Media Audiences

There are five theorists associated with Media Audiences

o Albert Bandura
o George Gerbner
o Henry Jenkins
o Clay Shirky
o Stuart Hall

You will need to able to apply their theories when you analyse example
 Albert Bandura – Media Effects theory

An audience can be
influenced by media
products which can lead to
copy-cat behaviour.

For example, watching a

violent film can make
someone act in a violent
manner.
The media can influence people directly
– human values, judgement and conduct
can be altered directly by media
modelling.

Media representations of aggressive or

violent behaviour can lead to imitation.

The media may influence directly or by

social networks, so people can be
influenced by media messages without
being exposed to them. Different media
have different effects. The ‘new’ media
offer opportunities for self-
directedness.
 Gerbner – Cultivation theory
Representations of groups of people are formed over
time by repetition in the media.

If you see something once you can ignore it but if you

see that representation repeated in a number of
media sources you are more likely to believe it.

These repeated representations change our

perceptions over time and they create an idea in
society of what is mainstream.

If we see repeated positive (or negative)

representations, over time, this will become the
dominant ideology.
Exposure to television over long periods of time
cultivates standardised roles and behaviours.

Gerbner found that heavy users of television were

more likely to develop ‘mean-world syndrome’ – a
cynical, mistrusting attitude towards others –
following prolonged exposure to high-levels of
television violence.

Gerbner found that heavy TV viewing led to

‘mainstreaming’ – a common outlook on the world
based on the images and labels on TV.
Mainstreamers would describe themselves as
politically moderate.
 Jenkins – Fandom theory
Fans act as textual poachers – taking elements from media texts to create their
own culture.

The development of the new media has accelerated participatory culture, in

which audiences are active and creative participants rather than passive
consumers.

They create online communities, produce new creative forms, collaborate to

solve problems, and shape the flow of media. This generates collective
intelligence.

From this perspective, convergence is a cultural process rather than a

technological one.
Jenkins prefers the term spreadable media to terms such as viral, as the former
emphasises the active, participatory element of the new media.
 Shirky – End-of-audience theory

Audience behaviour has changed due to the internet and the ability for
audiences to create their own content at home thanks to the lower cost of
technology. This new audience doesn’t just consume media, but also
produces it – creating the term ‘prosumer’.

Amateur content made this way has different values to professional media
producers, in that it promotes a connection between other amateur
producers – they both deeply care about the products they make and can help
them work together.

When they work together in this way, audiences can make more content than
producers – Wikipedia is a good example of this.
 Hall – Reception theory

People who make media products put ideas in their texts which they expect
audiences to understand. Hall calls this a preferred reading, as this is what
the producers of the text wanted them to understand.

However, each audience is different, so they might understand the text

completely different to what was intended. Hall calls this
an oppositional reading.

Finally, if the reading of the text by the audience is somewhere between the
two, this is called a negotiated reading.