Active Audiences

Question 1

active audiences - what influences the way people interpret media?

Answer 1

social characteristics

Question 2

active audiences - opinion leaders

Answer 2

respected members of social group

they form views from the media & lead discussion

Question 3

active audiences - the two-step flow model

Answer 3

1. opinion leaders filter media texts, form interpretations/opinion
2. selectively passed on to others in social groups, receive altered messages, then pass their opinions to others in a chain reaction
   audiences not isolated individuals, social groups influence their opinions

Question 4

active audiences - two-step flow model limitations

Answer 4

• more than 2 steps as content interpreted by many individuals
• assumes media audiences victims & that it flows from media to audience
• people have views/opinions of their own, not vulnerable to influence of opinion leaders
• doesn’t explain how audiences divided into active (OL) and passive viewers
• rise of new media means open leaders less influential, people receive diverse messages by range of OL

Question 5

active audiences - drip drip effect (cultural effects model)

Answer 5

majority of audiences agree, other may reject media messages
media gradually influences audiences as a subtle, brainwashing process that slowly shapes people and their view of the world
forms stereotypes of particular social group

Question 6

active audiences - drip drip effect perspective

Answer 6

neo-marxist
media is owned by dominant groups in society
their interests influence media content
we accept the dominant ideology as common sense
establish cultural hegemony

Question 7

active audiences - drip drip effect; why do some people accept the media content?

Answer 7

they don’t have experience of a social group so they have nothing to judge them other than the media

Question 8

active audiences - reception analysis (culture effects model)

Answer 8

effects media texts have on audiences and how they interpret them

Question 9

active audiences - encoding/decoding (cultural effects model)

Answer 9

hall

producers encode dominant hegemonic viewpoint into media texts which audiences then decode differently

Question 10

active audiences - encoding/decoding; preferred reading

Answer 10

decode texts the same way they were encoded

take the dominant viewpoint

Question 11

active audiences - encoding/decoding; negotiated reading

Answer 11

accept the dominant texts but adjust it to fit their own beliefs

Question 12

active audiences - encoding/decoding; oppositional reading

Answer 12

reject the dominant texts due to their social situation

Question 13

active audiences - selective filtering (cultural effects model)

Answer 13

klapper

people apply filters based on their experiences when interpreting media texts

Question 14

active audiences - selective filtering perspective

Answer 14

interpretivist

Question 15

active audiences - selective filtering; selective exposure

Answer 15

media texts that fit their existing views/interests are chosen

Question 16

active audiences - selective filtering; selective perception

Answer 16

accepting/rejecting the same message depending on whether it fits their views/interests

Question 17

active audiences - selective filtering; selective retention

Answer 17

forgetting texts that isn’t consistent with their views but remember texts that they agree with

Question 18

active audiences - evidence for selective filtering

Answer 18

daily mail supported the iraq war (2003) but 1/4 of its readers opposed it

Question 19

active audiences - glasgow media group (cultural effects model)

Answer 19

people accept media’’s accounts unless they have an alternative form of information
over time people accept the preferred reading as the reasonable one

Question 20

active audiences - GMG evidence

Answer 20

miners strike (1984)
repeat images on minors in violent clashes with police
people thus blamed the miners
those part of the strike rejected this account

Question 21

active audiences - why is difficult to criticise the dominant reading (GMG)

Answer 21

theres little access to alternative sources of information

Question 22

active audiences - limitations of cultural effects model

Answer 22

• reception analysis & selective filtering exaggerate active role of audiences
  GMG provides evidence of influence of media
• underestimate serious extent of the medias ability to mould public understanding of social issues
• journalists have some independence and can be critical of the dominant ideology
• long-term socialisation by the media limit ability of audiences to filter messages or filter them within the framework of the media (illusion)

Question 23

active audiences - uses and gratifications model

Answer 23

• diversion
• personal relationships
• personal identity
• surveillance
• background wallpaper

Question 24

active audiences - uses and gratifications model evidence

Answer 24

web survey on members of Facebook group
online groups used for:
entertainment (diversion)
talking to achieve sense of community (personal relationships)
maintain personal status (personal identity)
receive information about the group (surveillance)

Question 25

active audiences - uses and gratifications model; effect of media

Answer 25

people make conscious choices on how they interpret media
media effects different for each case
difficult to generalise media effects as people selective in their exposure to media content

Question 26

active audiences - uses and gratifications model; why do media companies have to satisfy audiences?

Answer 26

no viewers = no advertisers

company can go out of business

Question 27

active audiences - limitations of uses and gratifications model

Answer 27

• overestimates audiences power in influencing media content, underestimates media companies power in influencing choices people; media set choices which peoples pleasure derives from
• doesn’t recognise people create to media in social groups that influences their uses and gratification
• ignores wider social factors that affect how audiences respond; common experiences/values people reposed in similar ways