Y11MPA S2W1-7

Weeks 1–7 | Year 11 ATAR Media Production and Analysis

This module explores how media influences audiences — and how that influence is shaped by representation, institutions, cultural context and evolving audience practices. Across five weekly topics, students will engage with key theories of media communication, critically analyse media work, and reflect on their own role as both consumers and creators of meaning.

The aim of this module is to deepen understanding of how meaning is constructed in media work, and how it is received, negotiated or resisted by different audiences. Students will examine the political, social, cultural and institutional forces that shape media production and reception — and use this understanding to inform their own responses.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

• Identify and apply key communication and media theories (e.g. Reception Theory, Agenda Setting, Participatory Culture).

• Analyse how representation, bias, ownership and global context shape media messages.

• Evaluate the relationship between media producers and audiences, including the role of audience agency in meaning-making.

• Develop critical written responses using appropriate terminology, structured argument and relevant media examples.

Structure

The module is delivered over seven weeks:

• Week 1: Media Influence and Communication Models

• Week 2: Representation and Bias

• Week 3: Institutional Influence

• Week 4: Globalisation and Cultural Identity

• Week 5: Audiences as Producers

• Week 6: Revision and Assessment Preparation

• Week 7: In-class Written Assessment
  
  

Each weekly topic introduces key content, terminology and a short-answer question designed to develop analytical skills. In Week 7, students will complete an in-class written assessment, responding to one of five short-answer questions drawn from the weekly tasks.

Reminder: Modified Bloom’s Taxonomy for Academic Writing

1. Identify – Recognising key concepts, theories, and relevant sources.

2. Explain – Summarising and defining ideas in your own words.

3. Discuss – Exploring multiple perspectives and supporting arguments.

4. Analyse – Breaking down arguments, comparing sources, and finding patterns.

5. Evaluate – Assessing strengths, weaknesses, and implications.

In Semester 2, the focus of study is Influence. This unit explores how media producers shape meaning and how audiences interpret, resist or negotiate that meaning. This week, we examine how media has been theorised to influence audience thinking and behaviour, from early 20th-century models to more contemporary theories of active engagement.

Context

Media influence is a central concern for governments, institutions, advertisers and media producers. Understanding the relationship between the media and its audiences allows us to examine how representations are constructed and how meaning is received.

There are many theories about how audiences are influenced by media. Some believe that the media can control the way audiences think and behave. Others argue that audiences are active and interpret messages in ways that reflect their own cultural context, personal experience and values.

This week introduces some of the most widely recognised theories of media influence. These will form the basis for written responses later in the unit.

Key Theories of Media Influence

Hypodermic Needle Theory

This early media theory (also known as the Magic Bullet Theory) suggests that media messages are injected directly into the minds of a passive audience. According to this theory, audiences are seen as vulnerable and easily manipulated. It was developed in the 1930s and was used to explain the effectiveness of propaganda, particularly during wartime.

• Example: Nazi propaganda films such as Triumph of the Will were designed to promote the power and authority of the regime. According to this theory, audiences would receive the message exactly as intended.
  
  

This theory has since been widely criticised for its simplistic understanding of audiences and lack of evidence.

Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory

Stuart Hall argued that meaning is not fixed by the media producer but is interpreted by the audience. He introduced three main types of reading:

• Dominant (intended) reading: the audience accepts the intended message.

• Negotiated reading: the audience partly accepts the message but questions or adapts parts of it.

• Oppositional (resistantreading: the audience actively rejects the intended meaning.
  
  

This theory recognises the cultural background, values and experiences of the audience as important factors in shaping interpretation.

• Example: In V for Vendetta, the character V broadcasts a message encouraging revolution. Some viewers may interpret him as a freedom fighter (dominant reading), while others may view him as a dangerous extremist (oppositional reading).

Two-Step Flow Model

This theory suggests that media messages are filtered through opinion leaders – individuals who interpret content and influence others. Rather than the media directly influencing a mass audience, it influences individuals who then pass on their interpretations.

This model helps explain the rise of influencers and content creators on platforms like YouTube and TikTok who guide how audiences understand and engage with media content.

Cultural Studies and Active Audiences

Modern research into media influence tends to emphasise the complexity of interpretation. Rather than measuring how much the media affects people, researchers now ask how people use media and why. This shift moves the focus away from passive consumption and toward active engagement.

Audiences today are also producers of media content – sharing, remixing, commenting, and even shaping what gets produced. This complicates traditional models of influence and reflects the participatory nature of digital media.

Application of Theory

In Media Production and Analysis, communication theories are used to help analyse how and why a media work may be interpreted in different ways. It is important to avoid assuming that a media producer deliberately used a theory when making their work. These theories are applied after the work has been made, as a tool for analysis.

For example, when writing about audience reception of a film, it would be appropriate to discuss how different audiences might read the same representation in different ways, using Hall’s theory to explain why.

Terminology

• Media influence – The power of media to affect the way audiences think, feel or behave.

• Representation – The way people, issues or ideas are portrayed in media texts.

• Audience reception – The way audiences interpret and respond to media messages.

• Dominant reading – When an audience receives the intended meaning.

• Oppositional reading – When an audience rejects the intended meaning.

• Negotiated reading – When an audience partly accepts and partly resists the intended meaning.

• Encoding/decoding – Stuart Hall’s concept describing how producers encode meaning and audiences decode it based on context.
  
  

Written Response Preparation

This week, begin preparing to respond to short-answer questions by drafting a response to the following:

Practice Question:
Explain how different audiences may interpret a media message in different ways. Use an example from a media work you have studied.

In your response:

• Refer to at least one media theory from this week.

• Use relevant terminology from the list above.

• Support your argument with a media example (e.g. a scene from V for Vendetta, a social media campaign, or a documentary segment).
  
  

Use the following scaffold to structure your answer:

Many audience theorists argue that media messages can be interpreted in multiple ways. For example, Stuart Hall’s reception theory suggests that…

In the media work [insert title], [describe message or representation].

A dominant reading of this message might be…

However, an oppositional reading could view this message as…

This supports the idea that audience reception is influenced by social, cultural and personal context.

This week focuses on the concept of representation — how media constructs versions of reality — and the presence of bias in these constructions. Audiences are often unaware of the decisions that shape the way stories, people and ideas are presented. By critically analysing representation, we can better understand the values and ideologies that influence the media.

Context

In all media work, choices are made about what to include, emphasise, and omit. These choices shape how a story is told and how an issue, person or group is perceived. This process is known as construction. It is never neutral. Whether deliberate or not, media producers bring cultural assumptions, personal values, and institutional pressures to the creation of media content.

This process is particularly visible in news, documentary, advertising and social media. However, all media texts — including fiction — construct versions of reality using codes and conventions that are designed to position audiences.

This week explores the role of selection, emphasis and omission in constructing biased representations, and how audiences may interpret or challenge them.

Representation and Bias

Representation refers to the way people, issues, places and events are portrayed in media. These portrayals are not simply reflections of reality — they are shaped through a process of selection and construction.

Bias in representation can occur when:

• A narrow or stereotypical view is presented.

• Alternative perspectives are ignored or dismissed.

• The framing of the story supports a particular agenda.

• The media reinforces dominant ideologies or values.
  
  

This bias can be explicit or subtle, and it often reflects the social, cultural or institutional context in which the media work is produced.

Theoretical Frameworks

Agenda Setting Theory

This theory suggests that while media may not tell audiences what to think, it is very successful at telling them what to think about. Developed by McCombs and Shaw, it argues that the media shapes public priorities by deciding which stories are told, how often, and in what context.

• Example: If a news outlet consistently reports on crime in one neighbourhood but not in others, audiences may begin to associate that area with danger — even if statistics don’t support this view.
  
  

Framing Theory

Framing refers to the way information is presented. The media can frame stories to highlight some aspects of reality and downplay others. This influences how audiences understand the issue.

• Example: A protest can be framed as a “riot” or a “peaceful demonstration” — both describe the same event but with very different connotations.
  
  

Viewing: Representation and Bias in News Media

Option 1 (YouTube):
Political media's bias, in a single chart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-CHyzgK1Q
A clear and accessible introduction to bias in the news, including language, framing, and source selection.

Option 2 (iView):
Media Watch
Choose an episode or segment that critiques media coverage of a political or social issue.

As you view, take notes on:

• Who is represented?

• How are they represented?

• What language and visuals are used?

• What is emphasised or omitted?
  
  

Case Study Suggestions

You may wish to revisit one of the following in your analysis this week:

• The Social Dilemma (Netflix) – for bias in algorithmic curation and selective representation on social media.

• Four Corners: Fox and the Big Lie (ABC) – for editorial bias and the shaping of political narratives.
  
  

Terminology

• Representation – The portrayal of people, issues and ideas in media.

• Bias – A slant or prejudice in the presentation of information.

• Stereotype – A simplified and fixed image or idea of a group or concept.

• Agenda Setting – The process of determining which issues are prioritised in public discussion.

• Framing – The angle or perspective through which a story is told.

• Selection/Omission – Choices made about what to include or leave out of a media text.

• Ideology – A system of beliefs and values that inform how the world is understood and represented.
  
  

Written Response Preparation

Practice Question:
Discuss how media producers shape meaning through biased representations. Use an example from a media work you have studied.

Planning notes:

• Choose a media work with clear framing or bias.

• Identify the representation being constructed.

• Apply relevant theory (Agenda Setting or Framing).

• Use terminology from this week.
  
  

Scaffolded Response:

In media work, representations are constructed through a process of selection, emphasis and omission.

In [insert title of media work], [identify who or what is being represented] is shown as… This creates a particular impression by…

The framing of the story encourages audiences to see this issue/person in a certain way. According to Agenda Setting theory, media influences what audiences think about by…

This representation may reflect the values or ideologies of the media institution or producer. Alternative perspectives are…

Therefore, the audience is positioned to accept a particular view, although some may adopt an oppositional or negotiated reading depending on their context.

This week explores how institutions — such as media corporations, broadcasters and government regulators — influence media content. Institutions have economic and ideological interests, which often shape what stories are told, whose voices are heard, and how information is framed. Understanding this helps explain not only what is produced, but why.

Context

Media is not created in a vacuum. Media producers operate within structures of power — editorial policies, government regulation, advertising interests, and commercial goals all shape media output. Some institutions are driven by profit; others by political or social agendas.

Audiences are often unaware of these behind-the-scenes forces, but institutional influence can significantly affect media meaning. Media institutions influence what stories are told, how they are told, and what is excluded. This influence is often subtle and systemic rather than overtly manipulative.

In this week’s work, you will investigate how the structure of the media industry — particularly ownership and control — can shape media messages.

Institutional Frameworks

The Political Economy Model

This model focuses on how economic structures — especially media ownership and advertising — influence the media. It examines questions such as:

• Who owns the media?

• Who funds it?

• Who benefits from the message?
  
  

According to theorists like Noam Chomsky (author of Manufacturing Consent), large media institutions tend to produce content that aligns with their economic and political interests. They may downplay content that challenges the status quo, particularly if it threatens advertisers or corporate partners.

• Example: A commercial news network owned by a media conglomerate may avoid critical reporting on a company that buys advertising space across its platforms.
  
  

Regulation and Censorship

In some countries, the media is regulated by the government. This can help protect cultural identity and public interest — but it can also lead to censorship or ideological control.

In Australia, the media is regulated by organisations such as the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), and public broadcasters like the ABC are funded by the government but operate under a charter of editorial independence.

Viewing: Ownership and Media Control

Option 1 (YouTube):
Who Owns the Media?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1_lCe3vyyc
Explains how a small number of corporations own the majority of media outlets, and why that matters for democracy.

As you view, take notes on:

• Who owns or funds the media outlet?

• What is the commercial or political context?

• Are certain viewpoints promoted or excluded?

• How does institutional control shape the message?
  
  

Case Study Suggestions

Choose a case in which institutional influence is clear:

• News Corporation in Australia (e.g. The Australian, Sky News).

• The ABC – comparison of public service broadcasting vs. commercial networks.

• Buzzfeed News Australia — its shutdown and what it reveals about advertising and viability.

• Netflix and its global content curation: how algorithms influence what audiences see.
  
  

Terminology

• Institution – An organisation involved in the production and distribution of media (e.g. ABC, Netflix, News Corp).

• Ownership – Who controls the company or platform producing the media.

• Commercial media – Media funded by advertising and driven by profit.

• Public service media – Government-funded media organisations with a public interest charter (e.g. ABC, SBS).

• Regulation – Rules and laws that govern media content.

• Censorship – The suppression or prohibition of content by an authority.

• Political economy – A theory that examines how economic and political power influence media production.
  
  

Written Response Preparation

Practice Question:
Discuss how institutional factors influence the meaning of a media work. Refer to a specific example in your response.

Planning notes:

• Choose a media institution and identify its interests.

• Analyse how ownership, funding or regulation affects media content.

• Use a media example that illustrates institutional influence.

• Apply the political economy model if relevant.
  
  

Scaffolded Response:

Media institutions shape content through ownership, funding and editorial policies. According to the political economy model, media producers are influenced by economic and ideological factors.

In the case of [insert media work or outlet], the institution behind the content is [identify ownership or funding model].

This institution benefits from presenting stories in a particular way. For example, [describe how a viewpoint or issue is framed or omitted].

Audiences may not be aware of this influence, but it can affect the message’s meaning and the range of perspectives available.

Therefore, institutional factors such as ownership and commercial interests are central to understanding how media influences audiences.

This week examines how media travels across national and cultural borders, and how globalisation influences the way identities, values and representations are constructed and consumed. While global media can introduce new perspectives, it can also blur or challenge local identities. We will explore the tensions between global media flows and local cultural values.

Context

Globalisation has made it easier for media content to move across borders. Streaming services, social media, gaming platforms and global franchises allow audiences to access content from anywhere in the world. As a result, cultural products — including language, fashion, music, and values — are increasingly shared on a global scale.

However, this global flow is not equal. Most global content is dominated by a few large industries, particularly from the United States. This can result in a process known as cultural imperialism, where dominant cultures shape or overwhelm local ones. At the same time, audiences are not passive: they often localise, remix or resist global content in ways that reflect their own cultural values.

This week's study encourages reflection on how your own media consumption shapes your identity, and how media influence is both global and personal.

Key Theoretical Approaches

Cultural Imperialism

Cultural imperialism is the idea that dominant cultures — often Western or American — spread their values through global media, marginalising or replacing local cultures.

• Example: Hollywood films dominating box office markets worldwide, shaping global norms around beauty, gender, and success.
  
  

Cultural Hybridisation

An alternative view is that globalisation leads to hybridisation, where local and global elements mix to form new cultural identities. This theory emphasises the active role of audiences in selecting, adapting or resisting foreign media.

• Example: K-pop blends Western pop music structures with Korean cultural aesthetics and language. It is both global and uniquely Korean.
  
  

Glocalisation

Glocalisation refers to the way media producers tailor global products to fit local markets. A single global format might be adapted to reflect local language, culture or values.

• Example: Reality TV formats like MasterChef or The Voice are adapted for local markets around the world.
  
  

Viewing: Global Media, Local Identity

Option 1 (YouTube):
The Effect of Globalisation on Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7T55UixV-o

Option 2 (ClickView):
Globalisation and Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ydX2FY0dvY
 

Suggested case study examples:

• Crazy Rich Asians – a Hollywood film with Asian representation, produced for global audiences.

• Squid Game – a Korean production with global reach and cultural themes.

• Disney’s Moana – blending Polynesian culture into a global media product.
  
  

Take note of:

• How cultural values are represented or adapted.

• Whether the product promotes, resists, or negotiates dominant (usually Western) perspectives.

• The intended audience and how different audiences may respond to the same work.
  
  

Terminology

• Globalisation – The process by which media, ideas and cultures circulate around the world.

• Cultural imperialism – When global media promotes dominant cultural values that may overshadow local ones.

• Cultural hybridisation – The blending of global and local cultural elements to create new forms.

• Glocalisation – Adapting global media for local audiences.

• Audience positioning – How media shapes the way viewers relate to characters, values and stories.

• Negotiated reading – A reading in which the audience accepts some parts of a media message while resisting others.
  
  

Written Response Preparation

Practice Question:
Discuss how global media can influence or challenge cultural identity. Use an example from a media work you have studied.

Planning notes:

• Choose a media work that reached global audiences.

• Identify the cultural values it represents.

• Analyse how these values may be received differently depending on audience context.

• Apply a relevant theory (e.g. cultural imperialism, hybridisation, glocalisation).
  
  

Scaffolded Response:

Globalisation allows media content to reach audiences around the world, but this can have complex effects on cultural identity.

In [insert media work], global and local cultural elements are presented through [brief description of narrative, characters, or setting].

Some viewers may see this as a form of cultural representation, while others may view it as promoting dominant values. For example, [describe how a value or theme is expressed].

According to cultural hybridisation theory, audiences may adapt global content in ways that reflect their own culture. However, cultural imperialism suggests that dominant media can overwhelm local identities.

This shows that media influence is not only shaped by producers, but also by the cultural context of the audience.

This week explores the idea that audiences are no longer simply passive consumers of media. Digital technologies have enabled users to share, remix, comment on, and even co-create media. These changes have redefined the relationship between producers and audiences, and challenged older models of media influence.

By understanding participatory culture and convergence, we can analyse how audience agency influences media meaning, trends, and production itself.

Context

For much of the 20th century, media influence was thought to flow one way: from producers to audiences. However, in the 21st century, audiences have become more active. They engage with content across multiple platforms, contribute user-generated content, and form communities around media texts.

This participatory culture reshapes influence: audiences now influence production, meaning, and reception. While media corporations still hold economic power, users shape cultural relevance, visibility and reputation through their online interactions.

Key Theoretical Approaches

Henry Jenkins: Participatory Culture

Jenkins argues that in participatory culture, audiences are active contributors to media. They engage in:

• Remixing and mash-ups

• Fan fiction, art, and commentary

• Hashtag activism and social movements

• Sharing, liking, and promoting content
  
  

This challenges the idea of top-down influence. Instead, audiences influence what gets seen, what becomes popular, and how media is interpreted.

Convergence Culture

Convergence refers to the flow of content across multiple media platforms. It describes both a technological process (platforms merging) and a cultural one (audiences following stories across formats).

Convergence allows audiences to:

• Interact with content across television, film, social media, games, etc.

• Contribute to and shape transmedia narratives

• Build participatory communities (e.g. fandoms)
  
  

The Prosumer Model

This combines producer and consumer. A prosumer is someone who consumes media but also produces content that others consume — such as YouTubers, streamers, meme creators, or TikTok influencers.

Viewing: Participatory Culture in Practice

Option 1:
What is Participatory Culture? – Henry Jenkins Explains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gPm-c1wRsQ
Jenkins explains the shift from passive to active audiences in a digital media landscape.

Option 2 (ClickView):
ClickView Documentary: The People’s Voice – How Audiences Are Changing Media
Search for this title on ClickView. This documentary explores how fans, users and activists are reshaping how media is produced and distributed.

Suggested case study examples:

• #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign – a fan-led social media movement that led Warner Bros. to release an alternative version of Justice League.

• Black Mirror: Bandersnatch – a Netflix interactive film in which audiences influence the narrative.

• TikTok trends – how user-generated sounds, dances and remixes spread virally and shape music/video industries.
  
  

As you watch or review case studies, consider:

• How do audiences participate in media production or promotion?

• What power do audiences have to influence the message or outcome?

• How is meaning negotiated in participatory spaces?
  
  

Terminology

• Participatory culture – A media environment in which audiences actively engage in creation, remixing and distribution of content.

• Convergence – The merging of media platforms and content across different technologies and institutions.

• Prosumer – Someone who consumes and produces media content.

• User-generated content (UGC) – Media content created by users rather than professionals.

• Transmedia storytelling – A story told across multiple platforms (e.g. film, social media, comics, games).

• Fandom – A community of fans who engage with media through discussion, art, events, and reinterpretation.

• Hashtag activism – The use of social media hashtags to promote political or social causes (e.g. #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter).

Written Response Preparation

Practice Question:
Explain how media audiences influence meaning and production. Refer to a media work or movement in your response.

Planning notes:

• Choose a media example in which the audience influenced content or public response.

• Apply Jenkins’ theory of participatory culture or the concept of convergence.

• Consider how audience actions challenge traditional models of influence.
  
  

Scaffolded Response:

In a participatory media environment, audiences are no longer passive consumers but active participants in the creation and circulation of media.

One example of this is [insert media example], where audiences influenced [describe how the content or its reception changed].

According to Henry Jenkins, participatory culture allows users to remix, share and shape meaning through online communities. This means that producers must increasingly consider how audiences will respond and interact.

In this case, audience activity [explain the specific influence, e.g. prompted a new version, changed a narrative, led to controversy, etc.].

This shows that media influence is now a two-way interaction, with meaning negotiated between producers and active audiences.

Over the past five weeks, you have explored how media influences audiences through representation, institutions, globalisation, and the shifting role of audiences themselves. You’ve been introduced to key theories, case studies and terminology that help explain the way meaning is shaped and received in media work.

This week, you will consolidate your understanding and prepare for the upcoming written response task.

Task Overview

Task: In-class written response
Format: Two short-answer responses (approximately 1.5 pages each)
Time allowed: 50 minutes
Instructions:

• You will randomly draw two of five prepared questions.

• Your task is to write a clear, well-structured response to the selected question using examples and terminology from the course.
  
  

Goal:
To demonstrate your understanding of how media influences audiences using:

• Media theory

• Relevant terminology

• A specific media example
  
  

The Five Possible Assessment Questions

These five questions have been embedded throughout Weeks 1–5. You should now prepare a written response to each one.

1. Week 1 – Media Influence & Communication Models
   Explain how different audiences may interpret a media message in different ways. Use an example from a media work you have studied.

2. Week 2 – Representation and Bias
   Discuss how media producers shape meaning through biased representations. Use an example from a media work you have studied.

3. Week 3 – Institutional Influence
   Discuss how institutional factors influence the meaning of a media work. Refer to a specific example in your response.

4. Week 4 – Globalisation and Cultural Identity
   Discuss how global media can influence or challenge cultural identity. Use an example from a media work you have studied.

5. Week 5 – Participatory Culture
   Explain how media audiences influence meaning and production. Refer to a media work or movement in your response.
   
   

Preparation Checklist

To prepare for the assessment:

• Review your notes, weekly readings and responses.

• Make sure you understand and can explain:

  • Key terms from each week.

  • The relevant theories (e.g. Reception Theory, Agenda Setting, Cultural Imperialism, Participatory Culture).

  • At least one example from media work for each question.

• Write a draft for each of the five questions using the scaffolds provided.

• Practise writing timed responses (40 minutes) using past questions.

• Use the glossaries and TSIS sentence templates to improve clarity and structure.
  
  

Final Notes

On assessment day, you will randomly select your question at the start of the lesson. You may not swap questions. Bring:

• Your brain.

• A pen.

• Confidence in the work you’ve done to prepare.

You have already encountered all five questions and developed the necessary tools to respond critically and creatively. Good luck.