also reviewed some of the
Ted Talk shows on different topics and collected data from these shows to enrich my knowledge
base about the motivation of these shows on the audiences. I have only conducted the secondary
data analysis; no primary data has been collected for this research.

Findings
While finding and reviewing the existing literatures about the motivations audiences have for
using a particular type of entertainment media, I mainly searched for journal articles and other
types of reports and publishing, which are published within last 10 years. In the online databases
those I have used, I found approximately 100 related articles, which met the inclusion criteria
that I have used for this research, to select appropriate articles. Within these, I have used 7 to 8
most relevant articles, which met my research subject and helped me to analyze and justify the
thesis statement. In addition, I have also explored my own observation and included data from
the TV shows, those I have watched for understanding how audiences are being motivated by
these shows. I have also attempted to analyze my understanding with the help of the

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entertainment theory and related audience theory. I have revealed that while considering the
entertainment theory, it is crucial to understand the psychology of entertainment, which is
emphasized by the media (Zhaopeng et at., 408). In this regards, it has been revealed that the
psychology of entertainment can be defined through “mood management, social identity,
parasocial interaction and selective exposure”.

Discussion
From the findings, it has been revealed that significant motivation for a particular entertainment
media possessed by the audiences. In order to explore this aspect and justify the thesis statement,
the Ted Talk related audience’s motivation has been analyzed with the help of entertainment
theory. It is noteworthy that the entertainment media influences significantly the audiences, but
the key factor that influences the audiences toward a particular type of entertainment media is
their desire or need that is fulfilled by the entertainment theory.

Analyzing the case with Entertainment theory

Entertainment theory is one of the key theories, which helps to understand the way through
which the mass media influences the audiences. Considering this, the entertainment theory has
been selected for analyzing the current case. The entertainment seeks to understand what
entertaining media content is actually doing for entertaining the audience. It has been revealed
that sometime these effects take place without awareness. However, in most of the cases, these
effects are taking place having specific goals in mind, which is actively matching the media use
of audiences with the desired outcomes (Rosenberry and Vicker, 23). In this context, it has been
revealed by the author that audiences have developed strategies for using media, so that their
moods can be managed. They further learn to do their job by trial and error. In this way, people
are aware about the media and which message they need to search out, when they are going
through a bad mood. This theory is aligned with the audience – centered perspective. These
perspectives are revealing that the audiences are active, while using diverse range of strategies
for studying media consumers, because of which they reach to different complementary
conclusions. Oliver et al., revealed that the entertainment theory is seeking to explore not how
audiences use the media; rather it focuses more on what entertainment content does with the
conscious audiences (7).

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It has been revealed from the theory that the audiences of the selected media case Ted Talk are
significantly influencing the audiences. Ted talks are offering short, powerful and motivational
talks. The key purpose of these talks is to offer greater knowledge to the audiences, who seek a
deeper understanding of the world. According to the Entertainment theory, the audiences of Ted
Talks are enthusiastic people, who passionately believe in the power of ideas, which are offered
through these short influencing talks (Roy et al., 35). The events are helping to share ideas in
different communities through the world. Therefore, considering the audience – centered
perspective, it can be said that for the first time, when an audience would watch a Ted talk show,
the media content might influence the audience without his awareness. At this point, it is crucial
to consider the psychological aspects of entertainment, which are “mood management, social
identity, parasocial interaction and selective exposure” (Li, 98). Therefore, the first encounter of
the Ted talk show would manipulate any of these psychological aspects within the viewer’s
mind. For instance, the viewer might be in a bad mood and searching media content, which
might help him to cope with the bad mood. At this point, the influencing talk show would engage
the person with its content targeted to a particular group of audience.

In some case, coincidently, the audience falls within the targeted group. As a result, the viewer is
able to meet the psychological needs at that time with that media content. Further, being aware,
viewer would attempt to search the Ted talk’s media content, as per the category, which would
actively meet the media content with the desired outcomes. However, from the second time, the
viewer would have a specific goal in his or her mind. Once the viewer is satisfied with the media
content represented in the Ted Talks, the viewer would search for the particular Ted Talks
content, which he or she is seeking for meeting the psychological needs, like mood management,
having a social identity or developing a parasocial interaction. The media organization is also
targeting the potential audiences, by developing its content on the topics, which are mostly
desired by the potential audiences. Therefore, the entertainment theory is depicting that both the
media content operator as well as the audiences are active in the procedure of mass media
entertainment, aligning with the “audience – centered perspective” (Rigby and Ryan, 39).
Therefore, it is revealed from this perspective that the mass media operator is searching the
strategies, which might influence the audiences’ desires to participate; and the audiences are
searching for the content, which would actively meet their psychological needs at that time.

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Therefore, the entertainment theory defined both the aspects, i.e. what mass media is doing to the
audiences and what audiences are seeking from the mass media.

Significance of the research

The research is significant, especially for the mass media, as it is helping to understand the
audiences’ behavior and psychological influences towards the entertainment media. With the
help of the findings revealed from this research, the marketers could shape their marketing as
well as business strategies, which could meet their desires of the audiences. Aligning with the
entertainment theory, the research findings would also help the marketer to understand how to
mitigate the gap between theory and practice. Additionally, it will help marketers to identify the
factors influencing audience’s psychology of entertainment, which could be included within the
marketing strategy of the marketers.

Recommendation
From the above findings of the study, it has been revealed that the Ted Talk is able to meet the
psychological needs of entertainment for its audiences, which is actually motivating the
audiences towards this particular type of entertainment media. However, it is recommended to
the show organizer to research extensively and include more elements, for making the
presentation of the great, which might be helpful for grabbing attention of the non – users. As it
has been depicted that the first impression of the show is important for the audience, to
understand whether the show is able to meet the psychological needs; therefore, it is
recommended to Ted Talk to be more effective about making the presentation great and thereby
grabbing attention of audience at the first view.

Conclusion
In the above research, the key focus is to analyze the role of mass media in entertaining the
audiences. In order to explore this aspect, the researchers are taking help from several theories
and models. In this research, the entertainment theory has been explored, to understand the how
audiences are being motivated by the mass media content. In order to explore the theory and its
implication in the media world, the case of Ted Talks has been explored in this research, for

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understanding how this mass media show is actually influencing the potential consumers.
Finally, some recommendation has also been offered for further improvement.

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Reference List
Gallego, M. Dolores, Salvador Bueno, and Jan Noyes. "Second Life adoption in education: A
motivational model based on Uses and Gratifications theory." Computers & Education 100
(2016): 81-93.

Li, Cheng. "Research on the Theory and Context of E-ELM Model from the Perspective of
Entertainment Education." 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social
Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018). Atlantis Press, 2018. 85 - 100

Ludewig, Julia. "TED Talks as an emergent genre." CLCWEB-COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

AND CULTURE 19.1 (2017).

Oliver, Mary Beth, et al. "Entertainment Effects: Media Appreciation." The International
Encyclopedia of Media Effects(2017): 1-8.

Rigby, C. Scott, and Richard M. Ryan. "Motivation for entertainment media and its eudaimonic
aspects through the lens of self-determination theory." The Routledge handbook of media use
and well-being: International perspectives on theory and research on positive media
effects (2016): 34-48.

Rosenberry, Jack, and Lauren A. Vicker. Applied mass communication theory: A guide for media
practitioners. Routledge, 2017. 23 - 30

Roy, Subhadip, and Aditya Shankar Mishra. "The Dual Entertainment Theory In Celebrity
Endorsements: The Role of Celebrity Worship And Profession." Journal of Advertising
Research 58.1 (2018): 33-50.TED.com. (2019). Our Organization. Online. Available at:
https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization [Accessed on: 2 March 2019]

Tu, Zhaopeng, et al. "Learning to remember translation history with a continuous

cache." Transactions of the Association of Computational Linguistics 6 (2018): 407-420.

Wegmann, Elisa, Benjamin Stodt, and Matthias Brand. "Addictive use of social networking sites
can be explained by the interaction of Internet use expectancies, Internet literacy, and
psychopathological symptoms." Journal of behavioral addictions 4.3 (2015): 155-162.

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