Development of the Two Step Flow model of communication, which took account of the way in which mediated messages are not directly injected into the audience, but while also subject to noise, error, feedback etc, they are also filtered through opinion leaders, those who interpret media messages first and then relay them back to a bigger audience.
Think for example, of the role of the journalist or broadcaster whose job it is to inform the public. Think further about the role of key individuals in society, teachers, doctors, trade union leaders, your boss at work, parents, friends and family all of whom are capable of exerting an influence on the process of communication, making it subject to bias, interpretation, rejection, amplification, support and change.
Uses and Gratifications (active selection)
The distinction is this approach is rather than categorising the audience as passive consumers of messages, either directly from source, or from opinion leaders, this theory recognises the decision making process of the audience themselves. As Elihu Katz explains the Uses and Gratifications theory diverges from other media effect theories that question: what does media do to people?, to focus on: what do people do with media?
In essence, they put forward research to show that individual audience members are more active than had previously been thought and were actually key to the processes of selection, interpretation and feedback. In essence, individuals sought particular pleasures, uses and gratifications from individual media texts, which can be categorised as:
- information / education
- empathy and identity
- social interaction
- entertainment
- escapism
Or categorised as: diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance.
| RESEARCH PRODUCT 1 (NAME) | RESEARCH PRODUCT 2 (NAME) | MY PRODUCT | |
| UNDERSTANDING SELF | brief description here as explanation | brief description here as explanation | |
| ENJOYMENT | brief description here as explanation | brief description here as explanation | |
| ESCAPISM | brief description here as explanation | brief description here as explanation | brief description here as explanation |
| KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE WORLD | brief description here as explanation | brief description here as explanation | |
| SELF CONFIDENCE, SELF ESTEEM | brief description here as explanation | ||
| STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS WITH FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS | brief description here as explanation | brief description here as explanation | |
| ANY OTHER CATEGORY OR THEME | brief description here as explanation | brief description here as explanation |