Key terms/ Theories Flashcards
Denotation
The surface meaning of a sign – what you see
Polysemic
A sign can have many different connotations/interpretations depending on the audience
Mediation
How the maker/producer draws on all possible ideas and resources to present their version of events/perspective to you
passive audience
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
Active audience
An active audience suggests that audiences interact with media
Hypodermic Needle Theory
media inject messages into brains of audiences and are controlled by these messages, if you watch something voilemt you will act violent etc
audience reception theory
according to stuart hall, audiences react to media in 3 different ways
-preferred reading
negotiated reading
opppositional reading
horizontal integration
an organisation develops by buying up competitors in the same section of the market
Vertical integration
an institution has shares or owns each part of the production and distribution process
Power and Media Theory
- 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
conglomerate
a large corporation that owns a large number of media companies
cerebal pleasure
Pleasures of the mind rather than the body.
convergence
The coming together of technologies and institutions to create a new product or media experience.
Guerillla merketing
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.
Hegemony
The dominance in the media of a particular social group. For example, in the UK, middle class people dominate the media workforce.
media synergy
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.
Monopoly
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.
Oligopoly
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.
typography
The design and arrangement of written material for a printed page or screen.
unique selling point
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.
Four C’s
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.
Hybridity
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.
SUBJECT-SPECIFIC LEXIS
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.
News values theory
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
