David Morley (2005), Entry on ‘Audience’ in New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Ed. T.Bennett, L. Grossberg & M. Morris (Wiley-Blackwell), pp.8-10.

The brief piece on audiences discusses the evolution of what an audience meant and the theory regarding it, such as the effect media has on an audience and how it is consumed.

Morley writes how audience, as a word, has evolved from meaning the ‘action of hearing’ to its broader and expansive meaning, where it becomes ‘the idea of a group of people who are consumers of a communicative event’. He acknowledges its departure from addresses of a sermon, or speech to further encompass readers of a book and, eventually, to the consumers of all forms of communication.

He discusses the contemporary research into a number of aspects of audiences, such as audience research and ‘active audience theory’. He stresses how contemporary research differs from prior, where the audience is perceived as active, rather than passive, in their consumption of media.

There are parallels here which align with popular culture, where new media forms from the interaction, consumption and repurposing media. It is a useful piece as it acknowledges the importance the audience has in all forms of media and ultimately is the reason that media communications is an area for research and debate.