Two- Step flow of Communication Model

PAUL LAZERFELD – Concept 1: Audience

In 1948 Paul Lazerfeld developed the ‘two step flow‘ model of communication which talked about how mediated messages are not directly injected into the audience, but while also subject to noise, error, feedback, he identified that messages are also passed through opinion leaders (celebrities, influencers) who interpret the message first and then relay it to a bigger audience.

As Martin Moore suggests, ‘people’s political views are not, as contemporaries thought, much changed by what they read or heard in the media. Voters were far more influenced by their friends, their families and their colleagues.’ This suggests that the audience are ACTIVE (audience consumption is based on consideration of what others think) AND NOT PASSIVE.

This means that we actively choose what to engage in due to things like bias, interpretation, rejection, amplification, support and change.