Media

1. USES AND
GRATIFICATIONS
Media

2. The Stages:

3. What the theory says:
• Uses and gratification theory seeks to understand why
people seek out the media that they do and what they use
it for. UGT differs from other media effect theories in that it
assumes that individuals have power over their media
usage, rather than positioning individuals as passive
consumers of media. UGT explores how individuals
deliberately seek out media to fulfill certain needs or goals
such as entertainment, relaxation, or socializing.

4. Uses and Gratification
During the 1960s, as the first generation to grow up with television
became grown ups, it became increasingly apparent to media
theorists that audiences made choices about what they did when
consuming texts. Far from being a passive mass, audiences were
made up of individuals who actively consumed texts for different
reasons and in different ways. In 1948 Lasswell suggested that
media texts had the following functions for individuals and society:
• surveillance
• correlation
• entertainment
• cultural transmission

5. • Researchers Blulmer and Katz expanded this theory and published their
own in 1974, stating that individuals might choose and use a text for the
following purposes (ie uses and gratifications):
• Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine.
• Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other
interaction, eg) substituting soap operas for family life
• Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour
and values from texts
• Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living eg) weather
reports, financial news, holiday bargains
Since then, the list of Uses and Gratifications has been extended,
particularly as new media forms have come along (eg video games, the
internet)

6. Diversion
• The media is used in order to entertain an audience who
wishes to escape from everyday routines and reality.
Typically, the media creates an alternative reality as an
escapism for the audience. This does differ, however,
when it comes to Newspapers which comments in the
political and social issues within the nation and the local
communities also. In this instance, the audience would
find gratification from being informed on other things
going on around them, giving them a greater
understanding of the issues which form their opinion on
the nation and possibly, the world.

7. Surveillance
• This is the most used in newspapers as it gives the
audience a connection to events which are relevant to
them. Weather reports, financial reports and holiday
bargains are all opportunities for the audience and instead
of providing a more fictional purpose, it provides a service
and information for the audience.
• This will be prevalent in our own newspaper.

8. Personal Relationships
• In this case, the media can be used to further social
interactions and allow the audience to build relationships
through the topic of media.
• Often, this is applied to things such as soap operas and
reality TV. An example of this is “Did you watch Hollyoaks
last night?” would allow openings for conversation.
• Another example of this in the media is newspapers as
local and national interactions are used as way to help
build and interact with other people, giving the media
product a purpose, if not only to inform.

9. Personal Identity
• The media is a very powerful tool which allows readers/
audiences to the interpret and learn from the presentation
of both fictional and non-fictional products.
• Where an audience may pick up traits from characters or
people in TV shows, this can also happen in newspapers
as it highlights the moral code of society which audiences
can then imitate in reality.

10. Our Own Work:
• Diversion –This will play a factor in our work as it is supposed
to appeal to reader enough that they are willing to read on.
• Personal Relationships –Due to societal factors and political
issues this is used in order to help readers further social
interactions.
• Personal Identity – It would be hoped that people with little
understanding of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, they could learn moral
code if it is not already understood due to the topics and
consequences of these actions.
• Surveillance – This will permeate throughout the newspaper as
it is one of the essential conventions in a newspaper.