The theory of uses and gratifications is analyzed in the article from October 21st. This article highlights the different gratifications obtained from using “new media.” Social prestige, emotional appeal, interpreting escape, boredom, simulation and just some of the gratifications analyzed within this article. This article also works well to analyze audiences and why we should pay attention to audiences in the news and the gratification they receive from the news. The article can explain why newspapers such as the Globe and Mail and the Guardian would publish articles such as “the boy on the beach” and the “indigenous comment section ban” because, according to the article, audiences turn to both newspapers and online newspapers for social prestige, information and to interpret affairs. The uses and gratification theory is important in terms of understanding audiences because it can help the media frame things to suit audience gratifications.
Another article that relates well with uses and gratification theory is the article from the week of November 18th, “Twitter as a technology for audiencing and fandom.” This article highlights how audiences use the social medium of Twitter to form a social connection. People use Twitter to communicate …show more content…
People choosing to turn to comedy news such as Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” or Stephen Colbert’s “The Colbert Report” says something about the audience’s gratifications. This is because people are still getting the same information presented in the typical news programs but the information is presented differently and that reflects both choice and gratification. The article also highlights the affect that this has on the agenda-setting theory, which is essentially how the mass media determines what audiences are shown and get to worry and think about. This relates to public opinion because depending on how a person receives the news, either from “hard news” or “comedy news” plays a role in their opinion of the world and the news. This is important in terms of audiences because people will respond to issues differently because of the difference in presentation from the two mediums. This also relates well with the Guardian article, and audience in the news example in general, because these two newspaper articles are viewed as “hard news” and if these topics were touched on in “comedy news” outlets such as Jon Stewart’s show, it would have a different effect on the audience. It is important to have both comedy news and hard news in my opinion, because more often than not, comedy news