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Media audiences

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

Are audiences passive receivers or active users of the media?

The active audience debate, the uses and gratifications theory (Blumler and Katz), how audiences use media for their own purposes, and how audiences interact with and respond to media products.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Media Studies media audiences, covering the active audience debate, the uses and gratifications theory of Blumler and Katz, how audiences use media for their own purposes, and how they interact with products.
8 min answer →

How does the media affect audiences and what theories explain this?

Media effects theories including the hypodermic needle model, the two-step flow, cultivation theory and moral panics, and the debate about how much influence the media has on audiences.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Media Studies media audiences, covering media effects theories including the hypodermic needle model, the two-step flow, cultivation theory and moral panics, and the debate about media influence.
8 min answer →

How do producers target and categorise audiences?

How producers identify, target and categorise audiences using demographics, psychographics and lifestyle, the difference between mass and niche audiences, and how products are tailored to reach them.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Media Studies media audiences, covering how producers identify, target and categorise audiences using demographics and psychographics, mass versus niche audiences, and how products are tailored to reach them.
8 min answer →