Chapter 7 Terms

Question 1

cultural convergence

Answer 1

the flow of content across multiple media, and the accompanying migration of media audiences

Question 2

digital divide

Answer 2

the relative lack of access to the latest technologies among low income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and the citizens of developing countries

Question 3

dominant ideology

Answer 3

a set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests

Question 4

gatekeeping

Answer 4

the process by which a relatively small number of people in the media industry control what material eventually reaches the audience

Question 5

mass media

Answer 5

print and electronic means of communication that carry messages to widespread audiences

Question 6

narcotizing dysfunction

Answer 6

the phenomenon in which the media provide such massive amounts of coverage that the audience becomes numb and fails to act the information, regardless of how compelling the issue

Question 7

netizen

Answer 7

a person who is actively involved in online communities and is commited to the free flow of information, with a few outside controls

Question 8

opinion leader

Answer 8

someone who influences the opinions and decisions of others through day-to-day personal contact and communication

Question 9

stereotype

Answer 9

an unreliable generalization about all the members of a group that does not recognize individual difference within the group