why do people attend to media?

why do you?

what does the audience want (need?)

when is the media the best place to meet those needs?

why do critics and audiences often disagree?

is it conflicting tastes?

or is it different orientations and priorities?

Uses and Gratifications

caveats - more than one gratification may be involved, content creators may not realize what gratifications are in their own content, and, audiences may not be able to precisely identify the gratifactions they seek or where best to find them

Uses and gratifications factors

1. entertainment/time punctuation

entertainment is often cited as the #1 reason people attend to media

time punctuation means having access to a predictable schedule of programming

time bracketing - chunks or segments of info at scheduled times (weather on the 8s)

how is on demand potentially impacting this factor?

2. Information/surveillance

what we need to know

from what's going on in the world to information I need to plan my day

TV used to be the medium that best fit this factor, is it still today?

3. Escapism/Nostalgia

a way to flee the world and escape to a more comforting time/place

what are people trying to escape from?

what are people trying to escape to?

this could involve content (ex. Happy Days) or formats (classic rock)

4. Companionship/Conversation Building

things to talk about "around the water cooler"

ways to develop groups

parasocial interactions - developing relationships with characters

5. Problem solving

often the realm of commercials and PSAs (TV and radio)

the role of the Internet

6. Personal Enrichment and Development

educating on or enhancing cultural tastes

what people need more than what they want?

7. Catharsis/Tension Release

vicarious participation lessens the need to engage

not much support for this scientifically

yet, people will often use this factor to justify what they attend to

How does this help the critic?

Audiences are different than content creators

Rescue 911 in Russia

Any disconnects can help the critic craft their analysis

Ex. is there a reforming, education etc. need?