Convergence and the Reshaping of Mass Media

metaverse

metaverse an online mirror world where users interact in computer-generated environments with other users

day and date release

simultaneously releasing a movie to the pub­lic in some combination of theater, cable, DVD, and download

premium video on demand

paying for individual, on-demand streamed movies

subscription video on demand

pay a monthly fee for a wider variety of options

media multitasking

simultaneously consuming many different kinds of media

convergence

the erosion of traditional distinctions among media

platform agnostic

having no preference where media content is accessed

concentration of ownership

ownership of different and numerous media companies concentrated in fewer and fewer hands

conglomeration

the increase in the ownership of media outlets by nonmedia companies

enterprise reporting

stories written not from press releases, but those journalists discover on their own

news desert

communities starved for news vital to their existences due to a lack of journalistic resources

ghost papers

once-prospering newspapers cut to bare bones in an effort to maximize profits

economies of scale

concept that relative cost declines as the size of the endeavor grows

oligopoly

a media system whose operation is dominated by a few large companies

community information district

special service district paid for by taxes or annual fees assessed in a geographic area to support local journalism

globalization

ownership of media companies by multinational corporations

audience fragmentation

audiences for specific media content becoming smaller and increasingly homogeneous

narrowcasting

aiming broadcast programming at smaller, more demographically homogeneous audiences

niche marketing

aiming media content or consumer products at smaller, more demographically homogeneous audiences

targeting

aiming media content or consumer products at smaller, more specific audiences

streaming ad insertion

insertion into streamed content of individually tailored commercials based on user data

zonecasting

technology allowing radio stations to deliver different commercials to specific neighborhoods

location based mobile advertising

technology allowing marketers to send targeted ads to people where they are in the moment

addressable technology

technology permitting the transmission of very specific content to equally specific audience members

taste publics

groups of people or audiences bound by little more than their interest in a given form of media content

hypercommercialism

increasing the amount of advertising and mixing commercial and noncommercial media content

virtual product placement

sponsored products digitally inserted into existing content after the fact

product placement

the integration, for a fee, of specific branded products into media content

brand entertainment

when commercials are part of and essential to a piece of media content

payola

payment made by recording companies to DJs to air their records

webisode

Web-only television show

wifi

wireless internet

synergy

the use by media conglomerates of as many channels of delivery as possible for similar content

user-generated content

content created by users of a brand and made available for commercial or other promotional use

cost of entry

amount of money necessary to begin media content production

RSS (really simple syndication)

aggregators allowing Web users to create their own content assembled from the Internet’s limitless supply of material

appointment consumption

audiences consume content at a time predetermined by the producer and distributor

consumption on demand

the ability to access any content, anytime, anywhere

cheap speech

information available to people from an almost infinite number and variety of sources, unmediated by traditional media institutions