New Audience Message Absorption via Audio Visual Technology

Abstract

The diversity of audio visual technology has its own effect to audience to obtain message through formal and informal education. Arguably, having acquired such ability, an individual will be able to absorb various media messages. This research seeks to redefine model of audience evolution that proposed by The Donald McGannon Communication Research Center of new audiences by adding an audio visual technology as a meaning-making components in the interpretation of portal web television. The concept of audio visual technology was further developed by adding conceptualization of meaning making in interpreting media messages. This research assumes that audio visual technology input can be exposed and the skills can be transferred to the respondent in a formal setting. The researcher seeks to identify the relevance of audio visual technology in raising the level and capacity of new audience absorbs message. The significance between the audio visual technology via the meaning-making components and the increasing level of new audience absorbs message. A total of 80 first-year media students from University Kebangsaan Malaysia were randomly selected to participate in the experiment. The students were divided into two respective groups, the treatment and the control. Only the treatment group was exposed to audio visual selected interactivity queues such as selected programs, comment, chat rooms and online quizzes. Both groups were later shown online portal web TV (tonton.com.my) that produced by Media Prima Group. The selection of this online portal web TV is justified in it being the first online TV portal that fixed in all Media Prima’s TV station. Findings from the experimental method discovered that students in both groups showed different levels of new audience absorbs message. Findings revealed that individual interpretation of the online portal web TV was dependent on time-binding factors such as experience, knowledge and education as well as the unique cultural conditioning of each individual. The findings of this study suggested that the audio visual technology meaning making component is the distinguishing element for model of audience evolution introduced by The Donald McGannon Communication Research Center in the absorbs message of the new audiences