Passive Audience Theories

The Hyperdermic Needle theory suggests that we are passive to the media. As the name suggests, the media and it's ideologies are simply injected into our brain like a needle. As an audience we are manipulated by the creaters of media texts and our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed. This theory is quoted in moral panics by parents/politicians/pressure groups (comic books in the 50's and video games in 2000's).

Inoculation Theory - continued exposure to specific television messages (like violence) would lead to an audience becoming desensitised so that real violence (in this case) is dismissed as being ordinary and unimportant.

Active Audience Theories

Audeince Reception Model - Texts are created by the audience not the producer. Meaning is encoded into texts but it is up to the audience what they take from it depending how they decode the signs.

Audience can arrive at one of three readings:
1. Preferred reading
Audience understands and accepts the ideology offered
2. Negotiated reading
Audience understand the ideolgy offered accepts and rejects some
3. Oppositional reading
Audience interprets the ideology offered in opposite way then it was intended

Two Steps Theory - Inofrmation from the media oves in 2 ways:

Individuals (opinion leaders) who play close attention to the mass media and its messages recieve the information. Opinion leaders pass thier own interpretations in addition to the actual media content.

This theory has improved understanding of how the mass media influenece decision making and why certain media campaigns may have failed to alter audiences attitudes

Uses and Gratifications theory, suggests that we are active to the media and that we use it for our own uses (EG conversation material) and gratifications (For fun and entertainment)Syntagm- the completed product (such as a completed magazine or dvd cover)