Audience Theory - Blumler and Katz (1974)

Uses And Gratifications Model

• Represented a change in thinking, as researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the point of view to audiences. 
• Looks at the motives of the people who use the media, asking why we watch the television programmes that we do, why we bother to read newspapers, why we find ourselves so compelled to keep up to date with out favourite soap. 

• Social and psychological origins which generate certain expectations about the mass media, leading to different patterns of media exposure which result in both the gratification of needs and in other (often unintended) consequences. This does assume an active audience making motivated choices. 

Underlying idea behind the model is that people are motivated by a desire to fulfil, or gratify certain needs. So rather then asking how the media uses us, the model asks how we use the media. The model is broken down into four different needs: 

1. Surveillance  
2. Personal Identify 
3. Personal Relationships with the media
4. Diversion 

Surveillance

• People feel better having the feeling that they know what is going on in the world around them. 
• Model is about awareness, we use the mass media to be more aware of the world, gratifying a desire for knowledge and security. 
• Associate to dominant messages of conforming via the dominant ideologies given in media texts. 

Personal Identity

• Subject of the media allows us to reaffirm the identity and positioning of ourselves within society. 
• The use of the media for forming personal identity can be seen in music videos/films. Pop stars can often become big role models, inspiring young children everywhere (which is why theres such an outcry when one of them does something wrong) 

Personal Relationships With The Media

Many people use the television as a form of companionship. This may seem sad but think about how many times you've watched the TV on your own, or with other people sitting in silence. The television is often quite an intimate experience, and by watching the same people on a regular basis we can often feel very close to them, as if we even know them. When presenters or characters in a soap die, those who have watched that person a lot often grieves for the character, as if they have lost a friend. 

The more we watch the same personalities the more we feel we get to know them. Reality TV shows such as big brother give us the inside.

Using The Media Within Relationships
We can sometimes use the media as a springboard to form and build upon relationships with real people.

• Having a favourite TV programme in common can oftern be the start of a conversation and can even make talking to strangers that much easier.
• Some studies suggest that some families use sitting around watching the television as a stimulus for conversation, talking to each other about the programme related anedotes while it is on.

Diversion

Describes whats commonly termed as escapism watching the television so we can forget about our own lives and problems for a while and think about something else. We watch music videos to take our mind off our everyday lives, we want to distract our self from the problems we are experiencing. We want to see that people experience the same feelings as we do.  

Criticism 

• Highly individualistic, taking into account only the individual psychological gratification derived from individual media use. Social context of the media use tends to be ignored. Overlooks the fact that some media use may have nothing to do with pursuit of gratification- it may be forced upon us for example. 

Relatively little attention paid to media content, researchers attending to why people use the media, but less to what meaning.

This theory would relate to my music video by as the target audience would be able to empathise with the actress in my music video and potentially relate to her. Also if my target audience are able to relate to her (because my music video would be based around them) it would be easy for my audience to create a relationship with my actress.