EDUQAS A-Level Media Studies Glossary

ACTION CODE

Something that happens in the narrative that tells the audience that some action will follow, for example in a scene from a soap opera, a couple are intimate in a bedroom and the camera shows the audience the husband's car pulling up at the front of the house.

ACTIVE AUDIENCE

Audiences actively engage in selecting media products to consume and interpreting their meanings.

ANCHORAGE

The words that accompany an image (still or moving) contribute to the meaning associated with that image. If the caption or voice-over is changed then so may the way in which the audience interprets the image. An image with an anchor is a closed text; the audience are given a preferred reading. A text without an anchor is an open text as the audience can interpret it as they wish.

APPEAL

The way in which products attract and interest an audience, e.g. through the use of stars, familiar genre conventions etc.

ARC OF TRANSFORMATION

The emotional changes a character goes through in the process of the narrative. The events in the story mean that they will 'transform' by the end of the story.

ASPIRATIONAL

In terms of a media text, one that encourages the audience to want more money, up-market consumer items and a higher social position.

ATTRACT

How media producers create appeal to audiences to encourage them to consume the product.

AUDIENCE CATEGORISATION

How media producers group audiences (e.g. by age, gender ethnicity) to target their products.

AUDIENCE CONSUMPTION

The way in which audiences engage with media products (e.g. viewing a TV programme, playing a video game, reading a blog or magazine). Methods of consumption have changed significantly due to the development of digital technologies.

AUDIENCE INTERPRETATION

The way in which audiences 'read' the meanings in, and make sense of, media products.

AUDIENCE POSITIONING

The way in which media products place audiences (literally or metaphorically) in relation to a particular point of view. For example, audiences may be positioned with a particular character or positioned to adopt a specific ideological perspective.

AUDIENCE RESPONSE

How audiences react to media products e.g. by accepting the intended meanings (preferred reading).

AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION

Where a target audience is divided up due to the diversity and range of programmes and channels. This makes it difficult for one programme to attract a large target audience.

AUDIO

How sound is used to communicate meaning - voice-over, dialogue, music, SFX, etc.

AVATAR

A player's representation of themselves within a game.

BACK STORY

Part of a narrative which may be the experiences of a character or the circumstances of an event that occur before the action or narrative of a media text. It is a device that gives the audience more information and makes the main story more credible.

BINARY OPPOSITES

Where texts incorporate examples of opposite values; for example, good versus evil, villain versus hero. These can be apparent in the characters, narrative or themes.

BRAND IDENTITY

The association the audience make with the brand, for example Chanel or Nike, built up over time and reinforced by the advertising campaigns and their placement.

BROADSHEET

A larger newspaper that publishes more serious news, for example The Daily Telegraph has maintained its broadsheet format.

CAMERA ANGLES

The angle of the camera in relation to the subject. For example, a high angle shot (shot of a character from above) may make them appear more vulnerable.

CAMERA SHOTS

The type of shot and framing in relation to the subject, for example, close-up shots are often used to express emotion.

CAPTION

Words that accompany an image that help to explain its meaning.

CHANNEL IDENTITY

That which makes the channel recognisable to audiences and different from any other channel. Presenters, stars, programme genres and specific programmes all contribute to a channel's identity.

CIRCULATION

The dissemination of media products to audiences/users - the method will depend on the media form e.g. circulation of print magazines, broadcast of television programmes etc.

CONNOTATION

The suggested meanings attached to a sign, e.g., the red car in the advert suggests speed and power.

CONVENTIONS

What the audience expects to see in a particular media text, for example the conventions of science fiction films may include: aliens, scientists, other worlds, gadgets, representations of good and evil, etc.

CONVERGENCE

The coming together of previously separate media industries and/or platforms; often the result of advances in technology whereby one device or platform contains a range of different features.

COVER LINES

These suggest the content to the reader and often contain teasers and rhetorical questions. These relate to the genre of the magazine.

CROSS-PLATFORM MARKETING

In media terms, a text that is distributed and exhibited across a range of media formats or platforms.

CULTURAL CAPITAL

The media tastes and preferences of an audience, traditionally linked to social class/background.

DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORY

A group in which consumers are placed according to their age, sex, income, profession, etc. The categories range from A to E where categories A and B are the wealthiest and most influential members of society.

DENOTATION

The literal meaning of a sign, e.g. the car in the advert is red.

DIEGETIC SOUND

Sound that comes from the fictional world, for example the sound of a gun firing, the cereal being poured into the bowl in an advert, etc.

DISCOURSE

The topics, language and meanings or values behind them within a media text.

DISTRIBUTION

The methods by which media products are delivered to audiences, including the marketing campaign.

DIVERSIFICATION

Where media organisations who have specialised in producing media products in one form move into producing content across a range of forms.

EDITING

The way in which the shots move from one to the other (transitions), e.g. fade, cut, etc.

ENCODING AND DECODING

Media producers encode messages and meanings in products that are decoded, or interpreted, by audiences.

ENIGMA CODE

A narrative device which increases tension and audience interest by only releasing bits of information, for example teasers in a film trailer or narrative strands that are set up at the beginning of a drama/film that make the audience ask questions; part of a restricted narrative.

EQUILIBRIUM

In relation to narrative, a state of balance or stability (in Todorov's theory the equilibrium is disrupted and ultimately restored).

ETHNOCENTRIC

A belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture. For example, a newspaper will be more concerned to cover stories that are closely related to the reader and their concerns.

ETHOS

The beliefs, values and customs of, for example, media organisations. In television, for example, what the channel believes in and what it sees as its role.

FAN

An enthusiast or aficionado of a particular media form or product.

FEATURE

In magazine terms, the main, or one of the main, stories in an edition. Features are generally located in the middle of the magazine, and cover more than one or two pages.

FLEXI NARRATIVE

A more complex narrative structure with layers of interweaving storylines. This challenges the audience and keeps them watching.

FOUR CS

This stands for Cross Cultural Consumer Characteristics and was a way of categorising consumers into groups through their motivational needs.

FRANCHISE

An entire series of, for example, a film including the original film and all those that follow.

GATE KEEPERS

The people responsible for deciding the most appropriate stories to appear in newspapers. They may be the owner, editor or senior journalists.

GENRE

Media texts can often be grouped into genres that all share similar conventions.

GLOBAL

Worldwide - e.g. a media product with global reach is a product that is distributed around the world.

HEGEMONY

This derives from the theory of cultural hegemony by Antonio Gramsci. Hegemony is the dominance of one group over another, often supported by legitimating norms and ideas.

HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION

Where a media conglomerate is made up of different companies that produce and sell similar products, often as a result of mergers.

HOUSE STYLE

The aspects that make a magazine recognisable to its readers every issue.

HYBRID GENRE

Media texts that incorporate elements of more than one genre and are therefore more difficult to classify are genre hybrids.

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE MODEL

Generally acknowledged to be an out of date media effects theory which suggests that an audience will have a mass response to a media text.

ICONOGRAPHY

The props, costumes, objects and backgrounds associated with a particular genre.

IDEOLOGY

A set of messages, values and beliefs that may be encoded into media products.

INDEPENDENT FILM

A film made outside of the financial and artistic control of a large mainstream film company.

INDEPENDENT RECORD LABEL

A record label that operates without the funding of, and that is not necessarily linked to, a major record label.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

A legal concept which refers to creations of the mind for which the owner's rights are recognised.

INTERACTIVE AUDIENCE

The ways in which audiences can become actively involved with a product.

INTERTEXTUAL

Where one media text makes reference to aspects of another text within it.

INTERTEXTUALITY

Where one media product intertextually references another.

LAYOUT AND DESIGN

The way in which a page has been designed to attract the target audience.

LINEAR NARRATIVE

Where the narrative unfolds in chronological order from beginning to end.

LUDOLOGY

The study of games and those who play them, relevant to video games.

MASCULINITY

The perceived characteristics generally considered to define what it is to be a man.

MASS AUDIENCE

The traditional idea of the audience as one large, homogenous group.

MEDIA CONGLOMERATE

A company that owns other companies across a range of media platforms.

MEDIA FORMS

Types of media products, for example television, newspapers, advertising.

MEDIA LANGUAGE

The specific elements of a media product that communicate meanings to audiences.

MEDIA PLATFORM

The range of different ways of communicating with an audience.

MEDIATION

The way in which a media text is constructed in order to represent a version of reality.

MISE-EN-SCENE

In analysis of moving image products, how the combination of images in the frame creates meaning.

MISREPRESENTATION

Certain social groups (usually minority groups) may be represented in a way that is inappropriate and not based on reality.

MMORPG

Massively multi-player online role-playing game.

MODE OF ADDRESS

The way in which a media text 'speaks to' its target audience.

NARRATIVE

The 'story' that is told by the media text.

NEWS AGENDA

The list of stories that may appear in a particular paper. The items on the news agenda will reflect the style and ethos of the paper.

NICHE AUDIENCE

A relatively small audience with specialised interests, tastes, and backgrounds.

NON-DIEGETIC SOUND

Sound that comes from outside the fictional world, for example a voiceover, romantic mood music etc.

NON-LINEAR NARRATIVE

Here the narrative manipulates time and space. It may begin in the middle and then include flashbacks and other narrative devices.

OPEN WORLD

In an open world computer game the player can move freely though the virtual world and is not restricted by levels and other barriers to free roaming.

OPINION LEADERS

People in society who may affect the way in which others interpret a particular media text. With regard to advertising, this may be a celebrity or other endorser recommending a product.

PASSIVE AUDIENCE

The idea (now widely regarded as outdated) that audiences do not actively engage with media products, but passively consume and accept the messages that producers communicate.

PATRIARCHAL CULTURE

A society or culture that is male dominated.

PICK AND MIX THEORY

Suggested by British sociologist and media theorist, David Gauntlett. He asserted the autonomy of the audience and challenged the notion that audiences are immediately affected by what they read. He maintains that audiences are more sophisticated than this and will select aspects of the media texts that best suit their needs and ignore the rest.

PLURALITY

In a media context, this refers to a range of content to suit many people.

POLITICAL BIAS

Where a newspaper may show support for a political party through its choice of stories, style of coverage, cartoons, etc. It may be subtle and implicit or explicit as in the case of the tabloid newspapers on election day.

PRIVILEGED SPECTATOR POSITION

Where the camera places the audience in a superior position within the narrative. The audience can then anticipate what will follow.

PRODUCTION

The process by which media products are constructed.

PRODUCTS

Media texts, including television programmes, magazines, video games, newspapers etc. as well as online, social and participatory platforms.

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTER

A radio and television broadcaster that is financed by public money (e.g. the licence fee in the UK) and is seen to offer a public service by catering for a range of audiences and providing information, as well as entertainment.

REALISM

A style of presentation that claims to portray 'real life' accurately and authentically.

REGULATOR

A person or body that supervises a particular industry.

REPERTOIRE OF ELEMENTS

Key features that distinguish one genre from another.

REPRESENTATION

The way in which key groups or aspects of society are presented by the media, e.g. gender, race, age, the family, etc. Literally, a re-representation or constructed version of that which is shown.

SELECTION AND COMBINATION

Media producers actively choose elements of media language and place them alongside others to create specific representations or versions of reality.

SEXUAL OBJECTIFICATION

The practice of regarding a person as an object to be viewed only in terms of their sexual appeal and with no consideration of any other aspect of their character or personality.

SIGN/CODE

Something which communicates meaning, e.g., colours, sounds. The meaning of the sign changes according to the context, e.g., the colour red can mean passion, love, danger or speed depending on how and where it is used.