Audience Theories

Hypodermic Needle:  This theory implied that mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on their audiences.  Basically the idea of this theory is that the things said and acted out on television go straight into your head without you really thinking about it, (passively received).  Therefore the people that believed in this theory thought that the audience of the mass media would believe what they have viewed, heard or read.

Two step flow:  This is information that has gone through more than just one or two people, this means that people filter out the things that they don’t want the audience to see and results sometimes in a biased view.

Uses of gratifications:  The theory places more focus on the consumer, or audience, instead of the actual message itself by asking “what people do with media” rather than “what media does to people”.  The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.   

Reception Theory:  This links the kind of person you are, your background and your own existing system of beliefs, to the way you respond to the media you see.

Desensitization:  The more shocking and violent the images and information we see, the less sensitive we become to it in real life.  For example because we have seen on the news so often that British and America soldiers have been killed it may make you less surprised and therefore maybe even care less the next time you see it in the media.