Audience theory

Audience theory offers explanations of how people encounter media, how they use it, and how
it affects them. Although the concept of an audience predates media, most audience theory is
concerned with people’s relationship to various forms of media. There is no single theory of
audience, but a range of explanatory frameworks. These can be rooted in the social sciences,
rhetoric, literary theory, cultural studies, communication studies and network science depending
on the phenomena they seek to explain. Audience theories can also be pitched at different levels
of analysis ranging from individuals to large masses or networks of people.

Audience appeal

Some media texts aim to attract a broad audience while others are for niche audiences with a
specific interest. How do media texts appeal to a target audience? Some media texts aim to
attract a broad audience, while others are for niche audiences with a specific interest, such as the
BBC Gardeners World magazine or Classic Land Rover.

When a media text targets a small very specific audience it is narrow casting.

When a media producer has established a target audience for their media text they use certain
methods to appeal to this group.

These methods include:

Technical and Audio Codes

 A movie trailer for an action-adventure film will have fast editing and a stirring music
track which builds excitement. It will often be shown before a film from a similar genre
so that the appropriate audience is targeted.
 The bright colours and varied fonts that feature on lifestyle magazine front covers make
them eye-catching and more appealing to buy.
 The range of camera angles, shots and movement used in a TV programme or film all
help to make it more interesting to watch.

Language

 Hospital dramas use medical language to make the action and dialogue feel more
realistic.
 Computer gaming magazines use a subject-specific lexis featuring gaming words like
‘boss’ (highest level of enemy), ‘Twinking’ (helping out a less advanced player) or ‘nerf’
(when an update reduces the power of a certain weapon or character) that will appeal to
their gamer audience but may not be understood by people who aren’t gamers.
Mode of Address

 Some magazines like gossip or chat magazines will use an informal mode of address,
which appeals to their target readership and suits the content of the magazines.
 Newspapers and television news programmes use a formal mode of address, which suits
the serious nature of the content and is what their audience would expect.

Construction

 A moving image text can use enigma codes, star actors, or multi-stranded narratives to
help it appeal to its target audience.
 A print text layout and design will attract its audience with sell lines, cover lines and an
eyecatching cover image.

Context

 Placing an advertisement for beer in a half time advert break during a live football game
is likely to attract the target audience of adult males.
 Placing a film trailer for a romantic comedy in an advert break during another romantic
comedy being broadcast on TV will mean that it is likely to be seen by the film's target
audience.

What affects the way in which an audience responds?

 Gender: A female viewer might respond differently to the programme Ice Road
Truckers than a male viewer.
 Age: A young child will respond very differently to In the Night Garden than their
grandparents.
 Ethnicity: Ethnic groups from different cultural backgrounds may have beliefs and
values that influence how they respond to a media text.
 Cultural factors: The culture, upbringing and experiences of an audience will influence
how they respond to a media text. Someone who has never spent time in hospital might
form an opinion of what it is like from watching something like Casualty or Holby City.
Another person who hasn't worked for the armed forces, may form a view of that world
from playing video games like Call of Duty or Battlefield.
 Situation: Where you are and who you are with will have an effect on how you respond
to a media text. If you were watching a TV comedy show like The Inbetweeners with
friends you might find it funnier than watching it with your grandparents, which could be
embarrassing and awkward.

Although all these factors can influence an audience it is also important not to revert to
stereotypes when thinking about audiences.
Measuring an audience

Audience responses can be measured by researching:

 Viewing and listening figures for TV and Radio programmes

 Box office takings for films
 Newspaper and magazine sales
 Website hits
 Followers and shares on platforms like Twitter or Facebook
 Ratings and subscriptions to YouTube channels

What is a Passive Video Viewer?

A passive viewer is someone who’s not really engaged in watching. They’re just observing.
They’re surfing the Internet, scrolling along until something catches their attention. Or maybe
they’re lying on their couch watching TV, flipping through channels.

 They’re easier to persuade because their mind isn’t as engaged. As a result, they are more likely
to accept things at face value, meaning they often don’t challenge the messaging being presented.

 They also have short attention spans and see things in the here and now. In other words, they
don’t look at the big picture, because that takes more brainpower, and when you’re passive,
brainpower is not something you’re using a lot of.

What is an Active Video Viewer?

An active viewer is someone who is watching with purpose. Maybe it’s a training video that they
have to watch, or a tutorial with critical information to their job. When they’re actively watching,
they’re engaged, paying attention, and emotionally responding, passive viewers don’t see the big
picture. Heck, they’re lucky to see or hear the end of the next sentence. The mind of the active
viewer opens up and, for lack of a better term, has more fun. I’ll get a little more into the fun
aspect later in this article.

How Passive vs. Active Audiences Affect Your Video

Here’s where the passive/active thing comes into play. When producing a video, your creative
concept and video quality are affected by two major factors—time and money.

 Because of a short deadline or budgetary constraints, you may not be able to make your video at
the level that you want. Knowing how your video will be watched can help you dictate where to
get the biggest bang for your buck. And this is where knowing what type of audience you have
will affect how you allocate your resources.

 Your video is made up of substance and style: Content and visuals. So, you have to ask yourself,
which one should I lean into a bit more?
 With a passive audience, you may want to put a little more time into the visual appeal of your
video to help grab their attention. Make it a little more flashy.

 With an active audience, you’ll want to focus on the content. They don’t need as much of a
dog and pony show. Their focus is greater, and they’re absorbing the information better. But
active audiences are more demanding; they ask more questions. As such, you’ll also need more
content to convince them to take a particular action. Does that mean an active audience is better?
In one rather important way, yes. Since an active audience is more engaged, they retain
information better. Messages become stickier. And that’s always a positive. Also, active
audiences click on things, they’re more responsive, they’re curious, they’re willing to connect.

 Passive audiences scroll right past things. If you’re making a video that doesn’t need to move
the needle in any way, a passive audience is fine. But if you need your video to create tangible
results, you’ll want an active audience.

Reception Theory

Stuart Hall developed reception theory, popularly known as Audience Theory or reader’s
reception theory, in 1973. His essay ‘Encoding and Decoding Television Discourse’ focuses on
the encoding and decoding of the content given to the audience no matter the form of media such
as magazines/papers, television/radios, games. Today theorists who do the analysis of media
through reception theory often derive results from the experience of an audience created by
watching a cinema, game or books.

The reception theory concept points out that, a movie, book, or game events though it has
none/some inherent meaning, the audience who watch them or experience it make a meaning.
The audience comes into an understanding of the happenings of the text or screen.

Understanding of Reception Theory

“It is unnecessary that the audience will decode the message encoded by the author just the
same”. – Stuart Hall

The audience receives the creative work done and perceives to its content in either similar or
different. The meaning of the message can change in the way they see it fit according to their
social context.

Encoding – The encoded messages usually contains shared rules and symbols common with
other people. So the (encoder) sender has to think how the receiver will perceive the message.

Decoding – Decoding would be a successful deliver only if the message sent by the encoder is
understood completely to its content as it was intended.

The messages sent with verbal/non-verbal cues and gestures don’t bring the same result always
as intended by the sender, bringing an altogether different meaning an insight to the concept sent.
Thus, the distortion occurs when the audience cannot understand the concept of having a
different take on the conclusion itself. Such distortion can be because of the age, gender,
religion, race, political views, ethnicity, class, culture and the mood in which the audience
receive the message etc.,

It is difficult to gather the information necessary to analyze every single audience’s experience
belongs to a mass. So the media houses and other social handles come in a useful tool to reach
the bigger mass as to get to know their experience and understanding.

Press releases, other forms of publicity such as advertisements, the fan letters, celebrity words,
fan message boards, reviews, serve as useful materials for the analysts to see how the reception
has been.

Here the perceiving of the work can scope in three categories:

 Dominant Reader
 Negotiated Reader
 Oppositional Reader

Dominant Reader

They are the audience who take in the work as given by the director which no extra notes
attached. Example, Teacher asking the student to submit their assignments or parent implying on
the child to clean their room is a direct message. The child understands the messages properly
and it is followed by the child. In the Harry Potter Series, Lord Voldemort is a bad guy, and how
have the media producers have conveyed it with a bald head, black cloak, sunken eyes, cold and
cruel voice, and threatening presence to his surroundings.

Negotiated Reader

The negotiated reading here is the audiences who thought they know and are aware of the acts
made in the film are bad and not right but get on to accept that it is fine because there is a reason
behind it. Thus accepting the author’s message even though it goes against the audiences’
personal convictions. For example, many video games/comics has contents are against our
personal views but we still read, enjoy and accept the content given the situation depicted on it
for example fictions like zombie hunting, etc.

Oppositional Reader

The audience has none acceptance for the author’s takes on the concept of the film or the subject
it handled. It can be morally wrong, emotionally disturbing, unnecessary adult contents of
violence and blood gore, religious belief, political outlooks etc., which will make the audience,
reject the idea. For example, in 1970-1980 was an era in Indian Films they showed smoking as a
sign of prestige, image, wealth, power and flourishing happiness whereas, the reality states
otherwise, for it causes cancer. And the pleasant sense of smoking is nothing more than
juxtaposed where in reality is an unpleasant smell and is perceived as a very unhealthy habit.
Conclusion

Reception theory is far more complex in understanding as each mind perceives in its own way. A
single person can have a mixed reaction of being a dominant, oppositional, and negotiated reader
when they are going through the process of receiving the message. The content producer cannot
take/judge for every single individual perspective. The conclusion taken by the audience which
was/is/will be right for and their perspectives will change as when the time goes by and will feel
just right for the conclusion derived at that moment.

Cultivation Theory

 George Gerbner introduced cultivation theory in the 1960’s as part of the Cultural
Indicators Project to examine the influence of television on viewers.
 Cultivation theory holds that long-term exposure to media shapes how the consumers of
media perceive the world and conduct themselves.
 The cultivation hypothesis states that the more television people watch, the more likely
they are to hold a view of reality that is closer to television's depiction of reality.
 For many individuals the distorted and partial reality portrayed on television represents
what the world is 'really' like.
 Gerbner also coined the term mean world syndrome to describe the cognitive bias
whereby television viewers exposed to violent content were more likely to see the world
as more dangerous than it actually is.
 In more recent times, researchers have delved into other forms of media such as reality
TV and video games, to study the effects of cultivation theory.

Cultivation Theory Definition and Origins

Cultivation theory is a communications and sociological framework which posits that long-term
exposure to media shapes how the consumers of media perceive the world as well as conduct
themselves in life (Nabi & Riddle, 2008)

Cultivation theory (or cultivation analysis) was introduced in the 1960’s by the Hungarian-born
American professor George Gerbner as a means to examine the influence of television on
viewers (Gerbner, 1969). The findings of Gerbner were later expanded upon and developed by
the American screenwriter Larry Gross.

This theory implies that those exposed to media interpret social realities according to how such
realities are portrayed in the media.

An example of cultivation theory is television’s ability to stabilize and homogenize views within
a society. Children who watch commercial TV have notably more sex-stereotypical views of
women and men than children who don't watch commercial TV.

Of particular interest during the initial stage of research was the possible impact of the exposure
to violence on the viewers of television programs (Settle, 2018).
Gerbner’s introduction of cultivation theory was part of the larger Cultural Indicators Project
which was a research study commissioned for the National Violence Commission (Gerbner,
Gross, Morgan & Signorielli, 1986).

In addition to cultivation analysis, which examined how the media shaped its consumers’
perception of reality, the Cultural Indicators Project also analyzed two other related spheres
(Vinney, 2020).

It engaged in institutional process analysis which examined the formulation and the distribution
of media messages, and message system analysis which explored the aggregate content of media
messages.

Cultivation Theory and Television

Gerbner’s primary focus was centered on the role of television. This approach also involved
several key assumptions. First, television was distinguished as a unique form of mass media
(Gerbner et al., 1978).

For instance, it was simultaneously auditory and visual, but did not require literacy. Furthermore,
access to television was almost universal. Additionally, the engaging narrative style which
television programming generally employed could readily capture the viewers’ attention.

The second assumption held that television influenced society’s manner of relating and thinking
(Settle, 2018). Both Gerbner and Gross for instance, held that the consciousness cultivated by
television involved the standards of judgment as well as the facts of life (Gerbner & Gross,
1972).

Gerbner further observed that television stabilized societal patterns and induced resistance to
change (Gerbner, Gross, Jackson-Beeck, Jeffries-Fox & Signorielli, 1978). Thirdly, Gerbner’s
approach held that the effects of television were limited (Gerbner et al., 1978).

Television, herein, was identified as part of a larger sociocultural system. Therefore, the
aggregation of its effects in a certain direction was considered substantially more critical than the
singular effect of a certain program at a particular point in time (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan &
Signorielli, 1980).

Gerbner, hence, pointed out that while watching television per se might not cause a certain
behavior, watching television over time could significantly influence how we perceive the world
(West & Turner, 2014).

The Mean World Syndrome

During the exploration of the effects of television viewing, Gerbner (1980) also coined the term
mean world syndrome to describe the cognitive bias whereby television viewers exposed
especially to violent content were more likely to see the world as more dangerous than it actually
is.

Because television programming significantly shaped attitudes toward and opinions of reality,
regular viewers of violent content were likely to experience more fear, pessimism, increased
anxiety and a greater alertness to imaginary threats.

Alternatively, those who watched little television were more likely to view the world as less
dangerous (Vinney, 2020).

Mainstreaming and Resonance

As cultivation theory gained more traction, Gerbner and his colleagues introduced the concepts
of mainstreaming and resonance to further refine their theory.

Mainstreaming

Mainstreaming is the process wherein consistent exposure to the same labels and images induces
television viewers from diverse backgrounds to adopt a homogenous outlook of the world
(Griffin, 2012; Perse, 2005).

Therefore, traditional distinctions among groups are blurred by the emergence of a new
worldview that shifts the mainstream to the interests of the sponsors of television.

Consequently, heavy television viewing can potentially override individual perspectives in favor
of a melting pot of cultural and social trends (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan & Signorielli, 1994).

Resonance

Resonance is the similarity which television narratives may share with the everyday lives of the
viewers (Gerbner, 1998). According to Gerbner, this congruence constitutes a double dose of
messages which amplify the effects of cultivation. Such amplified patterns of cultivation may
significantly impact society (Griffin, 2012).

For instance, when those who have already experienced crimes see more violence on television,
their perception of the world as scary is further enhanced.

This reinforcement of belief can lead them to demand more security and safety measures from
governmental authorities.

Criticism
A number of scholars have critiqued Gerbner’s description of cultivation theory. Some of these
criticisms focus on the theoretical flaws of cultivation theory.
For instance, one argument posits that cultivation theory employs methods of the social sciences
to address questions pertaining to the humanities (West & Turner, 2010).

Another argument asserts that the apparent relationship between television and the fear of
violence might be misleading especially given the possibility that a third factor might be causing
both the phenomena (Griffin, 2012).

A third related argument questions the theory’s utility due to its ignoring of cognitive processes
like rational thinking (Berger, 2005). Additionally, it is possible that individuals’ lived
experiences are more responsible for their perception of the world than is the cultivation effect.

For instance, Daniel Chandler, points out that those living in high-crime regions are more likely
(than those in safer areas) to stay home, watch television and become convinced that they are
more likely to be victims of crime (Chandler, 2011).

Chandler reasons that this direct experience of the viewers would decrease the cultivation effect.
Chandler also notes that cultivation theory is misleading in its assumption of homogeneity in
television programs (Chandler, 2011).

Horace Newcomb further adds that television could not cultivate the same perceived reality for
every viewer because its presentation of violence is not uniform (Newcomb, 1978).

Moreover, Shanahan and Morgan argue that television viewers do not exclusively watch isolated
genres, and consequently, the influence of a particular program type should be evaluated in the
context of the aggregate viewing experience of the television watchers (Morgan & Shanahan,
2010).

In response to some criticism, attempts have been made to combine heuristic processes with
cultivation theory to evaluate how the vividness of the violence on television influences the
cultivation effects (Riddle, 2010).