Audience theory: key notes and terminology

1) Write a definition of a passive audience: 

Passive: This is the view that audiences passively take in information from the media and that these messages have the same effect on everyone.

2) Write a definition of an active audience: 

Active: This is the more modern and generally accepted view that audiences interact with and make conscious choices regarding the media they consume.

3) Write a definition of the hypodermic needle theory: 

This is the suggestion that audiences are always passive and therefore take the intended message from the producer as if it was injected into their minds. This assumes no individual difference in audience members. 

4) Write down a media product (e.g. TV show, newspaper or videogame) for each category of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory and WHY it fits that particular audience use/gratification. The first one is done for you: 


INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE: Media text - The Times newspaper
 > Why: It tells audiences important information about politics, the world and more.

PERSONAL IDENTITY: 
 > Why:  It tells audiences about their lifestyles and personal information. 

DIVERSION/ENTERTAINMENT: 
 > Why: It tells the audience about fantasies and things that may entertain them etc. 

RELATIONSHIPS:
 > Why: It tells the audience about social interaction with characters.

5) Re-watch the clip from Blue Planet above and write a paragraph analysing how elements of the clip offer the audience pleasures or gratifications (use media terminology from Uses and Gratifications theory and the 3 Vs - notes outlined above).

The clip features very nice and good quality visuals or a narrative the producer is trying to get across about the marine life, those can show how those elements might make their audience engaged with the video through fantasies and escapism. I would say its an example of passive audience as the audiences passively take in information from the media and that these messages have the same effect on everyone.