Media Texts & Audience Consumption

When an audience consumes a media text (be it through books, TV or film) they usually go on to tell their friends and family, helping advertise it whether it be good or bad. Audiences consume certain texts due to a pre-existing love of the product (i.e. Force Awakens) or because they are interested in the premise or genre. 

Different media texts would include:

• Books
• TV 
• Film
• Posters/Billboards
• Adverts
• Promos/Trailers
• Magazines/Newspapers
• Radio
• Games

Going back to vertical/horizontal integration, should you mold a product from the ground-up, it can be expanded along all these different media platforms. For example, a book series is adapted for a TV show, then turned into a movie, with radio ads, trailers, billboards and posters helping promote it. Magazines and newspapers would offer reviews and perhaps a game would be released alongside the finished product.

There are 3 theories of audience that can apply to help us come to a better understanding about the relationship between texts and audience.

1. The Effects Model or Hypodermic Model
2. The Uses and Gratifications Model
3. Reception Theory

The Effects Model - the consumption of media texts has an effect or influence upon the audience. It is normally considered that this effect is negative. Audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence. The power lies with the message of the text.

An example would be Fox News and its audience, who appear to a right-wing leaning demographic, mostly made up of seniors. This would appeal to their ideals and beliefs. In addition, the film Child's Play 3 was said to have had an influence on the murder of James Bulger in 1993. 

Hypodermic Model - here, the messages in the media text are injected into the audience by the powerful, syringe-like, media. The audience is powerless to resist. Therefore, the media works like a drug and the audience is drugged, addicted, doped or duped.

Mein Kampf is an example of a media text being used in order to further a political agenda. In addition, Nazi Germany utilized various propaganda films in order to promote their standards. 

The Uses and Gratifications Model - the opposite of the Effects Model. The audience is mean't to be active and use the text for itself, not the text using the audience in order to influence them. The audience uses the media texts for personal pleasure and gratification, as well as personal preference. Here the power lies with the audience not the producers. This theory emphasizes what audiences do with media texts - how and why the use them. The audience is free to reject, use or play with the media meanings as they see fit. 

This can be used for the following:

• Diversion
• Escapism
• Information
• Pleasure
• Comparison 
• Sexual stimulation

Since the audience is in control they are free to express their likes and dislikes.