Chapter 1-4

What is media literacy?

An understanding of how the media work, their impact on our lives, and how we can engage with and influence their roles in society.

What are mass media?

Industries that create and distribute cultural products (songs, novels, newspapers, movies, internet services, TV shows, magazines) to large audiences.

What is mass communication?

The creation and use of symbols (like language, motion pictures, binary codes) to convey information and meaning to large, diverse audiences through various channels.

How are mass media and mass communication interrelated?

Mass communication provides the symbolic systems for delivering messages, while mass media are the industries that distribute those messages to large audiences.

What are the stages of a medium before becoming a mass medium?

1) Development (emergence/novelty), 2) Entrepreneurial, 3) Mass medium, 4) Convergence.

What is the digital turn?

A shift characterized by the merging of media technologies, faster internet, powerful devices, and media convergence.

How is the digital turn different from earlier stages?

Earlier stages focused on one medium at a time (print, radio, TV), while the digital turn merges multiple media forms and accelerates communication speed.

What is media convergence?

The merging of content across channels (e.g., print and online) or consolidation of companies to reduce costs and maximize profits.

What is the cultural model of media?

A way of studying media that looks at how media shape culture, how culture shapes media, and how audiences actively interpret media messages.

What does the skyscraper model of culture represent?

Culture as a hierarchy, with high culture (elite, prestigious art) at the top and low/popular culture at the bottom.

Strengths and weaknesses of the skyscraper model?

Strength: Shows cultural distinction and prestige. Weakness: Overly simplistic, dismisses popular culture, and ignores diverse interpretations.

What does the map model of culture represent?

Culture as a complex, ongoing process, where values, tastes, and meanings overlap, interact, and vary across contexts.

Strengths and weaknesses of the map model?

Strength: Reflects cultural diversity, complexity, and audience choice. Weakness: Less clear about standards of cultural value.

What are the values of the modern era?

Efficient work, celebration of the individual, belief in rational order, rejection of tradition in favor of progress.

What are the values of the postmodern period?

Celebration of populism, questioning of authority, embracing of technology.

What are the steps of the critical process in media literacy?

1) Describe, 2) Analyze, 3) Interpret, 4) Evaluate, 5) Engage.

Why are the steps of the critical process important?

They help citizens think critically about media, understand its influence, and actively participate in shaping media culture.

What did the Egyptians invent around 2400 BCE that contributed to book development?

Papyrus

Why did people begin using parchment instead of papyrus?

It was more durable and cheaper.

What was the codex created by the Romans in the 4th century CE?

The first protomodern book.

What was manuscript culture?

A period in the Middle Ages when priests and monks advanced bookmaking with illuminated manuscripts.

What innovations in printing came before the printing press?

Block printing and movable type.

Why was Gutenberg’s printing press (1453–1456) revolutionary?

It allowed mass production of books, spreading knowledge widely, including the Bible.

What industry rose two centuries after the printing press?

The publishing industry.

What shift occurred in publishing houses by the 1950s–1960s?

They were acquired by major corporations tied to international media conglomerates

What types of books are produced by the publishing industry?

Trade books, textbooks, professional books, mass market paperbacks, reference books, religious books, and university press books.

What are e-books and audiobooks?

Digital books and audio-recorded books accessed on e-readers, smartphones, tablets, computers, or via download.

How has convergence changed publishing?

Enabled e-books, audiobooks, and self-publishing.

How are books and other media connected?

Books often inspire TV/films, which in turn help sell books.

What roles exist within a publishing house?

Acquisitions editors, developmental editors, copy editors, design managers, and marketing managers.

What is a book challenge?

An attempt to remove or restrict access to a book due to objections to its content.

Why is censorship a threat to books?

It limits exposure to diverse or alternative ideas.

What is a key modern challenge for physical books?

Deterioration and potential loss of works.

Why have book superstores struggled while independent bookstores have resurged?

Superstores faced online competition, while independents benefitted from community support and niche marketing.

How do books play a vital role in society?

They spread democratic ideas, inspire social change, and preserve knowledge.

What is news?

The process by which people gather information and create narrative reports to make sense of events around them.

How did the invention of the printing press impact news?

It accelerated information sharing and helped enable a partisan press in the American colonies.

What were penny papers?

Cheap, mass-produced newspapers in the 19th century that boosted circulation and made newspapers a mass medium.

What role did wire services like the Associated Press play?

They relayed information via telegraph lines, allowing multiple newspapers to share news quickly across the country and world.

What is yellow journalism?

A sensationalist style of reporting that emphasized scandal, drama, and human-interest stories.

What is the inverted pyramid style?

A style of objective journalism that presents the most important facts at the top and less critical details later.

What is objective journalism?

Reporting that emphasizes neutrality, facts, and balance.

What is interpretive journalism?

Reporting that explains and analyzes the deeper meaning of events, especially in a global, complex society.

What does newsworthy mean?

A standard of journalism that determines which events are important enough to report.

What are some journalistic values?

Neutrality, diversity in newsrooms, the pursuit of a good story, accuracy, and speed.

What ethical standard must journalists follow to maintain credibility?

Avoiding conflicts of interest.

What is a newshole?

The space left for news content in a newspaper after ads are placed.

What is a paywall?

A system that restricts access to online news content unless the reader pays a subscription.

What is citizen journalism?

News reporting and commentary by ordinary people, often via social media or blogs, rather than professional journalists.

How did newspapers become a mass medium during the penny press era?

Low-cost papers reached a wider audience, and content included human-interest stories and local news that appealed to the masses.

What challenges face newspapers today?

Loss of ad revenue, newsroom staff cuts, competition from digital platforms, and the need to adapt to paywalls and online advertising.

How has the definition of “fake news” changed in recent years?

It once referred to intentionally false stories, but now it is also used politically to discredit legitimate reporting.

What does it mean when a U.S. president calls journalists “enemies of the people”?

It undermines journalism’s credibility and portrays critical reporting as untrustworthy or hostile.

What is journalism’s role in a democracy?

To provide accurate information, hold power accountable, and enable citizens to make informed decisions.

What is a magazine?

A collection of articles, stories, and advertisements published on a nondaily cycle, often in a smaller tabloid style.

How did magazines develop in the American colonies?

They provided a space to share ideas about politics and society during the Revolutionary period.

What factors helped magazines move toward mass medium status in the 19th century?

Rising literacy, faster printing technology, and improved mail delivery.

What role did magazines play at the turn of the 20th century?

They became sources of investigative journalism, exposing social problems and corruption.

What were investigative reporters in magazines called?

Muckrakers.

What are general-interest magazines?

Magazines aimed at a broad national audience, covering a wide variety of topics and featuring photojournalism.

What triggered the move toward magazine specialization?

The rise of niche markets and narrower audience interests.

How has the digital turn changed magazines?

They are now seen as multimedia brands, with content across print, websites, mobile apps, and video. Some are print-only, online-only, or exclusively digital startups.

What are trade publications?

Magazines targeted at specific industries or professions.

What are zines?

Small, independently produced magazines, often created by individuals or small groups.

What are supermarket tabloids?

Magazines that specialize in sensationalized, celebrity-driven, or gossip-oriented content.

What is branded content in magazines?

Advertising designed to look like editorial material, blending marketing with journalism.

What is pass-along readership?

The number of people who read a single copy of a magazine beyond the original purchaser.

What are regional editions of magazines?

Versions of a national magazine tailored to the interests of specific geographic areas.

What are split-run editions?

Magazines with the same editorial content but different regionally targeted advertisements.

What are demographic editions?

Magazines targeting specific groups of consumers based on characteristics such as age, gender, or income.

What are evergreen subscriptions?

Automatically renewing magazine subscriptions that continue until canceled by the subscriber.

What are magalogs?

A hybrid of a magazine and a retail catalog, designed to market products.

How did magazines serve democratic society in their early history?

By providing a national voice, uniting communities, and fostering debate about social and political issues.

How do magazines serve democracy today?

While less unifying, they continue to influence culture, provide diverse viewpoints, and hold power accountable.

What occurred during the development stage of sound recording?

Inventors experimented with sound technology.

What characterized the entrepreneurial stage of sound recording?

Individuals and companies tried to profit from new sound technologies.

Sound recording entered the mass medium stage when entrepreneurs learned how to cheaply _____ and _____ recordings to large audiences.

produce, distribute

What 1940s innovation allowed for commercial stereo recording?

The introduction of audiotape.

analog recording

A method that captures sound waves as continuous signals on physical media like records or tapes.

What is digital recording?

A method that converts sound into binary code (0s and 1s), which is the basis for CDs, MP3s, and streaming.

What digital recording innovation was introduced in the 1970s?

Compact discs (CDs).

How did the MP3 format revolutionize the music industry?

It made widespread digital downloading and music streaming possible.

What two early genres formed the foundation of pop music?

Blues and jazz.

How did rock and roll culturally impact American society in its early days?

It broke down racial divisions by uniting audiences across race and class.

What was 'cover music' in the early rock and roll era?

The practice of white artists recording versions of Black musicians’ songs, often undermining the original performers

The mix of country and rhythm & blues that reflected early rock's racial blending is known as _____.

rockabilly

What are 'indies' in the music industry?

Independent record labels that produce and promote music outside major corporate control

What is the primary function of A&R (artist and repertoire) agents in the music industry?

They discover new talent and help shape artists’ recordings and careers.

Besides physical sales, name two major revenue streams for artists and music companies.

Digital downloads, streaming royalties, and licensing fees.

What is the purpose of the Music Modernization Act of 2018?

To simplify and standardize royalty payments for artists from online streaming services

Why might popular music deserve First Amendment protection?

Because it expresses ideas, emotions, and social commentary central to democratic discourse.

How did the recording industry survive the dual threats of radio and the Great Depression?

By focusing on higher-quality music and celebrity artists, with radio later helping to promote record sales

In what two contrasting ways did rock and roll affect racial inequalities?

It brought Black and white audiences together but also allowed white artists to profit from Black musicians’ work.

Why did hip-hop and punk emerge in the late 1970s and 1980s?

Both genres reacted against social inequality and mainstream commercial music, valuing authenticity and rebellion.

How did the digital turn alter the primary revenue model for the recording industry?

Streaming replaced physical sales as the dominant revenue source, leading to lower per-stream earnings for artists.

What 1840s invention began the era of electronic communication by sending electrical signals over wires?

the telegraph

The discovery of radio waves and _____ enabled the development of wireless communication.

electromagnetic waves

What is the difference between narrowcasting and broadcasting?

Narrowcasting is point-to-point communication, while broadcasting is one-to-many communication.

What event prompted the Radio Act of 1912, which required licensing for radio transmitters?

The sinking of the Titanic.

What did the Radio Act of 1927 establish?

It created the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) to issue licenses and regulate radio channels