Summary of audience theory...

Uses and Gratification Summary: This theory suggests that the audience is active and that they have a choice over the texts they choose. Also, the audience has several reasons for choosing the text they have chosen. Diversion Information, Personal Relationships, Learning Personal Identity, Surveillance Integration and Social Interaction and Entertainment.

Reception Theory Summary: Reception theory concentrates on how the audience reads a text, it focuses on the basis that a text does not have one single meaning.It also states that the audience decode meanings as a result of our background, eg, class, age and gender.David Morley carried out a study on how an audience reads a text and came up with 3 main ways a text can be read, Hegemonic, which is the preffered reading, the Negotiated where the reader shares some values and ideologies and the Oppositional whereby the reader does not share the values and rejects the preffered reading.

Effects Theory: This theory argues that the audience is passive and are manipulated and influenced by hegemonic values.

Frankfurt School is where a group of researchers came up with the theory that suggested media industries in society were beginning to rise and under capitalism culture is prossesed through mass media as something which can be bought and sold. The Hypodermic needle model is closely linked to this it says the hegemonic ideologies being injected into a passive audience. The theory was linked to techniques of propaganda.

Similarities and Differences: Uses and Gratification and Reception theory both state the audience is active whereas Effects theory argues the audience is passive. Uses and Gratification and Receptions theory both ssy the audience have a choice in the media texts they consume whereas the effects theory says the audience is are forced to consume texts.