Mass Communication & Media Literacy: Key Concepts and Media Technologies

What is mass communication?

The process of designing cultural messages and stories and delivering them to large and diverse audiences through mass media channels.

What is interpersonal communication?

Communication between individuals, usually with immediate and direct feedback.

What is mass media?

Media used to communicate messages to large audiences.

What is a mass medium?

One individual mass media channel, such as television, radio, movies, or the Internet.

What are mass media outlets?

Companies or organizations that send messages through mass media.

What are mass media channels?

The technological vehicles through which mass communication takes place.

What is media convergence?

The technological merging of once-distinct and incompatible formats into a single format.

How do we use mass media in our daily lives?

For enjoyment, companionship, surveillance, and interpretation.

What is enjoyment in media?

Using media for entertainment and social currency.

What is social currency?

Information or topics people use as part of everyday conversations.

What is companionship in media?

Using media to feel connected to others.

What is surveillance in media?

Using media to learn what is happening in the world.

What is interpretation in media?

Using media to understand why things happen and what they mean.

What is parasocial interaction?

A psychological connection media users develop with celebrities or other media personalities they learn about through mass media.

What is media literacy?

The ability to describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate media messages.

Why is media literacy important?

It helps people become more engaged citizens and more discerning consumers of mass media.

What are the principles of media literacy?

Media construct our realities, are influenced by industrial and political pressures, are constrained by format, have active audiences, and tell us about who we are as a society.

What does it mean that media construct our individual realities?

Media can influence how we see and understand the world.

What are industrial pressures?

Business and financial pressures that influence media.

What are political pressures?

Political beliefs or interests that influence media.

What does it mean that media are constrained by format?

Each type of media has limits that affect how information is presented.

Are audiences active or passive?

Active. Audiences interpret media messages.

What do media tell us about society?

They can show us who we are and what our society values.

What are stereotypes?

Predictable depictions that reflect and sometimes create cultural prejudices.

What are political ideologies?

Beliefs about who should have the greatest power within a culture.

How can television influence culture?

TV can shape what people see as normal, important, desirable, and true.

What is social commentary?

When media comments on, critiques, or draws attention to issues, norms, or problems in society.

What is the internet?

A global system of interconnected private, public, academic, business, and government computer networks that connects billions of users.

What is ARPA Net?

An early computer network that helped lead to the modern Internet.

What does HTML stand for?

Hypertext Markup Language.

What is HTML used for?

It defines the structure, content, and layout of a webpage using tags.

What are HTML tags?

Codes used to organize and identify parts of a webpage.

What is social media?

An online location where people interact around information, entertainment, and news of their own choosing and often their own making.

What is an algorithm?

A complex set of mathematically based rules search engines use to find websites related to search terms.

What is a natural/organic search result?

A website that appears based on a search engine's algorithm without influence from advertisers.

What are cookies and how do they work?

Computer files that automatically collect and transfer information between a website and a user's browser.

Why are cookies useful?

They can make revisiting a website easier or more personalized.

Why can cookies be a privacy concern?

They can allow companies to track a user's browsing history.

What is data mining and how do advertisers use it?

Data mining is gathering data by online providers of content and merchandise. Advertisers can use it to learn about people's interests and behavior.

What is surveillance capitalism?

Making money by controlling and using the personal data of millions of users.

What is misinformation?

False or inaccurate information.

What is confirmation bias?

Favoring information that agrees with your existing beliefs instead of information that challenges them.

What are advantages of social media?

Meaningful spaces for online communities and global reach.

What are disadvantages of social media?

The spread of misinformation and the amplification of confirmation bias.

What is the CCPA?

The California Consumer Privacy Act, a data protection regulation designed to protect California residents' personal information.

What are the origins of the video game industry?

Early gaming developments included pinball machines, followed by the rise of electronic video games and consoles.

What is a pinball machine?

A coin-operated game where players score points by causing metal balls to move in different directions inside a glass-covered case.

When was an important early development in pinball?

1931.

What is the golden age of video games? When was it?

1978-1985.

What happened during the Golden Age of video games?

Atari released thousands of consoles and video games became increasingly popular.

What are different video game hardware?

Gaming consoles, desktop/laptop computers, handheld devices, interactive motion sensing, mobile gaming, and virtual/augmented reality.

What is video game hardware?

The device or console on which video games are played.

What are examples of gaming consoles?

Xbox and PlayStation.

What are examples of handheld game devices?

Nintendo DS and similar portable systems.

What is virtual reality?

Technology that creates an immersive virtual environment.

What is augmented reality?

Technology that adds digital elements to the real world.

What different types of publishers produce video games?

Video game publishers and third-party publishers.

What are video game publishers?

Companies that coordinate the production of video games.

What are third-party publishers?

Companies unaffiliated with hardware companies that typically create games for multiple systems.

What are the different software genres?

Action, adventure, casual, simulation, strategy, sports, and edutainment.

What are action games?

Games where players use hand-eye coordination and motor skills to overcome physical challenges.

What are examples of action games?

Halo and Street Fighter.

What are adventure games?

Games where players solve puzzles by interacting with people or the environment.

What are examples of adventure games?

Tomb Raider and Myst.

What are casual games?

Games with simple rules and rewards that do not require long-term commitment.

What are examples of casual games?

Jackbox and Farmville.

What are simulation games?

Games involving the creation and cultivation of realistic worlds or tasks.

What are examples of simulation games?

The Sims and flight simulation games.

What are strategy games?

Games requiring careful assessment and wise decisions to win a competition or war.

What is an example of a strategy game?

Civilization.

What are sports games?

Games focused on playing a sport or managing the strategy behind a sport.

What is an example of a sports game?

Madden NFL or Football Manager.

What are edutainment games?

Teaching-oriented video games designed to have educational outcomes.

What are custom games?

Games created specifically for a particular advertiser or purpose.

What are advergames?

Custom games created by advertisers working with game companies or developers to promote their brand.

What are in-game ads?

Ads or products placed directly into the action of a video game.

What is Twitch?

A livestreaming platform where users can watch or broadcast content including video games and music.

When did Amazon purchase Twitch?

2014.

What are esports?

Competitive video gaming.

When does the presentation identify the esports era as beginning?

2020 to now.

What are the three main digital gaming pay models?

Subscription, free-to-play/freemium, and purchasing games through cartridges/retail.

What is the subscription model?

Players pay a recurring fee to access a game.

What is an example of a subscription game?

World of Warcraft.

What is the free-to-play/freemium model?

A game is free to play but can make money through purchases.

What is an example of a freemium game?

Super Mario Run.

What was significant about Grand Theft Auto V?

It had the biggest retail launch in history, according to the presentation.

What are media ethics concerns in video games?

Concerns about women, violence, and gambling.

What were the early beginnings of sound recording?

The phonograph, gramophone, and audiotape.

What is a phonograph?

An early device used to record and play sound.

What is a gramophone?

An early device used to play recorded sound.

What is audiotape?

Magnetic tape used to record and play audio.

What are music genres?

Categories that group pieces of music by shared styles, traditions, or cultural origins.

What are examples of music genres?

Hip-hop, R&B, jazz, pop, rock 'n' roll, soul, rockabilly, and folk.

What is popular music?

Music that appeals to a wide cross-section of the public or sizable subcultures within the larger public.

What changed with the iTunes model?

It allowed legal digital music downloading and changed how people accessed music.

What changed with streaming?

Music shifted from ownership of music to access to music.

What do subscription services do for music?

They drive the access model, allowing people to access large music libraries.

What does A&R stand for?

Artist and repertoire.

What do A&R agents do?

They are talent scouts who discover, develop, and sometimes manage artists.

Who is involved in recording sessions?

The artist, producer, session engineer, and audio technicians.