Gratification model
This way of looking at the relationship between the media and its audiences is called the uses and gratifications approach. It considers how people use media products and what they get out of them.
Audience Research Techniques:
Questionnaires
Interviews
Asking people to keep diaries of what they listen to or watch
Monitoring TV sets to see which programmes are being watched
Data:
Quantitative data or information in the form of numbers such as how many people watched a particular programme or read a specific magazine.
Quantitative data or information on peoples opinions about media products – whether they like them for instance, and why or how they could be improved.
Audience positioning
How the information, characters or events are presented to the audience from a particular point of view. Usually the audiences’ position is from the heroes’ point of view.
Audience profile
Media produces mould their products to cater for the characteristics of this ideal consumer. This is someone whom the media producers believe to be typical of the audience for a particular product. The audience position will determine such factors as:
The type of language used
The tone of voice used
The subjects covered
Over the years media consumptions by audience has changed dramatically and will continue to change. This is due to both social change and the invention and development of new technology.
Subjects shown in the media:
Content analysis
“There is more violence in soap operas than any other types of programme”
What will we count?
We will count the number of violent incidences in one soap opera and two other types of programmes (cartoon, drama, sit com) and the time it was shown.
Our group chose to look at Eastenders, Casualty and The Bill on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.
Number of times violence occurred:
Why different emotions are between boys and girls?
Most violent:
Cartoons we can distinguish between real life and something that is unreal and highly unlikely to happen.
Wildlife: We know the difference between the way animals and people behave.
Most realistic:
Medical hospital
Soap operas
Different emotions
Girls felt a lot of different emotions about TV programmes because they watch a Soap Opera and get to know characters as if they really existed and feel as though they are real. The range of emotions show by girls when violence was shown were:
Anger
Upset
Shock
Disgust
Sympathy
Humour
Boys feel a lesser range of emotions as they don’t really get into the soap opera as much as girl.