Week 7 - Television, Film and Video Media Reading Diary

During this week’s lecture, we began looking into audience and what do people do with media. I have previously considered textual analysis and industry relationship with texts but now it’s time to look into how audiences have been studied. There are many ways in which audiences can engage with film and television, for example I considered reality TV and why it is so popular with its audience.

This week’s reading was on Gillespie, Marie (2003) “Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change” IN Will Brooker and Deborah Jermyn (eds.) The Audience Studies Reader. London: Routledge. This book considers audience’s responses to the Australian show ‘Neighbours’ and examines how they are using cultural traditions in the show.

This week’s lecture also looked at reception studies. Gillespie demonstrates Gillespie demonstrates the very structure of soap neighbours and the cognitive process of reception it entails are closely akin to the process whereby gossip is transformed into rumour in location networks. (Gillespie, 2003: 316) Gillespie argues why the reception of neighbours is so easy and pleasurable.

I have done my own research into audience study and have found a reading on Reacting to Reality Television By Beverley Skeggs, Helen Wood. The reading is on how reality TV is so popular with its audiences. The book talks about how people like the thrill of watching reality TV because they like to watch the ups and down and different emotions that occur in reality TV. In this particular book, she uses focus group to get the information from different views.

One thing that I have found out is that audience is very important when it comes to media, however we need to explore how people consume media and media meanings for the simple fact that they play such an integral role in our lives. (Long and Wall, 2012: 339) Once noticing this I have decided that if I were conducting my own research I would ask a lot of questions to audiences as I know they have the answers as to why they are so involved, I would then approach media companies and ask questions on how their audience plays a part in their production.

References:

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) ‘Investigating audiences: what do people do with media’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production,Context (2nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 300-337

Gillespie, Marie (2003) “Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change” IN Will Brooker and Deborah Jermyn (eds.) The Audience Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

Skeggs, Beverley (2012) “Reacting to Reality Television: Performance, Audience and Value”. London Roytledge