- Hyperdermic needle theory: believing that the mass audience were passive and could simply be 'injected' with messages created by media producers.
- UK age rating;
British film makers do not always pitch at the most profitable group, often art-cinema films get rated 18 (e.g. Trainspotting, Snatch etc) which means a large proportion of the most profitable group cannot see them and other viewers are put off as they assume the content will be too violent/graphic for them.
- USA age rating:
Hollywood always take this into account, this is why the majority of their films are rated 15. However, it is also possible to make more of a profit if the film will also appeal to a family audience this is why recent trends show Hollywood producing films that are rated 12 or PG (e.g. films like Avatar, Harry Potter etc).
- Blumer & katz (1973) suggested that there are 4 possible reasons why an audience might consume a media text:
-Entertainment:
-Information/surveillance(information gathering e.g. news, wether reports, holiday programs etc.)
-Socialisation
-Personal relationships (using the media for emotional and other interactions e.g. substitution soap opera for family life OR using the cinema as a social event)
MASS AUDIENCE: mass audiences are basically large mainstream audiences who consume mainstream or popular culture (Marxist would claim that this audience is largely made up of the ‘working class’), such as Hollywood films, Eastenders, reality TV, Premiership football, simple Hollywood, tabloids etc. High culture, by contrast, is usually associated with broadsheets, opera, ballet and BBC Four.
NICHE AUDIENCE: A niche audience is smaller than a mass audience but usually very influential e.g. those Marxist would define as upper class/middle class who controlled the media may wish to see ‘high culture’ programs hence the launch of BBC Four for those who wish to hear/see artistic high culture programs. Niche audiences don’t have to be this group though, they can be any small dedicated group who advertisers feel are worth targeting/marking products for. Examples could include, certain films (e.g. 'adult' movies - which can not really be called ‘high art’), fishing magazines, farming programs.
