http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience
-The group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively.
-The persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast.
-Aegular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like.
Theories;
The hypodermic needle theory
This model owes much to the supposed power of the mass media - in particular film - to inject their audiences with ideas and meanings. Such was the thinking behind much of the Nazi propaganda that was evident in Triumph of the Will and similar films. It is worth noting that totalitarian states and dictatorships are similar in their desire to have complete control over the media, usually in the belief that strict regulation of the media will help in controlling entire populations.
The effects model has several variants and despite the fact that it is an outdated model it continues to exert influence in present debates about censorship and control in the media.
Uses and gratifications
A more recent model of audience is that of uses and gratifications, which
suggests that there is a highly active audience making use of the media for a
range of purposes designed to satisfy needs such as entertainment,
information and identification. In this model the individual has the power and
she selects the media texts that best suit her needs and her attempts to
satisfy those needs. The psychological basis for this model is the hierarchy of
needs identified by Maslow. Among the chief exponents of this model are
McQuail and Katz.
The main areas that are identified in this model are:
a) the need forinformati on about our geographical and social world (news
and drama)
b) the need foridentit y, by using characters and personalities to define our
sense of self and social behaviour (film and celebrities)
c) the need for social interaction through experiencing the relationships and
interaction of others (soap lives and sitcom)
d) the need fordiversion by using the media for purposes of play and
entertainment (game shows and quizzes).
Mode of address
Still in line with the active audience idea is the concept of mode of address.
This refers to the way that a text speaks to us in a style that encourages us to
identify with the text because it is 'our' kind of text. For exampleFriends is
intended for a young audience because of the way it uses music and the
opening credits to develop a sense of fun, energy and enthusiasm that the
perceived audience can identify with. This does not mean that other groups
are excluded, merely that the dominant mode of address is targetted at the
young. Mode of address can even be applied to entire outputs, as in the case
of Channel Four which works hard to form a style of address aimed at an
audience which is informed, articulate and in some ways a specialised one.
Newspapers, too, often construct their presentation to reflect what they
imagine is the identity of their typical readers.
