Week 8

In chapter nine of ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ (Long and Wall, 2012), I believe the key arguments to be looking at what audiences do with media forms, rather than how the media forms influence them.

   It isn’t obvious to be an audience member, as producers of media texts put their text out there, and it only becomes relevant to us when we need or want it. We all begin to engage with media texts in a different way, either passively or actively. A more active audience will look deeper into the text and identify themselves as active audience members, whereas passive members do the opposite. For example, if we were to watch television, an active audience are likely to engage with the text, further than surface level by looking into the topic at a more in depth analysis. However, a passive audience will watch without asking questions, simply absorbing the information.

   Media has an effect on its audience in terms of uses and gratifications. It looks at how each text satisfies its audience and what it provides. There are a number of categories for this; ‘surveillance’ is when an audience consumes media to satisfy need for knowledge, ‘personal identity’ is when the media becomes a part of defining who we are, ‘personal relationships’ refer to how the audience may gain insight into topics and form relationships from it and lastly ‘diversion’ is where the audience consumes a media text in order of escapism from their everyday life.

   It all comes down to the way the audience decodes the text, as the whether they become a passive or active member. Audience members branch off into even more levels, for example, subcultures and fandom. Some members become so obsessed with a media text that it becomes and crucial and constant part of their life, but some people however simply aren’t as fussed and choose now and then to watch a programme etc.

   This links to my research text ‘Blogging for Photographers: Explore your creativity & build your audience’.  Although this text doesn’t argue the same points, it demonstrates how to attract particular audience types, and how photographers can keep up with the online world in terms of keeping their work modern. This has changed the way I think about photography audiences, and how they too can be both passive and active, thinking more in depth about the meaning and context behind a body of work, or simply seeing it for the image it is.

   One option for undertaking more academic research in this area is questionnaires and interviews. They can target an audience and gain understanding as to whether or not they think they are an active audience member. You can give them a long period to complete it over and have their consent to keep it ethically correct.

  

Bibliography:

1.     Long, P; Wall, T (2012) ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ pg. 300-341

2.     O’Dell, J (2014) ‘Blogging for Photographers: Explore your creativity & build your audience’

Week 7

In chapter eight of ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ (Long and Wall, 2012), I believe the key arguments to be how the media produces audiences, as well as looking at the link between the media text and the audience.

   Audiences are the consumers of any particular media text; they tend to be branched off into sub categories depending on the text and its intended reader. For example, a poster promoting new underwear may have been intended to engage a female audience, but the way the producer has shot the image and makes the model look also attracts a male audience, even though the product itself is not relatable.

   Media organisations produce audiences. Us ourselves are part of an audience, even if we do not see it ourselves, or identify ourselves with one audience in particular. We are oblivious to the millions of other engaging into the same text. For example, when we tune into large events such as the Olympics. When looking at audiences in terms of social groups, we look deeper in terms of race, religion etc, and if that becomes a factor when decoding a text. Gay Times for example does not have to be read by only gay people, but is targeted that way by the producer.

   Audiences are more than a concept, and media institutions rely on the actual individuals that make up an audience. They need them and need to know about them. Word of mouth between consumers of the text is fundamental for texts to gain recognition and eventually higher audience numbers. A media text does its research and targets its audience accordingly. We can also think of ideas of audience being produced through ways media scholars have researched them. Media consumers are attracted and influenced by what they see, so therefore they react to what they see and what you have targeted at them. For example, early uses of propaganda influenced people to go to war and feel an obligation to partake in what they were encouraging.

   This links to my researched text ‘Visual Methodologies’ (Rose, 2016) in which discusses photography audiences and the analysis of visual culture. It discusses how we see audiences and looks at social media platforms and the development of digital methods. This has made me think differently about interpreting photographer’s work, and how they may not have an intended audience in mind, but create one through the people who are attracted by their work. They then gain more of an audience as they work grows more popular, or they stick to their niche audience.

   One option for undertaking research is a questionnaire asking people their opinions on who they think the target audience is for certain texts.

Bibliography:

1.     Long, P; Wall, T (2012) ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ pg. 274-299

2.     Rose, G (2016) ‘Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials’

Week 5

Chapter four entitled ‘Unravelling the Web of Discourse Analysis’ (Bell and Smith, 2007) defines discourse analysis as looking at the texts visual imagery and sound, including both spoken and written word. Concerned with both form and social context it aims to find out the texts social significance.

   However, discourse analysis has to be adapted to each text, it’s not a one-size-fits-all model. Interpreting a text on a deeper level helps us to gain understanding of the context. Discourse analysis branches off into many different approaches, for example; socio-linguistic analysis, linguistic analysis, content analysis etc. However, a common theme throughout all approaches of analysis is the qualitative methodology.

   ‘Critical discourse analysis’ has become increasingly popular for it’s attention to the role of power in discourse. The recognition of the relationship between power and discourse has encouraged greater critical analysis. ‘Without discourse there is no social reality, and without understanding discourse, we cannot understand our reality, our experience or ourselves’ (Phillip and Hardy, 2002). The main concern comes with how the discourse may shape our thoughts and constructions of our identity. Discourse analysis continues to evolve and develop, and research is continuously undertaken to keep up.

   The influence of the media on culture, politics and social life is great, but it is argued as to whether or not the media constructs or reflects reality. The news for example takes raw material and transforms them into something we can understand, but they are more than capable of promoting false understandings. Another example is news articles, in which go through many people before they reach the reader such as, writer, editor and sub-editors. The news therefore has it’s own discourse.

   This links to my online article, discussing discourse analysis in terms of photography. A photograph is encoded as a system of signs and signals for a reader to decode, much like a written text.  Arguments differ on how we should interpret an image in terms of understanding it. Photographs give us messages in which each person will decode differently. So therefore, this text shows how discourse analysis of images is also varied, and we are never sure if we are seeing a reflection or construction of reality.

   This has made me think differently about the way I view images, and what the intentions of the producer were, and exactly what they wanted the viewer to decode. This is often a view we seen repeated throughout the media, as everybody questions what they are reading/seeing and whether it is true.

   One option for undertaking research could be a focus group to monitor reactions to certain programmes or images, seeing if they believe it to be a correct realistic view of reality.

Bibliography:

1.     Bell, A; Smith,P  (2007) ‘Unravelling the Web of Discourse Analysis’ pg. 78-100

2.     Linnecar, C (2012) ‘Discourse Analysis’ Available at: https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/citingreferences/tutorial/theexamples5.html

Week 4

    In chapter two of ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ (Long and Wall, 2012), I believe the key aims to be the in depth look at genre and narrative, as well as identifying the key theorists.

   The root of the word genre resembles others of the English language, as well as translating to mean ‘kind’ in French. However, genre in this case is used as a term for classifying media forms and the content within different and several media groups. For example, Photography would be the media form, and wildlife, landscape and portrait would be the content within that media form.

   However, there can be problems with defining genre. Any media text can be similar of others of its type, and this is how we classify media texts through their similarities. Furthermore, if it was the case that one text after another produced the same codes and conventions then an audience would become easily bored, so genre’s often change their dynamic and hybridity to become different.

  However, change and hybridity are not the only two ways to develop a genre. New genres can appear and form in all areas of the media, to provide something new and different. This means new and exciting things for new audiences. However, sometimes these new genres fail to gain a new audience because they become unpopular, or when they do attract audiences, they then eventually lose their novelty value.

   Film theorists Robert Allen and Douglas Gomery suggest this ‘horizon of expectations’ that an audience are provided by genres (Allen and Gomery, 1993: 84).  A point that applies to many genres, and not just film. For example, if we were to watch a police drama, we would expect a certain amount of actin and mise-en-scene such as; police uniforms, a police station etc. This is what we associate with a genre, and this is why it can be difficult to put a spin on the generic and also make it successful.

   My chosen extended reading of ‘Annie leibovitz at Work’ (Leibovitz, 2008) put this into perspective from a photographers point of view, discussing her genre of photography and how she went on to be different from the conventional but still successful. Her work shows clear elements of genre convention, but her unique style of lighting separates her from others of that genre.

   These two readings have made me think differently about media genres, and how difficult it is to be different yet still recognisable under a ‘category’. In particular, I know how hard it is to be different and stand out in photography as you see a lot of similar stuff.

Bibliography:

1.     Allen, R; Gomery, D (1993) ‘Film History: Theory and Practice’

2.     Leibovitz, A (2008) ‘Annie Leibovitz at Work’

3.     Long, P; Wall, T (2012) ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ pg. 78-90

Week 3

In chapter seven of ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ (Long and Wall, 2012), I believe the key points to be the discussion of global media and its production and distribution, exploring its influence/effects.

   March 2010 saw an attack on Google by Xinhua, a Chinese news agency. It believed that laws had been broken in regards to censorship on things such as YouTube and search results. The company’s dealings with China created many problems, as in a contemporary globalised world, companies like Google appear greatly powerful. However, this encounter jeopardised their reputation. This example demonstrates issues for the contemporary world. 

   The term ‘global media’ for many springs to mind large companies such as Disney, or furthermore larger media conglomerates like Google. Google is the largest company in terms of both use and revenue. Furthermore, social media companies such as Facebook may spring to mind, or even larger the Internet as a whole. The Internet is argued to be the most recognisable, yet it was news production that takes the crown as the very first global media enterprise. Several million web pages are added to the Internet daily, showing its forever expanding popularity and use, but the question lies as to whether such a large company can be regulated. Our points of accessing the Internet become the key regulation.

   My extended research text ‘Net condition: Art and Global Media (Electronic Culture: History, Theory and Practice)’ (Weibel, 2001) discusses the movement of photography over the years, and its expansion to video and online art. This shows how the production and distribution of photography has influenced people to expand its creative uses. The text also expands on how the world distributes these media texts.

   Television is also said to have gained the largest global reach, with almost everyone in both developed and developing countries having a television of some sort by the end of the twentieth century. Commercial satellite broadcasting in the 1980’s provided legal regulations, and this mean that even the strictest of countries moved towards entertainment based programming.

   Both readings have made me think differently about the spread of different forms of media, and what influence they have on people. Also, to see how photography has expanded into global media over time as this is my area of interest, and it was interesting to see how photography has developed and change over time to keep up with distribution.

   One option for undertaking academic research is to create a focus group outlining the influence global media has had on them or what they think about the spread.

Bibliography:

1.     Long, P; Wall, T (2012) ‘Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context’ pg. 234-270

2.     Weibel, P (2001) ‘Net_condition: Art and Global Media (Electronic Culture: History, Theory and Practice)’