Audience in Media Essay

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Table of Contents

Introduction: The Importance of Audience in Media
The Role of Audience in Media
Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding Model
The Idea of Polysemic Texts
Conclusion: What Is the Role of Audience in Media?

Introduction: The Importance of Audience in Media

Mass media plays important role in the life of people. It forms human opinion, media entertains and informs, it creates the image of people and ruins it, advertising, promotion, and other specific purposes are important for the life of people.

However, audience also plays important role in mass media. The exchange of influence is occurred. Therefore, it may be said the audience forms the meaning for media. What does it mean?

Mass media is the source of information which is directed at people, therefore, audience is the source of inspiration for mass media. When creating different programs, releasing some information, etc., mass media bases its data on human beings who live in the society.

Therefore, the role of audience in media meaning making is essential. To support this point of view we are going to present several examples, refer to Stuart Hall’s (1981) encoding/decoding model and the idea of polysemic texts as the way to show that public meaning forms the directions of mass media and creates varied programs and sources of information.

The Role of Audience in Media

Looking at modern mass media and TV broadcasting in particular, the opinion is created that people are unable to affect the data presented there. Too much violence is presented, however, if such programs are performed, if this information is delivered, therefore, there is a demand on it.

Watching this or that TV program people express their opinion. Mass media considers and analyzes this point of view and on the basis of this data forms the range of themes which are to be highlighted. Mass media creates the themes which are interesting for the audience.

The role of audience in mass media is great as in case the audience is not interested in the theme presented either on TV or in newspapers the material is a failure.

For example, if a TV program is interesting, if the theme highlighted there is actual and deserves attention, people will watch it, the newspapers will write about it and the critics will talk about it. Therefore, other programs will be directed in the same way.

Another program will be created on the basis of the same topic or it will be devoted to the relevant idea. Audience creates the image for the programs, it makes programs and news editors deal with it.

When audience expresses its opinion either in favor or against some theme, the mass media reacts on it. It should be mentioned that reaction directed at the information may be either negative or positive. Each type of information causes media meaning.

For example, when the data presented on TV or in newspapers does not suit the audience in its meaning, it does not mean that the audience does not want to consider it, the audience is just dissatisfied with the meaning. The same is with the positive information people consider, if the data is positive and does not have any negative issues, it does not mean that the audience wants to get it.

Information in the modern world is an available source, therefore, when people consider media, they are interested in the data which strikes them. Media has several specific measures which help them consider the point of view of the audience.

The opinion of the audience is important for those who create news as whether the news is interesting or not depends the rating of the show. If people are not interested in watching this specific show, it means that the team failed to cope with the task, to search for the data which may be interesting for people.

The meaning of media is the programs and data presented for people. Audience is the target for media. Creating the programs and releasing newspapers media should refer to the opinion of the audience as they create the rate.

Therefore, the main point which makes audience and media interconnected is information. Media wants to present the data interesting for the audience, and the audience wants to see the information which entertains or informs them. If mass media performs its function, the audience is satisfied.

Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding Model

Considering Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model, it should be mentioned that its main idea is in the message delivered to the audience. If the audience is interested in the message, considered in the information, the data will be released successfully, otherwise, the information is going to be out of demand.

Having the purpose to connect media production, distribution and consumption of the final product, Hall tried to show that these three aspects follow the same logics, but different directions. Considering this model, it is possible to get two aspects, producers and audience.

The data required by each of these sides depends on the research, on investigation and other specific methods which are directed at information search. Hall points at three basic ideas, which point at preferred, negotiated and oppositional data. Here is the example.

A person watches the program where people are accused with violent behavior during the public demonstration. Still, it is impossible to make sure that all people are going to blame the performers. Some people will believe that the data is presented incorrectly, others will think that police performed prevocational acts.

Therefore, it is possible to see that depending on the points audience considers, the code of the data is differently read. The same is devoted to all information audience considers. The data may be read absolutely different from what it is initially believed to be.

Trying to consider the Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model, the understanding and misunderstanding aspects are to be considered. Presenting the information media tries to make it clear for the audience. Therefore, in case the data is improperly understood, it means that the media failed to deliver it correctly.

Audience is never accused in the fact that the information is improperly understood. The whole fault is laid on media who failed to deliver the message for the audience. Therefore, we return to the problem of the data which is in demand and which is not interesting for the audience.

Interesting information is usually properly considered, while the data which is not interesting for the audience may be deformed. Hal’s model is based in four stages which are misconnected, communication, circulation, use and reproduction.

Therefore, the audience usually comes through these four stages to make use of the data they considered. Communication is devoted to the problems considered by the audience. When people talk about some aspects, they express their desires in relation to the data they want to see.

Circulation is the basic information which is presented by one person and delivered to another, and so on and so forth. The circulation of the information makes it possible to for the media workers to understand which data in interesting and which one is not.

Use of the data may be considered from different perspectives, the data may be used either by he audience or by the media. At any case, the information is useful and may be applied in action. Finally, the reproduction of the data by media is the delivery of the information which may be interesting to the audience.

Therefore, these four stages considered by Hall may exist separately as the first sand the last stages should not be obligatory followed in this strict order. Moreover, the difference in opinion and perception is also important.

The Idea of Polysemic Texts

One and the same message may be considered differently by two people. When two people watch one and the same information, it is possible for them to get the data differently. For example, returning to the violence while the public demonstration.

One person will believe that there was a group of people who intentionally came to create chaos. Others will believe that there was just one person who encouraged others. There are going to be people who will believe that the whole situation as created unintentionally and there are going to be people who will believe that it was the fault of the police.

The only message about the violence during demonstration makes it possible for different opinion. The same is about other data. Trying to consider this problem from different perspectives, it is possible to presuppose that media creates such situation intentionally.

It is important for the media to create the news in such a way that people could talk about it. It is important for the media to see the reaction of the media. Polysemic texts cause people to think differently on the same problem.

Media understand that people have different points of view, media is sure that various cultural and social views, political preferences and other specific issues influence the opinion of people.

Creating polysemic texts, media intentionally creates the situation when the problem is differently perceived. In this case, the attention is caught and the audience is interested in this specific fact. Thus, the media controls the attention of the audience.

When the information is improperly understood, people call it personal opinion. Therefore, there is no correct meaning in media. The information is perceived based on the human vision of the surrounding world. If the data is understood in the same way by all people, there would not be any debate which is not correct.

The media creates its pieces of information on the bases of human opinion. Therefore, we have returned to the discussion conducted at the beginning of this paper. Media depends on human opinion.

No matter whether it is positive or negative in relation to the information, it is the feedback and media works basing on the feedback of the audience. The difference in perceiving the information creates debates.

There are a lot of programs based on this particular issue. People get the same information, however, due to many aspects this information is understood in different ways that causes its popularity. Therefore, media intentionally created data which may be debated.

It is important to make sure that the information does not have the same direction, it is important to make sure that the data may cause different people react absolutely strange to cause debate.

Conclusion: What Is the Role of Audience in Media?

In conclusion, it should be stated that opinion that media forms human opinion is correct, however, audience also creates the meaning of the media. Many scholars tried to consider this point of view and Stuart Hall managed to create four stages which are not interconnected with each other.

Hall’s idea is that the message delivered by the media is created on the basis of the opinion of the audience. Trying to consider this opinion, it is important to check the idea of polysemic texts. The information is presented for debate.

Depending on many factors, data may be either supported or not. It does not mean that the data is uninteresting, it means that having different opinions media tries to attract the audience for discussion.

Audience influences media, it creates the themes which are going to be discussed, it makes sure that the information they want to consider is going to be presented for the general consideration.

All people are different, they want to view various data and the main purpose of mass media is to deliver the information in such a way that all people could be satisfied thinking that the data is created specially for them, while the data is for all, it is just for people to make sure that they understand it properly.

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