Theories in to mass media

As part of my research in to the music magazine I will be making, I have researched two theories realating to mass media and advertising. These two theories are:

• Hypodermic Needle Theory
• Uses and Gratifications

 

Hypodermic Needle Theory

Or Magic Bullet Theory is the direct influence on people via mass media.

The "hypodermic needle theory" implies mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behavior change.

 

It suggests that a message, which was intended, is directly received and believed by the audience that is receiving that message. Several factors contributed to this "strong effects" theory of communication, including:

• - the fast rise and popularization of radio and television
• - the emergence of the persuasion industries, such as advertising and propaganda
• - the Payne Fund studies of the 1930s, which focused on the impact of motion pictures on children, and
• - Hitler's monopolization of the mass media during WWII to unify the German public behind the Nazi party

 

Uses and Gratifications

One influential tradition in media research is referred to as 'uses and gratifications' (occasionally 'needs and gratifications'). This approach focuses on why people use particular media rather than on content. In contrast to the concern of the 'media effects' tradition with 'what media do to people'.

U & G can be seen as part of a broader trend amongst media researchers which is more concerned with 'what people do with media', allowing for a variety of responses and interpretations. However, some commentators have argued that gratifications could also be seen as effects: e.g. thrillers are likely to generate very similar responses amongst most viewers.