Broadcasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Broadcasting - Essay Example Do they view the audience as a mere mass of individuals anonymous to other people or they treat them as having some common interests and overlapping relationships Do they treat them as mere spectators who go home after the show or potential long term clients who can bring in benefits such as profits By knowing which of these holds true can we know what and how we broadcast. The Encyclopedia Britannica (Online) defines broadcasting as the electronic transmission of radio and television signals that are intended for general public reception, as distinguished from private signals that are directed to specific receivers. In its most common form, broadcasting may be described as the systematic dissemination of entertainment, information, educational programming, and other features for simultaneous viewing. Without doubt, we are broadcasting because we are trying to capture attention of the general public, the mass media or what we would call the audience Understanding them is imperative because they are the very reason why we are broadcasting. We want them to watch, hear, talk, buy from us and even feel us. We broadcast because we want them to listen to whatever we are saying whether we are reporting, selling, acting or chatting with other people like those in talk shows. However, the way we want to gain their attention still depends on the way we view them. The term audience used to denote a congregation of people gathered in a certain space listening or viewing someone. In the days of the Romans and the Greeks, they were those who were watching and applauding orators and actors. They were those who watched the theatrical plays of Shakespeare and musical performances of Beethoven. The audience was simply regarded as people coming together a certain show. Today, there are different ways of viewing audiences and the two most prominent views are that of the audience as a 'market' and as a 'public/group'. The Audience as a Market In the view of audience as a market, the individuals composing the audience are considered as consumers. As such, we broadcast because we are trying to sell a product or service to the audience. In this type of view, effective communication as well as quality of audience experience takes the backstage. The priority is that people will be enticed to buy whatever we are selling. We are concerned with people who can buy the product and as such, we address them in a way that will appeal to their socioeconomic criteria. We are not concerned whether it is inappropriate to those in the lower echelons of society so long as it persuades those in the higher ups to prefer us. In this view, we then concern ourselves whether what we broadcast could capture the imagination of the people we are trying to persuade. We heighten the hype and creativity. We resort to gimmicks and other activities that may sometimes be unusual but is a sure attention grabber. This is actually a commonplace practice especially in corporate media where shows are filled with gimmicks design to keep the audience glued on the television so that ratings are high. The Audience as a Public/Group There exists an atomistic view of the audience- one which considers people as being too different from others and having large social distance to the broadcaster. The result of this view was a depersonalized way of broadcasting. Broadcasters