Media Exam Question - Ms. Wigley

Audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping media output. With reference to you case study, how far is this true?

Introduction

I believe that in this day and age, audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping media output. I will show this by referring to My three primary texts which are reality TV shows, The X Factor (ITV1), Britain’s got Talent (ITV1) and I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here (ITV1). One of many similarities between the three shows is that they are all from the same genre and also they all run on the same channel which suggests ITV are a monopoly within the reality TV market. Also, they all run on three different platforms, which are print, E-media, and Broadcast. By running on 3 different platforms the shows attract a wide range of audiences and promote audience interaction which helps shape media output.

The X Factor is Britain’s most watched reality TV show which is aired on ITV1 and involves audience interaction as it depends on viewers to vote on contestants and this promotes the audience theory that audiences effectively run the show as without viewers voting and sharing their opinions, then the x factor would not be as popular as it is today. This shows that audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping the show. The hit TV show attracts on an average of 17.5 million viewers each series.

Furthermore, The X Factor website also allows the audience to interact with the show. One way it promotes interaction is by running voting polls and forums on the website which the audience can vote and have their say and see what other viewers think too. For example, the current question on the x factor website is “Do you think Matt Cardle was a worthy winner?”

This therefore, shows us that the audiences are becoming increasingly powerful on what media institutions plan and put in the show. Also the website allows viewers to share their views and opinions through the X Factor blog and forum and also read the gossip on what goes on behind the scenes through The Sun which runs on the print platform.

Also because X Factor is a popular TV show viewers can catch up via the ITVPlayer. Furthermore, a social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter allow audiences to shape and place their views across, and is a place where audiences interact with one and other and share opinions through joining groups and supporting campaigns. Audience feedback and opinions have been successful, this is shown as the X Factor and Apple have joint together in a bid to react to the change in technology by releasing x factor apps.

My secondary text that I have chosen to for my case study is I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here which is also shown on ITV 1 and involves audience interaction as it is also similar to the x factor as it is a reality TV show which attracts a wide variety of viewers. I’m a Celebrity, Get me out of here has a website for viewers to interact with the show which further engages viewers. The website has a range of activities and also includes live footage and highlights from the Jungle, and also has a blog on the website which allows the audience to share their opinions and views about the show. The audience is therefore hugely powerful in shaping the show as mainstreams audiences watch the show which is successful in using gratifications which keeps the audience entertained.

My third and final text that I have chosen for my case study is Britain’s Got Talent which is very similar to both of my other texts as they are all reality TV shows and are all aired on ITV1 and involves audience interaction as they all attract mainstream audiences. Britain’s got talent attracts an audience of 6 million.  The show is very similar to the x factor and is in fact identical in the way they approach their audiences as the structure of both shows is the same. Furthermore, The BGT website includes competitions and news about the judges and also a feedback forum which allows the audience shape the output of the media.

In Conclusion, Audiences are becoming increasingly hugely powerful in shaping the media outputs of the three shows over the three platforms. As audiences are influential in what is going to happen in with the use of blogs, social networks, print and most obviously broadcast.