Intro to Mass Media: Midterm Vocab

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Marshall McLuhan

1960s English professor who wrote 2 books that reshaped media studies for years to come after, also coined the quote “The medium is the message”

Free Speech

The right, from the constitution, to express any opinions without censorship or restraint

Protected Speech

The ability to say anything with the exception of incitement, true threats of violence, defamation, obscenity, and fraud

Mass Communication

Information transmitted to large audiences through use of media

Media

The plural of medium; anything (print, digital, electronic) that holds information that can be shared

Mass Media

Means of communication designed to reach a large audience

Propaganda

Communication that distorts truth, spread with the intent to persuade its audience for ideological, political, or commercial purposes

Postmodern Age

2nd half of the 20th century with the rise of the internet, focused on skepticism, celebration of differences, and instability in ideas

Modern Age

Late 19th century and early 20th century, focused on stability, reason, and absolute truth based on globalization

Early Modern

Began with Johannes Gutenberg inventing the printer press in 15th century, focused on literacy, educational reform, transportation, and better infrastructure

Late Modern

Around the time of the Industrial Revolution, American Revolution, and French Revolution, focused on ideas of democracy with increased production of media due to better technologies

Intellectual Properties

The protection of the economic and individual creative rights of the originator of a creative work

Public Domain

Work not protected by any form of copyright and thus is available for public use; works usually go into the public domain ~70 years after its originator’s death

Media Convergence

The sharing of tasks and resources between previously distinct technologies

Convergence

The merging of information and resources, with 5 kinds relating to media

Economic Convergence

One company controls multiple products and services in one industry

Organic Convergence

Consuming multiple forms of media at once

Cultural Convergence

Stories shared across multiple forms of media

Global Convergence

Geographically distant cultures influence one another through shared ideas

Technological Convergence

Merging of technologies with multiple features now on one device or medium

Gatekeepers

Control what information to withhold from the public, including reporters deciding what sources to use or editors deciding what to cut from stories

Tastemakers

Individuals that influence the public to indulge in a specific media or trend

Media Literacy

The ability to analyze, decode, and process the messages and symbols transmitted in media

Agenda Setting Theory

Mass media determines what issues concern the public rather than the public’s views; focuses on issues that recieve the most attention

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Consumers use media to satisfy specific needs and desires

Spiral of Silence Theory

Individuals with minority opinions will remain silent for fear of receiving backlash

Symbolic Interactionism

The self is developed based on human interaction with shared symbols in media

Media Logic Theory

Common media styles, like news broadcasts, are used to percieve the world and interpret reality

Media Dependency Theory

Individuals heavily rely on media for information, entertainment, and social interaction

Direct Effect Theory

Audiences passively accept media messages and exhibit predictable reactions

Cultivation Analysis Theory

Heavy exposure to specific media causes individuals to develop a warped view of the world based on repetitive and consistent messages

Rhetorical Analysis

Examining literary styles used in media and attempting to understand the messages that those styles convey

Social Role Analysis

Examining the role of individuals in society and how that contributes to their influence

Social Cognitive Model

People can both influence and be influenced by their environment

Framing Model

How something is presented to an audience influences how they perceive it

Passive Audience

Audiences simply accept the message that media sends without effort to comment or resist

Active Audience

Audiences are fully aware of the message that media sends and makes informed decisions on how to process and interact with it

Media Bias

The strengthening of a typically political opinion through coverage on that specific topic

Focus Group

Participants are put in a group that establishes a group dynamic similar to normal media consumption in order to gauge how the public normally reacts to information

Depth Interviews

Participant specific questions are asked to gain a fuller understanding of the individuals

Participant Observation

Researchers join the groups they are studying to observe the behavior within

Johannes Gutenberg

Inventor of the printing press and the Gutenberg Revolution, in which he printed Bibles but it failed given nobody at the time could read

The Big Six

The six major book publishing companies, including:

• Random House

• Penguin Group / Pearson

• Hachette

• HarperCollins

• Simon & Schuster

• Macmillan / Holtzbrinck

Pulp Stories

Sensational tales of murder, prostitution, and gangster violence OR fantastical stories of aliens or monsters, low culture and popular with readers

Print Run

All copies made in one setup of printing for testing of durability and sales

Mass-Market Paperback

Small, inexpensive editions sometimes issued as hardcover but most genres are only printed this way

Trade Paperback

Larger and better quality paper print that are the same size as other paperbacks

Orphan Works

Works in the public domain with no sense of who the original copyright owner is, leaving them “orphaned”

Self-Publishing

System involving an author — with no third party — in charge of producing and publishing a work themselves

On Spec

When an author writes a book before knowing if it will be picked up by a publisher

Royalties

A share of the net amount that the publisher recieves

Economies of Scale

The more of something that is printed (ex. books), the cheaper the cost will be for consumers to buy

Benjamin Harris

Originally an editor in England who fleed to America, he brought newspapers to American Colonies in September of1960 by printing “Public Occurences, Both FORREIGN & DOMESTICK”

Newspaper Preservation Act

Following readership decline in the 1970s, it authorized Joint Operating Agreements (JOAs)

Joint Operating Agreements (JOAs)

Allowed two newspapers to share cost of business, advertising, and circulation operations while still keeping their news separate

Masthead Motto

“All the News That’s Fit to Print”, used by the New York Times since 1896

Masthead

The title of a newspaper at the head of the front or editorial page

Op-Ed

Opposite the editorial page, devoted to commentary and opinionated pieces

Editorial Page

Where a newspaper publishes current events

Wire Service

Agency supplying news by wire to other newspapers, radio, and television stations

Sensationalism

Stories focused on crime, violence, emotion, and sex that increased with the rise of Yellow Journalism and increased competition

Advocacy Journalism

Promotes a particular cause and intentionally adopts a biased, nonobjective viewpoint that still adheres to strict guidelines

Precision Journalism

Promotes accurate and objective views

Conflict Journalism

Defines news in terms of societal discord, covering news on national/international levels of topics that go against societal norms

Consensus Journalism

Smaller scale, covering local news and featuring multiple local voices

Journalist Bloggers

AKA Beatbloggers, use blogs to engage readers by interacting with them, using them as sources, involving them in the research, crowdsourcing ideas, etc.

Watchdog Journalism

Providing the public with insider information about government officials or business owners through extensive research and rigorous investigation

Elite Stage

Most expensive stage of development, where it is accessible only to the “highest educated” individuals with the most money who can afford it and make use of it

Popular Stage

Cheaper stage of development, where the product or service is now available to the public

Specialized Stage

Media breaks up into segments for audience members of diverse, specialized interests

Muckrakers

Originally coined by Teddy Roosevelt during his presidency, they are investigative journalists who dig up and uncover the “dirt” of society, pointing out the bad

Postal Act of 1879

Reduced the rates of magazine development to a penny a pound to allow magazines to be distributed by mail