a) Explain what it means to understand the television audience as a "mass audience," referencing either TheodorAdorno's critique of the culture industry or George Gerbner's cultivation theory as examples of approaches that conceive of the audience as a mass audience[worth 5 marks].

b) Explain how this understanding of the television audience as a "mass audience" actually influenced the media industries themselves, in  both the system of ratings and the type of programming that were developed in the twentieth century[worth 5 marks].

c) Do you think the audience of today's dominant media (social media platforms, streaming services, etc.) is best understood as a "mass audience" like the one Theodor Adorno and George Gerbner attacked? Or are they better understood as an "active audience" like the one Stuart Hall describes? Does the way people consume media today prove that audiences are smarter or dumber -more active and critical or more passive and gullible -than they were once thought to be[worth 5 marks]?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

a Understanding the television audience as a mass audience refers to viewing them as a homogeneous group with uniform tastes preferences and responses to media content Theodor Adornos critique of the ... View the full answer