audience theorists

Question 1

Hall

Answer 1

reception theory
communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by audiences

although the media try and pass along particular messages, depending on the audiences background, they might interpret those messages differently

preferred reading- where they reject the messages in the product

oppositional reading- where they reject the messages in the product

negotiated reading- where they partially accept and partially reject the messages

Question 2

Jenkins

Answer 2

fandom theory
believes fans are active participants in the construction and circulation of textual meanings

textual poaching- fans take media texts and interpret them and use them in ways not intended by the producers

fans are powerless elites- they know everything about a certain text but have no power to change it

Question 3

Shirky

Answer 3

end of audience theory:
believes the internet and tech has changed the relationship between the producer and audience

the idea of a passive audience consuming the media no longer exists because technology has turned them into an active prosumer who like to speak back and share their own content

Question 4

Blumler & Katz

Answer 4

uses and gratification:
suggests the active audiences use the media for different reasons:

personal identity
entertainment
information
social interaction
escapism

Question 5

Young & Rubicam

Answer 5

audience classifications:

explorer- likes discovery
aspirer- materialistic
succeeder- enjoys control and prestige brands
mainstream- family values and security
struggler- junk food, alcohol, need escape
resigned- tradition
reformer- anti materialistic

Question 6

Bandura

Answer 6

media effects
bobo doll experiment

believes the media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly

audiences acquires attitudes, emotion and style through modelling

media representations of aggressive behaviour e.g. violent video games, can lead audience members to imitate those behaviours

Question 7

Gerbner

Answer 7

cultivation theory
the effects that media have audiences

repeated exposure to patterns of representation over long periods of time can shape and influence the way the audience perceives the world around them

cultivation reinforces mainstream and dominant values and ideologies