Audience

Audience Theory

Theorists-

Bulmer and Kate (1959)

• Entertainment and diversion = escapism
• Personal companion = media is a friend, caring about the cast or pop star
• Surveillance = Finding out what is happening in the world. 
• Personal identity = How do i fit in? Who am I?

Cultivation theory;

Gerber and Gross (1975)

• Audiences consume media and gradually develop views about the world, some of which are false.
• Impacts on audiences understanding of representation- gender,, sexuality, age, disability and ethnic groups

Reception analysis;

Hall (1980)

• Audiences make sense of media texts according to their social position (gender, age, class, ethnic background)

Copycat or modelling theory;

Coleman (2004)

• Audiences are influenced by the media texts that they consume
• More of an assumption used by journalists to explain an individuals negative behavior

Long Tail theory;

Anderson (2006)

• The theory describes how the internet has influenced audience consumption
• Since broadband was introduced, these impacts have been most prominent