Media Language Terminology Flashcards
You will be shown a piece of media language terminology which you must define.
Sign/Code
Something which communicates meaning (e.g. colours, sounds etc.). The meaning of a sign can change according to context.
Binary Opposites?
A pair of related concepts that are opposite in meaning & values.
Brand Identity
The association the audience makes with a brand that has been built up over time and reinforced by advertising campaigns and their placement.
Broadsheet
A larger newspaper that publishes more serious news.
Connotation
The meaning attached to something.
Convergence
The coming together of previously separated media industries, often as a result of technological advances.
Cover Lines (Magazine)
These suggest content to the magazine reader and often contain teasers and rhetorical questions.
Cross-Platform Marketing
A text that is distributed and exhibited across a range of media formats or platforms.
Demographic
Consumers categorised based on age, sex, income, profession etc. Categories range from A to E with A and B being the wealthiest and most influential members of society.
Denotation
The description of what you can see/hear.
Diegetic Sound
Sound that can be seen, coming from within the world of the media text.
Enigma Code
A narrative device which increases tension and audience interest by only releasing bits of information.
Feature (Magazine)
The main story.
Four Cs
Cross Cultural Consumer Characteristics - A way of categorising consumers into groups through their motivational needs. The main groups are Mainstreamers, Aspirers, Explorers, Succeeders and Reformers.
Franchise
A collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series.
Gatekeepers
The people responsible for deciding the most appropriate stories to appear in the newspapers.
Genre
Grouping media texts with similar features, codes and conventions.
Hegemonic Male Representation
The idea that the dominant social position in society is taken by men.
Horizontal Integration
Where a conglomerate is made up of different companies that produce and sell similar products.
Conglomerate
A large organisation that has interests in a number of different businesses or industries.
Distribution
The strategies used to release, market and promote the product.
Vertical Integration
A company owns most or all of the chain of production.
Mainstream, High-Concept Film
Easy to sell to a wide audience as it delivery upon an easy-to-grasp idea.
House Style (Magazine)
The colours, layout and design, font, content and general ‘look’ that makes the magazine recognisable to its reader.
Hybrid Genre
Media Texts that incorporate elements of more than one genre and are therefore more difficult to classify.
Technical Codes
Camera Shots, Camera Angles, Editing, Audio.
Visual Codes
Clothing, Expression, Gesture, Technique.
Iconography
Props, costumes, objects and backgrounds associated with a particular genre.
Intertextual
One media text makes reference to aspects of another text.
Layout
The way in which a page has been designed to attract a target audience.
Masculinity
The perceived characteristics generally considered to define what it is to be a man.
Mise-en-scène
Everything in a frame and how the combination of these images creates meaning.
Mode of Address
The way in which a media text ‘speaks to’ its target audience.
Narrative
The ‘story’ that is being told by the media text.
News Agenda
The list of stories that may appear in a particular paper.
Niche Audience
A relatively small audience with specialised interests, tastes, and backgrounds.
Non-Diegetic Sound
Sound that is out of shot and not coming from the immediate world of the media text.
Non-Linear Narrative
The narrative manipulates time and space, and may include time-jumping and flashbacks.
Open World (Gaming)
The player can move freely through 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.
Otherness
A term used by both Stuart Hall and Manuel Alvarado to explore how different ethnic groups after often defined by how different they are.
Political Bias
A newspaper may show support for a political party through its choice of stories, style of coverage, cartoons etc.
Public Service Broadcaster
A radio and television broadcaster that is independent of government, financed by public money through the licence fee and is seen to offer a public service by catering for a range of tastes.
Red Top
A British newspaper that has its name in red at the top of the front page. These are not considered to be as serious as other newspapers.
Regulator
A person or body that supervises a particular industry.
Representation
The way in which key sections of society are portrayed by the media, e.g. gender, race, age, the family, etc.
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.
Splash (Newspaper)
The story that is given the most prominence on the front page of a newspaper.
Stereotype
An exaggerated, oversimplified representation of someone or something. It is also where a certain group is associated with a certain set of characteristics. Stereotypes can also be quick ways of communicating information in adverts and dramas.
Stripped (Radio)
A technique used in radio and television whereby a certain programme is broadcast at the same time every day. This can attract certain audiences.
Sub-Genre
When a larger genre is subdivided into smaller genres each of which has their own set of codes and conventions.
Subject-Specific Lexis
The specific language and vocabulary used to engage the audience.
Synergy
The interaction and co-operation of two or more media organisations in order to produce mutually beneficial outcomes.
Tabloid
This refers to the dimensions of a newspaper, a tabloid is smaller and more compact in size. However, there are further connotations attached to the term as it also tends to refer to newspapers whose content focuses on lighter news.
Viral Marketing
Where the awareness of the product or the advertising campaign is spread through less conventional ways including social networks and the internet.
Masthead (Newspaper)
The name of the paper.
Splash Lead/Headline (Newspaper)
The section of larger font on the front page story.
Plug/Puff (Newspaper)
Usually runs across the front page and advertises what is in the newspaper.
Strapline (Newspaper)
Placed above the main headline and gives more information/anchors about the central image.
Subdeck (Newspaper)
Placed below the main headline and provides more information on the splash story.
Crossheads (Newspaper)
Short headlines that break up the main text to make it easier to read.
Jump line/Lure (Newspaper)
This follows the teaser headline on the front page and encourages the reader to buy the paper to read the full story e.g. Turn to page…
Standfirst
This is a block of text that introduced the article.
