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Audiences Lesson One

What is an audience?
  • Without audiences there would be no media. 
  • Media organisations produce media texts to make profit - no audience = no profit. 
  • The mass media is becoming more competitive than ever to attract more and more audiences in different ways and stay profitable. 

Types of audiences

Mainstream is aimed at mass audiences, whereas more alternative is aimed towards niche audiences. 

Impact of new technology on audiences
  • Old media (TV, Print, Radio) which used to have high audience numbers must now work harder to maintain audience numbers. 
  • New media (digital technology) has also led to an increasing uncertainty over how we define an audience, with the general agreement that a large group of people reading the same thing at the same time is outdated and that audiences are now 'fragmented'.

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