Audience Relationships with the media

The media has a complicated relationship with its audience. The media want to inform, sell to, influence, entertain and interact with their audience. The audicene choose to consume media products by reading newspapers, listening to the radio, watching the television etc. Some people believe in the hypodermic model which suggests that the audience are victims as they are used by the media. The idea of an Active Audience is an opposing view which suggests that controls the media as determines how and when the media is used and so the media must react to public demand.

To influence the audience, the media uses:

*powerful, emotional language

*shocking or heartwrenching moments

*have the commentator appeal directly to viewer through camera shota

*show point of view from another persons perspective