Five Traditions in Search of the Audience

This article presents a comparative analysis of the main research traditions examining the nexus between media and audiences: effects research, uses and gratifications research, literary criticism, cultural studies and reception analysis. First presenting short histories of each tradition's roots in the humanities and/or social sciences, the authors then proceed to build a typology of audience studies in terms of theories and modes of enquiry characterizing each tradition. While identifying some controversies arising from different theoretical and political orientations, the analysis also suggests that the current confluence of traditions could be useful for further theoretical, methodological and empirical developments. In particular, cross-cultural, multi-method research would seem to represent a promising avenue for further studies of the mass-media audience.