Key terms/ Theories

Question 1

Denotation

Answer 1

The surface meaning of a sign – what you see

Question 2

Polysemic

Answer 2

A sign can have many different connotations/interpretations depending on the audience

Question 3

Mediation

Answer 3

How the maker/producer draws on all possible ideas and resources to present their version of events/perspective to you

Question 4

passive audience

Answer 4

A passive audience suggests that media has an effect on them.

Accepts media messages
Easily influenced
‘Watch’ media
Controlled by media
Does not make own use of the messages or interpret in own way

Question 5

Active audience

Answer 5

An active audience suggests that audiences interact with media

Question 6

Hypodermic Needle Theory

Answer 6

media inject messages into brains of audiences and are controlled by these messages, if you watch something voilemt you will act violent etc

Question 7

audience reception theory

Answer 7

according to stuart hall, audiences react to media in 3 different ways
-preferred reading
negotiated reading
opppositional reading

Question 8

horizontal integration

Answer 8

an organisation develops by buying up competitors in the same section of the market

Question 9

Vertical integration

Answer 9

an institution has shares or owns each part of the production and distribution process

Question 10

Power and Media Theory

Answer 10

• Curran + Seaton

media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality.
more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions

Question 11

conglomerate

Answer 11

a large corporation that owns a large number of media companies

Question 12

cerebal pleasure

Answer 12

Pleasures of the mind rather than the body.

Question 13

convergence

Answer 13

The coming together of technologies and institutions to create a new product or media experience.

Question 14

Guerillla merketing

Answer 14

The focus of guerilla advertising or marketing is on the creative, the imaginative, the unexpected – something that will generate a social buzz. Based on low-cost unconventional tactics which aim to capture the attention and interest of consumers.

Question 15

Hegemony

Answer 15

The dominance in the media of a particular social group. For example, in the UK, middle class people dominate the media workforce.

Question 16

media synergy

Answer 16

The co-production and/or co-promotion of a related set of media products or services all developed in-house by a large media Corporation.

Question 17

Monopoly

Answer 17

A situation in which one company totally dominates a sector of the marketplace. There is no competition, leaving customers with no choice to buy elsewhere.

Question 18

Oligopoly

Answer 18

A market that is dominated by a few companies that control the supply of the products or services. There is very little competition within an oligopoly and the companies tend to cooperate with each other by keeping prices high.

Question 19

typography

Answer 19

The design and arrangement of written material for a printed page or screen.

Question 20

unique selling point

Answer 20

The factor that makes a specific product or service stand out in comparison to other similar products. The USP of a community radio station could, for example, be that it plays music by local artists or that it features news about the local area.

Question 21

Four C’s

Answer 21

This stands for Cross Cultural Consumer Characteristics and
was a way of categorising consumers into groups through their
motivational needs. The main groups were Mainstreamers,
Aspirers, Explorers, Succeeders and Reformers.

Question 22

Hybridity

Answer 22

Media texts that incorporate elements of more than one genre
and are therefore more difficult to classify. Dr Who, for
example, is a science fiction/fantasy television drama.

Question 23

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC LEXIS

Answer 23

S The specific language and vocabulary used to engage the
audience. Subject-specific lexis used on the front cover of a
magazine will make the reader feel part of the group who
belong to the world of that magazine. For example,
terminology used on the front covers of gaming magazines.

Question 24

News values theory

Answer 24

Galtung + Rouge

• News stories have specific qualities which get them on the front cover

-NEGATIVE elements
-Proximity in location
- Recent events
- Currency - Whether the event is ongoing
UNiqueness
- simplicity
etc

Question 25

binary opposite theory

Answer 25

Claude-Levi strauss

2 things are antitheses, opposites etc

creates conflicts, drama etc

Question 26

Genre theory

Answer 26

Steve Neale

Genre made up of conventions
Differences of texts in genres thrill audiences

Question 27

Femenist theory

Answer 27

Van Zoomen

We get our ideas about gender from the media

ideas about masculinity/femininety change iver time

women objectified in media as we live in a patriarchal culture

Question 28

6 big meida conglomerates

Answer 28

Walt Disney Studios.
Warner Bros.
20th Century Fox.
Paramount Pictures.
Comcast.
Sony.