Audience Theory

The Uses and Gratifications Theory - Blumer & Katz - Blumler and Katz suggested in the 1970s that the media audiences

make active choices about what media to use in order to meet certain needs. 

- Their Uses and Gratifications theory tries to show the different reasons that audiences have for consuming certain media texts. 

Media Consumers choose media texts that fulfill one or more of these needs:

• They need to be INFORMED and EDUCATED about the world in which they live. (e.g - Documentary)

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• The need to IDENTIFY personally with the characters and situations in order to learn more about themselves. (e.g - Soap Opera)

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• The need to be ENTERTAINED by a range and variety of well constructed texts. (e.g - Action Adventure)

• The need to use the media as a talking point for SOCIAL INTERACTION. (e.g - Large Franchise like James Bond)

• The need to ESCAPE from their ‘daily grind’ into other worlds situations. (e.g - Sci-Fi/Fantasy)