Category Archives: Audience

Filters

Author:
Category:

Audience Theories – Exam Prep

“Hypodermic Needle” Theory:

After the end of WWII, social science researchers began to investigate the way in which communication, and political communication, was used to spread propaganda. The number of TV licences shot up from 763,000 in 1951 to 3.2 million in 1954.

Harold Lasswell developed a theoretical tool of ‘content analysis’ which explores the effects of media consumption. In 1927 he wrote a book called Propaganda Technique in the World War which highlighted ‘subtle poison, which industrious men injected into the veins of a staggering people until the smashing powers . . . knocked them into submission’ As Martin Moore notes, Lasswell, as a behavioural scientist researching areas connected with political communication and propaganda, believed each government had ‘manipulated the mass media in order to justify its actions’ in World War 1 (2019:122). 

Quotations: Propaganda Technique in the World War

  • “A means is anything that the propagandist can manipulate; a condition is anything to which he must adapt”
  • “The achievements of propaganda are affected by the traditional prejudices of the nation and of each constituent group.”

In 1948 he developed the ‘Linear model of communication’ that breaks down the line of communication.

which goes: SENDER —> MESSAGE —> MEDIUM —> RECIEVER —> FEEDBACK

However, what has been intended and what has been received could be completely different. This was adapted by Shannon and Weaver in 1949 which included other elements, such as NOISE ERRORENCODING and FEEDBACK. This highlights the process of sending and receiving a message is NOT clear-cut, predictable or reliable and is dependent on a range of other factors that need to be taken into consideration. 

Two Step Flow of Communication (active consumption)

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, whilst also going through Shannon and Weavers elements, he identified that message are also passed through opinion leaders (celebrities, influencers) who interpret the message first and then relay it to the audience, in hopes that the audience would have grown due to fan culture. Examples of this are: going to see a mobie just because you lobe the actor playing the main role. Buying a certain brand/cosmetic because your favourite celebrity ‘uses’ it. 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

Uses and Gratifications (active selection)

The distinction in 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. Elihu Katz developed the theory of uses and gratifications which is different to the other theories. In essence, individuals sought particular pleasures, uses and gratifications from individual media texts, which can be categorised as:

  1. information / education
  2. empathy and identity
  3. social interaction
  4. entertainment
  5. escapism

Or categorised as: diversionpersonal relationshipspersonal identity and surveillance.

Personal needs:

  1. understanding self
  2. enjoyment
  3. escapism

Social needs:

  1. knowledge about the world
  2. self confidence/esteem and stability
  3. strengthen connections with friends/family

audience notes

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 selectioninterpretation and feedback. In essence, individuals sought particular pleasures, uses and gratifications from individual media texts, which can be categorised as:

  1. information / education
  2. empathy and identity
  3. social interaction
  4. entertainment
  5. escapism

Or categorised as: diversionpersonal relationshipspersonal identity and surveillance.

RESEARCH PRODUCT 1 (NAME)RESEARCH PRODUCT 2 (NAME)MY PRODUCT
UNDERSTANDING SELFbrief description here as explanationbrief description here as explanation
ENJOYMENTbrief description here as explanationbrief description here as explanation
ESCAPISMbrief description here as explanationbrief description here as explanationbrief description here as explanation
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE WORLDbrief description here as explanationbrief description here as explanation
SELF CONFIDENCE, SELF ESTEEMbrief description here as explanation
STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS WITH FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDSbrief description here as explanationbrief description here as explanation
ANY OTHER CATEGORY OR THEMEbrief description here as explanationbrief description here as explanation

public service broadcasting

Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. In many countries of the world, funding comes from governments, especially via annual fees charged on receivers. Inform, educate and entertain.

what is the difference between private and public:

A public broadcaster is owned and supported by the general public. The TV license is paid by the general public, financing all of the general public broadcasters. A commercial broadcaster is privately owned and they finance themselves through advertisements.

channels:

The public service broadcasters are those providing Channel 3 services, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and the BBC. While all BBC public service television channels are PSB channels, only the main channels of each of the other public service broadcasters have this status.

Television – Revision

Difference between culture industries and other industries:

  • Media industries don’t have a set structure and can be creative free. In other words, there isn’t a set of rules that specifically apply to culture industries. Free roam of creativity. Other industries have a set of rules they follow, for example in a bakery, you are told what to make and how to make it, but culture industries act as a dog being let of a leash.
  • Culture industries supply people with information they may need. For example, the weather channel tells people what the weather is and they determine what people where/take to work (umbrella if its raining). Whereas, other industries
  • One (other industries) necessity and another (Culture industries) is for entertainment.
  • A bakery is predictability as they repeat what they make however culture industries are vertile.
  • Information (Culture industries) plays a pivot role in the way it organises peoples sense of the world. – Golding and Murdock

Similarity’s between culture industries and other industries:

  • Both industries produce their products for money for the business.
  • Both are jobs for people for income.

Media Ownership:

  • Capitalist Media
  • Public Service Media
  • Civil Society Media

Public Service Broadcasting:

  • What is public service broadcasting? – Public service broadcasting is a public television service presented to citizens, that is funded by a TV licence fees from the government. It is also diverse as it has to cater for multiple ages groups and likings. It has to live up to “Inform, educate and entertain” and live up to quality standards. Often state run, and state funded.
  • What is unique about BBC and C4?
  • What is good about the BBC – No ads. Diverse (Choose what channel you wants). Is free to watch in parts. Familiar to British people and is part as the British’s peoples identity’s as well it is a long and proud tradition within the UK. Not all controlled by the government and is critical of the government.
  • What is the criticism of the BBC? – Pay for TV license and people don’t want to pay for it. May not be 100% accurate.
  • CSP – James Curran and Jean Seaton.

Essay – Industries, PSB/ Curran and Seaton, CSP (Channel 4 – No Offence)/ Hesmondhalgh/ Audience (pg 1-4, not in book)

television csp: No Offence and The Killing

No Offence

No Offence - Rotten Tomatoes
About:
No Offence scored 8 out of 10 on IMDb.
83% liked this TV show

“A group of police officers try their best to keep the streets of Manchester free of crime. When all else fails, they decide to use unconventional methods to teach the perpetrators a lesson.”

  • First episode date: May 5, 2015
  • No. of series: 3
  • Production company: AbbottVision
  • AbbottVision is a British independent television production company, established in 2008 by the writer, creator and producer Paul Abbott. Founded: 2008
  • Abbott Vision Profiles in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube
  • Original network: Channel 4
  • Genre: Police procedural; Drama; Black comedy
  • Black comedy, also known dark humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discuss
  • Executive producers: Paul Abbott; Martin Carr; Paul Coe

Series 1, Episode 1

The first series focuses on the team’s investigation into the serial murders of young girls with Down syndrome. It was renewed for two further runs

In the UK, the first episode of No Offence launched with 2.5 million viewers, Channel 4’s biggest midweek drama launch for more than three years. Although subsequent episodes lost overnight viewers, dropping as low as 1.2 million, the weekly consolidated series average remained at 2.5 million and finished 47% up on Channel 4’s slot average

  • In France, the first episode of No Offence aired on 29 February 2016 on France 2 and was watched by 5.46 million viewers, 20.4% of the TV audience
  • France 2: is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4, and France 5.

telivision

Capital

  •  drama adaptation of Peter Bowker’s best-selling novel of the same name
  • story follows the impact of gentrification in a city (specifically a fictional “Pepys Road”)
  • original network – BBC ONE

Deutschland 83

  •  2015 German television series
  • It is a co-production of AMC Networks Sundance TV and RTL Television
  • production company, UFA Fiction, 
  • international distribution by RTL Group’s Fremantle Media International and North American distribution by Kino Lorber
  • “Martin is forced to become a spy and infiltrate the West Germany army. However, his actions land him in trouble and threaten to blow his cover”
  • Directed by

Edward Berger Samira Rads

Capital and Deutschland

Deutschland 83

Production company: UFA Fiction

Genre: Cold War espionage

1 season 8 episodes

Was most popular foreign-drama in Britain upon release.

Deutschland 83 is a 2015 German television series starring Jonas Nay as a 24-year-old native of East Germany who, in 1983, is sent to West Germany as an undercover spy for the HVA, the foreign intelligence agency of the Stasi.

Narrative
• How does the use of the narrative conventions of the spy thriller and crime drama – use of
enigmas, binary oppositions, restricted and omniscient narration etc. – position the audience?
• The narrative of Deutschland 83 has been controversial – particularly in Germany -through its
use of binary oppositions to contrast East and West Germany.
• The role of the hero and effect of audience alignment with Martin Rauch, a Stasi Officer.
• The narrative of Deutschland 83 can be defined as postmodern in its self-reflexive style.
• Narratology including Todorov.

Capital

Production Company: Kudos

Genre: British drama television

1 Season 4 Episodes

Capital is a three-part British television adaptation of John Lanchester’s novel Capital. The series was written by Peter Bowker, directed by Euros Lyn and produced by Matt Strevens for Kudos Film & Television Company. The story centres on the residents of a road in South London as the value of each house in the street is approaching £2 million. They all begin to receive repeated postcards with the message “We want what you have”. The first episode was broadcast on BBC One on 24 November 2015.

Narrative
• Which narrative techniques are used to engage the audience in the opening episode of Capital?
• How does the use of the narrative conventions of the crime drama – use of enigmas,
restricted narration etc. – position the audience?
• Capital is characteristic of contemporary TV narrative style in its use of multiple story structure.
• The ways in which the narrative structure of Capital offers gratification to the audience.
• Narratology including Todorov.

Pages 6-9 in the CSP booklet 

Capital and Deutschland 83

Capital is a complex mainstream television product in which the codes and conventions of the crime drama are intertwined with aspects of social realism. Provides a wide range of representational areas to explore; the family, place, nation, class,
ethnicity, race and issues. Summary: When the residents of an affluent London street receive a strange note they dismiss it as a marketing campaign, until things begin to escalate. When the residents of an affluent London street receive a strange note they dismiss it as a marketing campaign, until things begin to escalate.

Deutschland is visually interesting, constructing a stylised representation of ‘real’ places which transmit meanings about characters, places and issues. A detailed analysis of different aspects of mise-en-scene will provide students with a strong foundation to build on in terms of analysing representations, ideological meanings and audience positioning. Summary: The drama follows Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) as the 24 year-old East Germany native is pulled from the world as he knows it and sent to the West as an undercover spy for the Stasi foreign service. Hiding in plain sight in the West German army, he must gather the secrets of NATO military strategy.

It is a co-production of AMC Networks’ SundanceTV and RTL Television, positioning it to exploit the national and global market.
• Bought by C4 in Britain as part of their ‘Walter presents…’
• Cultural industries including Hesmondhalgh