Programme code:
The General Broadcasting Code which is otherwise called Programme Code for both AIR and Doordarshan prohibits the following:
(a) Criticism of friendly countries; (b) Attack on religions or communities. (c) Anything obscene or defamatory. (d) Incitement to violence or anything against maintenance of law and order. (e) Anything amounting to contempt of court. (f) Aspersions against the integrity of the President and Judiciary. (g) Anything affecting the integrity of the Nation, and criticism by name of any person.
Audience
• Refers to the readers of, viewers of, listeners to one or other media channel. • Audiences are both a product of social context (which leads to shared cultural interests, understanding and information to a particular pattern of media provision.
An audience can be define by: (media usage) • PLACE: as in the case of local media. • PEOPLE: as when a medium is characterized by an appeal to a certain age group, gender, political belief, or income category. • MEDIUM OR CHANNEL: the particular type of medium or channel involved – Technology.
• CONTENT: content of its messages (genres, subject matter, styles). • TIME: daytime audience, prime time audience.
Audience research goal • Measuring actual and potential reach for purposes of advertising. • Manipulating and channeling audience choice behaviour. • Looking for audience market opportunities. • Product testing and improving communication effectiveness. • Meeting responsibilities performance in a number of ways (e.g. to test allegation of harmful effects.)
Audience As Target • In transmission model, the communication process is considered as the sending of signals or messages over time for the purposes of control or influence. • The receiver and thus the audience, is perceived a destination or target for the purposeful transfer of meaning. • Target audience, one with a specified composition in terms of demographic and other attributes.
“Audience Side” Factors • Social background and milieu: especially as reflected in social class, education, religious, cultural, political and family environment. • Personal attributes: age, gender, family position, study and work situation, level of income also lifestyle if relevant. • media related needs: media as company, distraction and information.
• Personal taste and preferences: for certain genres, formats, or specific items of content. • General habits of leisure – time media use: media are used in space as well as time, availability in the appropriate places to receive (e.g. at home, in trains, driving etc). Availability also refers to the economic potential to be in an audience, for instant being able and willing to pay the price of a cinema ticket or a music recording.
• Awareness: of the choice available and the amount and kind of information possessed also play a part in audience formation. More active audience members can be expected to plan their media use accordingly.
“Media Side” Factors • The media system: preferences and choices are influenced by the makeup of the (national) media system (number, reach and type of media available) and by the specific characteristics of different media outlets.
• Structure of media provision: this refers to the general pattern of what the media provide in a given society, which exerts a long – term influence on audience expectation.
• Available content options: the specific formats and genres that are on offer to the potential audience at particular times and places. • Media publicity: this includes advertising and image making by the media on their own behalf as well as intensive marketing of some media products.
• Timing and presentation: media selection and use are likely to be influenced by specific strategies of time, scheduling, placement or design of content or media message according to competitive audience – gaining strategies.