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Perspectives on Media and Audiences
- How and why do academic approaches to media audience research differ from industry approaches?
- Compare and contrast the “early” audience theories: effects research, agenda-setting, cultivation analysis, and uses and gratifications.
- Do you think using the approaches of Marxism and the Frankfurt School provide a complete picture of today’s media audiences? Why or why not?
- Some reception studies (e.g., Radway) appear to describe the interaction between audiences and media content as secondary to the context surrounding the interpretation of content. Is it more the act of reading that counts over what the person is deriving from the content itself? Comment on this in relation to other methods of analysis.
- According to British Cultural Studies, what are the main characteristics of the dominant ideology in British television? Do you think this approach can be used to understand Canadian media audiences effectively?
- Compare and contrast the different audience theories in relation to the issue of human agency. Which theories deny it, and which theories emphasize it? Which theoretical perspectives on audiences correspond most closely to your own views? Explain why.
- If you were writing an essay or opinion piece about the impact of media violence on society, which theoretical perspectives would you refer to in your discussion?
- Is it concerning that industry organizations collect information on audiences that advertisers then consult? Have you ever responded to a market survey? If so, have you always “told the whole truth and nothing but the truth”? Discuss.
- Define reach, share and viewing time, in relation to data gathering about audiences watching or listening to particular programs.
- How have media audiences changed over time? What sorts of new challenges arise for the media when trying to appeal to audiences who use new technologies?
- Explain some of the privacy concerns raised by interactive media technologies that make audiences and media consumers vulnerable.