Summary On Audience Theory

Audience theories can be divided into two different areas these include: passive models, where the audience can be influenced and manipulated by what they are doing and seeing by media content, and active models, where the audience are seen to react to texts in a challenging and engaging way. It is also seen that an active audience do not only use the media for gratification purposes. In an active model the audience usually accept or agree with the meanings of the text, in some ways they refine the text to fit themselves.
It is seen that as a passive audience people are more likely to be influence by what they are watching through the media. Were as an active audience will respond to the text they are watching. It is said that Ruth Mitchell and Mary Taylor have said that speakers and writers can target their communication to speak to a real audience.
In 1965, Robert Zajonc proposed Drive Therory as an explanation of the audience effect.