Audience: Audience Theory blog tasks/questions

Hypodermic Needle Model

Read this Mail Online article about the effects of videogames. How does this article link to the hypodermic needle model?

The article writes about how there is a direct correlation between the people that play violent video games and their aggressive behaviour. It uses studies and facts to show to the audience that those who play violent games have a higher chance of behaving much more aggressively. This links in with the hypodermic needle model as violent games could be "injecting" a certain behaviour pattern into young people such as aggression. It could also be linked as the article itself is "injecting" an opinion disguised as a fact using specific research into the audience. This is very dangerous as it can make the audience think or react in accordance to what the media wants.

How does coverage of the Talk Talk hacking case link to the hypodermic needle model? Why might someone criticise this front page? 



The headline talks about the hacking case and how a young fifteen year old teenager was able to hack the mobile provider TalkTalk. However, the coverage can be linked with the hypodermic needle model as the coverage uses specific stereotypes to reinforce and target a specific age of young people. It uses video games as one of the main factors as to try and justify the reasoning behind the motives of the hacker. However, it can be easily argued that these two aren't linked at all. This situation asserts the hypodermic model as the Daily Mail "injects" opinions disguised as facts to try and sway the perception of the audience. 

For this reason, the Daily Mail could be criticised quite easily as they tend to skew the situation out of proportion by publishing opinionated theories and linking completely irrelevant factors as justifications. Therefore, in many cases the Daily Mail isn't a reliable source of information most of the time due to it's biased influence on its readers.

Two-step flow model

Summarise the two-step flow model. In your opinion, is the two-step flow theory still relevant today?

The two step model is a theory that was developed in the 1940s because it thought the hypodermic model was too simplistic. It focuses and suggests the idea that society and audiences are influenced by certain individuals who control the audience's reactions through their own personal opinions and also allow for general discussion through a general consensus of agreement or even disagreement.

How does this YouTube blogger fit into the two-step flow model?

TotalBiscuit is a youtuber who does a variety of different things through his videos. He is most known for his videos where he plays and critiques different games. He is also well known for his reviews and explanations of new and upcoming games. He fits the two-step model very well as he has a huge audience to his channel, the audience which rely on his expertise and opinions before buying a game. His critique is also considered very important as he has been doing his videos for a very long time and it is obvious that through his experience he holds a lot of great knowledge as to what makes a good game or not. This means that he is seen as an "opinion" leader and directly affects the reaction of the audience of certain topics.

How does this Telegraph article on influential tweeters fit the two-step flow model?

It suggests the idea that the stars and celebrities of the media world have a higher following than those of decision makers. It is very important as it suggests that the ones that affect the perception and opinions of the media audience are not actually the ones in power, for example, the stars of One Direction have at least 12 million Twitter followers compared to David Cameron's 400,000. This shows that the people with higher amount of followers are the ones who would be able to influence the opinions of society much better than those with fewer followers.

Read this BBC profile of Jamal Edwards. How does Jamal Edwards link to the two-step flow model?

Jamal Edwards fits very well into the two-step model as he is shown to have created his own platform from where he expresses his opinions. This is very unique especially since his SBTV was the reason for a huge artist like Ed Sheeran who gets over 7.7 million views. This shows that people actually agree with his opinions and shows that his expertise is not only valued but it is very accurate in the sense that he knows what is good and what isn't in both the music and media industry.