Media audience theories and their link to my audience

By Thomas Hall

Graham Burton’s Grouping theory

His theory says that media grouped people in the audience are those who share (and can be identified by) their relationship with the media or their media tastes, such as horror movie enthusiasts, rap music enthusiasts etc.

John Hartley added onto Graham’s theory by looking into greater detail of the audience groupings, these include;

Self – What ambitions or interests do my audience have?

Gender- Is my audience mostly male or female?

Age group – What is the main age group of my target audience, what things appeal to different ages?

- (These groupings are sometimes portrayed in things such as music video in order to appeal to the media groupings for that specific band etc. and I will add this into my own music video to appeal to my target audience.

Uses and Gratifications

• This theory suggests that media consumers do so to fulfil at least on of the four needs; These are…

• Diversion/ escapism – The need to escape from normal life and to relax more.

• Personal Relationships – People use the media to fulfil their need for companionship and company (also to join social groups)

• Personal Identity – Use the media to find things out about themselves, how people are presented/ treated that somehow reflect us.

• Surveillance – People watch the media to see what the census is on things or to see what is going on with celebrities etc.

• - (I will be playing mostly on the personal relationships - but as this is a story-driven music video it will also play on escapism also – as the story will be focused on a teenage relationship.)

Richard Dyer’s Utopian solutions theory

• This theory states that people will respond more and want to try and audience to a media text if it offers them compensation for the inadequacies in their own lives. Through the media audiences can live their lives and fulfill their wants and needs, leading them to strive to a utopian life. Views on the “high-life” and social interaction can help to appeal to those who lack such and will help them in dealing with their life's own inadequacies.

• (This theory will play on the darker turns of the music videos story as the character offers a simple - albeit illegal – problem solver for people that cheat on others in relationships, and may offer dark fantasies to those who have (or are) in those situations.)