‘Media Industries manipulate media audiences. It is the industries that are in control, not the audiences’. Explain how your product could be consumed by your audience.
As a media producer it is important to understand the different theories within the media segment. The two main theories are the hypodermic syringe theory and the uses and gratifications theory. The theory that is most important to understand presently is the later of the two theories as this is a modern view of the media audience and enables media industries to effectively market their product. Within this theory there are four different types of gratification (why we use media) which are to gain information, for entertainment, integration and social interaction and for personal identity.
When constructing my media product, in this case a music magazine, I had to make sure that it was suited to the audience in order for them to want to consume it. In terms of the information that my magazine provided to the audience they were able to gain several pieces of information from it, such as my double page spread band interview, as well as reviews on a selection of the latest music. By including this in my magazine meant that it included things that my target audience would be looking for within a music magazine. I knew that this was one of the things that my target audience wanted to be included as I was able to find this out from the research that I carried out before hand in the form of my questionnaire.
Another aspect of the uses and gratifications theory is the purpose of entertainment. This is probably one of the most important factors to consider when constructing any media product. The reason for this is because if people are not entertained by it then there is no reason why they would want to consume it. For this reason I included things such as quizzes and competitions within my magazine in the hope that a feature like this would help to draw in more consumers. Again I found out in my research that this was one of the main features that the target audience look out for in the contents of a popular and successful music magazine. The typical conventions that I also included in my magazine such as considering house style, rule of thirds, layout etc all helped to contribute to the amount of entertainment felt by the audience. If the magazine had of been plain and boring then it would not appeal as much to the audience and therefore they would not find the overall product as entertaining.
By making the magazine to suit what I found out the target audience wanted it would enable the overall effectiveness of the magazine to help relate to someone’s personal identity. This was made possible through my product as it was constructed upon the basis of the target audiences views and opinions. By doing this it means that the magazine was related closer to the audience, which would enable them to compare themselves to several things, for example their lifestyle compared to the life style of a successful artist/ band etc. This means that they would be able to relate to the singer. This may be done by simply just taking ideas from them such as the type of clothing that they wear etc. All of these things are related to a person’s personal identity which is another integral part of the uses and gratifications theory. By using clothing ideas etc is a choice just like the theory suggests that the audience also have a choice as to what media they use and also when and how they use it. Therefore these two things are closely related in some ways.
All of the above factors help to attract an audience that want to consume a successful media product and prove that it is the media industries that are in control and not the audience, because the industries can include nearly everything that the target expects to see within a specific product. The last gratification type that the uses and gratifications theory suggests is important to consumers is the factor of social interaction and integration. This was achieved in my media product through the use of the new band interview included on the double page spread. By including something such as this means that the audience can get an insight into many things of their day to day life such as how the music stars live their life in different environments and in different situations. This means that certain members of the audience may be able to use this information in certain situations within their life experiences.
As a media producer it is important to understand the different theories within the media segment. The two main theories are the hypodermic syringe theory and the uses and gratifications theory. The theory that is most important to understand presently is the later of the two theories as this is a modern view of the media audience and enables media industries to effectively market their product. Within this theory there are four different types of gratification (why we use media) which are to gain information, for entertainment, integration and social interaction and for personal identity.
When constructing my media product, in this case a music magazine, I had to make sure that it was suited to the audience in order for them to want to consume it. In terms of the information that my magazine provided to the audience they were able to gain several pieces of information from it, such as my double page spread band interview, as well as reviews on a selection of the latest music. By including this in my magazine meant that it included things that my target audience would be looking for within a music magazine. I knew that this was one of the things that my target audience wanted to be included as I was able to find this out from the research that I carried out before hand in the form of my questionnaire.
Another aspect of the uses and gratifications theory is the purpose of entertainment. This is probably one of the most important factors to consider when constructing any media product. The reason for this is because if people are not entertained by it then there is no reason why they would want to consume it. For this reason I included things such as quizzes and competitions within my magazine in the hope that a feature like this would help to draw in more consumers. Again I found out in my research that this was one of the main features that the target audience look out for in the contents of a popular and successful music magazine. The typical conventions that I also included in my magazine such as considering house style, rule of thirds, layout etc all helped to contribute to the amount of entertainment felt by the audience. If the magazine had of been plain and boring then it would not appeal as much to the audience and therefore they would not find the overall product as entertaining.
By making the magazine to suit what I found out the target audience wanted it would enable the overall effectiveness of the magazine to help relate to someone’s personal identity. This was made possible through my product as it was constructed upon the basis of the target audiences views and opinions. By doing this it means that the magazine was related closer to the audience, which would enable them to compare themselves to several things, for example their lifestyle compared to the life style of a successful artist/ band etc. This means that they would be able to relate to the singer. This may be done by simply just taking ideas from them such as the type of clothing that they wear etc. All of these things are related to a person’s personal identity which is another integral part of the uses and gratifications theory. By using clothing ideas etc is a choice just like the theory suggests that the audience also have a choice as to what media they use and also when and how they use it. Therefore these two things are closely related in some ways.
All of the above factors help to attract an audience that want to consume a successful media product and prove that it is the media industries that are in control and not the audience, because the industries can include nearly everything that the target expects to see within a specific product. The last gratification type that the uses and gratifications theory suggests is important to consumers is the factor of social interaction and integration. This was achieved in my media product through the use of the new band interview included on the double page spread. By including something such as this means that the audience can get an insight into many things of their day to day life such as how the music stars live their life in different environments and in different situations. This means that certain members of the audience may be able to use this information in certain situations within their life experiences.
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