LO3 Task 1: Write a report on media theories discussing their origin and

credibility. Find theorists discussing each theory both for and against
and use these in your report
Hypodermic needle theory.
The hypodermic needle theory is the theory that the media can impact a large
group of people by injecting messages to them which will trigger a certain
response. People who strongly believe in this theory have the opinion that the
media is dangerous and powerful and the audience has nothing else to believe,
therefore they are powerless and nave to the message. This means they will end
up believing everything they are fed by the media, which means the media, can
make a huge impact on the world. This two-step flow model puts the idea of the
hypodermic needle theory into visuals.

The hypodermic needle theory started around the 1940s to 50s. This was when
radio and television became more and more popular, along with things like
advertising and propaganda. An example of this is how Hitler used the media to
brainwash Germany into thinking becoming a Nazi was the best thing to do.
Because of the hypodermic needle theory, and the fact that these Germans were
being told nothing else, it meant a lot of people followed Hitler after seeing his
propaganda.
Another example of the hypodermic needle theory being successful is the 1938
radio drama War of the Worlds. This radio drama was performed in the style of
a news broadcast to add realism and dramatic effect. However, this meant that
many of its listeners believed that it was a real news broadcast and started to
believe that there was an invasion coming from Mars and started to hide in their
homes and load weapons to defend themselves. Because these people had no
other information on the topic, other than what they had heard in the media they
believed it and it affected a large group.
Harold Lasswell, the theorist behind the hypodermic needle theory did studies
such as Peoples choice to back up his findings. I think his theory has some
strengths, for example the use of numbers and statistics can be effective and is a
trusted way to see trends. His studies also involved a lot of people and were
sometimes extended over a long period of time, this generated better results.
Uses and gratifications theory.
The uses and gratifications theory is a theory by Katz and Bulmer, which opposes
the hypodermic needle theory. They believe that the audience is in control of
how they take the information that the media feeds to them. Instead of asking
what media does to people, they asked what do people do with media? They
also believed that audiences use the media to find certain things and to fulfil
specific needs. The uses and gratifications theory suggests that when someone
chooses a form of media they are satisfying one of these things. Identify,
educate, entertain and social interaction. An example of this would be when we
choose what music we want to listen to. We tend to listen to music that suits our
mood.
Search engines like Google allow us to search for anything, exposing us to more
products and people. Factual websites like Wikipedia allow us to find information
easily and has significantly changed education in the last ten years.
Entertainment websites like YouTube or BBC iPlayer are easy ways for viewers to
entertain themselves on the internet. Social media sites like facebook and twitter
are a way for people to interact and share their lives with each other. All of these
are ways we can escape from reality into different parts of the media.
Like all theories, there are people who disagree and criticize it. These people
think thats this theory is allowing the media to get away with the amount they
brainwash the public. They oppose the idea that media users have a choice on
how they use the media and how it will effect them and think that the media can
manipulate things like the news to make them believe a certain thing.
Reception study.
Originating from the work of Hans-Robert Juass in the late 1960s, reception
study is a version of reader response literary theory that shows the readers
reaction to a literary text. It was most influential during the 1970s and early
1980s in Germany and America.
The reception theory has expanded the idea of uses and gratification theory by
saying that the readers/ viewers interprets what they read based on their
background, culture, upbringing and life experiences. This can distinguishe the
negotiation or opposition on the media that the viewer has. It basically means
that the meaning isnt in the media itself but in what the reader decides to take
from it based on who they are as a person.
Stuart Hall thought that social positioning would have an impact on how the
readers interpret the media. He suggested three hypothetical interpretative
codes or positions for the reader / viewer of the media. These are known as
reception models and are dominant reading, negotiated reading and oppositional
reading.
Dominant this type of reader accepts and believes everything that is intended
with whatever they are exposed to
Negotiated this type of reader partly accepts and partly rejects whatever they
are seeing
Oppositional this type of reader will completely reject anything that they see,
read or hear.
Passive or active consumption.
Passve consumption is when an audience completely accepts and believes what
they see in the media. They dont question or doubt it. This response is what
media outlets want when they release something as they dont want the viewers
to question what they are seeing. This is why it is important to only show true or
believable things in order to convince the viewer and ensure theys dont
question or oppose it.
Active consumption is when audiences discuss and question media, often based
on things like their own personal life experiences. Different active consumers can
interpret the same thing in different ways because they will all have their own
experiences and beliefs. This means audiences can be less suggestible to tell
them what they think. On some panel TV shows, the people on the show can
discuss different things and question each other. People at home can do things
like tweet in their opinions meaning they are less suggestible and more active as
they can get involved with the conversation.