evaluation of active audience approaches

research methods

• the research methods used have been criticised

• the use of self reports such as questionnaires is limited as viewers may not have known why they chose what they did or may not be able to fully explain their choices

individualistic

• the approach is seen as overly individualistic and ignore the socio-cultural context

• they de-emphasise sociological interpretations and emphasise individual psychological and personal factors 

• its arguable that peoples interpretation of media content is shaped by their cultural background and economical status 

marxist sociologists

• the needs that are met by the media are created by the media

• e.g. people might argue that they use a media product such as Facebook as it fulfils needs such as those identified by mcquail above

• however these needs were met in entirely different ways prior to the recent invention of Facebook

• thy argue that the need for such a media product is created by capitalism to make money and to distract people from the real issues of social inequality and exploitation

Barwise and Ehrenburg

• while audiences seem to select media and content (for example, choice or avoidance of tv soap operas), often media use is habitual , ritualistic and unselective rather than the [product of an active choice

neo-marxists

• the audience has some agency in decoding messages , the media is a powerful and dominant institution hat exerts a great deal of control over the production of ideology

• access to alternative ideas is limited and such views are often the subject of informal censorship , critism and ridicule