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Minority Group Audience Membership

           Modern audiences have seen rapid evolution in the digital age when you compare them to their pre-21st century counterparts. Audiences have fragmented into countless different groups and demographics and these groups have countless media options that serve their niche or minority group. For example, social minority groups such as people of colour, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people are all able to find media that caters to them easily and become a part of an audience that they connect with. This final blog is going to deal with some pretty personal topics for me and how my own personal experiences intersect with our sociocultural and contemporary audience studies.

           I want this final blog post to be an exploration of not only how media have evolved to be more inclusive to social minority groups but also to share my own recent experience of embracing my own identity and how I have been able to navigate in a new social group. The summer of 2017 was one of the most important of my life; at 21-years-old I finally accepted my sexual orientation and came out to my closest friends as a bisexual. This was one of the most stressful, yet somehow freeing moments of my life. Before I dive into my experiences as a new member of the LGBTQ community it is important to acknowledge a few things first:

·       The bisexual orientation gives me a lot of freedom in terms of potential sexual partners and relationships, BUT it is still part of the LGBTQ community and is still considered a minority orientation, and other people may be prejudiced against me because of it.

·       I’m a cisgender white male, which is still a position of power in our current patriarchal social order. I also have the ability to essentially “pass” as straight to people who may not know me or that I’m “out.” This is still considered a privileged social position.

Coming to terms with your sexual orientation when you’re not straight can be really challenging for a lot of LGBTQ youth. For myself, it was a long process of denial, questioning, and researching before I was able to come to terms with my own orientation. Although this can be difficult for a lot of people, in the digital age there are so many options to come to turns with their sexuality and feel like they are welcome and part of a community – sometimes for the first time in their life. This could be anything from Gay-Straight alliances and pride parades to LGBT online forums and YouTube shows.

           One major thing we have learned in this course is that audiences are not monolithic, and that individual members have agency when choosing what media they interact with. This means that audiences have fragmented more than ever before, and media must cater to multiple niches rather than a single mass audience. The LGBTQ community is an excellent example of a niche that now has endless media choices that even twenty years ago were nonexistent – this can be explained by advances in technology and social media, as well as a growing culture of acceptance of LGBTQ people.

The ever-growing fragmentation of the media environment allows for an increased array of content options to be provided across an increased array of distribution platforms while, within many of these distribution platforms, the capacity for providing more choices continues to dramatically expand. These processes drive the continued disintegration of traditional “mass” audiences (Neuman, 1991) and the increasing prominence of “long-tail” scenarios in which audience attention is clustered around a select few content options, followed by a long tail in which the remaining multitude of content options each attract very small audiences, which, in the aggregate, can exceed the audience for the “hits” (Napoli, p. 81).

The LBGTQ community would be considered to be part of the “long-tail” when analyzing audiences. The community is considered to a society wide minority group, and mainstream media options often do not cater to LGBTQ people. Only recently have LGBTQ characters been included in television and movies, and problems facing the community are still not often discussed by mainstream sources.  This means that LGBTQ people tend to search out alternative sources, communities, and audience experiences that are more LGBTQ friendly. This is something that even I have started doing; once I accepted my identity, I had the agency to start searching out online communities on sites like reddit and twitter that helped me understand the bisexual and LGBTQ community.

           The LGBTQ community has a come a long way in the recent decades. Things are night and day when you compare the Stonewall Riots of 1969 to current state of the gay community in 2017. Society in the majority of western countries is accepting or at the very least tolerant of LBGTQ people and their relationships. A big part of this is Pride events and the spread of Pride across the world. I was lucky to be able to attend my first Pride event this past summer in Montreal. Pride events are the one of the few experiences in which the LGBTQ community has the opportunity to feel like a majority in a large group setting.

           LGBTQ people who are just starting to come out and accept themselves are desperate to search for others who understand what they’re going through. Social media is the perfect vehicle for this.

The other primary need for social media use, the need to belong, is likely to be fulfilled through interactive communications among users. In particular, providing feedback is an essential component of interactivity (Sims, 2003). Feedback is important as it turns a one-way communication to a reciprocal one. It means that the receiver of a message is not just a passive audience but an active communicator whose response can build further communication (Lee, 2015).

Feeling like you belong is one of the most important things for LGBTQ youth, and it was important for me as well. There are thousands of people on social media sites like YouTube, Reddit, and Twitter who are sharing their knowledge and experience of their struggles and acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity. Because the LGBTQ community throughout its history has been persecuted by many different individuals and groups of people, many members tend to be helpful to others who may be struggling and for the most part tend to be welcoming of new members. This was something that I managed to experience firsthand when I became active on LGBTQ spaces on Reddit and Tumblr.

           In conclusion, with advances in digital technology and social awareness, people who identify as an LGBTQ person now have countless options to feel like they are included. As audiences continue to fragment into different niches, there are more opportunities for media content that is specific to LGBTQ people.

[audience3p18]

Sports Fandom in the 2010s

Sports fandom is one of the most common roles in society, but it is a role that has changed dramatically in the 21st century due to a great number of social, political, and technological factors. Billions of people across the world would identify themselves as a fan of a particular sports team or athlete. Active audiences commenting live on social media, sports gambling, and fantasy sports have changed the way sports fans interact with their favourite teams and with one another. Recent years has also seen athletes and fans use the platform of professional sports to discuss and protest larger issues in society such as police brutality, LGBT+ rights, cancer awareness/fundraising, and much more. Sports fandom is a large part of modern life and its important to try and understand how and why we interact with professional sports in the ways that we do.

The options that sports fans have for interaction have greatly increased with the development of the internet. Fantasy sports and online gambling sites (Bodog, Draftkings etc.) have become popular pastimes for millions of sports fans whether it be football, hockey or even cricket or auto racing. Audience members can use these fantasy services either for fun or also for potential financial gain; either way these services are meant to enhance the game day experience for sports fans beyond simply watching the action. This relates to the Uses and Gratifications theory of communication which essentially attempts to understand why audiences seek out certain media to satisfy their needs. In other words, it is a theory that looks at what people do with the media options available to them rather than looking at how media affects people. Sullivan describes the drama of fantasy sports as happening on statistical charts rather than on the screen. He goes on to describe a study by Farquhar and Meeds that attempted to understand the motivations of fantasy sports players:

They discovered that fantasy sports motivations fell into one of two categories. Some fans participated in fantasy sports because they enjoyed following the statistical trends expressed the desire to outsmart their opponents (the surveillance motivation). Others perceived fantasy sports as a game of the chance and enjoyed the thrill of victory, though they were much less involved in the daily monitoring of sports statistics (the arousal motivation) (Sullivan, p. 107). Fantasy sports is a great example of Uses and Gratifications in action. People who participate in fantasy sports tend to be knowledgeable and active. They use fantasy sports to fulfill needs such as competition, possible financial gains, or the thrill of potential financial gains

Sports fans in the 2010s have the ability to become more involved in discourse about the sports they follow whether it is trades, signings, gameplay, and controversies. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Snapchat allow fans to get involved in real time. Reddit, for example has sport specific sections that give users a space to chat about games or breaking news in real time. Twitter often sees sports stories or games trend on the site, with thousands of people commenting on the same event simultaneously. These kinds of interactions contribute greatly to the modern sports fan’s experience. Using social media to communicate with other fans about sporting events is a new way for people to fulfill their social needs. Many hard-core sports fans can be considered what Sullivan considers instrumental audiences that “would search for specific kinds of message content, often seeking out and selecting informational material in a purposive way, suggesting greater care and selectivity over media as well as increased involvement with the programming itself” (Sullivan, p. 116). Sports fans are often seeking out different forms of media in order to fulfill their social interaction needs; this could be anything from watching games or sports talk shows, to actively contributing on online communities and discussions about their favourite sports. These new media options available to sports fans can make it feel as if they are more immersed in their viewing experience. From the comfort of their own home a sports fan can take in a game and chat about what’s happening in real time with anyone. Kim et al. (2016) describes this effect below:

The perception of presence is an important element affecting the nature of the mediated sports consumption experience. Presence refers to the phenomenon in which an individual develops a sense of being physically present at a remote location through interaction with media (Biocca, 1997; Kalawsky, 2000; Slater, Usoh, & Steed, 1994; Witmer & Singer, 1998); thus, an individual does not “perceive or acknowledge the existence of a medium in his or her communication environment and responds as if he or she would if the medium were not there” (Lombard & Ditton, 1997, p. 77). In other words, presence is the perceptual illusion of nonmediation (Lombard & Ditton, 1997). (Kim et al. p. 392). A common example of this is the phenomena of yelling at the players or the officials. The sporting event is being broadcasted through a certain medium, but the fan still feels like they are present in the situation. This leads to yelling in person at the play on the television as well as the new alternative of complaining or commenting about what is happening on social media in real time.

There has been a dramatic shift across the social and political landscape in North America in recent years, and this shift has also affected how we view professional sports and professional athletes. Professional athletes, team owners, and leagues have become more outspoken about their political views. Many players are beginning to use their platform to tackle social issues in America. This shift has created a divide among many fans, with the primary debate being about whether political discussions should intersect with sports – the prime example of this being the kneeling controversy in the NFL. The kneeling controversy in the NFL was started by Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 season. Kaepernick started kneeling for the anthem (and donating to charity) in order to raise awareness about police brutality against black people in America. Fast forward to the 2017 season; Kaepernick has not been signed by any other NFL team and players across the league begin kneeling for the anthem in solidarity with him, as well as his cause of police brutality. This has led to massive backlash (mainly from the right wing) about how this practice is disrespectful to the flag and the soldiers who fight for it. This controversy has been a massive talking point for politicians in recent month and has formed two sides of sports fans that oppose each other: the two main narratives are that “politics should not be in sports” and that “athletes deserve to have a platform for their views.” The controversy has led to massive boycotts of the league, mainly from supporters of Donald Trump. Boycotters are no longer gratified by the media product of the NFL because the narrative of the players no longer fits with their right wing (frankly, racist) narrative. This is another great example of Uses and Gratifications because the right-wing audience that is now boycotting the NFL has the ability to find new sources that may better align with their political views.

Politics is a topic that historically was a taboo thing to talk about in public. It can often be controversial, so it has been historically avoided in many public forums such as sports. This is an issue that is no longer the case in our current political climate. Professional athletes are more outspoken than ever about social issues, and professional leagues often promote social causes; examples of this include the NHL partnership with You Can Play, or the NFL breast cancer awareness campaign. Many sports fans are active when it comes to politics and social issues, and Uses and Gratifications can be applied when trying to analyze audience behaviour. Being a sports fan in the 21st century means that you almost have to be more aware of what is going on not just in sports, but also politics, social, and economic issues.

[audience3p18]

Public Opinion and Audience Membership in the age of Trump

Never in my lifetime has there been a political spectacle as large and as entertaining as the 2016 United States Presidential election and the subsequent Trump presidency. I have had a daily routine that starts the same way everyday: wake up, grab my phone, and check Donald Trump’s Twitter account. Due to the absurdity of his persona, and the ease of access to him the audience has via social media, the election of Donald Trump has turned the United States presidency into the best reality show there is.

Thanks to the rise of social media, politics has never been easier to follow along and become involved with. The 2016 US presidential election became a war on social media. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton continuously attacked each other on Twitter and much of the campaign, especially towards the end, was focused on why the opponent was unfit to become the president rather than any policy decisions. Clinton labeled Trump as sexist, racist, and incompetent while on the flip side Trump labelled Hillary as crooked and untrustworthy. The rhetoric on social media surrounding each campaign was more obsessed with email servers and “locker room talk” than any actual policy position or plan once a winner was declared.

“Fake News” and “Fact Check” became two of the most important and widespread terms in the media surrounding the election. Donald Trump was able to successfully create massive distrust of mainstream media sources, especially amongst his right-wing voter base, by essentially labelling any news story that was critical of him as “fake news.”  This rhetoric has radically shifted politics in the United States, as it seems like half of the voter base no longer believes the news if they don’t agree with it – which in my opinion (and many political science researcher’s opinion) is dangerous to the democracy of the United States. I think that the important thing to realize about Donald Trump is that a lot of what he does is simply a persona – something he has created for the media and not actually genuine. It’s important to note that before Trump became the president he was most known for being the host of “The Apprentice – “where it was his job to be crazy and say outrageous things for the sake of TV ratings. This Trump “Apprentice” persona has been carried over to his campaign and his presidency. The idea of the persona as described by Brown (2015) “A persona can be a real person or a fictional character encountered through any form of mediated interaction. Scholars in information studies describe personae as ‘hypothetical archetypes’ who ‘are not real people but they represent real people.’” It’s important to look at Donald Trump’s history before you dive into his “presidential” persona. He was a registered democrat for most of the 1980s as well as the 2000s. Trump then shifted his political persona to right after the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Trump has created a not entirely real version of himself for his political career. He saw that many people on the political right were mad about immigration and loss of manufacturing jobs under Obama and created his persona to connect with those blue collar and far right voters – which ultimately won him the White House.

Trump’s most dedicated voter base worship his persona. Worship of a media persona can often be intense and dangerous, and the Trump base’s worship of him certainly has negative effects on the United States democratic process. Brown (2015) describes the most intense form of worship as: “The third and most intense level of celebrity worship is referred to as the “mild pathological” dimension (Maltby et al.,2005, p.1166). They imply that celebrity worship at this third level is both abnormal and harmful, resulting in the willingness of audience members to do almost anything to please the celebrity.” Trump has created a base that believes everything he says is correct and that the mainstream media and establishment politicians are a “swamp” that needs to be drained. The kind of Trump worship that we see online in places like reddit.com/r/The_Donald or on Infowars or Breitbart is dangerous to the democratic process itself. A huge part of the electorate (Trump supporters) blindly follow their leader despite his incompetence, and refuse to believe any legitimate public opinion poll or anything that goes against their views is true. Trump has used the politics of division masterfully in order to become the president, but diving audiences so drastically may have negative repercussions for future United States presidential campaigns and elections.  

As an active political audience member, it is crucial to be aware of public opinion polling in order to remain informed. It is also important to have a high media literacy in order to understand what the news is saying and what kind of bias they may have – especially in the age of Trump where bad news is fake news. As media consumers, it is important to be aware of agenda setting and narratives that are set in the media and how they can affect public opinion in politics. “The ability of the mass media to transfer salience of items and their attributes from the news agenda to the public was called agenda setting effect” (Sullivan, 70). It’s important as an audience member to be aware of how different media organizations may set their agenda and spin stories in certain ways. A number of things have to be considered such as ownership structure, target audience, advertisers, and political party affiliations.

Fox News is the easiest United States mainstream example to look at when it comes to agenda setting and public opinion.  Fox News is well known to target an older, conservative demographic. This means that most of the stories that are run on Fox tend to be pro Trump and pro Republican. MSNBC on the other hand is pro democrat and was largely in favour of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. No news coverage – especially political news coverage in the 21st century is objective. Every station, paper, and broadcaster not just in the US but in Canada and internationally as well has a political bias towards certain candidates or political parties. Agenda setting and political bias is important to be aware of as an audience member because it can also affect public opinions. For example, the public opinion on Trump of most Fox news viewers is good, but in contrast many independent pollsters have Trump’s approval ratings as record low for any US president. This means that the information receive would vary drastically from depending on the source of the information. This brings us back to the danger of Trump and his anti journalism “fake news” persona; a large percentage of Trump supporters refuse to believe negative coverage simply because he tells them to. This means that many of his supporters cannot have their opinions changed when shown contradictory evidence because they have been conditioned to not believe anything that goes against them. Information has never been easier to obtain than in the internet age, but it is still incredibly hard to be an informed media audience member. This is because there are so many sources that provide contradictory information that it can be hard to judge for yourself what is real and what is fake news. Things get further complicated on social media because of the large amounts of trolls who simply provide false information or antagonize other internet users for fun.

Information has never been easier to obtain than in the internet age, but it is still incredibly hard to be an informed media audience member. This is because there are so many sources that provide contradictory information that it can be hard to judge for yourself what is real and what is fake news. Things get further complicated on social media because of the large amounts of trolls who simply provide false information or antagonize other internet users for fun. Misinformation and fake news is rampant and the most powerful person in the world is actively trying to spread lies and hatred as long as it benefits him and his administration. It is more important than ever to be an educated audience member, but the current media landscape on the internet does not make it easy to do so. Audience membership and public opinion in the age of Trump totally depends on the source and the medium, not so much the information or the message itself.