Media Definitions

Definitions

Anchorage. Anchorage is when a piece of media uses another piece of media to reduce the amount of connotations in the first, therefore allowing the audience to interpret it much more easily. For instance, in a newspaper, pictures are accompanied by a caption that allows us to understand what the picture is showing us.

Constructed Media. The process by which a media text is shaped and given meaning through a process that is subject to a variety of decisions and is designed to keep the audience interested in text. 

Representation. Representation is how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience.

Stereotypes. These are a simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated.

Counter stereotypes. Are  positive stereotypes. They Focus on positive elements of a group traditionally represented as bad.

Identity. Is a socially and historically constructed concept. ... Social and cultural identity is inextricably linked to issues of power, value systems, and ideology . The media uses representations—images, words, and characters or personae—to convey specific ideas and values related to culture and identity in society.

Mediation. Every time we encounter a media text, we are not seeing reality, but someone’s version of it.

ideology. These are ideas and beliefs, held by media producers, which are often represented in their media texts.

Social power. In social science and politics, power is the ability to influence or outright control the behaviour of people. The term "authority" is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure.

Caricature. a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.

Media language.

Narrative. a spoken or written account of connected events

Mise en scene. the arrangement of the scenery and the props, {props}

Editing. correcting, condensing, and modifying 

Camera work.

•Emotive Language – the use of language to generate specific emotional reactions in the target audience

•Headlines – The text highlighting the main story being given priority by the producers of the print media text. Often designed to be eye-catching.

•Inverted pyramid structure - Newspaper stories start with the main events. Then they give more details and eyewitness comments in short paragraphs. The paragraphs at the end of the story are less important than those at the beginning. This allows sub-editors to shorten stories by cutting paragraphs from the end.

•Layout – How the print media text has been designed and formatted.

•Masthead - The top section of a newspaper which gives the paper’s title, price and date

•Sans Serif font – Font type which does not have lines perpendicular to the ends of letters e.g. Comic Sans – often seen as more contemporary. Think of Apple’s advertising.

•Serif font – Font type which does have lines perpendicular to the ends of letters e.g. Times New Roman – generally seen as more traditional or higher class.

•Splash – The front page story

•Sub-headings – Smaller, typically one line headlines for other stories.

•Tabloid - Smaller newspapers aimed at a large audience. News is reported in less depth and emphasises human interest stories. The language level is lower, paragraphs and stories shorter, with more use of images. Content often includes more celebrities, media news and gossip. Examples: The Sun, The Mail, The Mirror, The Express

•Text to image ratio – This involves considering how weighted the print media text is with regards to text and image – you need to ask yourself why the ratio exists.

•Typography – The collective term when considering elements of print media relating to the style of the text such as the font, colour, serif, sans serif etc.

Hegemony. the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others.

•Banners – Typically found at the top or bottom of a print media text.

•Broadsheet - Large format newspapers that report news in depth, often with a serious tone and higher level language. News is dominated by national and international events, politics, business, with less emphasis on celebrities and gossip. Examples: The Independent, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph

•Byline - A journalist's name at the beginning of a story.

Captions – Text below an image that describes the image or informs the audience who

•took the image.

Copy - Main text of a story.

•Coverlines – Captions on a magazine front cover

Connotations- An abstract meaning or intention of a term

Semiotics- The study of signs and symbols and their use of interpretation

Main Coverline- 

Tag- 

Header- 

Left third- 

‘puff’- 

•media language: how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings

•media representations: how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups

•media industries: how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms

•media audiences: how media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences interpret and respond to them and how members of audiences become producers themselves.

•‘media product’ refers to media texts, such as television programmes, newspapers, radio programmes etc., as well as to online, social and participatory media platforms

•‘intertextuality’ refers to the way aspects of a particular media product relate to another and thus accrue additional significance.

Decoding = understanding a media text

 Codes = can be visual (you can see them) or aural (you can hear them). Codes have symbolic value. For example in our society wearing a pair of glasses (glasses are the code) symbolises, or connotates, that you are clever. TV drama, magazines and videogames use these symbolic codes to generate character types and character archetypes.

What is Public Service Broadcasting?

In the United Kingdom, the term "public service broadcasting" refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests.