Audience Questions

Task 1
1. Do you think the audiences for most media texts do come 'from all walks of life' or do different kinds of people watch very different kinds of programme? Are there any examples of media texts that you can think
of that do seem to have audiences of all kinds of people?

  Most media texts come from all walks of life because they are trying to achieve the largest, most varied audience possible. Once this is achieved, they can manipulate the audience and dictate their message. Examples of these universal media texts are the news, soap operas, and such shows as the Simpsons.

2. How much of your media experience occurs when you are on your own and how much when you are
with others? 

I feel when you are alone, you tend to be more 'passive' and absorb more of the content - whereas when with others, there are more distractions. Therefore, more experience is gained when alone, and when with others the experience is less detailed - as attention is somewhat focused on the others. 
4. Are there any ways in which you share your experiences of the media with other people who weren't
around when you experienced the text? List as many ways as you share experiences (e.g. msn etc)

Msn
Facebook
Twitter
Blogs
Reviews
Myspace
Conversation
Telephone



Task 2

Can you think of any examples where the media have been seen to influence public
behaviour or have been blamed for an individual's behaviour?


 The E4 series 'Skins', which displays graphic drug use along with sex, alcohol and smoking scenes of underage teens. This was said to have sparked a negative influence on teenage viewers behaviour. Similarly, rapper 'Eminem' uses a lot of obscenities, mysogeny and homophobia - as well as political challenging lyrics - which have been blamed for aggressive behaviour in listeners.



Is this influence always negative?

 No, there are positive moral messages depicted to audiences, such as romantic films and awards programmes. Also, a good example is 'Russell Howard's Good News'; at the end of each show, there is a piece of inspirational, 'nice' news.