Media & Culture - Final
communication
the process of creating symbol systems that convey information and meaning
AT&T -> Time Warner
Identify a major media conglomerate and another media conglomerate it is currently trying to buy:
50
In 1983 how many companies controlled 90% of American media
digital online media
In 2012, movie fans accessed more movies through ______ than physical copies for the first time.
6
In 2016 how many companies controlled 90% of American media
Monsanto
In The Corporation which company lobbied to suppress a news story about one of its products:
viewers consider themselves slightly smarter than the characters
In a situation comedy, ______.
cinema verité
French term for truth film, a documentary style that records fragments of everyday life unobtrusively; it often features a rough, grainy look and shaky handheld camera work
oligopolies
Government deregulation and corporate strategy are leading to a mass media industry controlled by ______.
The FCC had to change its position on net neutrality
How did John Oliver's segment on Net Neutrality affect the discussion of this topic?
They use cookies to collect information about a user's Web activity.
How do advertisers direct targeted ads to specific Web site visitors?
40,000
How many cinema screens do we currently have in the US?
films that dealt with such social problems as alcoholism, drug abuse, and racism
In an effort to compete with television in the 1950s, the movie studios began making ______.
phishing
an Internet scam that begins with phony e-mail messages that appear to be from an official site and request that customers send their credit card numbers and other personal information to update their account
Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR)
an FCC regulation that reduced networks' control of prime-time programming to encourage more local news and public affairs programs, often between 6 and 7 p.m.
Adbusters
an activist organization dedicated to exposing manipulative advertising claims
MP3
an advanced type of audio compression that reduces file size, enabling audio to be easily distributed over the Internet and to be digitally transmitted in real time
plain-folks pitch
an advertising strategy that associates a product with simplicity and the common person
famous-person testimonial
an advertising strategy that associates a product with the endorsement of a well-known person
snob-appeal approach
an advertising strategy that attempts to convince consumers that using a product will enable them to maintain or elevate their social station
hidden-fear appeal
an advertising strategy that plays on a sense of insecurity, trying to persuade consumers that only a specific product can offer relief
irritation advertising
an advertising strategy that tries to create product-name recognition by being annoying or obnoxious
bandwagon effect
an advertising strategy that uses exaggerated claims that everyone is using a particular product to encourage consumers to not be left behind
CATV (community antenna television)
an early cable system that originated where mountains or tall buildings blocked TV signals; because of early technical and regulatory limits, only contained twelve channels
partisan press
an early dominant style of American journalism distinguished by opinion newspapers, which generally argued one political point of view or pushed the plan of the particular party that subsidized the paper
studio system
an early film production system that constituted a soft of assembly-line process for moviemaking; major film studios controlled not only actors but also directors, editors, writers, and other employees, all of whom worked under exclusive contracts
kinetoscope
an early film projection system that served as a kind of peep show in which viewers looked through a hole and saw images moving on a tiny plate
kinetograph
an early movie camera developed by Thomas Edison's assistant in the late 1890s
block booking
an early tactic of movie studios to control exhibition, involving pressuring theater operators to accept marginal films with the most popular stars
portal
an entry point to the Internet, such as a search engine
arcade
an establishment that gathers together multiple coin-operated games
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
an independent U.S. government agency charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, cable, and the Internet
indecency
an issue related to appropriate broadcast content; the government may punish broadcasters for indecency or profanity after the fact, and over the years a handful of radio stations have had their licenses suspended or denied over indecent programming
paywall
an online portal that charges consumers a fee for access to news content
media literacy
an understanding of the mass communication process through the development of critical-thinking tools - description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, engagement - that enable a person to become more engaged as a citizen and more discerning as a consumer of mass media products
online fantasy sports
games in which players assemble teams and use actual sports results to determine scores in their online games. These games reach a mass audience, have a major social component, and take a managerial perspective on the game
strategy games
games in which perspective is omniscient and the player must survey the entire "world" or playing field and make strategic decisions
adventure games
games requiring players to interact with individual characters and a sometimes hostile environment in order to solve puzzles
first-person shooter (FPS)
games that allow players to feel as if they are actually holding a weapon and to feel physically immersed in the drama
space brokers
in the days before modern advertising, individuals who purchased space in newspapers and sold it to various merchants
indies
independent music and film production houses that work outside industry oligopolies; they often produce less mainstream music and film
cookies
information profiles about a user that are usually automatically accepted by a Web browser and stored on the user's own computer hard drive
in-game advertisements
integrated, often subtle advertisements, such as billboards, logos, or storefronts in a game, that can be either static or dynamic
content communities
online communities that exist for the sharing of all types of content, from text to photos and videos
search engines
sites or applications that offer a more automated route to finding content by allowing users to enter keywords or queries to locate related web pages
blogs
sites that contain articles in reverse chronological journal-like form, often with reader comments and links to other articles on the Web
spyware
software with secretive codes that enable commercial firms to "spy" on users and gain access to their computers
mass communication
the process of designing and delivering cultural messages and stories to diverse audience through media channels as old as the book and as new as the Internet
development
the process of designing, coding, scoring, and testing a game
critical process
the process whereby a media-literate person or student studying mass communication forms and practices employs the techniques of description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagment
time shifting
the process whereby television viewers record shows and watch them later, when it is convenient for them
digital video
the production format that is replacing celluloid film and revolutionizing filmmaking because the cameras are more portable and production costs are much less expensive
stereo
the recording of two separate channels or tracks of sound
False
T/F Hollywood produces the most movies of any film industry in the world.
False
T/F Hollywood's international sales are a small part of its total revenues
False
T/F It is likely that the US will continue to have more cinema screens than any other country
True
T/F Linux is an example of open-source software.
False
T/F Literary journalism uses the devices of fiction to construct a portrait of the real world using nonfictional material.
True
T/F Many of the program conventions in television originated in radio.
False
T/F Mickey Mouse Monopoly argues that Disney films traditionally promote images of strong, self-reliant women
True
T/F More than half of each hour of network television includes some form of paid sponsorship.
False
T/F Most cinemas still employ analog projection
False
T/F Most of the money earned from the sale of a CD goes to the royalties paid to the artist.
True
T/F Most shooter games have a first-person shooter (FPS) perspective.
False
T/F Movie studios usually make their films available on DVD and Internet streaming services at the same time as the theatrical release.
False
T/F News media have a legal obligation to tell the truth
True
T/F On the Internet, a walled garden is an environment that controls the user's access to Web content and services
False
T/F Philadelphia exemplifies the transition from the new economy to the old economy:
False
T/F Rating refers to the percentage of households watching a given show out of all households watching television at a given moment in time
False
T/F Reality TV shows cost more for networks and cable to make than sitcoms or dramas.
True
T/F The Birth of a Nation (1915) was very controversial when it premiered because of its glorification of the Ku Klux Klan.
False
T/F The Internet is owned and operated by the federal government, which has the power to shut it down when necessary.
True
T/F The Internet originated as a military and government project.
False
T/F The Internet was originally created to transport messages more rapidly for an increasingly sedentary and isolated population.
True
T/F The Marlboro cigarette brand was originally designed for and targeted at female consumers.
False
T/F The Telecommunications Act of 1996 puts strict limits on the number of radio and TV stations any one company can own.
False
T/F The ability to stream TV shows on fourth screens such as smartphones and the iPad hasn't changed consumers' viewing habits much.
False
T/F The annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts is bigger than the annual budget for the United States' military bands:
False
T/F The average person is more likely to have a flushing toilet than a cell phone
False
T/F The era of downsizing coincided with an increase in workers who belong to labor unions.
False
T/F The federal government funds 90 percent of public television's annual budget.
True
T/F The first motion pictures were watched by only one person at a time
False
T/F The narrative situation and complications in a sitcom are typically resolved by the end of the episode.
False
T/F The perspective in strategy games is first person.
True
T/F The shift to the new economy emphasizes the cultivation of specialized niche media markets:
False
T/F The two reporters profiled in The Corporation were ultimately vindicated for their willingness to stand by their reporting
False
T/F The way we consume media today, like watching a TV show on our own schedule rather than when it airs, favors shared experiences over individual interests.
True
T/F Tobacco ads disappeared from American television in 1971.
True
T/F Today, with the advent of DVR, viewers are moving away from the trend of time shifting that affected advertisers in previous decades
False
T/F Total Audience Measurement is a technology that enables the company in the previous question to monitor everyones' television viewing patterns:
False
T/F Unlike tobacco ads, alcohol ads have yet to target minority populations.
False
T/F With the establishment of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1967, nonprofit radio and television stations no longer had to ask their audiences for financial support.
O & Os
TV stations "owned and operated" by networks
fin-syn
(Financial Interest and Syndication Rules) FCC rules that prohibited the major networks from running their own syndication companies or from charging production companies additional fees after shows had completed their primetime runs; most rules were rescinded in the mid-1990s
True
T/F Google earns the majority of online advertising revenue.
John Cassavettes
----- was one of the first independent filmmakers, starting his career in the 1960s
False
T/F Google is a subsidiary of YouTube.
True
T/F Google is the most profitable company of the digital age so far.
It has taken in double its production costs at the box office
A typical Hollywood film is generally considered to begin showing a profit when:
Distributed
A(n) _____________ network has no central hub:
850,000
According to a slide viewed in class, if we divided the American media audience by the number of top media executives, there would one executive to every _________ people:
Our attention span
According to our discussions in class, _____________ is the real commodity for sale in the attention economy:
consensus narratives
According to our textbook, commercial U.S. films function as ______ by providing shared cultural experiences.
South Korea
According to our textbook, which country pioneered e-gaming as a popular spectator sport played by teams of professional e-athletes:
Children being bombarded by too many television commercials
According to your textbook, a major concern of critics of contemporary culture is _______.
More than 2 million
By 2017, about how many apps were available for Apple devices?
collaborative
Contemporary media culture is generally:
they provided an inexpensive escape
Nickelodeons and the silent films they showed were very popular with turn-of-the-century immigrant populations because ______.
Of the new digital media conglomerates, which dominates the search advertising market?
True
T/F Government controls over business were drastically weakened during the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981-1989).
virtual social world
Second Life is an example of a(n) _______.
an airline for women
Song Airline was marketed as:
False
T/F A recent study found that females are two to three times more likely than males to become addicted to video games.
False
T/F Although Hollywood movies may show actual consumer products, such as Pepsi-Cola or BMW automobiles, for the effect of realism, the studios may not receive any money or other compensation for showing those products.
True
T/F Amazon is the world's largest e-commerce store.
True
T/F American studios were able to gain control of the world film industry during World War I.
True
T/F As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's Paramount decision, the major film studios divested themselves of their theaters.
False
T/F Audience measurement isn't particularly useful to advertisers because it only tells them how many people are watching a particular program, not what kind of people:
False
T/F Because of both high equipment and operating costs, digital technology is not expected to benefit independent filmmakers for many years.
False
T/F Because of the backlash against social networking Web sites, advertisers are moving their advertising dollars back to traditional media outlets like television and radio.
False
T/F By 2016, Bing had nearly 66 percent of the search engine market share.
False
T/F Cigarette companies have had difficulty advertising and selling their product in foreign countries.
True
T/F Consumers spent more on computer and video games in 2016 than they spent going to the movies:
False
T/F Daphne Bavelier maintains that gaming has a pronounced "dumbing down" effect on players
True
T/F Disney now owns the rights to the Star Wars movies
True
T/F Disney owns the television network ABC:
True
T/F Facebook uses profile information to deliver targeted and personalized ads to its users.
False
T/F Game publishers are legally required to submit games to the ESRB rating system.
the public service model
The BBC is an example of:
Self-regulation
The ESRB ratings system is an example of:
Narrative complexity
The Sopranos is a good example of:
Nielsen
The _____________ company dominates the audience measurement industry:
hegemony
The acceptance of the dominant values in a culture by those who are subordinate to those who hold economic power describes ______.
deregulation
The billion-dollar mergers and takeovers that swept the mass media in the 1990s were possible because of ______.
limited competition
The book publishing and motion picture industries are both examples of ______.
The ability to convert images, text, and sounds into binary code
The key development that allowed for the transition to the digital age was _______.
World of Warcraft
The most popular MMORPG is ______.
time shifting
The practice of recording shows and watching them later when it is more convenient is called ______.
Oligopoly
The term __________ refers to the economic situation in which a few firms dominate an industry.
Ted Cruz
There is a meme circulating that this person is the zodiac killer:
VHS offered high-definition playback
VHS outsold the technically superior Betamax videocassette format because ______.
scarcity to abundance
We characterized advertising's emergence in late 19th century America as part of a transition from:
Use their product in five films
What did Sylvester Stallone promise to do in his 1983 letter to Brown and Williamson?
They acquired cable channels.
What did major networks do to combat audience erosion in the 1990s?
Its ruins the experience of cinema
What does David Lynch think about the experience of watching movies on a small digital screen?
The ability of the rich to have access to the latest information technology while the poor do not.
What does the term digital divide refer to?
Commercial Advertising
What form of communication does Roland Barthes analyze in Rhetoric of the Image:
Declining readership, especially among younger people
What is generally considered the biggest threat to the future of newspapers?
Indifference to viewing format
What is platform agnosticism?
Our cultural perceptions are constructed for us
What is the moral of the cave story?
Nostalgia
What sentiment does Mad Men's Don Draper appropriate to help Kodak sell its slide carousel?
The Long Tail
What theory maintains our culture and economy is shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" and toward a huge number of niches:
She took the image while visiting Auschwitz
What was significant about Breanna Mitchell's 2014 selfie?
$200 billion
What was the approximate cumulative expenditure on all forms of advertising in the US in 2017?:
Military-government project
What was the original motivation for developing the Internet?
Disney
Which company currently prohibits the appearance of smoking in its media output:
Which company owns YouTube?
Quaker Oats
Which company pioneered branding in this country?
France
Which country was the first dominate the international trade in motion pictures:
Spiderman 3
Which film did we use to exemplify a form of synergy that intertwined hardware and software
Comcast
Which major media corporation is based in Philadelphia?
Louisiana
Which state has recently been most successful using tax credits to attract a large number of filmmakers to work in the state:
Some popular bloggers have been paid to give positive reviews.
Which statement about blogger product reviews is true?
Which was the most widely used social media platform in 2017?
John Reith
Who said: "He who provides himself on giving the public what he thinks the public want is often creating a fictitious demand for lower standards which he will then satisfy"
Mark Zuckerberg
Who said: "We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you"
Sherry Turkle
Who's TEDTalk might be summed up by the phrase: "As we expect more from technology, do we expect less from each other?"
Plato
Who's cave did we discuss in our very first class:
Role-playing
_____________ games are typically set in a fantasy or sci-fi world in which each player chooses to play as a character that specializes in a particular skill set.
subliminal advertiseing
a 1950s term that refers to hidden or disguised print and visual messages that allegedly register on the subconscious, creating false needs and seducing people into buying products
instant messaging
a Web feature that enables users to chat with friends in real time via pop-up windows assigned to each conversation
Federal Radio Commission (FRC)
a body established in 1927 to oversee radio licenses and negotiate channel problems
network
a broadcast process that links, through special phone lines or satellite transmissions, groups of radio or TV stations that share programming produced at a central location
option time
a business tactic, now illegal, whereby a radio network in the 1920s and 1930s paid an affiliate station a set fee per hour for an option to control programming and advertising on that station
pay-per-view (PPV)
a cable-television service that allows customers to select a particular movie for a fee, or to pay $25 to $40 for a special one-time event
magalogs
a combination of a glossy magazine and retail catalogue that is often used to market goods or services to customers or employees
common carriers
a communication or transportation business, such as a phone company or a taxi service, that is required by law to offer service on a first-come, first-served basis to whoever can pay the rate; such companies do not get involved in content
Radio Corporation of America (RCA)
a company developed during World War I that was designed, with government approval, to pool radio patents; the formation of RCA gave the US almost total control over the emerging mass medium of broadcasting
internet service provider (ISP)
a company that provides Internet access to homes and businesses for a fee
desktop publishing
a computer technology that enables an aspiring publisher/editor to inexpensively write, design, lay out, and even print a small newsletter or magazine
spam
a computer term referring to unsolicited e-mail
World Wide Web
a data-linking system for organizing and standardizing information on the Internet; the WWW enables computer-accessed information to associate with - or link to - other information, no matter where it is on the Internet
HD radio
a digital technology that enables AM and FM radio broadcasters to multicast two to three additional compressed digital signals within their traditional analog frequency
podcasting
a distribution method (coined from "iPod" and "broadcasting") that enables listeners to download audio program files from the Internet for playback on computers or digital music players
newspaper chain
a large company that owns several papers throughout the country
vitascope
a large-screen movie projection system developed by Thomas Edison
qualified privilege
a legal right allowing journalists to report judicial or legislative proceedings even though the public statements being reported may be libelous
Webzines
a magazine that publishes on the internet
agenda-setting
a media-research argument that says that when the mass media pay attention to particular events or issues, they determine - that is, set the agenda for - the major topics of discussion for individuals and society
objective journalism
a modern style of journalism that distinguishes factual reports from opinion columns; reporters strive to remain neutral toward the issue or event they cover, searching out competing points of view among the sources for a story
documentary
a movie or TV news genre that documents reality by recording actual characters and settings
genre
a narrative category in which conventions regarding similar characters, scenes, structures, and themes recur in combination
episodic series
a narrative form well suited to television because the main characters appear every week, sets and locales remain the same, and technical crews stay with the program; episodic series feature new adventures each week, but a handful of characters emerge with whom viewers can regularly identify
yellow journalism
a newspaper style or era that peaked in the 1890s, it emphasized high-interest stories, sensational crime news, large headlines, and serious reports that exposed corruption, particularly in business and government
magazine
a non-daily periodical that comprises a collection of articles, stories, and ads
cross platform
a particular business model that involves a consolidation of various media holdings - such as cable connection, phone service, television transmission, and Internet access - under one corporate umbrella
Progressive Era
a period of political and social reform that lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s
anthology dramas
a popular form of early TV programming that brought live dramatic theater to television; influenced by stage plays, anthologies offered new teleplays, casts, directors, writers, and sets from week to week
radio waves
a portion of the electromagnetic wave spectrum that was harnessed so that signals could be sent from a transmission point and obtained at a reception point
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to funnel federal funds to nonprofit radio and public television
Pacifica Foundation
a radio broadcasting foundation established in Berkeley, California, by journalist and World War II pacifist Lewis Hill; in 1949, Hill established KPFA, the first nonprofit community radio station
serial programs
a radio or TV program, such as a soap opera, that features continuing story lines from day to day or week to week
affiliate stations
a radio or TV station that, though independently owned, signs a contract to be part of a network and receives money to carry the network's programs; in exchange, the network reserves time slots, which it sells to national advertisers
analog recording
a recording that is made by capturing the fluctuations of the original sound waves and storing those signals on records or cassettes as a continuous stream of magnetism - analogous to the actual sound
direct broadcast satellite (DBS)
a satellite-based service that for a monthly fee downlinks hundreds of satellite channels and services; DBS began distributing video programming directly to households in 1994
Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
a self-regulating organization that assigns ratings to games based on six categories: EC (Early Childhood), E (Everyone), E 10+, T (Teens), M 17+, and AO (Adults Only 18+)
random assignment
a social science research method for assigning research subjects; it ensures that every subject has an equal chance of being placed in either the experimental group or the control group
inverted-pyramid style
a style of journalism in which news reports begin with the most dramatic or newsworthy information - answering with who, what, where, and when (and less frequently why or how) questions at the top of the story - and then trail off with less significant details
low culture
a symbolic expression supposedly aligned with the questionable tastes of the "masses," who enjoy the commercial "junk" circulated by the mass media, such as reality television, teen pop music, TV wrestling shows, talk radio, comic books, and monster truck pulls
high culture
a symbolic expression that has come to mean "good taste"; often supported by wealthy patrons and corporate donors, it is associated with fine art (such as ballet, the symphony, painting, and classical literature), which is available primarily in theaters or museums
Morse code
a system of sending electrical impulses from a transmitter through a cable to a reception point; developed by the American inventor Samuel Morse
video subscription services
a term referring to cable and video-on-demand providers, introduced to include streaming-only companies like Hulu Plus and Netflix
longitudinal studies
a term used for research studies that are conducted over long periods of time and often rely on large government and academic survey databases
social learning theory
a theory within media effects research that suggests a link between the mass media and behavior
celluloid
a transparent and pliable film that can hold a coating of chemicals sensitive to light
FM (frequency modulation)
a type of radio and sound transmission that offers static-less reception and greater fidelity and clarity than AM radio by accentuating the pitch or distance between radio waves
AM (amplitude modulation)
a type of radio and sound transmission that stresses the volume or height of radio waves
scientific method
a widely used research method that studies phenomena in systematic stages; it includes identifying a research problem, reviewing existing research, developing working hypotheses, determining appropriate research design, collecting information, analyzing results to see if the hypotheses have been verified, and interpreting the implications of the study
right to privacy
addresses a person's right to be left alone, without his or her name, image, or daily activities becoming private property
narrowcasting
any specialized electronic programming or media channel aimed at a target audience
kinescope
before the days of videotape, a 1950s technique for preserving television broadcasts by using a film camera to record a live TV show off a studio monitor
video-on-demand (VOD)
cable television technology that enables viewers to instantly order programming, such as movies, to be digitally delivered to their sets
wire services
commercial organizations, such as the Associated Press, that share news stories and information by replaying them around the country and the world, originally via telegraph and now via satellite transmission
electronic publishers
communication businesses, such as broadcasters or cable TV companies, that are entitled to choose what channels or content to carry
multiplexes
contemporary movie theaters that exhibit many movies at the same on multiple screens
opt-in or opt-out policies
controversial Web site policies over personal data gathering: opt-in means Web sites must gain explicit permission from online consumers before the site can collect their personal data; opt-out means that Web sites can automatically collect personal data unless the consumer goes to the trouble of filling out a specific form to restrict the practice
consensus narratives
cultural products that become popular and command wide attention, providing shared cultural experiences
audience studies
cultural studies research that focuses on how people use and interpret cultural content, also known as reader-response research
broadband
data transmission over a fiber-optic cable - a signaling method that handles a wide range of frequencies
consoles
devices people use specifically to play video games
social media
digital applications that allow people worldwide to have conversations, share common interests, and generate their own media content online
wireless telephony
early experiments in wireless voice and music transmissions, which later developed into modern radio
e-commerce
electronic commerce, or commercial activity, on the Web
electronic mail messages sent over the Internet; developed by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson in 1971
obscenity
expression that is not protected as speech if these three legal tests are all met: (1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material as a whole appeals to prurient interest; (2) the material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; (3) the material, as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
Little Three
from the 1920s through the late 1940s, the major movie studios that were vertically integrated and that dominated the industry - those that did not own theaters: Columbia , Universal, and United Artists
Big Five
from the 1920s through the late 1940s, the major movie studios that were vertically integrated and that dominated the industry; Paramount, MGM, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Century Fox, and RKO - those that did own theaters
action games
games emphasizing combat-type situations that ask players to test their reflexes and to punch, slash, shoot, or throw as accurately as possible so as to strategically make their way through a series of levels
role-playing games (RPGs)
games that are typically set in a fantasy or sci-fi world in which each player (there can be multiple players in a game) chooses to play as a character that specializes in a particular skill set
simulation games
games that involve managing resources and planning worlds that are typically based in reality
digital communication
images, texts, and sounds that use pulses of electric current or flashes of laser light and are converted (or encoded) into electronic signals represented as varied combinations of binary numbers (ones and zeros); these signals are then reassembled (decoded) as a precise reproduction of a TV picture, a magazine article, or a telephone voice
rating
in TV audience measurement, a statistical estimate expressed as a percentage of households tuned to a program in the local or national market being sampled
share
in TV audience measurement, a statistical estimate of the percentage of homes tuned to a certain program compared with those simply using their sets at the time of a sample
evergreens
in TV syndication, popular, lucrative, and enduring network reruns, such as the Andy Griffith Show and I Love Lucy
market research
in advertising and public relations agencies, the department that uses social science techniques to assess the behaviors and attitudes of consumers toward particular products before any ads are created
storyboard
in advertising, a blueprint or roughly comic-strip version of a proposed advertisement
slogan
in advertising, a catchy phrase that attempts to promote or sell a product by capturing its essence in words
association principle
in advertising, a persuasive technique that associates a product with some cultural value or image that has a positive connotation but may have little connection to the actual product
mega-agencies
in advertising, large firms or holding companies that are formed by merging several individual agencies and that maintain worldwide regional offices; they provide both advertising and public relations services and operate in-house radio and TV production studios
boutique agencies
in advertising, small regional ad agencies that offer personalized services
media buyers
in advertising, the individuals who choose and purchase the types of media that are best suited to carry a client's ads and reach the targeted audience
basic cable
in cable programming, a tier of channels composed of local broadcast signals, non-broadcast access channels (for local government, education, and general public use), a few regional PBS stations, and a variety of cable channels downlinked from communication satellites
premium channels
in cable programming, a tier of channels that subscribers can order at an additional monthly fee over their basic cable service; these may include movie channels and interactive services
access channels
in cable television, a tier of nonbroadcast channels dedicated to local education, government, and the public
leased channels
in cable television, channels that allow citizens to buy time for producing programs or presenting their own viewpoints
rotation
in format radio programming, the practice of playing the most popular or best-selling songs many times throughout the day
intellectual properties
in gaming, the stories, characters, personalities, and music that require licensing agreements
slander
in law, spoken language that defames a person's character
limited competition
in media economics, a market with many producers and sellers but only a few differentiable products within a particular category; sometimes called monopolistic competition
oligopoly
in media economics, an organizational structure in which a few firms control most of an industry's production and distribution resources
monopoly
in media economics, an organizational structure that occurs when a single firm dominates production and distribution in a particular industry, either nationally or locally
vertical integration
in media economics, the phenomenon of controlling a mass media industry at its three essential levels: production, distribution, and exhibition; the term is most frequently used in reference to the film industry
synergy
in media economics, the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate
textual analysis
in media research, a method for closely and critically examining and interpreting the meanings of culture, including architecture, fashion, books, movies, and TV programs
cultural studies
in media research, the approaches that try to understand how the media and culture are tied to the actual patterns of communication used in daily life; these studies focus on how people make meanings, apprehend reality, and order experience through the use of stories and symbols
cultivation effect
in media research, the idea that heavy television viewing leads individuals to perceive reality in ways that are consistent with the portrayals they see on television
drive time
in radio programming, the periods between 6 and 10 A.M and 4 and 7 P.M., when people are commuting to and from work or school; these periods constitute the largest listening audiences of the day
experiments
in regard to the mass media, research that isolates some aspect of content; suggests a hypothesis; and manipulates variables to discover a particular medium's impact on attitudes, emotions, or behavior
content analysis
in social science research, a method for studying and coding media texts and programs
survey research
in social science research, a method of collecting and measuring data taken from a group of respondents
hypotheses
in social science research, tentative general statements that predict a relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable
chapter shows
in television production, any situational comedy or dramatic program whose narrative structure includes self-contained stories that feature a problem, a series of conflicts, and a resolution from week to week
prime time
in television programming, the hours between 8 and 11 p.m. (or 7 and 10 p.m. in the Midwest), when networks have traditionally drawn their largest audiences and charged their highest advertising rates
analog
in television, standard broadcast signals made of radio waves (replaced by digital standards in 2009)
deficit financing
in television, the process whereby a TV production company leases its programs to a network for a license fee that is actually less than the cost of production; the company hopes to recoup this loss later in rerun syndication
first-run syndication
in television, the process whereby new programs are specifically produced for sale in syndication markets rather than for network television
off-network syndication
in television, the process whereby older programs that no longer run during prime time are made available for reruns to local stations, cable operators, online services, and foreign markets
fringe time
in television, the time slot either immediately before the evening's prime-time schedule or immediately following the local evening news or the network's late-night talk shows
digital
in television, the type of signals that are transmitted as binary code
transistors
invented by Bell Laboratories in 1947, these tiny pieces of technology, which receive and amplify radio signals, make portable radios possible
telegraph
invented in the 1840s, it sent electrical impulses through a cable from a transmitter to a reception point, transmitting Morse code
electromagnetic waves
invisible electronic impulses similar to visible light; electricity, magnetism, light, broadcast signals, and heat are part of such waves, which radiate in space at the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second
multiple-system operators (MSOs)
large corporations that own numerous cable television systems
shield laws
laws protecting the confidentiality of key interview subjects and reporters' rights not to reveal the sources of controversial information used in news stories
syndication
leasing TV stations or cable networks the exclusive right to air TV shows
gag orders
legal restrictions prohibiting the press from releasing preliminary information that might prejudice jury selection
audiotape
lightweight magnetized strands of ribbon that make possible sound editing and multiple-track mixing; instrumentals or vocals can be recorded at one location and later mixed onto a master recording in another studio
superstations
local independent TV stations, such as WTSB in Atlanta or WGN in Chicago, that have uplinked their signals onto communication satellite to make themselves available nationwide
microprocessors
miniature circuits that process and store electronic signals, integrating thousands of electronic components into thin strands of silicon, along which binary codes travel
megaplexes
movie theater facilities with fourteen or more screens
narrative films
movies that tell a story, with dramatic action and conflict emerging mainly from individual characters
talkies
movies with sound, beginning in 1927
digital recording
music recorded and played back by laser beam rather than by needle or magnetic tape
human-interest stories
news accounts that focus on the trials and tribulations of the human condition, often featuring ordinary individuals facing extraordinary challenges
investigative journalism
news reports that hunt out and expose corruption, particularly in business and government
supermarket tabloids
newspapers that feature bizarre human-interest stories, gruesome murder tales, violent accident accounts, unexplained phenomena stories, and malicious celebrity gossip
National Public Radio (NPR)
noncommercial radio established in 1967 by the U.S. Congress to provide an alternative to commercial radio
open-source software
noncommercial software shared freely and developed collectively on the Internet
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)
noncommercial television established in 1967 by the U.S. Congress to provide an alternative to commercial television
correlations
observed associations between two variables
Internet radio
online radio stations that either "stream" simulcast versions of on-air radio broadcasts over the web or are created exclusively for the Internet
movie palaces
ornate, lavish single-screen movie theaters that emerged in the 1910s in the United States
Section 315
part of the 1934 Communications Act; it mandates that during elections, broadcast stations must provide equal opportunities and response time for qualified political candidates
satellite radio
pay radio services that deliver various radio formats nationally via satellite
compact discs (CDs)
playback-only storage discs for music that incorporate pure and very precise digital techniques, thus eliminating noise during recording and editing sessions
hegemony
the acceptance of the dominant values in a culture by those who are subordinate to those who hold economic and political power
penny papers
refers to newspapers that, because of technological innovations in printing, were able to drop their price to one cent beginning in the 1830s, thereby making papers affordable to the working and emerging middle classes and enabling newspapers to become a genuine mass medium
Fairness Doctrine
repealed in 1987, this FCC rule required broadcast stations to both air and engage in controversial issue programs that affected their communities and, when offering such programming, to provide competing points of view
muckrakers
reporters who used a style of early-twentieth-century investigative journalism that emphasized a willingness to crawl around in society's muck to uncover a story
massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs)
role-playing games set in virtual fantasy worlds that require users to play through an avatar
must-carry rules
rules established by the FCC requiring all cable operators to assign channels to and carry all local TV broadcasts on their systems, thereby ensuring that local network affiliates, independent stations (those not carrying network programs), and public television channels would benefit from cable's clearer reception
zines
self-published magazines produced on personal computer programs or on the Internet
viral marketing
short videos or other content that marketers hope will quickly gain widespread attention as users share it with friends online or by word of mouth
social networking sites
sites on which users can create content, share ideas, and interact with friends
A&R agents (artist & repertoire)
talent scouts of the music business who discover, develop, and sometimes manage performers,
fourth screens
technologies like smartphones, iPods, iPads, and mobile TV devices, which are forcing major changes in consumer viewing habits and media content creation
Paramount decision
the 1948 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended vertical integration in the film industry by forcing the studios to divest themselves of their theaters
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
the act by the U.S. Congress that established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR)
product placement
the advertising practice of strategically placing products in movies, TV shows, comic books, and video games so that the products appear as part of a story's set environment
multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs)
the cable industry's name for its largest revenue generators, including cable companies and DBS providers
third screens
the computer-type screens on which consumers can view television, movies, music, newspapers, and books
format radio
the concept of radio stations developing and playing specific styles (or formats) geared to listeners' age, race, or gender; in format radio, management, rather than deejays, controls programming choices
mass media
the cultural industries - the channels of communication - that produce and distribute songs, novels, news, movies, online computer services, and other cultural products to a large number of people
casual games
the early physical form of video games that were played on consoles manufactured by companies like Nintendo, Sega, and Atari
public domain
the end of the copyright period for a work, at which point the public may begin to access it for free
Communications Act of 1934
the far-reaching act that established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the federal regulatory structure for U.S. broadcasting
news/talk/information
the fastest-growing radio format in the 1990s, dominated by news programs and talk shows
retransmission fees
the fee that cable providers pay to broadcast networks for the right to carry their channels
engagement
the fifth step in the critical process, it involves actively working to create a media world that best serves democracy
Top 40 format
the first radio format, in which stations played the forty most popular hits in a given week, as measured by record sales
Radio Act of 1912
the first radio legislation passed by Congress, it addressed the problem of amateur radio operators cramming the airwaves
nickelodeons
the first small makeshift movie theaters, which were often converted cigar stores, pawnshops, or restaurants redecorated to mimic vaudeville theaters
description
the first step in the critical process, it involves paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the cultural product to be studies
penny arcade
the first thoroughly modern indoor playground, filled with coin-operated games
wireless telegraphy
the forerunner of radio, it is a form of voiceless point-to-point communication; it preceded the voice and sound transmissions of one-to-many mass communication that became known as broadcasting
evaluation
the fourth step in the critical process, it involves arriving at a judgement about whether a cultural product is good, bad, or mediocre; this requires subordinating one's personal taste to the critical assessment resulting from the first three stages (description, analysis, and interpretation)
online piracy
the illegal uploading, downloading, or streaming of copyrighted material, such as music or movies
prior restraint
the legal definition of censorship in the United States; it prohibits courts and governments from blocking any publication or speech before it actually occurs
copyright
the legal right of authors and producers to own and control the use of their published or unpublished writing, music, and lyrics; TV programs and movies; or graphic art designs
media effects research
the mainstream tradition in mass communication research, it attempts to understand, explain, and predict the impact - or effects - of the mass media on individuals and society
modding
the most advanced form of collective intelligence, slang for modifying game software or hardware
pinball machine
the most prominent mechanical game, in which players score points by manipulating the path of a metal ball on a play-field in a glass-covered case
Hollywood Ten
the nine screenwriters and one film director subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) who were sent to prison in the late 1940s for refusing to disclose their memberships or to identify communist sympathizers
ARPAnet
the original Internet, designed by the U.S. Defense Department's Advanced Research Project Agency
network era
the period in television history, roughly from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, that refers to the dominance of the Big Three networks - ABC, CBS, and NBC - over programming and prime-time viewing habits; the era began eroding with a decline in viewing and with the development of VCRs, cable, and new TV networks
cultural imperialism
the phenomenon of American media, fashion, and food dominating the global market and shaping the cultures and identities of other nations
selective exposure
the phenomenon whereby audiences remember or retain messages and meanings that correspond to their preexisting beliefs and values
net neutrality
the principle that every Web site and every user - whether a multinational corporation or you - has the right to the same Internet network speed and access
Radio Act of 1927
the second radio legislature passed by Congress; in an attempt to restore order to the airwaves, the act stated that licensees did not own their channels but could license them if they operated to serve the "public interest, convenience, or necessity."
analysis
the second step in the critical process, it involves discovering significant patterns that emerge from the description stage
collective intelligence
the sharing of knowledge and ideas, particularly in the world of gaming
Big Six
the six major Hollywood studios that currently rule the commercial film business: Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Columbia Pictures, and Disney
digital divide
the socioeconomic disparity between those who do and those who do not have access to digital technology and media, such as the Internet
saturation advertising
the strategy of inundating a variety of print and visual media with ads aimed at target audiences
narrative
the structure underlying most media products, it includes two components: the story (what happens to whom) and the discourse (how the story is told)
propaganda analysis
the study of propaganda's effectiveness in influencing and mobilizing public opinion
Telecommunications Act of 1996
the sweeping update of telecommunications law that led to a wave of media consolidation
culture
the symbols of expression that individuals, groups, and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate their values; a process that delivers the values of a society through products or other meaning-making forms
convergence
the technological merging of media content across various platforms
postmodern period
the term describing a contemporary historical era spanning the 1960s to the present; its social values include opposing hierarchy, diversifying and recycling culture, questioning scientific reasoning, and embracing paradox
modern period
the term describing a historical era spanning the time from the rise of the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the present; its social values include celebrating the individual, believing in rational order, working efficiently, and rejecting tradition
third-person effect
the theory that people believe others are more affected by media messages than they are themselves
interpretation
the third step in the critical process, it asks and answers the "What does that mean?" and "So what?" questions about one's findings
pass-along readership
the total number of people who come into contact with a single copy of a magazine
broadcasting
the transmission of radio waves or TV signals to a broad public audience
blockbuster
the type of big-budget special effects film that typically has a summer or holiday release date, heavy promotion, and lucrative merchandising tie-ins
data mining
the unethical gathering of data by online purveyors of content and merchandise
political advertising
the use of ad techniques to promote a candidate's image and persuade the public to adopt a particular viewpoint
photojournalism
the use of photos to document events and people's lives
Internet
the vast network of telephone and cable lines, wireless connections, and satellite systems designed to link and carry computer information worldwide
gameplay
the way in which a game's rules, rather than its graphics, sound, or narrative style, structure how players interact with it
HTML (hypertext markup language)
the written code that creates Web pages and links; a language all computers can read
fiber-optic cable
thin glass bundles of fiber capable of transmitting along cable wires thousands of messages converted to shooting pulses of light; these bundles of fiber can carry broadcast channels, telephone signals, and a variety of digital codes
pseudo-polls
typically call-in, online, or person-in-the-street nonscientific polls that the news media use to address a "question of the day"
advergames
video games created for purely promotional purposes
wiki Web sites
web sites that are capable of being edited by any user; the most famous is Wikipedia
newsreels
weekly ten-minute magazine-type complications of filmed news events from around the world organized in a sequence of short reports; prominent in movie theaters between the 1920s and the 1950s