The essay will first of all attempt to answer the question: "What is audience?" Next, it will probe in to the origin of the word "audience" and the gradually evolved uses of it and will go on to describe the various conceptions of audience. The essay also looks at media’s conception of audience. Measurement of audience is another important point that will be considered and then the question is posed: "Is audience research important?" It is also important to discuss the power of the audiences and the future of the audience concept.
Contemporary media scene is one of convergence mainly technological and corporate. Audience studies have always faced certain fluidity due to the dynamic nature of audience itself. This is more pronounced in the age of media convergence. All the same the paper will make an attempt to understand the phenomenon of audience – meaning, origin, and nature. Conceptions of audience are multiple. Contemporary audience phenomenon is characterized by massification. Massification has led to commodification conveniencing media houses and advertising firms to measure it, which in turn helps to rate various programmes, especially on broadcast media.
Of course, the power of the mass audience cannot be underestimated especially with the emergence of New Media, through social networking sites. Surely, audience fragmentation and polarization is an unavoidable fact arising from the contemporary mushrooming of media outlets. This poses numerous difficulties in the area of audience research – researching for audience and for commercial interests. The commercial research and audience measurement turns audience in to a market.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is an audience?
3. Origin of the term ‘audience’
4. Media Conception of the Audience
5. Conceptions of Audience
6. The Mass Audience: Its Origin
6. 1 Mass Audience as a Commodity
6.2 Criticisms of the Mass Audience Concept
6.3 The Power of the Mass Audience
6.4 The Mass Audience in the New Media Environment
7. Research on Audience
7. 1 Researching for the Audience
7. 2 Commercial Audience Research
8. Audience Measurement
9. The Audience as Market
10. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper provides a descriptive study that examines the evolving relationship between media and its audience, exploring how audiences are conceptualized, researched, and commodified in the age of convergence. It seeks to answer fundamental questions about the nature of the audience and evaluates the power dynamics between media institutions and the public.
- Theoretical definitions and origins of the term "audience."
- Media industry perceptions and "product image" construction.
- Conceptions of the audience as victim, consumer, and commodity.
- Impact of mass communication, fragmentation, and new media environments.
- Mechanisms and socio-economic implications of audience measurement.
Excerpt from the Book
6.3 The Power of the Mass Audience
Some analysts (esp. Webster and Phalen, 1997: 17) see mass audience concept as the embodiment of audience power. Membership of an audience does not diminish an individual’s capacity in relation to media consumption. Far from taming viewers, aggregating individuals empowers them. It amplifies their voices and recasts them in a form to which institutions must respond. Ettema and Whitney (1994) referred to this as the creation of institutionally effective audiences. They said, “Actual receivers are not powerless but as we have argued, they wield influence within the institution only when they have been constituted as some effective audience such as an identifiable and desirable market segment”.
This kind of power is most evident in the way audiences hold sway over television programmers. Some industry experts characterize mass audience power as a ‘cultural democracy’. Similar ideas are also expressed by other writers. An institutional conception of mass communication does grant consumers (audiences) some power to assert their wants and needs.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The chapter establishes the inseparable relationship between media and everyday life, framing the audience as the foundation of media's economic and cultural power.
2. What is an audience?: It explores the definition of an audience, arguing that it is not a natural entity but a "man-made" construct defined by various overlapping factors like place, channel, and content.
3. Origin of the term ‘audience’: This section traces the historical evolution of the term from a hearing in the 14th century to its modern usage in the electronic media age.
4. Media Conception of the Audience: The chapter investigates how journalists and media producers perceive their audiences, often highlighting a gap between professional perceptions and actual audience needs.
5. Conceptions of Audience: It outlines diverse theoretical frameworks, including the 'Active Audience' and tripartite models classifying audiences as victims, consumers, or coins of exchange.
6. The Mass Audience: Its Origin: This chapter contextualizes the emergence of the mass audience within the Industrial Revolution and explores its implications as a commodity and power base.
7. Research on Audience: It discusses the contested nature of audience research, distinguishing between research for the audience as a subject and commercial research as an object.
8. Audience Measurement: This section examines the social scientific technologies, such as the Nielsen 'people meter', used to quantify audience behavior for commercial interests.
9. The Audience as Market: It argues that commercial interests increasingly treat the audience as a market, shaping institutional structures to prioritize market predictability over social value.
10. Conclusion: The summary reflects on the need for a healthier concept of the audience, cautioning against the reduction of people to mere commodities for commercial gain.
Keywords
Media, Audience, Media convergence, Audience measurement, Journalists, Mass audience, Audience fragmentation, Audience polarization, Commodity, Cultural democracy, Audience research, New Media, Commercial interests, Media industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this academic paper?
The paper examines the complex relationship between media and its audience, questioning how the audience is conceptualized, researched, and utilized by media institutions.
What are the primary themes discussed in the publication?
Core themes include the historical origin of the 'audience' concept, the influence of media convergence, the commodification of audiences, and the power dynamics inherent in audience measurement.
What is the main research question or goal?
The study aims to answer "What is an audience?", while also exploring why audience research is conducted and evaluating the potential for the audience to be either a beneficiary or a victim of media structures.
Which scientific methods are primarily utilized in this work?
The work employs a descriptive study approach, synthesizing existing literature, historical data, and ethnographic studies of journalistic practices to analyze theoretical audience models.
What is covered in the main section of the book?
The main sections delve into the definitions of the audience, the institutional construction of 'audience images', the evolution of mass audience theories, and the economics of commercial audience measurement.
What key concepts define the terminology used in this study?
The study relies on concepts such as the 'Active Audience', 'Mass Audience', 'Audience as Commodity', 'Audience fragmentation', and 'Institutionally effective audiences'.
How does the author define the 'people meter'?
The 'people meter' is described as an audience measurement technology introduced by Nielsen in 1987, designed to collect detailed viewing behavior data for individual household members.
Does the author believe that audiences are naturally occurring groups?
No, the text explicitly argues that audiences are 'man-made' constructs shaped by culture and institutional needs, rather than natural or collective entities.
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- Prof. Francis Arackal Thummy (Autor:in), 2017, Media and Its Audience. Beneficiary or Victim?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/465945
