The Mass Audience: Rediscovering the Dominant ModelIn the early 20th century, a new and distinctive concept of the audience rose to prominence. The audience was seen as a mass -- a large collection of people mostly unknown to one another -- that was unified through exposure to media. This construct offered a pragmatic way to map audiences that was relevant to industry, government, and social theorists. In a relatively short period of time, it became the dominant model for studying the audience. Today, it is so pervasive that most people simply take it for granted. Recently, media scholars have reopened inquiry into the meaning of "audience." They question the utility of the mass audience concept, characterizing it as insensitive to differences among audience members inescapably bound up with discredited notions of mass society, or serving only a narrow set of industrial interests. The authors of this volume find that these assertions are often false and unwarranted either by the historical record or by contemporary industry practice. Instead, they argue for a rediscovery of the dominant model by summarizing and critiquing the very considerable body of literature on audience behavior, and by demonstrating different ways of analyzing mass audiences. Further, they provide a framework for understanding the future of the audience in the new media environment, and suggest how the concept of mass audience can illuminate research on media effects, cultural studies, and media policy. |
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The Mass Audience: Rediscovering the Dominant Model James Webster,Patricia F. Phalen Limited preview - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
A.C. Nielsen aggregate analysis audience availability audience duplication audience flow audience fragmentation audience measurement audience polarization audience research audience theory Barwise Beverly Hills Broadcasting & Electronic cable penetration channel loyalty chapter characteristics Communication Research consumer correlation critical dayparts diversity double jeopardy economic Ehrenberg Electronic Media feature of audience Goodhardt Headen Hillsdale households independent variables individual inheritance effects interest Journal of Advertising Journal of Broadcasting Journal of Communication Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Lazarsfeld levels of repeat marketplace mass audience behavior mass audience concept mass audience thinking mass behavior mass communication mass media media economics media effects media environment Nielsen Media Research patterns of audience perspective Phalen predict preferences program choice program type radio ratings relationship repeat viewing Sage segments selective exposure significant social spiral of silence standard error stations structural factors studies television audience television programs television viewing theory viewers Webster & Wakshlag