Task 3

Emma

Hypodermic Syringe Theory

The Hypodermic Syringe Theory is a theory about audiences. The idea is that media messages are directly received and accepted by the audience. The theory implies that mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audience. The mass media can influence a very large group of people by injecting them with the messages designed to trigger a response. They express the view that media is dangerous in ways of communication because the audience cannot resist the impact of an image. The theory was founded by Katz and Lazarsfeld in 1955. The hypodermic theory suggests a passive audience because they just believe in what is being said and they dont voice their own views and opinions on the subject. This theory has been largely disproved and more complex theories have been developed which help audiences to make judgments based on their own experiences.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

The Uses and Gratifications theory tries to explain why people consume different types of media and what experiences they get from it. Its an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uses_and_gratifications_theory It looks at how an audience spend time and energy finding the media that they want to view and which will meet their needs. This theory was founded by Herta Herzog in the 1940s, yet other theorists including Harold Lasswell, Blumler & Katz and Denis McQuail helped to develop the theory over the years. Each theorist came up with 4 categories to try and explain why people use media. Lasswell had Surveillance, Correlation, Entertainment and Cultural Transmission. Blumler & Katz had Diversion, Personal Relationships, Personal Identity and Surveillance. McQuail had Information, Personal Identity, Integration & Social Interaction and Entertainment. Uses and Gratifications research has been concerned with why people use media. Whilst this approach sprang from 'mainstream' research in social science, an interpretive tradition has arisen primarily from the more arts-oriented 'cultural (and 'critical') studies'. http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/usegrat.html#A

Reception Theory
Reception Theory looks at how audiences receive and interpret the media they consume. The theory was developed by Stuart Hall in 1973. The theory is divided into two parts. The first being Encoding and Decoding. Encoding This is where the producer of a media product fills that product with a message that they want to get out to people. Newspapers are used for this because they provide information for the public which they can discuss with others. Decoding This is where the consumer of the media decodes the message form the media producer. When looking at a newspaper, the audience can get the message that is being put out there by the publishers. According to his model, the way that people interpret the message are based on an individuals cultural background, economic standing and personal experiences. The second part of the theory concentrates on how someone understands a media product. His idea was that the reader can interpret the messages in a number of different ways. Preferred This is where the reader understands the message and agrees with it completely. Negotiated This is where the reader accepts the reading, but they modify it which will reflect their own position, experience and interests, Oppositional This is where the reader understands the reading, but they dont accept it and they have a different view.