Audience Theory- Uses & Gratifications Theory

• The idea that media audiences make active use of what the media offer. The audience has a set of needs which the media meet, in one form or another.
• The audience are imagined to consciously use particular programmes, films or magazines to satisfy needs and interests.
• Rather than being duped, the audience is seen as made up of individuals free to reject, use or play with media meanings as they choose.
• This model emphasizes what audiences of media products do with them.
• "Power lies with the consumer"

The needs of the consumer  follow Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

"The most fundamental and basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "d-needs": esteem , friendship and love, security, and physical needs. With the exception of the most fundamental (physiological) needs, if these "deficiency needs" are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the secondary or higher level needs. " ~ Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

Problems with the U&G theory

As a means of understanding the relationship between the audience and the creation of meaning it can appear rather simplistic and limited in relation to the complexity of how the audience or reader actually work with a text.

• This model assumes that the media somehow identify audience needs and then provide material to gratify them.
• We are more likely to want to identify ourselves as active readers rather than passive dupes.
• The audience is seen as playing an active role in the interpretation of meaning.