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Media Audiences
Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power

Second Edition


August 2019 | 368 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Whether we are watching TV, surfing the Internet, listening to our iPods, or reading a novel, we all engage with media as an audience. . Despite the widespread use of this term in our popular culture, the meaning of "audience" is complex, and it has undergone significant historical shifts as new forms of mediated communication have developed from print, telegraphy, and radio to film, television, and the Internet. Media Audiences: Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power 2nd Edition explores the concept of media audiences from four broad perspectives: as "victims" of mass media, as market constructions and commodities, as users of media, and as producers and subcultures of mass media. The goal of the text is for students to be able to think critically about the role and status of media audiences in contemporary society, reflecting on their relative power in relation to institutional media producers.

 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
Chapter 1. History and Concept of the Audience
What Is an Audience?

 
History of Early Audiences

 
Audiences and Notions of Power

 
Conclusion: Constructing Audiences Through History and Theory

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
SECTION I. AUDIENCES AS OBJECTS
 
Chapter 2. Effects of Media Messages
Origins of Media Effects Theories in the Early 20th Century

 
Mass Society Theory and the Payne Fund Studies

 
The War of the Worlds Broadcast and the Direct Effects Model

 
Mass Propaganda Concerns and World War II Communication Research

 
Postwar Communication Research: The Rise of the Limited Effects Paradigm

 
Effects of Media Violence

 
Conclusion: Enduring Concern Over Media Effects

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
SECTION II. AUDIENCES AS INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS
 
Chapter 3. Public Opinion and Audience Citizenship
A Brief History of Public Opinion

 
Survey Methods and the Public Opinion Industry

 
Public Opinion and the Limits of Audience Constructions

 
How News Shapes Public Opinion

 
Conclusion: The Construction of Public Opinion and Its Implications for Democracy

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
Chapter 4. Media Ratings and the Political Economy of Audiences
The Political Economic Approach to Communication

 
Political Economy and the Commodity Audience

 
Ratings and the Construction of the Audience Product

 
Measuring Audiences: The Ratings System

 
Ratings, Market Research, and the Audience Commodity: Assigning Market Value to Mass Audiences

 
Conclusion: How Effective Is Institutional Control Over Audiences?

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
SECTION III. AUDIENCES AS ACTIVE USERS OF MEDIA
 
Chapter 5. Uses and Gratifications
Early Examples of Uses and Gratifications in Communication Research

 
The Uses and Gratifications Approach

 
Expectancy-Value Approaches to Uses and Gratifications

 
Social Uses of Media

 
The Uses and Dependency Approach

 
Conclusion: Refocusing on Audience Power

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
Chapter 6. Interpreting and Decoding Mass Media Texts
The Rise of Critical Cultural Studies

 
Interpretation and Semiotics

 
Ideology, Screen Theory, and the Critical Paradigm

 
The Birmingham School and the Encoding/ Decoding Model

 
The Nationwide Audience Studies

 
Gender and Media Interpretation: Soap Operas, Romances, and Feminism

 
Cross-Cultural Reception of Popular Media

 
Race, Ethnicity, and Audience Decoding: Viewers Interpret The Cosby Show

 
Open Texts and Popular Meanings

 
Intertextuality and Interpretive Communities

 
Revisiting Encoding/Decoding in the 21st Century

 
Conclusion: Interpretation and Audience Power

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
Chapter 7. Reception Contexts and Media Rituals
Media in Context: Notions of Space and Time

 
Media Reception in the Domestic Sphere

 
Media and Everyday Life in the Domestic Context

 
Media Rituals: Another Reception Context

 
Conclusion: Audiences in Context

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
SECTION IV. AUDIENCES AS PRODUCERS AND SUBCULTURES
 
Chapter 8. Media Fandom and Audience Subcultures
Defining Fan Cultures

 
Fan Cultures and Interpretive Activity

 
Fans and Textual Productions

 
Fans and Cultural Hierarchy: The Limits of Textual Reinterpretation

 
Conclusion: Fans, Creativity, and Cultural Hierarchy

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
Chapter 9. Online, Interactive Audiences in a Digital Media World
Digitalization, Fragmentation, Platforms, and the Rise of Audience Autonomy

 
Big Data and Online Audience Metrics

 
Audience Agency, Creativity, and Democratic Participation

 
Crowdsourcing Media Production: Wikis and Blogs

 
Questioning Audience Power in the Networked Information Society: Issues of Media Ownership, Surveillance, and Labor Exploitation

 
Conclusion: Networked Creativity Meets Undercompensated Labor

 
Discussion Activities

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
Chapter 10. Conclusion: Audience Studies in an Era of Datafication
The Rise of Mobile, Transmedia Experiences in the Post-Network Era

 
The New Economics of Audience Aggregation

 
Rediscovering Media Audiences in the 21st Century

 
Charting a Course for Audience Studies: The 2030 Agenda

 
Conclusion

 
Additional Materials

 
References

 
 
Index
 
About the Author

"Great introduction for Level 4."

Paula Hearsum
University of Brighton

"The best book in the field right now."

 

"Good primer for students, you can’t go wrong with this."

 

"Yes, it links theory with examples and research. The only thing close is Abercrombie and that book is hugely dated. I see it as a successor to Abercrombie."

Robbie Smyth
Griffith College – Dublin

"Sullivan has written a lucid and challenging introduction to the study of media audiences from both scholarly and industry perspectives. The complex conceptual material will stimulate and engage the most curious students while providing practical directions for emerging scholars and professionals."

Robert Huesca
Trinity University

Comprehensive on the subject.

Dr Audrey Laing
School of Creative and Cultural Business, Robert Gordon University
November 21, 2022

This book is a very informative book. It provides detailed descriptions and concepts for studying media audiences.

Dr Supathida Kulpavaropas
Mass Communications, Mahidol University International College
April 20, 2022

Focusing on audience is a unique perspective for an introductory course. Students are thinking about media in new ways. Also, excellent inclusion of digital media--not as a sidebar but as integrated into the text.

Dr Linda Levitt
Communications Dept, Stephen F Austin State University
October 5, 2021
Key features
  • A wide range of audience theories and issues covered in the text provides a central location where students can discover an overview of audience theories, explore the field, and find specific topics that are of interest to them to utilize for essays or for other out-of-class work.

  • Media case studies help illustrate concepts, facilitate a deeper understanding of the theories by relating them to concrete examples, aid in classroom discussion, and encourage students to immediately apply the theories that they have just read.

  • Coverage of media communities of fans and of new media audiences, including World of Warcraft gamers and YouTube users, offers inclusive and up-to-date information about audiences which will resonate with students in today's media-saturated culture.

  • Classroom discussion questions and activities, links to relevant Internet resources, and numerous examples facilitate students' understanding of the material and provide excellent ideas for classroom activities to allow students' further exploration of concepts in the chapter.

  • Lists of recommended readings for each chapter are incredibly valuable because they direct students to relevant and accessible scholarly writings that can be used as an initial point for longer essays on audience theories.

  • Clear and consistent writing style in every chapter enhances student understanding.

 

 

For instructors

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