Contextual Studies: Task One

I’ve decided to research the American Comedy/Political commentary show “Last Week
Tonight with John Oliver” and various other American News organisations such as CNN,
MSNBC and Fox News. In doing so I’m going to see how the media influences their
audiences’ behaviour, what type of audiences they have and their ultimate impact on society.

I will thoroughly describe the various audience theories such as the hypodermic needle
theory, the uses and gratifications model and reception theory. I will give examples of where
these theories can be observed and I will discuss what kind of audience that “Last Week
Tonight with John Oliver” possesses and how the show’s layout affects the viewers’ beliefs
and behaviour as a whole.

I’ll also discuss the varying audiences between the American News organisations, their
layouts and how the internet has expanded their potential audience and also how they
influence their viewers’ behaviour and belief system. I’ll do a thorough breakdown of the
different types of audience each one has.

This analysis into audience theory will be presented in a PowerPoint because I want to show
a clear breakdown of information and include multimedia elements such as images to create a
better understanding on the subject matter as a whole. I want to cover all the tropes of each
theory and expand on both the plausibility of the different observations and the flaws.