ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out the theoretical framework for understanding the complexity and dynamism of audiences in today’s global, rich media environment. At the heart of audience research have lain the most pressing sociological concerns, namely, questions about the relationship between individuals and society. Within audience research these questions have been more specifi cally concerned with establishing the nature of the power relations between media institutions and audiences. Parents worry about the impact of new media on their children; some scholars argue that audiences gain power through new interactive media while others are interested in the corresponding changes in everyday life accompanying the expansion of the global media environment.
