Media theories

I have already set out my target audience profile so I will now look at several key media theories and how they relate to my radio drama.

The Hypodermic Needle Theory

The Hypodermic Needle Theory dates back to the 1920s. It is the theory that audiences passively receive what they see, hear and read in the media with content being 'injected' into the audience's mind like a needle (hence the name).

Relating the Hypodermic Needle Theory to my radio play, it could be argued that my radio play will subconsciously re-enforce the message that all politicians are clueless.

The problem with Hypodermic Needle theory is that it is too simplistic; arguably in an age where people are better educated to look at the world around them, rather than taking everything at face value,  it is no longer relevant  The theory was also developed in an age where governments would use the media to put out propaganda.

Two-step flow Theory

The problem with Hypodermic Needle Theory soon lead to an alternative being developed. In 1940, Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet invented the Two-step flow theory. The theory is that "opinion leaders" influence others who are less active in interpreting media. Therefore, social factors are also important in how an audience interprets a piece of media.

For example, in this theory my radio drama would be discussed between friends and those friends would look to one person in the group to gain their opinion of my radio drama, say someone who knows about politics/current affairs.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

During the 1960s and mass media expanding, a new theory developed that claimed audiences were not passive but actively chose what to consume and when in terms of media. In this sense, people 'use' the media for their own gratification. Harold Lasswell said the media has four functions:

• Surveillance (e.g. parents watching programmes that their children watch)
• Correlation of components of society
• Entertainment
• Cultural transmission (e.g. from one generation to the next)

Blulmer and Katz developed their own version of Uses and Gratifications Theory, listing the following functions of the media:

• Diversion/escapism to 'get away from everyday life'
• Personal relationships (particularly important for radio because it is such an 'intimate' medium)
• Personal identity
• Surveillance - in this case, meaning information for everyday living

Relating Uses and Gratifications Theory to my radio play, I think my target audience will use it for entertainment since it will be humorous, diversion (for the same reason that it is entertaining) and, to some extent, for personal relationship.