Media and Technology Lecture Notes

A collection of vocabulary flashcards based on the lecture notes about media and technology, focusing on key concepts in media ownership, representation, and ideological interpretation.

Technology

An assemblage of material objects, embodying and reflecting societal elements such as knowledge, norms, and attitudes, structured to serve social, political, cultural, and existential purposes.

Ownership

The state of possessing media outlets; can be public (government-owned) or private (commercially-owned).

Public Media

Media that is owned by the government, supported by public funding and advertising, such as CBC, NFB, and TVOntario.

Private Media

Media owned by commercial firms focused on survival/growth and profit, examples include Bell and Rogers.

Horizontal Integration

A type of media ownership where one company owns different locations of the same business, such as owning multiple newspapers across Canada.

Vertical Integration

A type of media ownership where one company links different stages of production, distribution, and exhibition, such as Quebecor owning TVA and Videotron.

Cross-Ownership

A type of ownership where one company owns different types of media, such as Bell Media owning both television (CTV) and radio (TSN Radio) properties.

Conglomerate Ownership

Ownership by a single company of both media and non-media businesses, exemplified by the Irving Group which owns newspapers, oil, and shipbuilding.

Dominant Ideology

The set of ideas and viewpoints held by the capitalist class or other powerful groups, which reflect in media content.

Encoding

The process by which meanings become embedded in media content, often unintentionally due to various factors.

Decoding

The process by which an audience interprets media texts, which can be dominant-hegemonic, oppositional, or negotiated.

Alternative Media

Forms of communication used by subordinate groups or social movements to challenge and present messages opposing the dominant ideology.