AUDIENCES: Introductory task

What is audience positioning?

Audience positioning refers to how the audience reacts to a piece of media. The writers and creators will encode messages and signs to refer to certain groups or situations into their work. When the audience views that piece of media, they decode those messages. An example of this is a director of a film bathing a character wearing white in soft warm light and surrounding them with cloud-like smoke. Without the character saying anything and with no previous knowledge of the film, the audience would probably assume that this character is angelic in nature.

How do media texts position audiences?
In terms of literal text, one thing that the author will use is the layout of the text. In newspapers, we assume that the most important aspect of the article will be in the title. Writers can take advantage of this by choosing a headline that will influence how we read the rest of the piece. For instance, let's say there was an incident in America of the police clashing with Black Lives Matter protesters that lead to rioting in the streets. A newspaper like The Daily Mail might use a headline that sounds like "HOMES AND BUSINESSES TORCHED, PEOPLE INJURED BY BLACK LIVES MATTER SUPPORTERS". The article would then go on to say that the riots were mostly instigated by the white residents living in the area, but the damage would already be done.
Another way that text positions audiences is through its choice of language and mode of address. If a blog was geared more towards teenagers and young adults, it would use less formal and more colloquial language in order to attract their target audience. A blog that wanted to attract a more mature audience would use language that was more formal and informative.
When it comes to visual and moving image media, creators use technical codes in order to position their audience. I gave an example above of the character that was framed in a stereotypically angelic perspective by the creator. Another example is a director using a point-of-view shot in moving image media which forces the audience into the perspective of the character. This is the most literal form of positioning that there is.

Explain the meaning of preferred reading, negotiated reading, and oppositional reading using your own examples.
Preferred reading means that the audience agrees with the original intent of a media text. Essentially, an audience will tend to sympathise with a subject matter if it already aligns with their beliefs and opinions. For instance, someone who reads a particular newspaper regularly (like The Daily Mail) will do so because it echoes what they believe about society.
Negotiated reading means that the audience agrees with parts of a media text and disagrees with others. An example of this is someone who reads an article about helping the environment. The person may agree that littering is wrong and should be punishable but they might not agree that global warming exists.
Oppositional reading means that the audience disagrees with the original intent of a media text. This happens due to a lot of things such as personal preference, experiences, opinions, or generational gaps. Someone, for instance, might not enjoy watching Family Guy due to its crude and often offensive humour, while another person might enjoy watching it for those reasons.

Give three possible uses of a media text according to the uses and gratification theory of audiences.
One use of a media text is to inform and educate. The majority of world news falls under this category as it provides facts and statistics to those who are interested in what is happening around the world. Although they don't provide breaking news, documentaries like Planet Earth also fit this description.
Another use is for entertainment. It's difficult to constantly focus on the stressful areas of life and media texts can provide a break from that. Fictional settings like the Lord of The Rings series gives the audience a chance at escapism from their everyday lives.
A third use of a media text is for social interaction. A program like Big Brother where the eliminations are aired live means that everyone sees it at the same time. This helps to spark conversation between watchers of the show and can increase its popularity through those means. It influences people to share opinions about various contestants with each other.