Media and Audiences

Question 1

Passive audiences

Answer 1

• The hypodermic syringe theory
• Media injects content into the veins of media audience
• Passive audiences, unthinking and filled with dominant ideology
• Dworkin, radical feminist, men watching porn then go onto abuse women
• example, copy cat crimes

Question 2

Criticisms of hypodermic syringe model

Answer 2

• model assumes audience are passive and homogenous
• it assumes audiences are passive and gullible
• Assumes the media have enormous power overriding other agencies of socialization
• Little evidence media content has immediate effects

Question 3

Active Audiences

Answer 3

• not homogenous and this will impact on how they choose, dissect and interpret the media

Question 4

The two step Flow model

Answer 4

• Katz and Lazarsfeld- the media has strong effects on audiences but they do not passively respond to it and can respond in many ways
• Key factor in response is the influence of ‘opinion leaders’ (respected leaders in social groups) whom others lead to
  Step 1: Opinion leaders select and filter media
  Step 2: Opinion leaders selectively pass on these messages to others in the social group

Question 5

Criticisms of two step model

Answer 5

1) There are more than 2 stops in media influence, more people influence and interpret
2) still assumes influence of media flows to audiences who are still passive
3) Suggest people are vulnerable to opinion leaders
4) Assumes audience is divided into active viewers and passive viewers
5) New media and social networks make this model unlikely

Question 6

Cultural effects method, ‘drip drip’ model

Answer 6

• Neo Marxist cultural effects theory recognizes that the media are owned and heavily influenced by dominant groups within society
• different groups will consume and interpret media differently
• however the media over time subtly brainwashes the audience with a drip drip effect, they’ll end up accepting cultural hegemony

Question 7

Encoding/decoding and reception analysis

Answer 7

• Hall, neo Marxist, media is ‘encoded’ with dominant hegemonic viewpoint
• Most audiences ‘decode’ media and accept the dominant hegemonic viewpoint
• However other groups ‘decode’ the messages differently

Question 8

Selective Filtering - interpretivist approach

Answer 8

Klapper suggest three filters that people apply in their interpretations of the media

• selective exposure, people choose the media they wish to consume
• selective perception- people will react differently to the same message
• selective retention- people will forget content that is not in their interests

Question 9

Glasgow Media Group

Answer 9

• Philo of GMG is critical that audiences are polysemic
• Overall the media has great deal of power in forming audience views of the world
• Study of 1984/85 strikes- the presentation of these strikes was interpreted the same whether people were sympathetic to the strikes or not

Question 10

Limitations of the Cultural effect model

Answer 10

• reception analysis and selective filtering exaggerate the active role of the audience
• Assumes media personal work within framework of dominant ideology
• Suggests the audience can, through selective filtering, have some control.