The uses and gratification theory was proposed by Blumler and Katz. When we choose a form of media it has to fulfil at least  one of the four main points of the theory. These being;

• Information – To gain understanding about the media, the media may also feed you information.
• Entertainment – To have fun and enjoy what you’re doing-  whether this be watching a TV show or reading a magazine
• Personal Identity – Some media we consume shapes us as a person
• Social interaction – Communicating with others, because you consume similar types of media or learn what other types of media people consume and are interested in.

My media poster is a mixture of media I consume and prosume, blended into one big image. Included in my poster are my favourite music albums, podcasts, Magazines, TV shows, films and youtubers.

All of these types of media that I consume fit into one of the 4 categories of the Uses and Gratification theory. Here are my types of media within their categories.

Using the Blumler and Katz theory that suggests that consumers are a big part in using and producing media.

Entertainment- Consumers get pleasure out of listening/reading/watching.

Social Interaction– Talking with friends and family over a common topic. Eg. a TV show.

Personal Identity– Consumers seek types of media they think will interest them/apply to their lifestyle.

Information– The consumer will gain knowledge from the type of media that they have seeked out they believe will interest them. They then become educated on this topic.

I have concluded that when I make my music magazine I will keep the audience in mind at all times. This is so I focus on my target audience of who I would want to buy my product and read it. It will be a fashion within music magazine so my target audience will be teenagers interested in this industry.

Media refers to various different types of communication on many platforms. For example, television, radio and the newspaper are types of media. This is the basics of media to most people, but in reality there is a lot more to media than you may think. The media ecology is an underlying necessity for the media to work; Media ecology theory is the study of media, technology, and communication and how they affect human environments. This consists of

• money
• technology
• the government
• distribution
• creators
• institutions
• social media
• audience

All of these components rely on each other to keep the system going. Without one part of this chain, there would be no constant media production.

In groups in our media class, we used lego to create our own land to get our head round the idea of ‘ecology’. These consisted of aspects of the environment relying on each other to keep the land alive. Such as humans relying on trees to supply oxygen, animals relying on trees and grass to sustain their habitats, humans relying on fish to eat to keep them alive etc. Here is an image of a small section of my groups’ lego land.

Also, in pairs we created a poster of the media ecology. Our designated part of the chain was Creators. We had to write small sentences about why we thought creators were the most important part of the media ecology. We linked this to all the other components and realised everything feeds off each other.

The media ecology will impact the production of my music magazine. Here is how I will include all the parts of the ecology in the production of my magazine:

Money- This will enable me to create many copies of the magazine for all over the world, i’ll have unlimited resources which means I can do whatever it takes to make my magazine good, money will play a big part in the distribution of my product.

Technology- Technology will play a big part in the production of my magazine as this is where I will edit the image and the cover and print it off.

Institutions- Without this nobody could view or read my magazine

Creators – The creators will come up with the ideas and make the content. It is everybody else’s job to edit what the creators give them.

Audience- Without the audience there would be nobody to view or read or be a fan of my magazine. I would make little to no money as I wouldn’t be selling any copies.

Social Media- This is where the advertisement and promotion of my product will take place to spread the word to younger audiences.

Governments – The other parts of the ecology will follow and obey the rules that the government lay.

Distribution- This is an important part of the ecology especially within making my magazine as this is the key to getting my product all over the world and being sold to many types of audiences in lots of different stores.

We came to the conclusion that there’s not one most important role, everything needs each other to survive. Here is a picture of our poster.

I am looking to learn a lot of technical skills such as photo shop and gaining more experience on using a camera. I am also hoping to learn lots of new terminology and language which I can understand and use in my blog posts to achieve more interesting posts.

I have some skills in technology already but I’m looking forward to developing these further as I am using software I have never used which excites me. The skills I will learn with the technology will stick with me throughout life meaning I will gain lots of experience. Media studies will teach me time management and organisation when keeping up to date with adding to my blog frequently. This is important because organisation is the key to being on top of the work within my studies. In addition being generally organised and up to date with my work will prepare me for future life especially in the work place.

I also believe I will develop my skills in:

• Team work – I hope to gain ideas from other members of my class to develop my thinking throughout the course.
• Patience – It will require patience when producing my music magazine and music video as it will be a long process with lots of editing included.
• Communication – This is a general life skill so developing this well prepare me for future life when working with new people in new environments.
• Visual learning – Learning through images, slideshows, videos and blogging will develop my skills in knowing what looks good and is eye-catching. This should make blogging come more naturally to me once I get the hang of it.