Audiences in the Media

... Audiences in the Media Introduction * It would be unusual for any of us living in a contemporary western society to go throughout a day without encountering some form of mass media. * This is not surprising. The media is directed at us, we are its audience. * There seem to be 3 important questions: o Does the media affect our behaviour or beliefs? o If it does produce an effect how can this be explained and measured? o To what extent do we ignore or subvert media messages? * In general there seem to be two main approaches to the study of audiences. * One approach views the audience as very much the passive recipient of media messages - the media produces effects in an audience. * The second approach considers the audience as much more actively involved in media interpretation - the reception analysis model. * Or more simply: o What does the media do to us? (The passive audience) o

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