relationship between the media and audiences.

• functionalists

  • media is part of secondary socialisation
  • an important part of creating a value consensus and social solidarity
  • through media, people become more aware of norms and values of society
  • media is an agent of socialisation
  • part of durkheims/parsons organic analogy
• marxists

  • media is part of the ISA (Althusser) - institutions that use ideas to control people
  • media is mostly owned by ruling elite and serve interests of ruling class ideology
  • media is apart of the ISA in the sense that it transmit hegemonic ideology onto audiences
  • creates a false class consciousness
• gramsci - hegemony

  • media (and the culture in general) creates a common sense that serves the interests of the ruling class.
  • do not revolt or question power because they are persuaded to believe that everything is fair.
• Frankfurt school

  • neo-marxist school
  • recognized that the way in which the mass media presents ideas to audiences is so sophisticated therefore less powerful groups are not aware of the way in which the media controls them. 
  • e.g news presented using formal language, reporters appearance are professional - makes audiences believe what they are reporting is reliable and trustworthy
  • hollywood glamourises celebrities - makes audiences believe their lifestyle is desirable - the American dream
• feminists

  • see the media as performing a rule of maintaining a patriarchal society.
  • Radical feminists in particular see the media as presenting patriarchal domination as normal and challenges to patriarchy as deviant.
  • This is achieved through the objectification of women and the misrepresentations
• interactionists

  see the media as influencing audience members, although not on the macro, structuralist scale that Marxists and feminists suggest

  Cohen - moral panics and folk devils cause deviancy amplification: this is the idea that the media makes crime or deviance worse through its reporting.
• postmodernists

  • more positive about media effects, and see the process as more complex than the wealthy and powerful seeking to dominate the rest
  • however Baudrillard has a more pessimistic view - idea that we live in media saturated society
• Baudrillard

  simulacrum where the boundaries between reality and media representations are blurred. 

  hyper reality - difficult for audiences to distinguish was is real and isn't real
• media effects on audiences

  • hypodermic syringe model
  • catharsis
  • sensitisation
  • two-step flow model
  • selective filter model
  • uses and gratifications model
  • reception analysis model
• hypodermic needle theory

  • assumes that messages presented by the media are received directly and accepted by an audience
  • the media messages are injected directly into the audience
  • assumes a passive audience, that is an audience made up of people who do not question the messages presented by the media and accept stories at face value.
• Bandura bobo doll experiment

  • Bandura gathered kindergarten children to watch an adult being violent with a “bobo doll” toy. 
  • found that those children who saw the adult behaving in such a way went on to imitate the behaviour when they played with the toy.
  • “observational learning”: they learnt to behave this way because they watched it.
• a03 of hypodermic needle theory

  • outdated - theory created In 1930s
  • new media has led to more active audiences - do not always accept media messages - audiences have agency
• catharsis

  • idea that media can provide a safe outlet for peoples aggressive tendencies
  • fesbach and Sanger - argue that by immersing yourself into a violent film, aggressive energy is released in a safe way
• sensitisation

  • young - argues that seeing the effects of violence can make people more aware of the consequences and less likely to become violent themselves
  • suggests that violent can be so graphic that it puts people off violence
  • a03 - can also lead to desensitisation - people are numb to violence in media
• cultural effects model

  • neo-marxist approach
  • explores how the powerful groups in society are able to transmit their values through the media and ultimately turn their message into the dominant ideology in society. 
  • however, this model recognises that people do not all share the same beliefs and values and that people’s background and upbringing will influence how they interpret media messages and whether they internalise them or reject them. 
  • argue that the media does play a role in transmitting the dominant ideology, but not in the direct way presented in the hypodermic syringe model
• hall - encoding/decoding

  • neo-marxist approach
  • argues audiences are able to decode the ideological messages that are contained in media
  • does not automatically mean they will reject them
  • People’s experiences, cultural context, education level, etc. will all influence the extent to which people recognise coded messages, are able to decode them and then whether they choose to agree or oppose them.
• Katz and lazarsfeld - two-step flow model

  • argue that individuals form their views based on opinion leaders, who are influenced by the the media
  • Opinion leaders are people who are generally thought to be knowledgeable about a particular issue and help filter information about media content to other audience members.
  • e.g friends, family, teachers can pass on media messages onto others
  • media message -> friend -> another friend -> family
  • similar to word of mouth
• a03 of two-step flow model

  • research has found that more people cite media sources as their source rather than opinion leaders
  • when messages are filtered through an opinion leader, that opinion leader may well significantly change or reinterpret the intended message from the media.
• klapper - selective filter model

  • model that sees the audience as being more active than passive
  • suggests media passes through three filters before it effects the audience
  • selective exposure, selective perception, selective retention
• selective exposure

  • audience chooses whether or not to consume the media
  • media can only affect audiences if they have exposure to them
  • we are not effected by messages we do not see, hear or read, because we are not interested or because work or home-life commitments mean we do not happen to consume that particular media.
• selective perception

  • audience may choose to reject the messages presented in the media
  • just because we have exposure to it, does not mean we have to agree with it
  • we can make our own meanings from it rather than the meanings the producer intended
  • similar to cultural effects model
• selective retention

  • can be likely the audience may not find the messages memorable and forget them
  • Klapper found that people are more likely to remember those messages which they broadly agree with and forget those that are more challenging.
• klapper - selective filter model

  1. selective exposure
  2. selective perception
  3. selective retention
• a03 of selective filter model

  • argued that media producers have techniques and skills to get through these filters and influence audiences so audiences will always be exposed to media
  • advertisers use various methods e.g humour, catchphrases, hooks
• blumer and mcquail - uses and gratifications model

  • suggests that media performs a vital function in meeting the needs of the audience - similar to pluralism
  • audiences select what media they consume depending on their interests and desires
  • 4 main functions: diversion, personal relationships, personal identity, surveillance
• diversion


  media entertains peoples and offers escapism

  provides and emotional release for people
• personal relationships 


  media enables conversations and discussions

  people can connect and build relationships with others through media

  can also act as a substitute for real companionship e.g online dating
• personal identity 


  media enables people to explore themselves, their identity and reinforce peoples values
• surveillance 


  allows people to know more about others

  find info that we have interest in

  e.g search up celebrities, follow friends on social media - know what they're doing
• uses and gratifications model

  1. diversion
  2. personal relationships
  3. personal identity
  4. surveillance
• a03 of uses and gratifications model

  • media is not only created to meet needs of its audiences - does have other functions
  • media performs more than one role at the same time e.g news sometimes presented in an entertaining way, therefore informing audience whilst simultaneously diverting them (diversion)
• glasgow university media group

  • conducted research into media content over many years
  • looked at influences of media messages on audiences by interview audience members
• philo - Glasgow university media group

  • looked at how audience responded to reporting of violent clashes during miners strike in 1984/85
  • most of their sample believed the picket lines during strike had been violent
  • although eye witnesses stated they weren't many violent clashes
  • 98% of those surveyed said that most picket lines they saw in the media were violent
  • “only” 54% said that they believed most picket lines to be violent.
  • Therefore, a significant minority were able to criticise what they saw in the media. (cultural effects model)
• Morley - reception analysis model

  • three ways in which audience may understand messages in media
  • dominant/hegemonic reading
  • negotiated reading -  The audience agree with some part but reject or are. opposed to other parts.
  • oppositional reading
• a03 - reception analysis model

  • pluralists - question whether media messages have dominant reading. media messages are diverse / range of messages and interpretations
  • marxists & radical feminists - argue the theory implies it is easy to reject messages. doesn't consider false conciousness or culmulative (increasing ) effect of media messages overtime