Question 1 (6 marks):

The nature and extent of the medias influence on its audience is the basis of a number of communication
theories and/or models. Describe two theories or models of communication.
i. The Hypodermic Needle Theory is a linear communication theory which suggests the media injects messages
directly into a passive audience. No one theorist developed the Hypodermic Needle Theory, instead it refers to a
notion about media influence that developed in the 1930s and 1940s. During this period, the rise of radio and the
use of propaganda in both WWI and WWII led many to suggest that the media had a direct and powerful influence on
audiences. This notion was reinforced by events like the Orson Welles War of the Worlds broadcast, which caused
some people to believe that Earth was being invaded by martians. Although contemporary theorists see this
theory as limited, it continues to influence mainstream debate about the influence of the mass media. People
believe that the mass media can have a powerful effect on people and parents continue to worry about the effect
of violent media.

ii.While early theories of communication, such at the Hypodermic Needle Theory, focused on what the media does
to people, The Uses and Gratification Theory, which was explored by Elihu Katz and Jay Blumler in a 1974
collection of essays called The Uses of Mass Communication, concerns itself with what people do with the media.
The Uses and Gratification Theory looks at how people use the media to gratify a range of needs including the
need for information, personal identity, integration, social interaction and entertainment. This theory maintains
that audiences are active in their use of the mass media and resists the notion that the media has a linear
influence on the attitudes and behaviour of people. Uses and Gratification researchers maintain that the best way
to find out about media use is by asking people. They also resist making value judgements about media. A lot of
media research begins with the idea that violence on television is bad or video games are corrupting children. The
Uses and Gratification approach avoids making these sort of judgements and just focuses on what people do with
the media.

Question 2 (2 + 5 + 3 = 10 marks):
a. Identify one example where the media is said to have an effect on an individual(s), audience(s) and/or society.
The media is said to have influenced audiences in the form of violent video games. The violent activities in games
such as Grand Theft Auto are often said to promote violent and aggressive thoughts and behaviours in individuals,
particularly in susceptible audiences like children/teenagers.
b. Discuss and evaluate one example of evidence that has been used to justify the above effect.
A study conducted by Iowa State University and the National Insitution of Education in Singapore supports the
proposed influence of violent video games. The researchers conducted a longitudinal study in which more than
3000 children were required to answer questions about their own aggressive feelings over the course of a 3-year
period. The study found that frequent use of video games led to higher rates of aggressive thoughts in the
participants. The study also concluded that parental involvement was unlikely to change behaviour and that the
results were consistent between males and females. However, there are some limitations of this evidence. The
researchers required the children in the study to self-report, which may be affected by self-report bias.
Additionally, some other researchers have claimed that although aggressive thoughts may have followed the
playing of violent video games, the study is unable to prove that the association is causal. This ultimately shows
that the influence of the media cannot be absolutely proven.
c. Discuss how a communication theory or model might be applied to the above example.
The Hypodermic Needle theory could be applied to this example. Hypodermic Needle theorists could claim that the
violent behaviours exhibited by gamers are results of being exposed to violent images on the screen. The audiences
therefore absorb messages about violence which would lead to similar behaviours. This theory, however, is largely
discredited, as audiences are now assumed to be active. Not all children studied reacted in violent and aggressive
ways, suggesting that the media text does not have as powerful or direct an influence as the Hypodermic Needle
theory proposes.

Question 3 (4 marks):
Outline two theories of audience.
One theory of audience claims that audiences are active. Active audiences are the people who do not accept a
media representation or text as it is presented to them, but interpret it, or interact with it, for their own purposes
and in their own way, regardless of the intention of the creator of the representation or text. Many communication
theories and models (such as the Encoding/Decoding model and the Uses and Gratification Theory) claim that
audiences are active. A different theory of audience proposes that audiences are passive. Passive audiences are
people who accept media messages in the same way as each other. The concept of a passive audience does not
take into account the idea of individual interpretation - everyone receives the same media message that is
transmitted by the media text. The Hypodermic Needle Theory claims that audiences are passive however this
theory of audience is today considered outdated.

Question 4 (10 marks):

We are facing a critical moment in Australia's media history. Our approach to managing 21st century media
trails far behind that of many other Western nations. We have a content regulation system built for the mid-20th
century. Our laws still treat media content as if it were produced by professionals who work for individual
media silos: radio, TV, film and print.
Source: Catharine Lumby, Media users should have say in regulation, The Australian, 6 May 2011
trails falls or remains behind
media silos media that work independently of each other
blind unaware of
Discuss the issues raised about media regulation in this extract. In your response, refer to the rationale for and
arguments about the regulation of the media in Australia.
SAMPLE RESPONSE 1
As specified above, there are issues surrounding Australias current media regulation system. The extract above
asserts that while we do have regulatory systems, they are ultimately antiquated, out of touch with the
emergence of new technologies and their interrelationship, neglecting the new ways for individuals to attain
regulated media content. Acknowledging how Australias regulation only works for individual media silos; radio, TV,
film and print, the extract observes Australias self and government regulation. This is exemplified by the

Classification Board, a government regulatory body who are responsible for making classification decisions
regarding the release of films, video games and publications. Self-regulation also exists to ensure that media
bodies regulate their own content, such as the Advertising Standards Bureau, who employ a national system of
advertising regulation through the Advertising Standards Boards and Advertising Claims Board. This, for all intent
purposes, are completely out of touch from the actual media consumers.
While the National Classification Code states adults should be able to hear, read and see what they want, in
actuality due to strict regulation, this is not the case. Although bans on violent video games like Saints Row may
be beneficial to younger and more vulnerable consumers, the total ban that the Classification Board employed in
2013 prevents any individual from enjoying the product. This according to Catharine Lumby is out dated and
unjust, typifying Australias need for a greater relationship between media regulators and consumers. There are
still many reasons to maintain excessive regulation, such as the need to protect the mentally ill. In the 1994
survey conducted by Stice and Shaw, statistics revealed a strong correlation between readership of female
magazines and eating disorders. Despite this, Lumby pleads personal regulation the need for adults to control
their own media consumption. In a country that prides itself on a democratic prosperity, this is the only way for
true and just regulation to be achieved.
SAMPLE RESPONSE 2
The issue raised in this extract is about the effect of media regulation now that new, convergent media exists, it is
becoming more and more difficult to regulate. While this is important to consider and people can still access
banned material for example on the internet, it is important that regulation exists for the sake of protecting
susceptible audiences such as children and mentally disabled individuals from harmful materials. In a report
released by the ARACY (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth) it is outlined that violent video
games can have a huge impact in children, interrupting sleep patterns and leading to harmful and inappropriate
thoughts. As children are seen as an investment for the future, it is important that their brain development is not
affected and that they are protected. Another reason for regulation is to ensure there is not a monopolisation of
the media. ACMA (Australian Communication and Media Authority) regulates this by ensuring that one media
owner cannot reach more than 75% of the population and that there is diversity in the media and more than 5

voices in metropolitan markets. Although regulation could be expanded so that it covers all convergent media, this
could potentially breach the Commonwealth Classifications Act which outlines that adults should be able to see,
hear and read whatever they want, and if all media is excessively regulated, then adults may not be able to access
whatever they want. The media is also constantly evolving and newer media forms are more difficult to regulate
than individual forms such as television.
(From VCAA Media Examination Report 2013)