Media Studies
www.curriculum-press.co.uk
Number 006
Introduction to Audience The aims of this Factsheet are to: • Identify the importance in defining a target audience for media producers • Show the differences between a mass audience and a niche audience; a target audience and an actual audience • Discuss the different ways audience members make use of media texts
19.00 Holiday Anthony Crank reports from Nepal. Thalia Pellegrini is in Sicily on a holiday that’s geologically active. And Laurence explores Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. 19.30 Real Story The Company That Stole Christmas: Investigation into the collapse of Farepak that’s left more than 130,000 savers facing a bleak Christmas.
One of the most important concepts within Media Studies is that of audience. Every media text is made with a view to pleasing an audience in some way. Success is measured by the audiences response to a media text and those that do not attract and maintain an audience do not survive. At the heart of this is the fact that all media texts are created in order to make money. They do this in a number of ways: • Films – via box office takings, DVD and other related merchandise sales •
Newspapers and magazines– via advertising revenues and sales
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Television programmes (commercial TV) –via advertising sales, sponsorship and audience participation
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Television and Radio etc. (Public Service Broadcasting) - The BBC are not funded by advertising but they need to be able to justify the money they receive via the licence fee. The way they gauge the popularity and the success of the television and radio programming is through the viewing/listening figures
20.00 EastEnders Patrick’s guilty conscience forces him to shatter Denise’s world while Bert is stunned by an emotional revelation from Evie 20.30 Trauma Paramedic Jason Sefton is called to help a man who has been attacked outside a nightclub. And Dr Ara Suppiah treats a boxer with an unusual ring injury. 21.00 Panorama Special My Fake Passports and Me: Is it possible to buy a fake passport and use it to get into Britain? That’s the challenge facing reporter Shahida Tulaganova. 22.00 BBC Ten O’Clock News National and international news, with reports from BBC correspondents worldwide. 22.25 BBC London News (Regional Programming) The latest stories from the BBC London newsroom. Followed by the national headlines and Weather.
If a media text is deemed successful it needs to attempt to ensure it offers appropriate pleasures (gratifications) its audience. Each media text will be targeted towards a specific group and the way it is constructed will be carefully considered in light of who the target audience is.
22.35 Men Behaving Badly Babies: Gary has a vivid nightmare he’s marrying his pregnant girlfriend Dorothy. Nightmare becomes reality when she decides it really is time to start a family. www.bbc.co.uk
Target Audiences 1. The Mass/Mainstream Audience
Activity: Compare the BBC lisitings with these from the same evening for ITV.
Some media texts attempt to appeal to a broad range of people. Although difficult to achieve, this is an ideal way to create very large audiences and, therefore, maximise the potential for success and ultimately profit. This group, consisting of males and females, young and old and a wide range of social groups is often called the mainstream or mass audience.
19.00 Emmerdale 19.30 Coronation Street 20.00 The New Superbug: Tonight Report on new concerns about hygiene in hospitals, prompted by fears of the spread of Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that could pose a greater threat than MRSA. Angie Mason investigates, asking whether officials are being entirely honest about the level of infection on their wards
Below are the listings for BBC 1 between 7pm and 11pm on December 5th 2006. The channel broadcast a selection of current affairs, comedy, soap and drama programmes. Whilst each programme may not be to everyone’s taste, it is clear that the programmes could appeal to a range of different types of people: young and old, male and female and a range of different interests are being catered for. This is typical of a mainstream, mass audience broadcaster.
20.30 Coronation Street 21.00 Manhunt - Solving Britain’s Crimes The police and Crimestoppers join forces to ask for the public’s help in tracking down individuals wanted in connection with Britain’s top ten unsolved felonies. The programme features dramatic reconstructions of the incidents as well as interviews with victims and officers involved in the cases. Mark Austin and Sarah Heaney present
AQA/OCR/WJEC? Each exam board cites audiences as one of its central concepts which needs to focused upon at both AS and A2 level in order to undertake textual analysis.
22.30 ITV News www.itv.com
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Media Studies
006 - Introduction to Audience
www.curriculum-press.co.uk
• Even though the programming is slightly different, what are the similarities? • Consider the topics chosen for the current affairs programming. How do they identify the fact that both channels are attempting to attract a mass audience? • Look at the listings for other TV channels. Can you identify and differences in the target audience for these channels? • Why do you suppose programmes between 7pm and 11pm were chosen for this activity?
With the increase in cable and satellite TV and the growth of more and more TV channels, niche audiences are becoming more important. Some channels specifically target niche audiences (Living TV, for example) or audiences with clearly defined interests (Sci-Fi, Paramount Comedy, The History Channel etc.) As more channels are available, niche audiences provide a more stable base for these stations, all of which need advertising to survive as the extended choice means that the audience is more fragmented and it is less likely that the majority of viewers will be watching the main terrestrial channels.
BBC 1 and ITV are in direct competition with each other for the mass audience. This audience is very lucrative but there is a distinct possibility that this large audience will be split between the mainstream broadcasters. Notice how Eastenders and Coronation Street were both broadcast on the same evening, but not at the same time. If the two soaps clashed then it would force the soap audience to choose between them. This would be disastrous as both the BBC and ITV expect large numbers for these flagship mainstream programmes. Viewing figures fluctuate but both soaps average around 15 million viewers.
Identifying the Target Audience The following are some of the things you can consider when looking at a media text which will help you determine who the target audience are: • the subject matter – who is it assumed to interest? who does it focus on and from whose point of view are ideas presented? • advertising – who would be interested in the products advertised close to or within the text? • TV/radio scheduling – who is assumed to be watching when the programme is broadcast? • the certification of a film (The British Board of Film Classifications) • media language choices – e.g. is the soundtrack appealing to a specific group? does the layout and design or camera work and editing remind you of other media texts which have a specific target audience?
2. Niche Audiences The mass audience is not the only one that can make a lot of money for media producers. Some media texts are created with a specific sub-section of the audience in mind - a niche audience. Whilst a niche audience is likely to be smaller in number than a mass audience, there are many ways appealing to a specific group can be profitable.
The primary aim for any media producer is to create a text which successfully identifies what it is that the target audience want and then to present it to them in a way that ensures they will return again.
Target Audience vs Actual Audience
Niche audiences are ones which have a specific interest in the content of the media text. This means they are more likely to: • be loyal (watching or reading on a regular basis) • purchase other products related to the media texts – merchandise/ DVDs etc. • respond to advertising which is targeted towards their interests
Even though media producers may have a specific audience in mind when creating a media text, this is not to say that only those people targeted will access these texts. Men are known to read women’s lifestyle magazines and women will watch Fifth Gear even though they may not be the target audience for these texts and are in the minority. The acutual audience may end up being quite different to the intended target audience.
Advertisers like niche audiences as they make it far easier to ensure the advertising is seen by potentially interested people. If you wanted to advertise a new motor oil, you may be better off placing your advert in Max Power rather than The TV Times or on television when Fifth Gear is broadcast rather than spending on the exceptionally expensive slots between parts 1 and 2 of X Factor. Your adverts may be seen by less people, but the people that see them are more likely to be potential purchasers of your product.
Activity Using the front cover of Bliss and the advert for Sugar identify the aspects of the media language which are chosen in order to attract the target audience of teenage girls. Consider the celebrities chosen for the front page, the choice of colour and the lexis (words). Also, consider the content of the magazines – what assumptions are being made about teenage girls’ interests and aspirations?
It is important for media producers to recognise and identify who their target audience is. It is the knowledge of who the audience is assumed to be that enables media producers to make specific choices about how to construct their media texts. This knowledge will help them decide on what content to include and how to present the content. The first consideration will always be attempting to appeal to and maintain the interest of the identified audience. Media producers are keen to give their audience what they want so that the audience are more likely to watch or read again. Scheduling has always been important in providing TV programmes for mainstream and niche audiences. For example on BBC and ITV, Children’s programming is broadcast on Saturday mornings and in the late afternoon and programmes with an exclusively adult content will not be shown until after 9pm (this is called the watershed).
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Media Studies
006 - Introduction to Audience
www.curriculum-press.co.uk
Defining a Teenage Girl
McQuail summarises the types of pleasures an audience member may receive from a text as follows: The following offers a range of Uses and Gratifications that audiences may receive from media texts.
Magazines such as Bliss and Sugar have a target audience of older teenage girls. The content of these magazines reflect this in the fact that they focus on celebrity gossip, fashion and make-up and also on relationships and sex. At times the sexual content can be quite explicit and these magazines have been criticised in the past for having this type of content as it is understood that the actual audience are more likely to be in their low teens.
Exam Hint When analysing a text it may be worth pointing out both the range of different groups who will consume the text and the different readings that they may have of the text.
Closed in 1994, J17 magazine seemed to clarify who its target audience was in its name. However, ‘J17 magazine was never read by anyone as old as 17’. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/ 0,,1428186,00.html) and so these magazines were often accused of publishing inappropriate content given who was actually reading them.
Information • • • • •
Exam Hint Media producers may use stereotypes to attempt to identify and appeal to their target audience. In an exam, you should identify what the stereotypical assumptions about the audience are – but take care not to use the stereotypes yourself. Look at the difference between these two written statements – the first uses a stereotype and the second identifies it: 8 ‘The target audience for Bliss are all interested in make up and boyfriends’ 8 9 ‘The producers of Bliss assume its target audience are interested in make up and boyfriends’ 9
Personal Identity • • • • • • • • • • •
Is an audience, therefore, a single group of people all sharing similar interests or are audiences made up of multiple and varied individuals?
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finding reinforcement for personal values finding models of behaviour identifying with valued others gaining insight into one’s self
Integration and Social Interaction
Audiences – A Mass or Individuals?
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finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world seeking advice on practical matters or opinion or decision choices satisfying curiosity and general interest learning and self education gaining a sense of security through information
Living TV targets females. Do all females think and respond in the same way? Nuts targets males. Do all males have the same interests?
gaining insights into circumstances of others - social empathy identifying with others and gaining a seems of belonging finding a basis for conversation and social interaction having a substitute for real-life companionship helping to carry out social roles enabling one to connect with family, friends and society
Entertainment • • • • • •
Common sense will tell us that members of a media audience cannot all be exactly the same. Media producers need to consider their target audiences as a mass in order to attempt to appeal to them. In reality there will always be differences in the way audience members access texts and the interpretations they make.
escaping, or being diverted from, problems relaxing getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment filling time emotional release sexual arousal
Conclusion The aspects of ourselves which make us individuals may also impact on the way we interpret a text. These aspects have been called subjectives… they are the things which add to the way we view and define the world around us and include: • Gender • Age • Nationality • Life experience
In order to create successful media texts, producers need to identify their target audience, understand their interests and construct texts to provide a range of gratifications which will meet their needs. A media student needs to be able to evaluate how producers attempt do all of these things in the construction of a text. You should look out for the media language, content and representation choices which identify who the target audience is and then consider what reasons this audience have for watching or reading the text. Although there are many debates about the influence the media may have on audiences, it is worth bearing in mind that the audience is a powerful group. Without an audience, there would be no text.
Subjectives may go some way to explain why you and your parents like different media texts – the differences in your age and life experience means you will interpret media texts differently, will have different ways of being entertained and will have different perspectives on the content of texts. Products which aim at a niche audience attempt to capitalise on these subjectives but texts which aim at a mass audience attempt to limit their impact by focussing on things that different people are likely to share.
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Media Studies
006 - Introduction to Audience
www.curriculum-press.co.uk
Exam Hint Uses and Gratifications Theory will be an important aspect of your analysis in all assessments in Media Studies. You will find it a useful approach when analysing why a text is (or is not) successful with its target audience and it can help you identify why specific media language choices have been made by media producers.
Activities • Which specific media texts which may fulfil your gratification needs as defined above. For example: Heat magazine may be part of an information gratification as it ‘satisfies curiosity’ but can hardly be described as something that is part of ‘learning’ (at least not in a formal sense). However, it also provides ‘entertainment’ – maybe to ‘escape’ from the real world for a time. •
What different gratifications do you think a soap opera could offer its mainstream audience? Does this go some way to explaining why the genre is so very popular?
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Do you think different niche audiences look for different gratifications within the texts they access? Give examples.
How does a quiz show such as Deal or No Deal offer its audience the following gratifications? Social interaction? Escapism? Filling time? Identification and a sense of belonging? Emotional release?
Activity Look again at the listings from the BBC and ITV. What shared interests or concerns are highlighted by the content of the programmes?
BBC
ITV
19.00 Holiday Anthony Crank reports from Nepal. Thalia Pellegrini is in Sicily on a holiday that’s geologically active. And Laurence explores Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula.
19.00 Emmerdale 19.30 Coronation Street 20.00 The New Superbug: Tonight Report on new concerns about hygiene in hospitals, prompted by fears of the spread of Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that could pose a greater threat than MRSA. Angie Mason investigates, asking whether officials are being entirely honest about the level of infection on their wards
19.30 Real Story The Company That Stole Christmas: Investigation into the collapse of Farepak that’s left more than 130,000 savers facing a bleak Christmas. 20.00 EastEnders Patrick’s guilty conscience forces him to shatter Denise’s world while Bert is stunned by an emotional revelation from Evie
20.30 Coronation Street 21.00 Manhunt - Solving Britain’s Crimes The police and Crimestoppers join forces to ask for the public’s help in tracking down individuals wanted in connection with Britain’s top ten unsolved felonies. The programme features dramatic reconstructions of the incidents as well as interviews with victims and officers involved in the cases. Mark Austin and Sarah Heaney present
20.30 Trauma Paramedic Jason Sefton is called to help a man who has been attacked outside a nightclub. And Dr Ara Suppiah treats a boxer with an unusual ring injury. 21.00 Panorama Special My Fake Passports and Me: Is it possible to buy a fake passport and use it to get into Britain? That’s the challenge facing reporter Shahida Tulaganova.
22.30 ITV News www.itv.com
Images
22.00 BBC Ten O’Clock News National and international news, with reports from BBC correspondents worldwide.
BBC Logo p.1 www.bbc.co.uk ITV Logo p.2 www.itv.com LivingTV Logo p.2 www.livingtv.co.uk Sci Fi Logo p.2 www.uk.scifi.com Sugar Ad p.2 http://www.sugarmagazine.co.uk/onsalenow.php Bliss front cover p.2 www.keiraweb.com Deal or No Deal p.4 www.channel4.com
22.25 BBC London News (Regional Programming) The latest stories from the BBC London newsroom. Followed by the national headlines and Weather. 22.35 Men Behaving Badly Babies: Gary has a vivid nightmare he’s marrying his pregnant girlfriend Dorothy. Nightmare becomes reality when she decides it really is time to start a family. www.bbc.co.uk
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Acknowledgements: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched and written by Steph Hendry Curriculum Press. Bank House, 105 King Street, Wellington, TF1 1NU. Media Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students, provided that their school is a registered subscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN 1351-5136