"MOST MEDIA TEXTS TARGET A RANGE OF AUDIENCES" HOW TRUE IS THIS FOR YOUR CHOSEN TEXTS?

The three chosen texts I analysed are Lost, Mad Men and Louis Theroux 'Most hated family in America, revisited' which all target different audiences in order to make them successful.

The pilot episode of season 1 cost $10million to make the 2, one hour episodes of Lost. With lots of money behind it, J.J Abrams the director needed it to be popular in order for them to make a profit from the series. This was done by Lost being a hybrid genre, using an ensemble cast and a score.

Lost targets its audience by merging together 3 genres; Sci-fi, action and Fantasy. Throughout the second pilot, there are many flashbacks to when the plane is crashing which keeps action in the mix using fast-paced shots and exaggerated sound effects. It also attracts fans of the fantasy genre in the scene where Soya, shoots a Polar bear after a tracking shot of the animal through the long grass. The fantasy aspect that Lost viewers will ask is why there is a polar bear in the jungle on an empty island? Using the 3 different genre conventions in the narrative allows Lost to attract a wider audience, as a hybrid text will gratify more viewers than if it was just 1 genre.

An ensemble cast will allow Lost to target a wider range of audiences as more people will be able to relate to the characters, personal identification from the Uses and Gratifications theory. In the narrative there are 14 protagonists ranging in age from 10 with Walter to 60 with John Locke. It also has both genders and a variety of different ethnicities. However, Sun and Jin Kwon, a Koreans couple received bad responses to their relationship calling it 'Old fashioned', suggesting the text did not suit all audiences as some rejected the message of the couple.

The use of a score allows a text to attract a range of audiences as it helps viewers to understand the narrative. For example, when Walter is looking for his dog in the forest, a high pitched piece of non-diegetic sound starts and gradually becomes louder as his search continues. This alerts the audience that something is not right and they should become suspicious of the situation. A score is generally used when the audience is passive, as it tells them how to feel without paying much attention to the narrative. It helps Lost target a larger audience as many people enjoy watching a drama for entertainment and escapism rather than to be gratified by information on social or historical events typically like Mad Men does.

Mad Men is an American TV programme, with incredible critical acclaim. It is a niche drama targeting an active audience who can understand the historical issues involved within the narrative. It attracts this audience through its scheduling, relatable storylines and historical relations.

In the UK, Mad Men is shown on Sky Atlantic. This channel has to be subscribed to, therefore the programme can not reach a wide audience, it targets people who can afford to pay for the channel. Its scheduling means Mad Men is shown at 10pm which is late so clearly targets active adults.

Secondly, Mad Men is set in an advertising firm which audiences will be able to relate to as Mad Men's target audience will probably all have demanding jobs. In the episode named, "The Other woman" which is episode 11 from season 5, the advertising company is campaigning for the right to advertise for Jaguar. Now not all audience viewers can directly relate to the situation, but may relate to having pressures at work and escaping by coming home to their families, exactly what Don Draper and Pete Campbell do during the episode. However, this confirms that Mad Men targets a niche audience.

As the programme is set in the 1960's, women are becoming more valuable to the work place and this is shown in this episode. Don Draper, the male protagonist with authority in the business faces many issues where the representation of woman changes. For example, Peggy announces she will be leaving the company and in another scene, his wife Megan upsets him by implying her work comes before her husband. These are not normal character roles for the typical 1950's/60's housewife, and they demonstrate woman gaining rights and power, a real historical issue. This will gratify the audience as they will be gaining information from the cultural issues, which links to the Uses and Gratifications theory which explains why people watch programmes.

Louis Theroux presented and directed a documentary called 'The most hated family in America, In crisis.' It shows the life of a cult of Christians who live with the rules of the West Baptist church in America. The show targets its audience by its genre, the presenting style and the reinforcement of beliefs.

A documentary is there to educate the audience by providing information. The documentary was aired on BBC 2, in April 2011 and BBC's mission statement is 'To enrich peoples lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain its viewers.' Louis Theroux creates an interactive documentary therefore getting more information from the family and deeper gratifying the target audience through the strange and niche topics. For example, the Westborough Baptist church believe all homosexuals are going to burn in hell for eternity and illness is given by God for bad behaviour. Not all audiences will want to hear about this subject, therefore it does not target a range of audiences.

Louis Theroux presenting style has been linked to Gonzo Journalism and this is a way the BBC targets a niche audience. Gonzo Journalism puts subjectivity and style over accuracy. Louis Theroux does this by being awkward, rude and sarcastic to the family, making it humorous to the audience. This is seen in the scene where Louis is talking to Noah, a young member of the family. Noah is explaining a vision his family have about 'pink caves' and Louis uses his sarcasm which makes Noah laugh at his own comment making the family seem silly. However Noah probably felt intimidated by Louis and this has made the documentary be criticised by reviews.