AQA A Level Media Studies Subject Specific Vocab

ABC figures

Data measuring media reach across platforms by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Advertising campaign

Comprehensive promotion by an agency showcasing product benefits through various mediums.

Agenda setting

Media institution prioritizing and emphasizing stories to reflect its values.

Bardic function

Media's role as a storyteller and information provider in culture.

Brand identity

Image projected by a brand and associated audience perceptions.

Bricolage

Creating something new by borrowing from different styles.

Broadsheet

Newspapers focusing on hard news.

By-line

Line naming the writer in a newspaper/magazine article.

Call to action

Instruction to provoke an immediate audience response.

Date line

Line indicating the date of publication for a media article.

Decoding

Audience interpretation process of a message.

Demographics

Statistical data based on age, gender, ethnicity, income, etc.

Active audience

Media consumers engaging with content actively due to personal and social contexts.

Advertorial

An advertisement presented as editorial content in the creator's style.

Anchorage

Media language choices reinforcing intended meaning.

Antagonist

Character disrupting the protagonist's goals in a plot.

Archetype

Universal character type found in various media, like anti-hero or hero.

Audience

Individuals consuming a media product.

Audience positioning

Media's approach to influencing audience interpretation.

Avatar

Player's in-game representation in gaming.

BARB

Broadcasters' Audience Research Board - UK TV viewing data collector.

BBFC

British Board of Film Classification - UK film content regulator.

Binary opposite

Structured pairs reflecting opposing values, like good and evil.

Binary opposition

Conflict between opposing ideas driving narratives.

Binge watching

Sequential viewing of multiple TV episodes.

Brand

Product marketed under a specific name, logo, and design.

Brand ambassador

Individual paid to endorse a product or service.

Denotation

Literal meaning of signs.

Deregulation

Relaxing state-imposed media controls.

Desensitisation

Audience reduced empathy due to media exposure to violence.

Diegesis

Story communication from within the represented world.

Diegetic sound

Sound from the world of film or TV.

Digital native

Person adept with digital tech from an early age.

Diversification

Corporations expanding into various media forms.

Duopoly

Market controlled by two companies.

Editing

Post-production content preparation for audience.

Effects theories

Theoretical ideas on media's impact on audiences.

Ellipsis

Incomplete sentences requiring consumer completion.

Emerging media

Communication via new tech platforms.

Encode

Communicating ideas through signs.

Enculturation

Media's role in teaching social norms.

Enigma

Unanswered question engaging the audience.

Equilibrium/disequilibrium

Todorov's narrative theory balance disruption.

Essentialisation

Attributing fixed traits to someone.

Ethics

Principles upheld in media.

Ethnicity

Cultural identity based on customs, food, dress.

Ethnocentric

Applying one's culture norms to others.

Exhibition

Places where films are viewed.

Exotic other

Perceived as different or foreign.

House Style

Distinctive design elements setting a product apart.

Hybrid

Media combining different forms to create a new type.

Hyperlink

Clickable element linking to another file or object.

Hyperreality

Inability to differentiate reality from its simulation.

Hypodermic Syringe Model

Outdated theory suggesting immediate media influence on mass audience.

Icon

A sign resembling what it represents.

Iconography

Visual images within a media product like costumes.

Ideology

System of ideas shaping beliefs and values.

Ident

Short visual image identifying a channel or radio station.

Implosion

Collapse of meaning in media due to sign proliferation.

Independent Media

Media companies operating outside major industry players.

Index

A sign related to the object or concept it represents.

Institutions

Organizations creating and distributing media texts.

Interactivity

Audience active involvement with media content.

Interpellation

Process drawing audience attention to make an announcement.

Intertextuality

Referencing other texts to create meaning.

IPSO

Independent regulator of UK newspaper and magazine industry.

Jingle

Short catchy music/slogan used in advertising.

Jump Line

Journalism term indicating continuation or start of an article.

Juxtaposition

Placing contrasting elements close together.

Left Wing

Political views left of the centre of ideologies.

Let's Play Video

Video series documenting the playthrough of a game.

Lifestyle Magazine

Magazine focusing on lifestyle topics like health or beauty.

Linear Narrative

Plot progressing logically without flashbacks.

Links

Clickable elements directing users to different web pages.

Logo

Visual image identifying a brand or company.

Oppositional reading

Disagrees with intended message of a media product.

Orders of signification

Barthes' denotation and connotation distinction.

Paradigm

In Hall's model, opposing media message interpretation.

Parallel action

Narrative device showing simultaneous scenes.

Para-social interaction

Illusion of face-to-face relations in media.

Participatory media

Audience involvement in media creation.

Passive audience

Audience that observes media without interaction.

Pastiche

Imitating style or content of other media.

Patriarchy

Society benefiting male power structure.

PEGI

Pan European Game Information age ratings organization.

Pitch

Idea outline for media product creation.

Platform

Distribution method like print, broadcast, e-media.

Plot

Main events of a storyline.

Pluralism

Power dispersion among societal groups.

Political economy

Study of social relations in resource production.

Polysemic

Sign with multiple meanings.

Post feminism

Theories acknowledging second wave feminism changes.

Postmodernism

Rejecting modernism traditions for media saturation.

Post-production

Work after image capture for media.

Preferred reading/Intended meaning

Producers' intended audience interpretation.

Pre-production

Planning before media production.

Pre-title sequence

Hooking audience at TV program start.

Primary research

New research for specific questions.

Prime time

Peak radio and TV audience times.

Privatisation

Company sale to private ownership.