Two step Flow Theory

Two step Flow Theory - Paul Lazafeld
In 1944, paul researched the people choice.
He focused on process of decision making during a presidential election.
They expected to find lots of evidence to support for direct influence of media messages on voting intention.
Instead, they discovered that informal, personal contacts had more impact on peoples influence on voting behaviour.

Mass Media - Give message 

Opinion Leader - desivering information 

Mass Audiences - Semi- Passive Aduince 

Cultivation Theory

Cultivation Theory - George Gerbner
He created the theory about Tv.

The effects of the programme/tv happens gradually over time. It needs lots of Tv viewing to have an affect.
It REINFORCES the norms rather than changing it.

Action adventure movies make you more fearful of life in everyday world.

This generally creates moral panics as it reenforces peoples concerns about society.

Audience - Effects Theory

In the 1920/30s the theory Effects/Hypodermic model was created. The Frankfurt school theorised mass media acted to restrict and control audience to the benefit of corporate capitalism and governments.

Theory -
The consumption of media texts has an effect/influence upon the audience
Normally considered that this effect has a negative affect - Moral panics
Audience are passive and powerless to prevent the influence
Power lies with the message of the texts
Audience is powerless to resist.

Evidence of the theory - Moral Panics

Child's play 3 - Murder James Bulger

Man hunt (game) - Murder of stefan pakkeerah

A Clockwork Orange - increase in riots, rape and violence

Severance (2006)  - Murder Simon Everett

Stuart Hall - Reception Thoery

Texts were encoded by the producers of texts to contain certain meaning related to social and cultural background of the creator of the text. However, once the viewer of the text "decoded" that the then the meaning intended by the producer may change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interview 

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