Audience theory

Hypodermic needle theory

Developed in the 1920s, and 1930s, he theory states that mass media has a direct, and immediate effect on its audience. It suggests that the media acts like a needle, and 'injects' information directly into our brain. Thus, impacting the audience immediately. The theory was developed due to the growing use of television, and radio, meaning marketing was more prominently used via the media. Now, the theory has little relevance and is considered out of date due to the vast amount of information accessible to an audience via the internet, and other forms of media. To an extent, the media brainwashes us and controls us, and who we are due to the ideologies we are presented with. Because we are passive, we soak up and believe the information we are presented with, and all act and respond in the same way to a given stimulus within the media. An audience is powerless in resisting the impact of the given message.

This concept is refuted by the work of Stuart Hall, but supported by evidence from Bandura which aimed to investigate if children would imitate violent behaviors carried out by an adult. In this experiment, the children watched a video of an adult acting violently toward a 'bobo doll'. 88% of these children then imitated the behaviors that they had previously witnessed. This supports the hypodermic needle theory, showing what we see in the media can have a direct impact on an audience. Other real life examples that can be used in application to the hypodermic needle theory, such as the violent attacks resulting in  rape, and murder, by a group of deviant teenagers after watching the film Clockwork Orange. Mass media can directly influence an large group of people by 'injecting' this audience with appropriate messages designed to trigger an appropriate response.

Cons of this theory include the fact that not everyone consumes media in the same way, or necessarily believe what they hear. The development of new technologies means that the devices we use to consume media are always changing. We are now more aware of society and how institutions operate, and the sources from which we gather information. we are now used to consuming mdia texts and have learnt the different conventions, meaning we know when to reject messages if we deem them to be insignificant in any way. Newer, and more up to date theories prove that audiences are not simply passive. This makes the theory invalid.

Uses and gratifications model - Bulmer and Katz 

In Opposition to the effects model, the audience is active not passive, and uses the text rather than being used by it. An audience will use the text for their own gratification or pleasure. Here, the power lies with the audience, not with the institutions because they are free to consume, or reject elements of the media, if, and when they deem it appropriate.
This means that audiences therefore use the media as a means of escapism.........

Stuart Hall - Reception theory 

The reception theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer meaning that whoever produces the text fills the product with values and messages. The text is then decoded by the audience.
Different members of the audience will decode the text in different ways, not always in the way the producer intended.

• Dominant or Preferred Reading: The meaning they want you to have is usually accepted. The audience view the media text in the way that the producer intended, agreeing with the ideology and message behind the text. 
• Negotiated Reading: This is a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, whereby the audience accept the views of the producer, but also their own input and understanding in relation to the text. The dominant reading is only partially recognised or accepted and audiences might disagree with some of it or find their own meanings. They understand what the institution want the message to be and how they are supposed to consume the text, however they do not fully conform with the message.
• Oppositional Reading: The dominant reading is refused, and rejected because the reader disagrees with it or is offended by it, due to them interoperating the text in the wrong way. They may be offended, upset and fail to see the intended message from the institution - especially for political, religious, feminist, reasons etc.