Audience
Media Studies: Eduqas GCSE, topic 2.9.7
Identifying Target Audiences
It is important to identify who the target audience is and how the newspaper positions the audience to take the preferred reading.
Identifying the target audience
- The target audience is often indicated by:
- The stories selected.
- The approach taken to certain news stories.
- Advertisements.
- Other features of the newspaper.
Categorising audiences
- Some of the ways newspapers may categorise and target audiences are as follows:
- Age, gender, ethnicity and religion, socio-economic status, lifestyle and hobbies, psychographic profile.
Advertisements
- The adverts selected in newspapers, along with the writing style and language used also give a clearer indication of who the target audience is.
- The characters or presenters within a text will also often be reflective of the target audience.
Measuring audiences
- Information about how many people buy newspapers is gathered and published by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).
- The National Readership Survey (NRS) also publishes data on readership.
Summary
- The stories selected as well as the approach taken to certain news stories can often indicate the target audience, along with other aspects such as advertisements and other features of the newspaper.
- You must identify who the target audience is and how the newspaper positions the audience to take the preferred reading.