Audience theory
Encyclopedia
Audience theory is an element of thinking that developed within academic literary theory
and cultural studies
.
With a specific focus on rhetoric
, some, such as Walter Ong, have suggested that the audience
is a construct made up by the rhetoric
and the rhetorical situation
the text is addressing. Others, such as Ruth Mitchell and Mary Taylor
have said writers and speakers actually can target their communication to address a real audience. Some others like Ede and Lunsford try to mingle these two approaches and create situations where audience is "fictionalized," as Ong would say, but in recognition of some real attributes of the actual audience.
There is also a wide range of media theory
and communication studies
theories about the audience
's role in any kind of mediated communication
. A sub-culturally focussed and Marxism
-inflected take on the subject arose as the 'New audience theory' or 'Active audience theory
' from the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies
during the 1980s.
Two-step flow
Uses and gratifications
Reception theory
Obstinate audience theory
, and that Child's Play 3
had motivated the killers of James Bulger
In the 1990s, David Gauntlett
published critiques on media 'effects', most notably the "Ten things wrong with the media effects model" article; and then in the 2000s sought to develop new methods which would explore possible media influences using 'creative' approaches, using processes in which participants were asked to make things such as collage, video, drawings, and Lego models using metaphors.
research about the relationship between texts and audience
s. Amongst these was The Nationwide Project
by David Morley and Charlotte Brunsdon.
Stuart Hall
's Encoding/Decoding model can be seen as the beginning of research into how audiences are active consumers rather than passive recipients.
Nic Gough's seminal Methods of Dissemination essay can be seen as the beginning of research into the media's use of various channels to get the message to the recipient audience.
imagination and fill in the blanks for themselves. This gives every audience member a
completely unique and original experience based on the limits of their own intellect and
application of it in the areas of creativity. This can however lead to them feeling disappointed
when viewing the same basic story in another medium. When a book is transposed onto the
big screen (cinema) the audience member is then finding themselves in the position of having
to accept the film director’s interpretation of it. The Director, Producer and Script Writer
now have control of the project, which in turn, affects how the characters look, the
backdrops/settings and locations used. This is also furthered by the choice of lighting and
moods portrayed by incidental music and so forth. A screen adaptation of a book or short
story can change so much that it is sometimes almost unrecognisable from the original
printed version from whence it was derived. The use of existing and new dialogue in the
transition from book to film is often one of the key areas that people who are familiar with
the original written piece find that they are left feeling cheated. It must be understood though
that the two mediums are completely different and have to use different sets of rules in
applying the craft to produce a best seller as opposed to a box office hit. It is therefore
understandable that fans of the written work may not like the film version of that ‘special
book’. The film fan however who sees the film prior to reading the book may experience
different opinions on the transposition. The enjoyment of the film may then inspire him/her
to seek out the book from which the film was based. This in turn gives the audience member
a new angle to which they approach the book, as they will now have a mental picture of the
characters and sets gained from the viewing of the film. This ultimately limits or controls the
amount of personal imagination that can be exercised in their overall interreaction with the
printed version. I would not presume to make an opinion as to which one should be put first be
it book or film. I would, however, say that each delivers a story in a way that can in all intents
be homogenised when looked at simplistically. It is left to the end user to take that
information (be it print or film) and make their own interpretation and judgements on its
merits as a form of entertainment, education or whatever category it aims to target.
A book that is transposed to radio can more often than not adhere more closely to the
original script. This medium relies on people’s imagination nearly as much as the printed word.
The use of sound effects and music are used to paint a picture of mood and tempo. This still
gives the audience the opportunity to listen and get a feel for what is happening but still
enables them the input of their own imagination to give characters faces and make locations
seem real to them. A radio play also lends itself to the almost seamless transfer to webcasting.
Webcasting suits both spoken word and musical transmissions and can be accessed at anytime
by the audience with the use of computers and/or convergent technologies. This new medium
give the audience the opportunity to choose when to listen and also the opportunity to record
or even transfer to other technologies for playback at a later time such as use on an iPod. The
audience is now also able to discuss the show/play not only with other fans on message
boards and discussion groups on the internet but also in many cases with the actors and
directors and producers of the show themselves, thus enriching and adding value to the
listening experience. Previous generations of listeners may have discussed radio plays and
television soap operas with friends and work colleagues as a form of social interaction but
never to the extent that we are seeing today. The high adoption rate of convergent technology
amongst the younger generation has changed the way film/video/music etc is accessed and
the worlds largest companies and broadcasters are continually looking and reviewing the way
that they use these mediums to feed the ever hungry audiences the diet of media they desire.
News items are always in demand from audiences all over the world and the hunger for news
will never cease. The audience experience depends on how the news is received, a picture
accompanying an article on children starving in Africa will usually not have the same impact
as viewing the same child on television with the sound recording of him/her crying in pain
from the situation they are in. It could be said that the reporting of news on the television of
wars, starving children and shootings desensitises the audience and they become numb to the
atrocities of the world. It then follows on that if this is so only the most horrific, gruesome
and abhorrent news items now actually shock or make the audience think or react to items. If
this is the case it could be said that the effects on audience will eventually lead to the collapse
of moral standards.
The reporting of graphic images of wounded and dead soldiers during the Vietnam war on
television desensitised audiences and ultimately gave Horror film audiences an appetite for
gore which film makers served up in the wave of blood and gore Horror films that post dated
that period.
News items that were once only broadcast through the news programmes of television and
radio stations now make ready use of all the technologies available. People (audiences) are also
not only the receivers of news, but they have; through the use of convergent technologies,
become news machines themselves. It is now not uncommon for a ‘person on the street’ to
witness a newsworthy event unfolding before their very eyes, this can be recorded on video
phones for example and within minutes be uploaded onto internet websites like YouTube.
This takes away governments and broadcasters ability to edit or censor items of news. People
all over the world are becoming empowered, thus enabling them to broadcast stories that
might otherwise be suppressed to a global audience. This use of convergent technology also
allows the media to be used in the narrowest of narrowcasting when an item may be sent to
just one person.
Audiences will always seek (if not demand) the best possible experience when using the media
for information or pleasure. The human brain feeds off ‘experience’, sight, sound, emotion
and a host of intellectual and sensory mores need to be satisfied. This drive and search pushes
the boundaries to which the media and entertainment industries constantly try to meet.
‘There is no substitute for being there’. At an Ultimate Fighting competition the audience
not only experience the buzz of being in the crowd but also the smells of the hotdogs and
beer perhaps. The smell of sweat and the sounds of men physically fighting each other. This
does not give you the same feeling if viewed on television or on a webcam. This is barbarism
and you are experiencing it at first hand - you could almost be at the Coliseum in Rome in
another time! Any true sports fan or music fan will tell you the same story, “A live match or
concert cannot be beaten”. You can shout encouragement at your sporting heroes, abuse the
other team and fans or sing along to your favourite band. Yes, you can shout at the TV but it
won’t respond or react. (Yet!).
In today's world we have the greatest choice of channels of communications to choose from
than at any other time in history. It has never been easier for the individual or broadcasting
giant to reach its audience. The true challenge still remains the same today, as it did when the
first radio message was transmitted and the first book printed; and that is ensuring that the
right message is delivered to the right audience and the objectives of the message are
received and meet with the audience’s expectations. Until that science is perfected the media in
all its incarnations will continue to experiment with technologies both old and new to satisfy
its audience.
Literary theory
Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of...
and cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
.
With a specific focus on rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, some, such as Walter Ong, have suggested that the audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
is a construct made up by the rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
and the rhetorical situation
Rhetorical Situation
The Rhetorical Situation is the context of a rhetorical event that consists of an issue, an audience, and a set of constraints. Two leading views of the rhetorical situation exist today...
the text is addressing. Others, such as Ruth Mitchell and Mary Taylor
Mary Taylor
Mary Taylor may refer to:* Mary "Peta" Taylor , English cricketer* Mary Virginia Taylor , American bishop in the United Methodist Church* Mary Taylor , American politician from Ohio who is currently serving as Lt...
have said writers and speakers actually can target their communication to address a real audience. Some others like Ede and Lunsford try to mingle these two approaches and create situations where audience is "fictionalized," as Ong would say, but in recognition of some real attributes of the actual audience.
There is also a wide range of media theory
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
and communication studies
Communication studies
Communication Studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication, commonly defined as the sharing of symbols over distances in space and time. Hence, communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass...
theories about the audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
's role in any kind of mediated communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
. A sub-culturally focussed and Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
-inflected take on the subject arose as the 'New audience theory' or 'Active audience theory
Active audience theory
Active audience theory is a theory that people receive and interpret media messages in different ways, usually according to factors such as age, ethnicity, social class, etc...
' from the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies
Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies
The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies was a research centre at the University of Birmingham, England. It was founded in 1964 by Richard Hoggart, its first director...
during the 1980s.
Effects models
The hypodermic needle modelHypodermic needle model
The hypodermic needle model is a model of communications suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver...
- The intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver.
Two-step flow
- The people with most access to media, and highest media literacyMedia literacyMedia literacy is a repertoire of competences that enable people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres, and forms.-Education:...
explain and diffuse the content to others. This is a modern version of the hypodermic needle model.
Uses and gratifications
Uses and gratifications
Uses and gratifications theory is an approach to understanding mass media and mass communication. The theory discusses how users proactively search for media that will not only meet a given need but enhance knowledge, social interactions and diversion It assumes that members of the audience are...
- People are not helpless victims of mass media, but use the media to get specific gratifications.
Reception theory
Reception theory
Reception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes the reader's reception of a literary text. It is more generally called audience reception in the analysis of communications models. In literary studies, reception theory originated from the work of Hans-Robert Jauss in...
- The meaning of a "text" is not inherent within the text itself, but the audience must elicit meaning based on their individual cultural background and life experiences
Obstinate audience theory
- This theory assumes that there is a transactional communication between the audience and the media. The audience actively selects what messages to pay attention to. The Zimmerman-Bauer study found that the audience also participates in the communication by influencing the message.
Media effects
Early research into media audiences was dominated by the debate about 'media effects', in particular the link between screen violence and real-life aggression. Several moral panics fuelled the claims, such as the incorrect presumptions that Rambo had influenced Michael Robert Ryan to commit the Hungerford massacreHungerford massacre
The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 19 August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan, armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself...
, and that Child's Play 3
Child's Play 3
Child's Play 3, also known as Child's Play 3: Look Who's Stalking, is a 1991 horror film. It is the third installment in the Child's Play series with Brad Dourif returning as the voice of Chucky...
had motivated the killers of James Bulger
In the 1990s, David Gauntlett
David Gauntlett
David Gauntlett is a British sociologist and media theorist. He specialises in the study of contemporary media audiences, the everyday making and sharing of digital media, and the role of such media in self-identity and self-expression....
published critiques on media 'effects', most notably the "Ten things wrong with the media effects model" article; and then in the 2000s sought to develop new methods which would explore possible media influences using 'creative' approaches, using processes in which participants were asked to make things such as collage, video, drawings, and Lego models using metaphors.
Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies
From the 1970s, researchers from the CCCS produced empiricalEmpirical
The word empirical denotes information gained by means of observation or experimentation. Empirical data are data produced by an experiment or observation....
research about the relationship between texts and audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
s. Amongst these was The Nationwide Project
The Nationwide Project
The Nationwide Project was an influential media audience research project conducted by the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham, England, in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
by David Morley and Charlotte Brunsdon.
Stuart Hall
Stuart Hall (cultural theorist)
Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1951. Hall, along with Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams, was one of the founding figures of the school of thought that is now known as British Cultural Studies or The Birmingham School of...
's Encoding/Decoding model can be seen as the beginning of research into how audiences are active consumers rather than passive recipients.
Nic Gough's seminal Methods of Dissemination essay can be seen as the beginning of research into the media's use of various channels to get the message to the recipient audience.
Methods of Dissemination
The printed medium (ie books, texts, scripts) enables the end user (audience) to use their ownimagination and fill in the blanks for themselves. This gives every audience member a
completely unique and original experience based on the limits of their own intellect and
application of it in the areas of creativity. This can however lead to them feeling disappointed
when viewing the same basic story in another medium. When a book is transposed onto the
big screen (cinema) the audience member is then finding themselves in the position of having
to accept the film director’s interpretation of it. The Director, Producer and Script Writer
now have control of the project, which in turn, affects how the characters look, the
backdrops/settings and locations used. This is also furthered by the choice of lighting and
moods portrayed by incidental music and so forth. A screen adaptation of a book or short
story can change so much that it is sometimes almost unrecognisable from the original
printed version from whence it was derived. The use of existing and new dialogue in the
transition from book to film is often one of the key areas that people who are familiar with
the original written piece find that they are left feeling cheated. It must be understood though
that the two mediums are completely different and have to use different sets of rules in
applying the craft to produce a best seller as opposed to a box office hit. It is therefore
understandable that fans of the written work may not like the film version of that ‘special
book’. The film fan however who sees the film prior to reading the book may experience
different opinions on the transposition. The enjoyment of the film may then inspire him/her
to seek out the book from which the film was based. This in turn gives the audience member
a new angle to which they approach the book, as they will now have a mental picture of the
characters and sets gained from the viewing of the film. This ultimately limits or controls the
amount of personal imagination that can be exercised in their overall interreaction with the
printed version. I would not presume to make an opinion as to which one should be put first be
it book or film. I would, however, say that each delivers a story in a way that can in all intents
be homogenised when looked at simplistically. It is left to the end user to take that
information (be it print or film) and make their own interpretation and judgements on its
merits as a form of entertainment, education or whatever category it aims to target.
A book that is transposed to radio can more often than not adhere more closely to the
original script. This medium relies on people’s imagination nearly as much as the printed word.
The use of sound effects and music are used to paint a picture of mood and tempo. This still
gives the audience the opportunity to listen and get a feel for what is happening but still
enables them the input of their own imagination to give characters faces and make locations
seem real to them. A radio play also lends itself to the almost seamless transfer to webcasting.
Webcasting suits both spoken word and musical transmissions and can be accessed at anytime
by the audience with the use of computers and/or convergent technologies. This new medium
give the audience the opportunity to choose when to listen and also the opportunity to record
or even transfer to other technologies for playback at a later time such as use on an iPod. The
audience is now also able to discuss the show/play not only with other fans on message
boards and discussion groups on the internet but also in many cases with the actors and
directors and producers of the show themselves, thus enriching and adding value to the
listening experience. Previous generations of listeners may have discussed radio plays and
television soap operas with friends and work colleagues as a form of social interaction but
never to the extent that we are seeing today. The high adoption rate of convergent technology
amongst the younger generation has changed the way film/video/music etc is accessed and
the worlds largest companies and broadcasters are continually looking and reviewing the way
that they use these mediums to feed the ever hungry audiences the diet of media they desire.
News items are always in demand from audiences all over the world and the hunger for news
will never cease. The audience experience depends on how the news is received, a picture
accompanying an article on children starving in Africa will usually not have the same impact
as viewing the same child on television with the sound recording of him/her crying in pain
from the situation they are in. It could be said that the reporting of news on the television of
wars, starving children and shootings desensitises the audience and they become numb to the
atrocities of the world. It then follows on that if this is so only the most horrific, gruesome
and abhorrent news items now actually shock or make the audience think or react to items. If
this is the case it could be said that the effects on audience will eventually lead to the collapse
of moral standards.
The reporting of graphic images of wounded and dead soldiers during the Vietnam war on
television desensitised audiences and ultimately gave Horror film audiences an appetite for
gore which film makers served up in the wave of blood and gore Horror films that post dated
that period.
News items that were once only broadcast through the news programmes of television and
radio stations now make ready use of all the technologies available. People (audiences) are also
not only the receivers of news, but they have; through the use of convergent technologies,
become news machines themselves. It is now not uncommon for a ‘person on the street’ to
witness a newsworthy event unfolding before their very eyes, this can be recorded on video
phones for example and within minutes be uploaded onto internet websites like YouTube.
This takes away governments and broadcasters ability to edit or censor items of news. People
all over the world are becoming empowered, thus enabling them to broadcast stories that
might otherwise be suppressed to a global audience. This use of convergent technology also
allows the media to be used in the narrowest of narrowcasting when an item may be sent to
just one person.
Audiences will always seek (if not demand) the best possible experience when using the media
for information or pleasure. The human brain feeds off ‘experience’, sight, sound, emotion
and a host of intellectual and sensory mores need to be satisfied. This drive and search pushes
the boundaries to which the media and entertainment industries constantly try to meet.
‘There is no substitute for being there’. At an Ultimate Fighting competition the audience
not only experience the buzz of being in the crowd but also the smells of the hotdogs and
beer perhaps. The smell of sweat and the sounds of men physically fighting each other. This
does not give you the same feeling if viewed on television or on a webcam. This is barbarism
and you are experiencing it at first hand - you could almost be at the Coliseum in Rome in
another time! Any true sports fan or music fan will tell you the same story, “A live match or
concert cannot be beaten”. You can shout encouragement at your sporting heroes, abuse the
other team and fans or sing along to your favourite band. Yes, you can shout at the TV but it
won’t respond or react. (Yet!).
In today's world we have the greatest choice of channels of communications to choose from
than at any other time in history. It has never been easier for the individual or broadcasting
giant to reach its audience. The true challenge still remains the same today, as it did when the
first radio message was transmitted and the first book printed; and that is ensuring that the
right message is delivered to the right audience and the objectives of the message are
received and meet with the audience’s expectations. Until that science is perfected the media in
all its incarnations will continue to experiment with technologies both old and new to satisfy
its audience.
See also
- AudienceAudienceAn audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
- Audience effectAudience effectThe audience effect is the impact that a passive audience has on a subject performing a task. It was first formally noted in various psychology studies in the early 20th century...
("in subjects ranging from cockroaches to humans") - GenreGenreGenre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
- IdeologyIdeologyAn ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
- Audience memory curveAudience memory curveThe audience memory curve summarizes research on what an ordinary presentation audience is most likely to remember from the presenter's messages. In communication strategy, it is important to use direct approach in the beginning of a presentation. This is where the audience remembers most of the...