Media Conventions and Audience Theory

Audience Theory - It is virtually impossible to go through a day without encountering media in some form. Some types of media are; radio, iPod, billboardsm television, films etc. We are an audience for all of the different types of media products. There have been fears that media texts could make their audiences react in different ways, e.g. becoming more violent.  The audience can be easily manipulated to buy a product due to advertisement.

Media Conventions - Things that we would class as media are 'recent inventions'. The things we call media now would have been fantasies over a hundred and fifty years ago. The times which are spent with media are either on our own or im small groups. Millions of people across Britain or the world experience the same media event(s). The media has an unprecedented power to affect us in negative ways.

The Hypodermic Syringe - According to the theory the media ia like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a poweless mass have little choice but to be influenced - in other words, you watch something violent, you may go and do something violent, you see a woman washing up on TV. and you will want to do the same yourself if you are a woman. However, if you are a man you will expect the women to do the washing up for you.

The Cultivation Theory - Because of difficulty of proving the effects of individual media texts on their audience, a more refined version of the theory has been created called the cultivation model. According to this, while any one media text does not have too much effect, years and years of watching more violence will make you less sensitive to violence, years and years of watching women being mistreated in soaps will make you less bothered about it in real life.

The Two Step Flow - The idea of this is that whatever our experience of the media we will be likely to discuss it with others and respect their opinion, the chances are that we will be more likely to be affected by it.