MEDIA AUDIENCE EFFECTS

DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND ACTIVE AUDIENCE EFFECTS - PACKARD, NEWSON, BANDURA, ANDERSON ET AL, KATZ & LAZARSFELD, GRAMSCI, DRIP DRIP MODEL, USES & GRATIFICATION MODEL, ZILLMAN, McQUAIL, HALL, KLAPPER

PACKARD (passive) - DIRECT

concept - people passively accept media messages

→‘hypodermic syringe mode’ - a syringe that injects messages into people

→effects of media are seen as homogeneous (affect all people the same)

→EXAMPLE: newspapers aim to apply the voting habits of audience

NEWSON (passive) - DIRECT

causes violence in children

→effects are gradual and subtle

→violence seen as a norm

→led to censorship

→encourages identification/empathy with violent perpetrators, not victims

→desensitising effect due to continued exposure to violence - more likely to commit in real life

→e.g. Jamie Bulger - 2 10-year-olds kill 2-year-old (mimicking childs play)

BANDURA (passive) - DIRECT

Children passively imitate aggression seen on TV

→ Children act aggressively when allowed to do so

→ 3 groups of children film/cartoon examples of Bobo Doll being beaten with a mallet - control group shown no violence - acted the same as they were shown

→ e.g. BANDURA MODEL/GTA GAME

ANDERSON ET AL (passive) - DIRECT

Aggressive music can directly cause feelings of aggression

→ violent song lyrics (500 college students)

→ increased feelings of hostility following listening to the violent song lyrics

→ e.g. songs ‘shoot em up’, ‘hit em up’, ‘finger lickin’ good’.

KATZ & LAZARSFELD - INDIRECT

MESSAGES ARE INFLUENCED BY TRUSTED PEOPLE BEFORE BEING ACCEPTED
→ ‘opinion leaders’ - people in social groups who influence others in the groups

→ expose themselves to a variety of media

→ seen as ‘expert’

→ 2 step flow - opinion leader exposed - those who respect them transmit the messages

→ e.g. people who read newspapers as well as watch different genres of TV

GRAMSCI (Marxist Cultural Effects Model) - INDIRECT

SLOWLY GETTING THEM TO CONSENT TO MEDIA MESSAGES OVER TIME

→ media transmits capitalist ideologies

→ reflects values of those who own, control, and produce the media

→ ‘hegemony’ values of rich and powerful become unconsciously shared - portrayed as common sense

→ accept capitalism = false consciousness

→ e.g. ‘happiness is about possession and money’

DRIP DROP MODEL - INDIRECT

SLOWLY INFLUENCING THEM OVER TIME

→ slower effect - ideology ‘dripped’ by the media

→ process gradually shapes peoples common sense ideas and world views

→ desensitisation

→ creates ‘comparison fatigue’ - empathise less

→ e.g. Epstein Files/War in Ukraine

USES & GRATIFICATION MODEL - ACTIVE

THEY CHOOSE THE MEDIA THAT SUITS WHAT THEY WANT TO USE IT FOR

→ audience is active ‘what people do with media’ not other way around

→ affected by individual characteristics (gender, age, class, ethnicity)

→ e.g. media used for boredom/communication/information

ZILLMAN - ACTIVE

→ they choose the media that suits their mood

→ individuals mood influences media choice

→ same television programme satisfies the needs of individuals differently

→ e.g. boredom = exciting content, stress = relaxing content

McQUAIL - ACTIVE

→ They chose their media access based on a set of common reasons for use

→ categories of common reasons for their media use

1. Information

2. Personal Identity

3. Integration and social integration

4. Entertainment

→ e.g., entertainment - escaping or being diverted from problems

HALL - ACTIVE

→ able to recognise bias reporting + stereotypes in media

→ coding and decoding - coded by media, decoded by audiences

1. Dominant reading → take the message intended by the media

2. Negotiated reading → mixes dominant message with additional ideas

3. Oppositional reading → the audience constructs a different meaning

KLAPPER - ACTIVE

→ don’t automatically agree or remember media messages

→ selective filter model:

1. selective exposure - the audience must choose to view media

2. selective perception - accept/reject/ignore

3. selective retention - messages have to stick