For Project Brief 4, my group of 4 was assigned the topic of “Audience”. It is such a simple word and we all know what does the word means. But when we start to unpack the meaning and various definitions behind the word, it starts to get really diverse and there are so many levels of theory relating to becoming an audience. It could be a simple meaning like being an audience member of a play or a magic show, to becoming a target audience of a product being promoted and driven to be sold to make profits from various corporate companies. Not forgetting the general audience of TV, radio, film, and online multimedia social platforms where sometimes the hunted becomes the hunter.

We live in the day and age where we can catch up with our favourite TV programmes on demand. Gone are the days where we have to set our VHS recorders to tape our favourite TV shows, we can now catch up on TV series online at our own convenience, and pushing a step further with the tagline, “Anytime, Anywhere…”. It has now become an age where we might be witnessing a shift in power from the producers of a TV programme to the actual audiences. It used to be TV producers control what we watch and when we watch it on our old CRT television sets, now, the audience have the control over when they get to watch it, on their own device of their choice (ie. a tablet, laptop, phone or TV.). Another thing the producers are very much afraid of is the ratings of their programme. What classifies as a good show? The number of people viewing it of course! Producers are always seeking different means and ways to keep their ratings up even if it is to listen to the audience and deliver what they want on screen. In certain ways, the producers have become at the audience’s mercy to boost ratings. Is this the new shift in power?

On the other hand of the spectrum, we have advertisements, TV commercials, product placements, sponsorships, endorsements and so on, so keep audience buying more and more products. For decades, the media industry has become a platform for many companies to “create awareness” of their products to the public, hence hoping to drive up sales of their products in order to make profit. Are the audience a victim here of the power of advertising and marketing delivered by the media?

It is an endless debate if the power has shifted from the hands of the producers to the hands of the audience and vice versa. Currently, my group is still on the research of how it all began, and where the media bubble became as big as it is today. Are we seeing a new dawn of an age that we might not be ready? With the uprising of citizen journalism and user source content (USC), media texts and articles are now made by the audience, for the audience. Then who are the ones being the producers now? Would it turn out to become a catch 22 situation where the audience can’t function if there were no producers, but the producers rely on the audience for fundings and reputation. We’ll find out soon, hopefully.