theories of media influence
There are many theories to try and explain media influence. We are going to focus on three for audience and five for media influence. Think of these theories as glasses. Put them on to try and explain what has happened. Some of them will fit others won't. Some of them will contradict each other. They don't give the answer - they simply are a way of trying to explain what has happened.
We are looking at three theories of audience; active, passive and susceptible.
- Passive Audience – This is an audience who does NOT question what the media has to say. They are like a giant sponge that absorbs everything they are told.
- Active Audience – This is an audience who doesn’t believe everything they are told, they question the media and use critical thinking.
- Susceptible Audience – This is a vulnerable audience, an audience that has the potential to be easily influenced, this would include children, the elderly or people who are mentally unstable.
MEDIA INFLUENCE
B A P R U
Bullet Agenda Setting Function Propaganda Reinforcement Uses & Gratification
B = media has full power over the audience U = Media has little to no power over the audience
BULLET THEORY
OVERVIEW
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EVIDENCE
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AGENDA SETTING FUNCTION THEORYOVERVIEW
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EVIDENCE
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PROPAGANDA THEORYOVERVIEW
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EVIDENCE
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REINFORCEMENT THEORYOVERVIEW
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EVIDENCE
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USES & GRATIFICATION THEORYOVERVIEW
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EVIDENCE
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Media Communication Theories exist, arising from the results of research, as well as different schools of thought. Theories of media influence and communication models are underpinned by academic approaches, including the political economy model, the effects tradition, and the cultural studies model. (VCE Media Study Design). Communication Theories also arise from one or more of three different 'models' that describe the relationship between media and society. As explained in the text book, our selection of communication theories (BAPRU) is a collection of theories that fall under the 'cultural effects theories'. For more information, read page 3 of this LessonBucket resource on Academic Approaches.
COMMUNICATION MODELS
THE EFFECTS MODEL
The Effects Tradition model refers to the idea that media forms and content have strong effects on individuals and society. This model sees the media as powerful agents of change.
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Theories that fall under the Effects Tradition Model are:
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THE CULTURAL MODEL
The Cultural Studies Model explains an individuals’ relationship with the media. The media act as a space for communication, within which cultures and other ideas in society can interact.
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Theories that fall under the Cultural Studies Model are:
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POLITICAL ECONOMY MODEL
The Political Economy Model suggests that the media are simply part of an economic system where power and control reside in political and economic institutions. Under this model, the media transmit the messages these institutions determine.
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Theories that fall under the Political Economy Model are:
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AUDIENCE/RECEPTION THEORIES
SEMIOTIC CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY
The Semiotic Constructivist theory is based on the principles of semiotics. The theory takes what the sign literally depicts as the denotation, and the meaning people attach to the sign is called the connotation. The theory suggests that meaning arises from the interaction of a text with a reader and that audiences have many different interpretations of the same text. Therefore, when an audience interprets a text, it understands certain signs or codes in the text depending on particular cultural norms that are relevant to the society at the time.
BAUDRILLARD AND SIMULACRA
Jean Baudrillard thought audiences enter into a 'simulacra': a false reality that is made up of representations so convincing that they are believed to be real. In other words, the media constructs a copy of the real world and that copy becomes the version of the 'real world' that audiences start to reference. For example, after the first season of Underbelly in 2008, people would reference events from the series instead of their own research when asked questions about Melbourne's criminal underworld.
ENCODING/DECODING MODEL
The encoding/decoding model proposed by Stuart Hall in 1973, revolves around three central ideas:
- Meaning is not set by the producer of a text
- The message is not always visible
- The reader does not passively receive a text
FILTER BUBBLE
Filter bubbles result from personalized searches when a website algorithm selectively guesses what information a user would like to see based on information about the user (such as location, past click-behavior and search history).[1][2][3] As a result, users become separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ideological bubbles.[4] The choices made by these algorithms are not transparent. Prime examples include Google Personalized Search results and Facebook's personalized news-stream. The bubble effect may have negative implications for civic discourse, according to Pariser, but contrasting views regard the effect as minimal[5] and addressable.[6] The surprising results of the U.S. presidential election in 2016 have been associated with the influence of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook,[7][8] and as a result have called into question the effects of the "filter bubble" phenomenon on user exposure to fake news and echo chambers,[9] spurring new interest in the term,[10] with many concerned that the phenomenon may harm democracy.
According to this theory, are audiences passive or active?
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CRITICISMS OF RECEPTION THEORIES
Critics think these theories do not make any real advances in determining media influence because there focus is too narrow.