Terminology

Media contexts

• Conservatism: A political and social ideology that advocates for preserving traditional social norms, values, and institutions.

• Cultural context: The cultural values, beliefs, and practices that influence the interpretation and reception of media messages.

• Economic context: The economic factors that impact the production, distribution, and consumption of media, such as advertising revenue and market competition.

• Establishment: The established social, economic, and political institutions and authorities that have power and influence over media production and distribution.

• Historical context: The historical events, social movements, and cultural developments that shape the media landscape and affect media representations.

• Left-wing: A political ideology that emphasises social equality and progressive politics, often advocating for greater government intervention.

• Liberal: A term that can refer to a political ideology that emphasises individual freedom and civil rights, or to a more general attitude of open-mindedness and tolerance.

• Multiculturalism: An approach that recognises and values cultural diversity and promotes equal treatment and opportunities for individuals from different cultural backgrounds.

• Nationalism: A political and social ideology that emphasises the importance of national identity and loyalty, often associated with a desire for political independence or sovereignty.

• Patriotism: A sense of pride and loyalty to one's country, often associated with nationalistic sentiments.

• Political context: The political forces and structures that shape media regulation, ownership, and content, as well as media's role in shaping public opinion.

• Progressive politics: A political ideology that emphasises social justice, equality, and progressive reform, often advocating for greater government intervention in economic and social affairs.

• Right-wing: A political ideology that emphasises individual freedom, free market economics, and limited government intervention in social and economic affairs, often associated with conservative and nationalist sentiments.

• Self-reliance: An attitude of personal responsibility and independence, often associated with conservative and individualistic ideologies.

• Social context: The social structures and relationships that shape media production, distribution, and reception, including social identities, power dynamics, and cultural norms.

• Social equality: The idea that all individuals should have equal rights and opportunities, regardless of their social or cultural background.

• Traditional social differences: The social norms and values that differentiate individuals based on factors such as gender, race, class, and religion.

Media language 

• Anchorage: The way in which text, such as captions or headlines helps to anchor the meaning of an image in newspapers and magazines.

• Audio-visual texts: Any media texts that combines sound and image.

• Binary oppositions: A structuralist approach to understanding meaning in media, which suggests that meaning arises from the contrast between two opposing concepts or elements (e.g. hot and cold, good and evil etc.)

• Bricolage: A postmodernist concept that refers to the process of creating something new from pre-existing elements or materials.

• Broadsheet: A traditional newspaper that covers serious news and analysis.

• Camerawork: The technical aspects of using a camera to capture moving images.

• Codes: A set of conventions or rules that are used to convey meaning in media texts.

• Colour: The use of color in media to convey meaning or evoke certain emotions or connotations.

• Connotation: The additional meanings or associations that a sign may have beyond its literal meaning (denotation).

• Continuity Editing: A film editing technique that seeks to maintain temporal continuity in a film through seamless editing techniques.

• Conventions: A set of expected and established practices or norms within a particular genre of media form.

• Coverline:  Text on the front cover of a magazine that is designed to grab the reader's attention and reveal the contents of the magazine. 

• Denotation: The literal meaning of a sign or symbol.

• Depth of Field: The distance between the nearest and furthest objects in a shot that appear in focus.

• Diegetic sound: Sound that is presented as part of the action and can be heard by the characters within the story.

• Editing: The process of selecting and assembling footage to create a final media text.

• Flashback: A narrative device that interrupts the chronological order of events to show events that occurred earlier in time.

• Flashforward: A narrative device that shows events that will occur in the future.

• Foley sound: Sound effects that are recorded in post-production to add detail and realism to a film.

• Genre: A category or type of media text that shares certain conventions or characteristics (e.g. Horror, Romances etc.).

• Genre corpus: The collection of texts within a particular genre and our collective understanding of that genre. 

• Hard news: News stories that are factual, serious, and often related to current events.

• Headline: A short, attention-grabbing title that appears at the top of an article or news story.

• Homage: A reference or tribute to an earlier work or artist.

• Hyppereality: A postmodernist concept that refers to a state in which the distinction between reality and simulation becomes blurred.

• Hybrid genres: Genre categories that combine elements of multiple genres.

• Images: Visual elements that are used to convey meaning in media texts.

• Intended meaning: The meaning that the creator or producer of a media text intends to convey.

• Intertextuality: The relationship between different texts or media texts, in which one text references or influences another.

• Language register: The level of formality or informality of language used in media texts.

• Layout and design: The visual arrangement of elements within a media text.

• Masthead: The name of a newspaper or magazine displayed on the front page.

• Media discourse: Another term for a media text.

• Mise-en-scene: The visual elements and staging of a scene within a film or video.

• Narrative: The way in which a story is constructed and presented in media texts.

• Non-diegetic sound: Sound that is not part of the story world, such as background music or voice-over narration.

• News values: Criteria that determine what is considered newsworthy in a particular newspaper.

• Paralanguage: Non-verbal elements, such as body language and facial expressions, that are used to convey meaning in media texts.

• Parody: A humorous imitation of a particular style or genre.

• Pastiche: An media text that imitates the style or elements of other works or genres.

• Polysemic: A sign or symbol that has multiple meanings.

• Postmodernism: A cultural movement that challenges traditional modes of thought and representation.

• Quality news: News content that is perceived as high-quality, serious, and trustworthy.

• Semiotics: The study of signs and symbols and their use in media texts.

• Sell line: A short phrase or sentence that appears on a magazine cover to entice readers to buy the magazine.

• Sign: A unit of communication that conveys meaning, consisting of a signifier and signified.

• Signifier: The physical form of a sign, such as a word, image, or sound.

• Signified: The connotative meaning of a signifier.

• Simulacra: A postmodernist concept that refers to the process by which representations of reality become detached from the real world and take on a life of their own.

• Soft news: News stories that are less serious and often focus on human interest or lifestyle topics.

• Sound motif: A recurring sound or musical theme that is used to convey meaning in a film or video.

• Structuralism: A theoretical approach to understanding culture and society that emphasizes the underlying structures and systems that shape human behavior.

• Symbolic codes: Conventions or symbols that are used to convey abstract or complex concepts in media texts.

• Tabloid: A smaller-format newspaper that typically covers sensational or populist news.

• Tabloidisation: The trend towards making news content more sensational or scandalous to attract readers or viewers (e.g. Broadsheet newspapers becoming more tabloid in their reporting style).

• Technical codes: The technical aspects of media production, such as camera angles, lighting, and sound design.

• Traditional social differences: Social distinctions based on factors such as class, gender, race, or ethnicity that have been historically entrenched in society.

• Typography: The style, size, and arrangement of text in media texts.

• Written codes: The use of language, grammar, and syntax to convey meaning in media texts.

• 180-degree rule: A principle in film and video production that establishes a consistent camera angle to avoid disorienting the viewer.

Media representations 

• Absence of representation: The lack of representation or portrayal of particular groups or concepts in media texts. 

• Cultural verisimilitude: The degree to which media texts accurately reflects the cultural, social, and historical context in which it is set (apperance of the real).

• Dominant representation: The most common or widely accepted portrayal of a particular group or concept in media texts.

• Feminism: A political and social movement that advocates for gender equality and the rights of women.

• Hegemonic elite: A group of people who hold significant power and influence in society, and whose values and beliefs often shape cultural norms and values.

• Hegemony: The dominance or influence of one group or ideology over others, often achieved through domination in popular media texts.

• Homogenisation: The process of making media texts more uniform and standardised across different cultures and regions.

• Ideology: A set of beliefs, values, and assumptions that shape an individual's or society's understanding of the world.

• Imperialism: Refers to the ways in which media texts from powerful nations or cultures (such as America) dominates and influence the perspectives, values, and practices of other cultures and societies (e.g. the popularity of American texts in non-American cultures).

• Male gaze: A concept in feminist theory that describes the way in which media text is often created from a male perspective, and reinforces male dominance and objectification of women.

• Marginalisation: The social, and/or political exclusion of certain groups or individuals, often leading to their under-representation or misrepresentation in media texts. 

• Mediation: The process of interpreting, or transforming media texts to convey certain meanings.

• Misrepresentation: The inaccurate or unfair portrayal of a particular group or concept in media texts, often leading to negative stereotypes.

• Objectification: The representation of people, especially women, as objects of desire or sexual gratification in media texts.

• Patriarchy: A social system in which men hold primary power and authority, often at the expense of women and other marginalised groups.

• Pluralism: The existence of multiple perspectives, voices, or cultures in a media text.

• Postcolonialism: A theoretical approach that examines the legacy of colonialism and imperialism in shaping cultural, political, and social relations.

• Populism: A political approach or ideology that emphasizes the needs and concerns of ordinary people, often presenting itself as an alternative to established or elite interests. 

• Re-presentation: The process of representing or portraying people, events, or issues in media texts.

• Social groups: Collections of people who share common values, interests, or identities, and who may be represented in media texts in various ways.

• Sensationalism: The use of exaggerated, shocking, or emotionally charged language or imagery in media texts (e.g. newspapers), often for the purpose of generating interest or attention.

• Stereotype: A simplified, often negative or limiting, portrayal of a particular group or concept in a media text.

• Westernisation: The spread of Western culture and values to other regions and cultures, often through media texts.

Media audiences 

• Active audience: An audience that actively engages with media texts, interpreting it in their own way, and sometimes even contributing to media production.

• Binge watching: The practice of watching multiple episodes of a TV show or an entire season in a single sitting or over a short period of time.

• Cognitive surplus: The collective free time and energy that audiences have available for creative or productive activities, such as contributing to online content and producing media.

• Desensitisation: The gradual reduction in emotional or physiological responses to repeated or prolonged exposure to certain types of media content, such as violence or sex.

• Immersive Viewing: A type of media engagement in which viewers feel fully engrossed in the media experience, often through the use of interactive media.

• Long-term exposure: Exposure to media texts over an extended period of time, often leading to greater influence on attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

• Mean-world syndrome: A belief, often caused by media exposure, that the world is more dangerous and violent than it actually is.

• Moral panics: Public anxieties or fears over perceived threats to social norms or values, often exaggerated or sensationalised by media coverage.

• Passive audience: An audience that consumes media texts without actively interpreting it, often accepting media messages at face value (e.g. the intended meaning).

• Partisan audiences: Audiences that are ideologically aligned with specific political or social views, often seeking out media texts that reinforces their pre-existing beliefs.

• Psychographics: A classification system that divides a population into groups based on personality traits, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles.

• Prosumer: Referring to individuals who both consume and produce media texts, often through social media or other online platforms.

• Slash Fiction: A genre of fan fiction that explores romantic or sexual relationships between characters who are not typically portrayed in such a way in the original media texts.

• Textual poaching: The practice of re-interpreting media texts by fans, often in ways that challenge dominant media narratives.

• Demographics: A classification system that divides a population into groups based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, income, education, and other social or economic factors.

• Slash Fiction: A genre of fan fiction that explores romantic or sexual relationships between characters who are not typically portrayed in such a way in the original media texts.

Media industries 

• Advertising: Advertisements are created by advertisers and aim to capture the attention of the target audience and encourage them to take action, such as buying the advertised product or service.

• Advertiser-funded programming: A type of media texts that is created and produced by a company or brand and is intended to promote their products or services. This content may take the form of a TV show, online video series, or podcast, and may feature product placements, sponsorships, or branded content.

• Brand Affinity: Refers to the degree to which consumers feel connected to and loyal to a particular brand. It is based on the emotional connection and trust that consumers have with a brand.

• Brand Values: The beliefs and principles that a brand stands for and represents. 

• Call to action: A message or instruction that is designed to encourage a user or viewer to take a specific action. A call to action is often intended to prompt the viewer or reader to take action, such as visiting a website, making a purchase, or signing up for a newsletter.

• CGI: Computer-generated imagery, refers to the use of digital technology to create images, animations, and special effects for film, TV, and other media forms.

• Citizen Journalism: The practice of non-professional individuals reporting and sharing news and information through social media, blogs, and other online platforms.

• Clickbait: Headlines or images used in online media that are designed to attract clicks and views, often by using sensational or misleading information. 

• Click-through advertising: Type of online advertising where advertisers pay for each click on their ads.

• Concentrated ownership: Small number of large companies owning and controlling the majority of media outlets, such as TV stations, newspapers, and radio stations. This trend can have implications on media diversity, pluralism, and independence.

• Conglomerate: Often own and control multiple media outlets, including TV stations, newspapers, and online media.

• Convergence: Different types of media, such as TV, radio, and the internet, becoming more integrated. 

• Democracy: A political system in which power is held by the people, often through voting and representation.

• Digital convergence: Different types of media, such as TV, radio, and the internet, becoming more integrated through evolving digital technology (e.g. a smartphone).

• Digital switchover: The process of transitioning from analogue to digital broadcasting technology.

• Diversification: The process of expanding a media company's operations and offerings to include new products, services, or platforms.

• Distribution: The prorcess of making media texts available to an audience through various channels, such as TV, radio, newspapers, online, and mobile.

• Ethos: The values, beliefs, and ideals that underpin a media company or product.

• Fake news: False or misleading information that is presented as if it were true, often through online media channels. 

• Gatekeeping: Refers to the process of selecting, and presenting news and information back to its audience by media organisations.

• Horizontal integration: Media companies acquiring other companies that are similar to their own, in terms of product, service or platform. 

• Ideological stance: Political, social, or cultural perspectives and beliefs that underpin media companies and their products. 

• Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO): An independent regulator of the UK newspaper and magazine industry. 

• Interactivity: Interactivity refers to the level of engagement and participation that media users can have with a media product or platform. This can include features such as comments, likes, and shares on social media, or interactive elements in video games or apps. 

• Mainstream Film: The type of films that are produced and distributed by major Hollywood studios, with high production values and designed to appeal to a wide audience. 

• Market competition: The rivalry between media companies and products for audiences, advertising revenue, and market share. 

• Market share: Refers to the proportion of a particular market that is controlled by a specific media company or product. 

• Media Plurality: The diversity of media outlets and sources of news and information within a given media form (magazines, newspapers, television etc.)

• Multiplex: A cinema complex that features multiple screens, showing different films simultaneously. 

• NRS Scale: Refers to the National Readership Survey Scale, which is used to measure the readership and circulation of newspapers and magazines in the UK. 

• ‘Now culture’: Where news and information are increasingly consumed in real-time and on-demand, often driven by technology and social media.

• Oligarchy: A small group of individuals or companies control the media landscape, often leading to a lack of diversity and competition.

• Ownership: The legal and economic control of media companies and products. 

• Participatory culture: Audiences are actively involved in creating, curating, and sharing content, often through social media platforms and other digital channels.

• Political affiliation: The political beliefs and values that underpin media companies and their products. 

• Press Barons: The individuals or companies that control large portions of the newspaper industry, often with significant political influence.

• Press Freedom: The right of journalists and media organisations to operate without interference or censorship from government or other authorities.

• Product placement: The practice of integrating commercial products or brands into media texts, such as films or TV shows. 

• Programming Mix: The range and variety of texts (e.g., shows/dramas) produced and distributed by a media company or platform.

• Public service broadcasting: The provision of media texts and services by non-commercial, publicly-funded media organisations such as the BBC.

• Revenue: Income generated by media companies from sources such as advertising, subscriptions, and merchandise. 

• Royal Charter: A legal instrument used to establish public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. The Charter sets out the purpose, constitution, and funding of the BBC, as well as its obligations and responsibilities to the public.

• Sponsorship: A form of advertising in which a company pays for the right to associate its brand with a particular media program, event, or product.

• Symbiotic Relationship: A relationship in which two or more entities work together in a mutually beneficial way, such as media texts and advertisers, where the producers rely on advertising revenue to fund their programming.

• Synergy: The cooperation of two or more media products to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. For example a film using a popular soundtrack. 

• Time-shifting: The practice of recording television programs for later viewing, allowing viewers to watch programs at a more convenient time.

• Tent-pole production: A blockbuster movie or other media production that is expected to generate high revenue and attract a large audience, which can be used to promote other productions or products.

• Trust ownership: A form of media ownership in which the company is owned by a trust or foundation, rather than by individuals or corporations.

• Unique Selling Point (USP): A characteristic or feature of a product, service, or brand that sets it apart from its competitors and makes it unique.

• User-generated content: Content created by members of the public rather than by professional producers or journalists.

• Vertical integration: A form of media ownership in which a single company controls the production, distribution, and exhibition of a media text.

• Video on demand (VOD): A media distribution model that allows viewers to watch video content on demand, rather than at a scheduled broadcast time.

• Xerography: A photocopying process invented by Chester Carlson in 1938.