uSeS aNd gRaTiFiCaTiOn

Blumer and Katz expanded this theory in 1974, suggesting a series of possible reasons why audience members might consume a media text.

Diversion - Escape from everyday problems and routine.
Sometimes I use this point to escape from problems and routine using films such as "comedy films", which allows me to escape from problems that occur in the real world. These programmes make me feel that everything is perfect in the film because they are all enjoying each others company. Other films such as Batman shows me the wealth of some people, which allows me to aspire to their capabilities.

Personal Relationships - Using the media for emotional and other interaction, e.g. substituting soap operas for family life.
Soap operas sometimes exaggerate some stories within family problems, which in reality does not really occur. This point does not really apply to any of my situations.

Personal Identity - Constructing their own identity from characters in media texts, and learning behaviour and values.
On some occasions I may identify from characters in a specific text such as gangster's who have the money, girls and cars but then realise that this is acted and not real, which makes me emotional resulting into diversion.

Surveillance - Information gathering, e.g. educational programmes, weather reports, financial news, holiday bargins.
Sometimes I watch these programmes to keep up to date with the latest news and current affairs. I watch weather reports to see whether a picnic is a good idea the next morning. Also watching football highlights, which allows me to not only follow my favourite team but to keep up date to other news within the football world.

Denis McQuail suggests a more detailed breakdown of audience motivation:
"Denis McQuail is an academic and writer within the field of communications. He has written over a dozen books since 1968, mostly concerned with mass media. Best known is his contribution to the education of the public, concerning communication theory. His work has centered on explaining communication theories and their applications. He is adamant about informing the public on the benefits and dangers of mass communication."

Information
- Finding out about relevant events and conditions:
I mainly use, sky news and the interent, on BBC.co.uk to allow me keep up to dat with recent events and conditions.
- Seeking advice
I rarely use advice from TV, as it could be exaggreated, making you do wrong things, that may be bad in the long run.
- Satisfying curiosity and general interest
I like to find out about new things in the media. I use the interent mainly for this, looking for new songs. Sometimes also watching GMTV and other programmes to find out about celebrities, which is shown in a informal way.

Learning
- Self Education
I use Tv sometimes for self education, but mainly for entertainment. Using an example as ER, I am able to say that I learn the hustle and bustle of the hospital environment and the stress tht doctors and nurses face throughout the day.
- Confidence through gaining knowledge
When watching something, I don't watch a programme to educate me, but if watching "who wants to be a millionaire", gives u general knowledge, where you interact with the Tv, shouting and screaming answers if you know them.

Personal Identity
- Finding reinforcement for personal values
This doesn't apply to me, because the values they may give, could not apply to you and also could be incorrect information. I have been taught these by family and friends, which are more effective as they know you better.
- Identifying with "celebrities" - E.g. "Beckham"
I don't really identify with celebrities. If I had to choose a celebrity to admire it would be "Eva Longoria as she is a sexy human being, and perfect in every way.

Entertainment
- Escaping, or being diverted, from problems
I love listening to slow jams, which divert me from problems, or watching comedy programmes such as my wife and kids.
- Relaxing
I listen to music channels and watch sitcoms to relax as they help me unwind and entertain me.
- Filling Time
I watch Tv to fill time or go on the interent, if i have nothing better to do.
- Emotional release
Indian films are quite emotional, where its not stereotypical for boys to feel emotional, but the impact of the story in some films are quite upseting.
- Sexual arousal
Yes I use the media to entertain myself in this category. Every boy does!

eFfeCtS ThEoRy

Definitinon in 5 words:

"How the media manipulates audiences"
"Media forcing ideologies upon audiences"

Media effects theory is the sociological or media studies theory that exposure to representation of violene in any various media causes increased agression or violence in the audience or consumer.

It appears in "folk wisdom" and newspaper editorials as the claim the X or Y media product must be banned in order to avoid the violence is depicts being acted out in society preferbly young people.

Bobo Doll

A classic study in 1961 expose two groups of nursery children to a new play area, containing toys which they were unfamiliar with. one was a 3 foot inflatable Bobo Clown with a weighted base. The children non agressively played ignoring the doll.
In one of the sets an adult "acting" played with the doll agressively stricking the nose and head area, with a toy mallet adressing it with pharases such as "punch him in the nose!" They observed this and discovered later that the children's behaviour changed, by agressively playing with the toys immitating the adult's moves.

Criticism

- In the 20th century agressive media attention and negative depitions of trails revolving around celebrities such as Michael Jackson. Commericials and adverts prove that the media influences people's behaviour.These have influenced the general public's opinions, before the trails even started. The media's role influences people's thoughts and predictions. However these initails do point out that while the media have effect on people's behaviour this isn't neccesarily the case.

- Critics of the media affects theory point out that many copycat murderers, suicides and other violent acts nearly happen in abnormal upbringings. They were laised in a violent, emotionally neglected of agressive environment, which influenced their behaviour more rather than watching ceratain programmes, film or listening to certain music.

The Frankfurt School
-Concerned wit the impact of the rise of the media industries on society
-Under the heading of capatlism, society controls almost everything, where even religion and culture is processed through the mass media.
- The mass audience is seen as a passive thing, not a group of active consumers.
- Fashion-All we are going is buying an artistic vision which someone else hs commodified as something good to buy.
- Watching Tv is a conditioning.

Hypodermic needle model
-This is simply the effects that the media has on the audience. Propaganda films such as Triumph of the the Will.
- This model owes much to the supposed power of the mass media - to inject the passive audiences with ideologies.

wOmEn In aDvErTs

Sheila's Wheels

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cWrLxIEtQfE

This particular adverts, which is a car insurance company called "Sheila's Wheels", it involves three women who try and sell their company to a female audience.
One aspect of this advert signifies the type of clothing they wear; for example, earings and jewelry. This items may be expensive, which entails that three women within this advert are saving money on this insuarance. The pink outfit suggests that they are girly, along with the singing to not only give information about the company but to attract the audience, preferbly women for the product and the outfits fetishised by the male gaze.

Loreal Advert - Eva Longoriaa!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq_-6Edr9sI&mode=related&search

This advert shows the stunning Eva Longoria in action within the loreal advert. She was called the new face for Loreal. (everyone should have her face).

Loreal have made an excellent move by using Eva Longoria for this advert as she is an attractive celebrity, which makes women aspire to be like her and use the products to help improve their appearence (good luck!). She's presents a dilemma towards the audience that to be attractive you must be slim. She is also being fetishised by the male gaze.


Lynx "Billions" One Off Advert
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FOXCXP235JY&mode=related&search=

This advert is aimed towards a male audience because of the product Lynx.
The overall aim for this product it that, in using it it will attract females.

The male audience will fetishise over them, linking it towards the male gaze. This advert is very imaganitive as using the spray will enable
males to get more action as they say. "Spray more Get more".

wHaT iS MaRxIsM

Karl Marx argued that capiltalism based on the profit motive and that under capitalism, profits are generated by expliting workers.

Marx believed that capitalist society is divided into two two social classes

• The working class, or proletariat, who sell their labour and do not own the means of production
• The bourgeoisie, who own the means of production and employ the proletariat. The bourgeoisie may be further subdivided:
• Wealthy bourgeoisie who dont need to work themselves
• Petty bourgeoisie who emply other, but also work themselves.
  

The reason why i think i am a marxist is because i beleive in the capitalist society, as other people must work under more powerful people tom live their lives in society today. Someone has to be in charge in order for the society to remain civil or everything will be out of control and no rules or norms would be followed or obeyed. The rulling class have somewhat power over the media and control what people beleive in. However, its up to the public, shows how easily maipulated some audiences can be.

wHaT Is pLuRaLiSm

Pluralism states that the individual has freedom to consume whatever they prefer, pluralist ideologies allow for different viewpoints in media texts which can lead to conflicting ideas.

Pluralism:

• audience are able to choose from a wide variety of cultural optiuons
• individual has freedom to make choices about what text to consume
• media is seen as the fourth estate
• no hegemonic message
  

Fourth Estate:

the role of the media is seen as being that of the fourth estate, whose role is to keep the public informed about what is happening in each of the other three (government, legal system and the church)

I am pluralist because i agree that the individual has the freedom to consume and interpret texts in which ever manner they choose. However, a Marxist theory can also be applied in the sense of hegemony as the media is controlled by the ruling class. For example, going back to Rupert Murdoch he controls FOX in the US and SKY in the UK thus controlling what the public view and he also owns 'The Sun' thus influencing peoples opinion through his. I agree that the media acts as a Fourth estate as it has a sort of duty to keep the public up-to-date on the ruling classes sort of.

wEsT LiFe jOinS wOoLiEs FoR ChRisTmAs

Woolworths is ploughing £25m into its Christmas advertising campaign, which includes a TV commercial featuring Irish boyband Westlife.

The campaign, which launches tonight, is the largest the retailer has invested in a Christmas campaign in five years and represents a 500% increase in online marketing spend.

The first of six television commercials, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, will break during Emmerdale on ITV1.

The boyband will appear alongside Woolworths characters Wooly the sheep and Worth the sheepdog.

The song White Christmas, sung by Westlife in the ad, is being released as an exclusive download through Woolworths' digital music service for 59p.

The six commercials include a 50 second 'brand' ad, two 30-second 'offer' ads and three 20-second 'tactical' deal ads.

The campaign is also promoting Woolworths' newly launched Argos-style catalogue called the Big Red Book.

"It is a return to the Woolworths' advertising of old, which customers fondly remember as capturing the excitement of Christmas," said Stephen Robertson, the marketing director at Woolworths.

"But we've brought it bang up to date and made it relevant to Woolworths today with messages like online shopping, in-store ordering and tactical deals."

My views on this are that Woolworths have kind of fell behind over these few years and other competitors have been taken most of their customers. I feel that Westlife will imporve their profits and help reach their targets. Westlife are alongside the mascot for Woolworths the "sheep", where Westlife mainly target a young audience which will appeal to them more because of christmas and children. The slot in which they have chosen is good because it comes between a popular prgramme, Coronation street, which many people watch.

wEsT LiFe jOinS wOoLiEs FoR ChRisTmAs

Woolworths is ploughing £25m into its Christmas advertising campaign, which includes a TV commercial featuring Irish boyband Westlife.

The campaign, which launches tonight, is the largest the retailer has invested in a Christmas campaign in five years and represents a 500% increase in online marketing spend.

The first of six television commercials, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, will break during Emmerdale on ITV1.

The boyband will appear alongside Woolworths characters Wooly the sheep and Worth the sheepdog.

The song White Christmas, sung by Westlife in the ad, is being released as an exclusive download through Woolworths' digital music service for 59p.

The six commercials include a 50 second 'brand' ad, two 30-second 'offer' ads and three 20-second 'tactical' deal ads.

The campaign is also promoting Woolworths' newly launched Argos-style catalogue called the Big Red Book.

"It is a return to the Woolworths' advertising of old, which customers fondly remember as capturing the excitement of Christmas," said Stephen Robertson, the marketing director at Woolworths.

"But we've brought it bang up to date and made it relevant to Woolworths today with messages like online shopping, in-store ordering and tactical deals."

My views on this are that Woolworths have kind of fell behind over these few years and other competitors have been taken most of their customers. I feel that Westlife will imporve their profits and help reach their targets. Westlife are alongside the mascot for Woolworths the "sheep", where Westlife mainly target a young audience which will appeal to them more because of christmas and children. The slot in which they have chosen is good because it comes between a popular prgramme, Coronation street, which many people watch.

BBC VoTeS FoR sTrIke

BBC news production staff have voted by an overwhelming majority of 95% for strike action in a dispute over rota changes.

Broadcasting union Bectu, which called the ballot, which closed at lunchtime, said it would meet on Monday to decide when a first 12-hour strike will take place.

The union has a seven-day window for action from when it informs the corporation and previously said it wanted to cause as "much disruption as possible".

The BBC's main news bulletins as well as News 24 could be affected as news production staff deal with live news feeds and give technical support.

The strike action comes after rota changes were forced on BBC news production staff.

The BBC has told employees it is cutting back shifts from 12 hours to between eight and 10 hours, but not reducing total working hours. The result is that staff will have to work more shifts.

In the ballot, in which 67 members of staff took part, 95% voted for strike action while a second question asking if they would take part in non-strike industrial action was also supported by 95%.

Bectu supervisory official Luke Crawley said the huge vote in support of strike action showed the depth of feeling among staff.

"The size of the yes vote will let BBC news know how angry people are about these enforced changes," he said. "The strikes when they come will be well supported."

A BBC spokesman said: "We have contingency plans and we will work towards zero disruption for our audiences."

My views on this are that the BBC should not have changed the rota schedules because it worked well beforehand, and now resulting in people wanting to strike. The managers of BBC should recongise that this is not working and so talk to the employees and ask what best suits them. Less employes equals a slower workforce and results into targets not being met.