Unit 6 Critical Approaches on Media Products

Task: Introduction to LO1

Why do media producers need to know their audience?
It is critical for media producers to understand there audience so they can communicate to their
audience on their level by trying to satisfy their desires, the media companys need to learn the
habits of the consumers and what they seek in media products such as film, television, games, radio
and magazines. The producers need to evaluate the audiences in detail to gain knowledge into
research for their products, to then produce products based on gained information. Without
understanding the audience, the producers and companies would produce possibly unwanted
products that will flop and be unsuccessful and the company will lose money and make no profit.

Media theories that explain how audiences respond to the media
The hypodermic needle theory is a media communication perspective, it suggests that a message is
directly received. It states theoretically having a needle of information and injecting it into a subject
or the audience, and then expecting the audience to agree with the message without having an
objections. The most famous example of what would be considered as a direct, static and infused
message to individuals would be Nazi propaganda in the late thirtys. This view tends to ignore
matters such as interpretation which are crucial aspects to the communicative process. This view is a
passive suggestion as it expects the audience to allow information to be given to them without
expecting a response or resistance.
The uses and gratification theory was first suggested by Blumer and Katz in the 1940s and was
ignored until the 1970s when it became a common view, the theory takes a more humanistic
approach to perceiving media. It suggests that the audience play an active role in choosing and using
the media, they are goal orientated and focus on communication processes. The theory suggest that
the audience uses the media to seek media sources that fulfil the needs of the user. Uses and
gratification assume that the user has alternate choices to satisfy their needs. The theory takes out
the possibility that the media can have an unconscious influence over the Medias outcome and
reactions throughout the audience can sway based on varied opinions and views. This theory is an
active orientation.

Which organisations supply audiences with information?
The most popular organisations that supply the audience with information are multi-billion
pound/dollar corporations based around the United Kingdom and the United States, the British
Broadcasting Company (BBC) provide the largest selection of news circulated information around
the UK, this media is built up of segments such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio and
websites. The media has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being state-owned
empires.