Media theories

There are many different theories that have been created through the media
industry in order to gain ideas and thoughts as to how the media can influence
those who consume it as well as the purposes of certain types of media.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory
The hypodermic needle theory is a popular theory mainly established during the
1930s during affairs such as World War 2 and bases the idea of mass media
directly injecting messages into the minds of a passive audience. There are many
examples as to how this theory has worked on audiences with the most wellknown being Adolf Hitlers rise to power.
During the 1930s this was a big step for radio and television being the sources
of news in media. This was also the time in which adverting and propaganda
emerged. This gave Adolf Hitler the chance to gain control over Germany by
directly injecting the message or idea of the Jewish community being the
universal scapegoat, which could only be through the German people being a
passive audience. This meant that whoever was consuming the thoughts of Hitler
didnt think to question his views but just accepted them and believed what he
was saying was right. This is due to the audience being powerless and unable to
resist the impact that the media has on them as they have no other sources of
information. This creates the idea that all audiences are the same and have no
individual differences.
To every theory there will always be advantages and disadvantages. In regards
to the hypodermic needle theory, is that there have been cases in which this
theory has been proven to be true. On event involving The Mercury Theatre
group broadcasted their edition of HG. Wells War of The Worlds by radio on
October 30th 1938. The broadcast was interrupted after a news bulletin claimed
that the Martians were invading Earth. Out of the twelve million originally
listening to the broadcast, one million believed this information to be true with
citizens relocating to rural areas and food rations.
One of the main advantages of this theory is that the use of statistics and
numbers can be a reliable and effective approach of seeing patterns and trends
as to how audiences react to media. These studies also tend to involve a large
amount of participants with the studies running for long periods of time, making
the sources being reliable.
The disadvantages of this theory relate to how rarely audiences just accept the
direct messages the media injects into them. This theory opposes the
individuality of audiences and rejects that each and every one of us have our
own thoughts and ideas without us having to necessarily accept how the media
portrays certain events. Some audiences are aware of how the media have
constructed certain messages. Furthermore, this theory is often rejected due to it
being too simplistic. Audiences can interpret the media in different ways and this
cannot always be observable.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory
Another theory, the uses and gratifications theory can help to explain as to the
reasons why audiences consume different forms of media. Two researches have

both tried to make this theory relevant (Blumler and Katz) by trying to
understand the whys of mass media communication instead of how it effects
the audience in the 1940s up until the 1970s. Currently, there are four
specifications as to why audiences view the mass media.
Inform/ Educate: Audiences simply view the media to be informed of certain
subjects. For example, some audiences may choose to watch the news or a
documentary so they can gain more information on a chosen subject.
Personal Identity: Some audiences may view media to find models in the
programme. For example, some audiences may watch soap operas or reality TV
and find they can relate to a character really well depending on their situation or
even personality. This connection with a character can help a viewer decide on
what they should do in a relatable situation as well as seeing if the viewer agrees
or disagrees with the choices a character makes.
Entertain: This is where the audience simply views films, TV programmes or
plays video games just for entertainment purposes. Audiences can either enjoy,
relax or just make up time with the media theyre consuming. Also, the idea of
escapism applies to this specification especially in with playing video games.
Players may just want to escape reality and everyday life and they feel like they
can do that through the fantasies of video games.
Social interaction: This is the specification that explains that some audience
members may watch certain films, TV programmes or play certain video games
in order to be involved with a conversation that theyre friends or family may be
having. This helps for social skills so conversations can sprout from similar
interests of media.
This theory is somewhat rejected as some people that audiences do not have
any power over what the media produces. Moreover, similar to the con of the
hypodermic needle, audiences dont appear to have the individuality to view the
media differently. This simply means that audiences are all grouped together and
the four justifications are the only reasons as to why people use the media for
their own benefits.
On the other hand, this theory somewhat proves that audiences are active and
interpret and consume the media differently. They use the media for different
things and choose what they want to use the media for each time which shows
them having some involvement with their own individuality and being able to
question what theyre viewing.
It may also be argued that this theory doesnt show that audiences consume
media passively and view it due to the media controlling it, in fact it shows the
opposite which may be seen as a disadvantage for the theory.
Reception Study Theory
In 1980, Stuart Hall conducted a theory that audiences interpret media in
different ways. He also stated that the types of media is not simply passively
accepted by the audience meaning audiences are active when viewing their
chosen media. Hall also argues that based on the viewers life experiences,
upbringing and cultured backgrounds, the viewer may interpret a text differently
to other viewers.

Hall brought in three sides of the theory with negotiation, Dominance and
opposition. He argues that the meaning of a text is not inherent within a
media text itself, but is created within the relationship between the media text
and the viewer. There is a difference between the readings that the creators of
the media will want the audience to agree with may be different from the
readings they actually take themselves. With the oppositional take, audiences
who are not the actual target audience may completely reject the preferred
reading of the text and go with their own interpretation. This has happened
numerous times including the popular Star Wars franchise in which it was
originally targeted at young children but has been now adapted for older
audiences even though they werent the intended audience.
An advantage with this theory is that Hall brings in the idea of an active audience
and brings in individuality and that the audience doesnt just simply accept what
they are viewing and are actively questioning and engaging with the media they
are viewing. Audiences could be taking a critical approach of the media.