Audiences Flashcards
An audience can be described as…
…and individual or collective group that consume a media text
What factors can affect the response of an audience?
Gender, Age, Ethnicity and Culture
Mode of Address:
the way a media text ‘speaks’ to its audience through the language
Dominant Ideology:
the attitudes, beliefs and values of a majority of people in a society
Target Audience:
the intended audience
Active Audience:
used to describe an audience who engages with a text
Passive Audience:
used to describe an audience who accepts the idea constructed in a media text and does not attempt to make their own interpretation
Audience Positioning:
shaping the point of view of the audience through technical codes, audio codes and language / mode of address
Demographic Profiling:
placing consumers into categories: age, sex, income, occupation and other factors which can be used for a media producer to determine their target audience
Desensitisation:
when an audience is repeatedly exposed to acts of violence, sex, death and other taboo subjects through media
Fandom:
a subculture comprised of a devoted audience of a text or franchise
Participatory:
the nature of an audience being actively involved with a text
Who suggested a theory based around the four Cs?
Young and Rubicam
What do the four Cs stand for?
Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation
What are the seven of Young and Rubicam’s Psychographic Profiles?
Mainstreamers Strugglers Aspirers Resigned Reformers Succeeders Explorers
Define Mainstreamers: (Y&R)
The largest psychographic category.
Mainstreamers seek security.
They tend to be conformist and like to stick to what’s conventional.
Define Strugglers: (Y&R)
An audience who tends to be unorganised and focuses only on the present. They look for a sense of escape, and want to experience sensation.
Define Aspirers: (Y&R)
This category is centred on social status. Aspirers are materialistic and focus on image and appearance.
Define Resigned: (Y&R)
They are generally people of an older age. Prefer tradition and institution. They seek security, economy and familiarity.
Define Succeeders: (Y&R)
They enjoy control. An audience who is organised, hard-working and has a strong set of life goals.
Define Explorers: (Y&R)
An audience who seeks discovery. Adventurous psychographic, who are energetic and individual.
Who theorises about uses and gratifications?
Blumler and Katz
What are the uses and gratifications of a media text?
Entertainment
Identity
Information
Social Interaction
While mainstream audiences are important for media creators from a commercial perspective…
…specialised audiences with niche interests often allow for media texts to be produced that are more innovative and risk-taking
How has modern digital technology massively expanded the market for niche texts?
Digital broadcasting allows for networks to have multiple channels dedicated to specific interests or genres
Give an example of how social, historical and cultural circumstances of an audience is reflected by what they want from media
The Vietnam War left a generation of young American people disillusioned with the traditional values of American society, resulting in more films, books and arts that rebelled against this
Encode:
place messages within a media text
Decode:
take various readings and interpretations from an encoded media text
Technical codes:
These codes are when meaning is encoded in a media text in a technical capacity
Visual codes:
these codes refer to the creation of meaning encoded in a media text through visual elements
Language:
Print media and publications will necessarily use language as a way to encode meaning
Mode of address:
How the media text addresses and involves an audience
Who theorises about reception?
Stuart Hall
What factors can affect an audience response?
Gender, Age, Ethnicity and Culture
How would Gender affect an audience response?
A media text may address certain topics that a specific gender prefers.
How would Age affect an audience response?
A younger audience might have become desensitised to certain topics, which an older audience might feel uncomfortable watching
How would Ethnicity affect an audience response?
An audience that is part of an ethnic group may respond differently to a text due to the values and beliefs that may have been present in their upbringing
