| a la carte pricing | Charging customers only for those cable channels they choose to receive.
|
 |
|
|
| absolutist ethics | Position from which there is a clear-cut right or wrong response for every ethical decision.
|
|
|
|
| academic journals | Periodicals that publish research in a variety of scholarly fields; also called scholarly journals.
|
|
|
|
| account executive | Employee who coordinates the agency's services for the client.
|
|
|
|
| accountability | The obligation to take responsibility, or account for, the consequences of one's actions. In media ethics, accountability involves the questions of who controls media practitioners and who has the power to punish them for ethical lapses.
|
|
|
|
| accreditation | Certification by an industry association.
|
|
|
|
| acquisition editor | An editor who obtains books to be published.
|
|
|
|
| actual malice | Reckless disregard for the truth of published, defamatory information.
|
|
|
|
| ad broker | A liaison between advertisers and newspapers.
|
|
|
|
| adjacency | The opportunity for an advertiser to place an ad near a particular article, at an extra cost.
|
|
|
|
| admonition | A judge's warning to jurors to consider only evidence presented in the courtroom.
|
|
|
|
| adversarial relationship | A relationship in which two parties contend with or oppose each other. In the United States, the media are expected to have an adversarial relationship with the government so that they can serve a watchdog role.
|
|
|
|
| advocacy ads | Ads designed to affect public opinion or government policy.
|
|
|
|
| affiliates | Local stations that have a contractual relationship with the network but are not owned by the network.
|
|
|
|
| agenda-setting theory | Theory that predicts that the amount of attention given to an issue in the media affects the level of importance assigned to it by the public.
|
|
|
|
| aliterates | Those who are able to read but do not.
|
|
|
|
| alternative press | Publications that provide a different viewpoint on the news, usually one that is politically radical or otherwise out of the mainstream.
|
|
|
|
| amplitude modulation (AM) | Radio transmissions created by changing (modulating) the power (amplitude) of the carrier wave.
|
|
|
|
| analog radio | Radio transmissions in which an electronic waveform represents the sound on a carrier wave.
|
|
|
|
| analog recording | A recording technique in which representation of the sound wave is stored directly onto the recording medium.
|
|
|
|
| anchor | The primary newsreader, who appears in the broadcast news studio.
|
|
|
|
| antitrust laws | Laws that prohibit monopolistic practices in restraint of trade.
|
|
|
|
| applied research | Media investigations devoted to practical, commercial purposes.
|
|
|
|
| arrangers | Those who adapt a song for specific singers and other musical elements.
|
|
|
|
| art director | The person who designs the physical look of a film.
|
|
|
|
| artist and repertoire (A&R) executives | Specialists in the music industry who discover and develop the groups and performers.
|
|
|
|
| artistic speech | Creative work, such as painting, dance, and literature.
|
|
|
|
| attribution | The act of providing the source for information that appears in news reports.
|
|
|
|
| audience research | The gathering of data about consumers targeted in an advertising campaign.
|
|
|
|
| audio news release | Recorded material ready for insertion into radio broadcasts.
|
|
|
|
| audiobooks | Books recorded on tape or some other medium.
|
|
|
|
| Audion | A tube invented by Lee De Forest that was designed to pick up and amplify radio signals; also known as a vacuum tube.
|
|
|
|
| Audit Bureau of Circulations | An association that verifies newspaper and magazine distribution.
|
|
|
|
| auteur | A movie director with a distinctive style.
|
|
|
|
| backgrounders | In-depth articles contained in press kits.
|
|
|
|
| bait-and-switch advertising | Technique in which a seller provides bait in the form of an advertised bargain and a switch when the customer is talked into a more expensive product.
|
|
|
|
| basic cable | Channels that are supplied with the least expensive program package the cable provider offers.
|
|
|
|
| beat reporters | Journalists who find and write stories in a specialized area.
|
|
|
|
| best boy | The gaffer's (lighting director's) assistant.
|
|
|
|
| bibliophiles | Book lovers; heavy readers.
|
|
|
|
| billings | The gross dollar amount that an advertising agency's client spends.
|
|
|
|
| blacklisting | The practice of keeping a particular type of person from working in media and other industries.
|
|
|
|
| blind booking | Forcing theater owners to reserve movies without previewing them.
|
|
|
|
| block booking | Forcing theater owners to show movies with unknown stars in order to get movies with established stars.
|
|
|
|
| blockbuster | All types of huge events, especially in terms of media products.
|
|
|
|
| blogs | See weblogs.
|
|
|
|
| blow-in cards | Postcard-sized business reply cards, usually containing subscription solicitations, that are inserted into magazines during the production process.
|
|
|
|
| blurb | Brief laudatory comments that can be placed on the cover of a book.
|
|
|
|
| bots | Short for robots, which are software programs capable of carrying out automated searches over the Web; certain kinds of bots are called spiders or crawlers.
|
|
|
|
| boutique agencies | Ad agencies that specialize in creative services.
|
|
|
|
| broadcasting | Using wireless technology to instantaneously reach a wide audience.
|
|
|
|
| browser | A software program that enables a user to move around the Internet.
|
|
|
|
| buffering | Downloading and saving a video file at the same time it is being viewed.
|
|
|
|
| bullet theory | Theory that implies that media effects flow directly from the media to an individual.
|
|
|
|
| bulletin board services (BBSs) | Early online news services.
|
|
|
|
| byline | A line at the beginning of a news story giving the author's name.
|
|
|
|
| call letters | Broadcast station identifications assigned by the FCC.
|
|
|
|
| canned news | Press releases designed to be inserted into newspaper feature or editorial sections with no change.
|
|
|
|
| casual readers | Those who enjoy reading but find the time to read only a few books a year.
|
|
|
|
| categorical imperative | The ethical guideline to look for principles that will hold true in all situations.
|
|
|
|
| catharsis theory | The idea that viewing violence actually reduces violent behavior.
|
|
|
|
| censorship | Any action that prohibits an act of expression from being made public.
|
|
|
|
| centrist bias | Failure of the news media to report on radical points of view.
|
|
|
|
| chain | One company that owns the same type of company in more than one market area.
|
|
|
|
| change of venue | The moving of a trial to a different location.
|
|
|
|
| channel | A spot on the electromagnetic spectrum that the FCC licenses to a specific station.
|
|
|
|
| channel allocation | The placement of assigned spots on the electromagnetic spectrum to individual broadcast stations.
|
|
|
|
| chapbook | Inexpensive early form of paperback containing mostly stories to be read for pleasure.
|
|
|
|
| checkbook journalism | Paying news sources for their stories.
|
|
|
|
| Chicano press | Part of Hispanic American newspaper industry that targets Mexican Americans.
|
|
|
|
| chilling effect | Tendency of reporters to self-censor because of fear of possible legal action.
|
|
|
|
| cinematographer | The director of photography.
|
|
|
|
| circulation department | (1) The division of a magazine company charged with finding and keeping subscribers, managing the subscriber list, and promoting single-copy sales. (2) The division of a print media company that manages distribution and sales.
|
|
|
|
| circulation waste | That part of advertising received by people whom the advertiser has no interest in reaching.
|
|
|
|
| citizens' groups | Associations made up of members of the public to exert influence, such as on the media.
|
|
|
|
| clutter | The glut of ads that compete for the public's attention.
|
|
|
|
| codex | A book written on parchment pages that were cut and bound on one side. Developed by the Romans in the first century ad, the codex was the first book to resemble today's familiar form.
|
|
|
|
| colorizing | Adding color to black-and-white films.
|
|
|
|
| commentaries | On-air discussions about the news.
|
|
|
|
| commercial speech | Advertising.
|
|
|
|
| communication | The process of human beings sharing messages.
|
|
|
|
| community antenna television (CATV) | The first cable television systems, designed to give viewers in hard-to-reach areas satisfactory reception from their nearest broadcast television stations.
|
|
|
|
| community relations | Public relations activities designed to aid and to maintain a beneficial image with groups on the local, national, or global level.
|
|
|
|
| compact discs (CDs) | Plastic discs with digitally encoded music read by lasers.
|
|
|
|
| complementary copy | Editorial material designed to be paired with nearby advertising.
|
|
|
|
| conflict of interest | Clash that occurs when an outside activity influences what a media professional does.
|
|
|
|
| conglomerates | Large companies that own many different types of businesses.
|
|
|
|
| conservative bias | A point of view that is generally purported to be pro–big business, anti–big government, pro-family, pro-religion, and pro-Republican.
|
|
|
|
| consumer advertising | Ads directed to the retail customer.
|
|
|
|
| consumer magazine | Any magazine that advertises and reports on consumer products and the consumer lifestyle.
|
|
|
|
| contempt | Willful disobedience of the rules of a court or legislative body.
|
|
|
|
| content analysis | A research method in which observers systematically analyze media subject matter.
|
|
|
|
| Continuance | Postponement of a trial.
|
|
|
|
| continuity supervisor | Film crew member in charge of making sure shots match up; sometimes called the script supervisor.
|
|
|
|
| contributing editor | Title given to a magazine's highest-paid freelance writers, who sometimes polish others' work.
|
|
|
|
| controlled circulation | A system of distribution in which magazines are sent free to desired readers.
|
|
|
|
| convergence | The merging of technologies, industries, and content, especially within the realms of computer, telephone, and mass media.
|
|
|
|
| copy editor | An editor who polishes a manuscript line by line and prepares it for typesetting.
|
|
|
|
| copy research | Studies that test the effectiveness of ad content, or copy.
|
|
|
|
| copyright | A legal right that grants to the owner of a work protection against unauthorized copying.
|
|
|
|
| copyright law | Law that entitles the owner of a work to make and distribute reproductions of it.
|
|
|
|
| corporate aid | Community relations activity in which a company helps society on a large scale.
|
|
|
|
| corrective ads | Ads designed to rectify an inaccurate impression.
|
|
|
|
| correlation | A situation in which two things occur at the same time, or in close succession, more often than chance would lead you to expect.
|
|
|
|
| counteradvertising | Ads designed to fight an image that is not in the public interest.
|
|
|
|
| CPM | Cost per thousand; guideline for the price of each exposure of a customer to an ad.
|
|
|
|
| credibility gap | The difference between what a government says and what the public believes to be true.
|
|
|
|
| creeping bias | A subtle form of slanting that manifests itself in understated ways.
|
|
|
|
| crisis management | Public relations activity used to repair a client's public image following an emergency.
|
|
|
|
| cross-merchandizing | Promoting a product in one form to sell it in some other form.
|
|
|
|
| cultivation theory | Theory that the media shape how people view the world.
|
|
|
|
| cultural imperialism | The displacement of a nation's customs with those of another country.
|
|
|
|
| cultural studies | Research based on careful observation and thought rather than on controlled experiments or statistics.
|
|
|
|
| cumulative effects theory | Theory that media have profound effects over time through redundancy.
|
|
|
|
| cyber- | As a prefix, a metaphor for anything pertaining to the Internet.
|
|
|
|
| cybersquatting | The practice of registering trademarked domain names with hopes of reselling them to those who own the trademarks.
|
|
|
|
| dayparts | Time divisions that radio stations make in the day in order to schedule appropriate programming.
|
|
|
|
| defamation | Communication that is false and injures a reputation.
|
|
|
|
| demographic editions | Slightly different versions of the same magazine that go out to subscribers with different characteristics.
|
|
|
|
| demographics | Measurements of audience characteristics that are easily observed and labeled, such as age, gender, income, occupation, and ethnicity.
|
|
|
|
| demos | Demonstration recordings sent in to record companies by artists' agents, managers, or by the artists themselves.
|
|
|
|
| deregulation | The repeal of government rules and regulations.
|
|
|
|
| desensitization | A process by which viewers of media violence develop callousness or emotional neutrality in the face of a real-life act of violence.
|
|
|
|
| desktop publishing | Using a personal computer to act as editor, publisher, and writer.
|
|
|
|
| developmental editor | An editor who works directly with the author during the writing of a book, going over each chapter and suggesting major revisions.
|
|
|
|
| diffusion of innovations theory | Theory that different types of people will adopt new ideas at different times.
|
|
|
|
| digital radio | Signal transmissions by assigned numbers rather than analog waves.
|
|
|
|
| digital recording | A recording technique in which sound is broken down electronically into a numerical code.
|
|
|
|
| digital video recorders (DVRs) | Specialized computers with oversized hard disks on which video signals are saved.
|
|
|
|
| dime novels | Inexpensive fiction, popular in the 1860s, that sold for 10 cents; also called pulp novels.
|
|
|
|
| direct broadcast satellite (DBS) | Systems that deliver television programming to individual homes via satellite.
|
|
|
|
| direct mail advertising | Advertising sent by mail.
|
|
|
|
| director's cut | Version of film the director delivers to the studio.
|
|
|
|
| directory | A type of search engine in which sites are arranged into categories by human editors.
|
|
|
|
| display ads | Print ads that include artwork and fancy typefaces to capture the reader's attention.
|
|
|
|
| distance learning | Taking classes away from a school facility, especially online.
|
|
|
|
| docudramas | Fictional movies that dramatize real-life events.
|
|
|
|
| documentary | A long-form filmed examination of a social problem or historical subject.
|
|
|
|
| domain | The portion of an Internet address that identifies the network that handles the account.
|
|
|
|
| e-books | Books that exist as digital files.
|
|
|
|
| economies of scale | Savings that accrue with mass production.
|
|
|
|
| editorial page | Section of newspaper reserved for opinion pieces.
|
|
|
|
| electromagnetic spectrum | The range of frequencies that can be used for transmitting radio waves with electricity.
|
|
|
|
| electronic news gathering (ENG) | Reporting that uses -portable field equipment.
|
|
|
|
| elite stage (of media development) | Phase of media evolution in which only the richest and best-educated members of the population make use of a particular medium.
|
|
|
|
| embedded journalists | Nonmilitary reporters attached to a military unit.
|
|
|
|
| enlightened self-interest | Theory that holds that doing what is right for yourself will probably be right for others.
|
|
|
|
| ethics | The study of guidelines that help people determine right from wrong in their voluntary conduct.
|
|
|
|
| ethnic press | That part of the newspaper industry aimed at particular cultural groups.
|
|
|
|
| exclusive | A story granted to just one news outlet.
|
|
|
|
| executive producer | The person who finds the financing for a film and puts the package together.
|
|
|
|
| external publics | Public relations term for groups outside the client organization.
|
|
|
|
| fair comment | Defense against a charge of libel based on opinion or criticism.
|
|
|
|
| fair use | Doctrine that allows the copying of a work for a noncommercial use.
|
|
|
|
| feature news | Stories directed toward human interest and curiosity; also known as soft news.
|
|
|
|
| feature syndicates | Brokers for newspaper entertainment and specialty items.
|
|
|
|
| Federal Communications Commission (FCC) | Government agency in charge of regulating all means of interstate telephone and radio communication.
|
|
|
|
| Federalist Papers | Essays that explained the new federal government to early Americans; published in 1788 as The Federalist.
|
|
|
|
| feedback | Messages that return from the receiver of a message to the source of that message.
|
|
|
|
| First Amendment | The part of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights that guarantees freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
|
|
|
|
| first-sale doctrine | The doctrine that allows purchasers of a copyrighted work to resell it or rent it out.
|
|
|
|
| flacks | Derogatory term for public relations professionals.
|
|
|
|
| flow theories | Explanations of the way effects travel from the mass media to their audiences.
|
|
|
|
| focus groups | Small groups of potential consumers observed by a researcher.
|
|
|
|
| format | Consistent programming formula with a recognizable sound and personality.
|
|
|
|
| format clock | Graphic used by radio programmers showing each feature of the programming hour.
|
|
|
|
| format wars | Rivalries in which companies selling specific types of recording and playback devices try to put competing companies with competing formats out of business.
|
|
|
|
| fourth estate | The press as an unofficial fourth branch of government.
|
|
|
|
| freebies | Anything given away by public relations practitioners to promote a favorable relationship with media gatekeepers.
|
|
|
|
| frequency modulation (FM) | Radio transmissions created by changing (modulating) the speed (frequency) at which sound waves are generated.
|
|
|
|
| full-service agencies | Ad agencies that supply all advertising and marketing services.
|
|
|
|
| gaffer | Lighting director.
|
|
|
|
| gag order | Judicial command not to speak about trial proceedings.
|
|
|
|
| gatekeepers | Those who determine which messages will be delivered to media consumers.
|
|
|
|
| gender studies | Research that looks at how the media deal with male and female roles.
|
|
|
|
| general assignment reporters | Journalists who can find and write stories in any area.
|
|
|
|
| genre | Type of writing, such as romance or mystery.
|
|
|
|
| geostationary | A term describing the placement of satellites so that they orbit Earth at the same speed that Earth rotates, effectively parking the satellites in one spot.
|
|
|
|
| golden mean | Aristotle's term for describing ethical behavior as a midpoint between extremes.
|
|
|
|
| gramophone | Early playback device using a flat disc with lateral grooves cut on one side.
|
|
|
|
| graphical user interface (GUI) | A set of browser features such as icons and hot spots that allow users to navigate Web sites easily.
|
|
|
|
| greenwashing | The public relations practice of covering up environmental problems by associating a client with beneficial environmental actions.
|
|
|
|
| group ownership | The acquisition of the same type of business in more than one market area by one company.
|
|
|
|
| guerrilla advertising | Advertising that uses unorthodox tactics.
|
|
|
|
| hacker | One who uses programming skills to gain illegal access to computer networks or files.
|
|
|
|
| handbills | Announcements on single sheets of paper.
|
|
|
|
| hard news | Stories about current events that have impact on people's lives.
|
|
|
|
| high-definition television (HDTV) | Digital technology for transmitting television programs using more than double the standard number of scanning lines, creating a clearer, larger picture.
|
|
|
|
| high-fidelity (hi-fi) sound | Recorded sound true to the original.
|
|
|
|
| hip-hop | The backing music for rap; also refers to the culture of rap.
|
|
|
|
| hoaxes | Purposeful deceptions of the public.
|
|
|
|
| horizontal integration | Corporate growth through the acquisition of different types of businesses.
|
|
|
|
| hosts/servers | Internet computers that contain actual Web sites.
|
|
|
|
| hybrid search engines | Search engines that use both robots and human editors.
|
|
|
|
| hype | Dramatic publicity techniques.
|
|
|
|
| hypertext fiction | Interactive stories that allow the reader to change the plot as the narrative is read.
|
|
|
|
| hypertext links (hyperlinks) | Highlighted words and images within a Web page that allow the user to move to another site by pointing and clicking a mouse button.
|
|
|
|
| hypertext markup language (HTML) | The basic computer language used to write hypertext transfer protocol (http).
|
|
|
|
| hypertext transfer protocol (http) | The protocol that enables computers to recognize links on the World Wide Web.
|
|
|
|
| illiterates | Those who can't read because they never learned how.
|
|
|
|
| image advertising | The promotion of an idea that becomes associated with a product.
|
|
|
|
| importation | In cable television, the bringing in of additional signals from distant stations.
|
|
|
|
| indecency | Offensive content with possible social value.
|
|
|
|
| independent bookstores | Booksellers not owned by a chain and not part of a larger company.
|
|
|
|
| independent films | Movies that are not made by one of the major studios.
|
|
|
|
| independent label | Any recording industry company not owned by one of the major labels.
|
|
|
|
| individual differences theory | Theory that predicts that people with different characteristics will be affected in different ways by the mass media.
|
|
|
|
| infomercials | Program-length television commercials.
|
|
|
|
| in-house agencies | Organizations built into a corporate structure.
|
|
|
|
| institutional ads | Trade group image promotions for entire industries.
|
|
|
|
| integrated marketing | Public relations and advertising working together.
|
|
|
|
| internal publics | Public relations term for groups inside the client organization.
|
|
|
|
| inverted pyramid | News style that packs the most important information into the first paragraph.
|
|
|
|
| investigative journalism | Reporting that uncovers information that sources have tried to conceal.
|
|
|
|
| Java | An advanced programming language used for animated images and advanced sound applications.
|
|
|
|
| joint operating agreements | Business arrangements that allow two competing newspapers to share facilities.
|
|
|
|
| jukebox | A coin-operated phonograph.
|
|
|
|
| key grip | Member of film crew who sets up and moves cameras.
|
|
|
|
| kinescopes | Poor-quality films taken directly from television monitors in the network studios; they were forerunners of videotapes.
|
|
|
|
| kinetograph | Early motion picture camera invented by Thomas Edison.
|
|
|
|
| kinetoscope | Early motion picture projector invented by Thomas Edison.
|
|
|
|
| knowledge workers | Employees such as journalists, library professionals, and business analysts who use the Internet for research as part of their jobs.
|
|
|
|
| laboratory experiment | Scientific method of isolating and observing variables in a controlled environment.
|
|
|
|
| leaks | Unauthorized disclosures to the press.
|
|
|
|
| libel | Published or broadcast defamation.
|
|
|
|
| liberal bias | Point of view that is generally purported to be anti–big business, pro–big government, anti-family, anti-religion, and anti-Republican.
|
|
|
|
| line producers | People who lead the actual day-to-day work of making a film.
|
|
|
|
| lines of resolution | Rows of lighted dots, or pixels, that make up a television picture image.
|
|
|
|
| linking services | Online sites that connect the user to news sites.
|
|
|
|
| little magazines | Industry term for literary magazines with small circulations.
|
|
|
|
| lobbying | Any attempt to influence the voting of legislators.
|
|
|
|
| lyricist | A professional who specializes in writing the words of a song.
|
|
|
|
| Machiavellian ethics | The idea that the end justifies the means.
|
|
|
|
| magazine | A collection of reading matter, issued regularly.
|
|
|
|
| market | All the surrounding areas from which business tends to flow to a central point, usually a major city.
|
|
|
|
| mass communication | Mediated messages transmitted to large, widespread audiences.
|
|
|
|
| massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) | Games such as EverQuest that allow many players to join in over the Internet.
|
|
|
|
| media | Plural of medium.
|
|
|
|
| media buyers | Advertising agency personnel who purchase ad time and space.
|
|
|
|
| media circus | Chaos that results when crowds of journalists descend on the scene of a news event.
|
|
|
|
| media criticism | The analysis used to assess the effects of media on individuals, on societies, and on cultures.
|
|
|
|
| media ecology | School of cultural study that suggests that media make up an ecological system for humans.
|
|
|
|
| media literacy | The ability to understand and make productive use of the media.
|
|
|
|
| media relations | The practice of developing and maintaining contact with media gatekeepers; also called press relations.
|
|
|
|
| mediated communication | Messages conveyed through an interposed device rather than face-to-face.
|
|
|
|
| mediated interpersonal communication | The sharing of personal messages through an interposed device.
|
|
|
|
| medium | An interposed device used to transmit messages.
|
|
|
|
| megastores | Large bookstores that feature around 100,000 book titles and offer various amenities such as coffee bars and live readings.
|
|
|
|
| mercantile press | Newspapers that provided news of business and shipping.
|
|
|
|
| metacrawler | A type of search engine that combines results from a number of other search engines.
|
|
|
|
| micro-blogging | Consists of blogs with very short posts, such as Twitter, which focuses on the question "What are you doing?"
|
|
|
|
| midlist authors | Authors who don't make it to the best-seller lists but still have respectable sales.
|
|
|
|
| minimal-effects model | Model that predicts that media will have little influence on behavior.
|
|
|
|
| mission statement | A brief explanation of how the magazine will be unique and what will make it successful.
|
|
|
|
| mixed-effects model | Model that predicts that media can have a combination of influences.
|
|
|
|
| moblogging | Posting photos from a cell phone directly onto the Web.
|
|
|
|
| modeling | The imitation of behavior from media.
|
|
|
|
| Morse code | Telegraph code of dots and dashes invented by Samuel Morse.
|
|
|
|
| Motion Picture Patents Company | Company founded by Thomas Edison to control the movie equipment business; known as the Trust.
|
|
|
|
| Moviola | Simple editing machine made up of two reels on which film is spooled over a small light.
|
|
|
|
| MP3 | The name for compressed digital audio files that enable music to be downloaded from the Internet.
|
|
|
|
| muckraking | Investigative journalism conducted with the goal of bringing about social reform.
|
|
|
|
| multiple system operators (MSOs) | Companies that own several local cable service providers, usually in different areas of the country.
|
|
|
|
| multistep flow | A complex interaction of media effects.
|
|
|
|
| must-carry rules | FCC regulations that require cable systems to carry all local television stations within the system's area of coverage.
|
|
|
|
| network | (1) A group of interconnected broadcast stations that share programming. (2) The parent company that supplies that programming. (3) Interconnected computers. (4) To make industry contacts for possible employment.
|
|
|
|
| network affiliate | A local station that has a contractual relationship to show a network's programming.
|
|
|
|
| network engineers | The people who design and build the systems that make up the Internet.
|
|
|
|
| network managers | Those who provide the day-to-day maintenance of local systems and intranets.
|
|
|
|
| news | The presentation of information that is timely, important, and interesting to its audience.
|
|
|
|
| news councils | Independent agencies whose mission is to objectively monitor media performance.
|
|
|
|
| news hole | Total amount of space in a newspaper that can be devoted to editorial content versus advertising.
|
|
|
|
| news hook | The angle or approach that makes information newsworthy.
|
|
|
|
| news on demand | Current information that users can access whenever they want it.
|
|
|
|
| news values | Characteristics that define news, including timeliness, importance, and interest.
|
|
|
|
| newsprint | Inexpensive paper used for newspapers.
|
|
|
|
| newsreels | Short films covering current events that were shown in theaters before the advent of television.
|
|
|
|
| nickelodeons | (1) Small early movie theaters. (2) Early jukeboxes set up in amusement arcades.
|
|
|
|
| noise | Anything that interferes with the communication process.
|
|
|
|
| objectivity | Writing style that separates fact from opinion; description according to the characteristics of the thing being described rather than the feelings of the one describing it.
|
|
|
|
| obscenity | Offensive content with no social value.
|
|
|
|
| off-network programs | Syndicated programs that were shown earlier on one of the television networks and are now being licensed on a station-by-station basis.
|
|
|
|
| ombudsperson | Staff member whose job it is to oversee media employees' ethical behavior.
|
|
|
|
| on spec | On speculation; in the publishing industry, finishing a work without a contract guaranteeing that it will be bought.
|
|
|
|
| online publisher | One that provides "supported self-publishing" through a Web site.
|
|
|
|
| op-ed page | The section of the newspaper "opposite the editorial page" reserved for signed columns, opinion pieces, and guest editorials.
|
|
|
|
| opinion leaders | Well-informed people who help others interpret media messages.
|
|
|
|
| oral culture | A culture in which information is transmitted more by speech than writing.
|
|
|
|
| organizational papers | Newspapers published as part of an organization's communication with members.
|
|
|
|
| original syndication | The station-by-station licensing of new television programs that were not earlier shown on a network.
|
|
|
|
| owned and operated stations (O&Os) | Broadcast stations possessed by and run by the network; they usually carry everything the network provides.
|
|
|
|
| packet switching | Sending digital messages in chunks through any open pathway, to be reassembled at their destination.
|
|
|
|
| paid circulation magazines | Magazines for which readers actually pay subscription fees and newsstand charges.
|
|
|
|
| papyrus | A type of reed used to make an early form of paper.
|
|
|
|
| parchment | An early form of paper made from animal skins.
|
|
|
|
| parity statement | An assertion of equality that sounds like an assertion of superiority.
|
|
|
|
| partisan press | Newspapers owned or supported by political parties.
|
|
|
|
| pass-along circulation | Readership beyond the original purchaser of a publication.
|
|
|
|
| patent | An exclusive right granted an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention.
|
|
|
|
| payola | A practice in which record companies paid radio station personnel to play certain records.
|
|
|
|
| pay-per-view channels | Systems that allow cable TV subscribers to order recent feature films, sporting events, concerts, and other special events when scheduled.
|
|
|
|
| peep shows | Amusement parlor boxes containing moving rolls of still pictures.
|
|
|
|
| peg | An angle, or perspective, that makes information interesting to the audience.
|
|
|
|
| penny press | Inexpensive, advertiser-supported newspapers that appeared in the 1830s.
|
|
|
|
| periodical | Term for magazines based on the idea of their regular interval of publication.
|
|
|
|
| persistence of vision | An aspect of human vision in which the brain retains images for a fraction of a second after they leave the field of sight; this allows for the illusion of movement from a series of still pictures.
|
|
|
|
| phonograph | Thomas Edison's name for his first recording device. Originally a trademark, the name eventually became generic for all home record players.
|
|
|
|
| photo-offset printing | Technique in which a photo negative transfers ink onto paper.
|
|
|
|
| pirate radio stations | Low-power, unlicensed, illegal stations.
|
|
|
|
| pirating | The illegal copying and selling of movies.
|
|
|
|
| pitching accounts | Presenting new ideas for ad campaigns to a prospective client.
|
|
|
|
| pixels | Lighted dots that create a television picture image.
|
|
|
|
| political speech | Messages about the meaning and correct course of government.
|
|
|
|
| political/economic analysis | Theory that predicts that a culture's exchange system will influence its values.
|
|
|
|
| pool cameras | One camera crew shared by several TV news organizations.
|
|
|
|
| popular stage (of media development) | Phase of media evolution in which a truly mass audience takes advantage of a particular medium.
|
|
|
|
| portals | Sites from which users begin their Web surfing.
|
|
|
|
| positioning | The process of finding specific customer types and creating advertising appeals for them.
|
|
|
|
| postproduction | The final phase of moviemaking, which includes editing and other technical improvements to the film.
|
|
|
|
| powerful-effects model | Model that predicts that media will have swift and potent influence.
|
|
|
|
| premium cable channels | Cable channels that provide programming to subscribers for an additional fee, over and above their basic cable subscription fee; sometimes called pay cable.
|
|
|
|
| preproduction | The planning phase of moviemaking.
|
|
|
|
| prescriptive codes | Guidelines that stipulate specific behaviors to be followed.
|
|
|
|
| press agents | People who work to generate publicity for a client.
|
|
|
|
| press kit | A collection of publicity items given out to media gatekeepers.
|
|
|
|
| press release | Brief document containing the information needed to write a news story; also called a news release.
|
|
|
|
| prior restraint | Prevention of publication by the government.
|
|
|
|
| privilege | Exemption given public officials to speak without fear of being sued for libel.
|
|
|
|
| producer | In the music industry, the person who oversees the making of a master recording.
|
|
|
|
| product placement | The inclusion of a product in a movie as a form of paid advertising.
|
|
|
|
| production | The actual shooting phase of moviemaking.
|
|
|
|
| professional journals | Periodicals that doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other occupational groups rely on for information in their fields.
|
|
|
|
| program syndication | The sale of programs directly to stations or cable channels.
|
|
|
|
| propaganda | Information that is spread for the purpose of promoting a doctrine or cause.
|
|
|
|
| proscriptive codes | Guidelines that stress the things that should not be done.
|
|
|
|
| protocols | Software codes that enable one computer to communicate with another.
|
|
|
|
| pseudo events | Happenings that would not have occurred if media were not there to record them.
|
|
|
|
| psychographics | Measurements of audience characteristics that are difficult to observe and label, such as the psychological (and sometimes hidden) dimensions of attitudes, beliefs, values, interests, and motivations.
|
|
|
|
| Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) | Government-sponsored association of public television stations designed to facilitate the sharing of programs.
|
|
|
|
| public domain | The category of creative works on which the copyright has expired.
|
|
|
|
| "public interest, convenience, and necessity" | A phrase from the Radio Act of 1927 requiring that broadcasting be good for the community.
|
|
|
|
| public journalism | Reporting that becomes involved in, rather than just covers, community issues.
|
|
|
|
| public radio | Broadcast outlets that derive their income from sources other than the sale of advertising time; also known as noncommercial.
|
|
|
|
| public relations | All the activities that maintain a beneficial relationship between an organization and its various publics.
|
|
|
|
| public relations magazines | Magazines produced with the objective of making their parent organizations look good.
|
|
|
|
| public service announcements (PSAs) | Ads on public interest issues presented as a service to the community.
|
|
|
|
| publicity stunt | Any action designed to create a human interest story; many are outlandish or outrageous.
|
|
|
|
| publisher | In print industries, the person who runs an individual company and acts as its chief representative.
|
|
|
|
| puffery | Exaggeration in advertising claims.
|
|
|
|
| pulp novels | Paperback books printed on cheap paper made from wood pulp; another name for dime novels.
|
|
|
|
| pulps | Magazines produced on cheap paper with a low cultural reach, such as True Romance and True Confessions.
|
|
|
|
| rag content | Proportion of cotton or linen fiber in high-quality paper.
|
|
|
|
| ragtime | Instrumental music with a steady, syncopated beat.
|
|
|
|
| random sampling | Method that ensures that every member of the population being studied has an equal chance of being chosen.
|
|
|
|
| rap | Music composed of rhymed speech over drumbeats.
|
|
|
|
| rating | The percentage of all homes equipped with radios or televisions that are tuned to a particular station at a particular time.
|
|
|
|
| regional editions | Slightly different versions of the same magazine produced for different geographic areas.
|
|
|
|
| relativistic ethics | Another name for situation ethics.
|
|
|
|
| reporting stations | The radio stations whose playlists are tracked weekly to determine airplay popularity for individual songs.
|
|
|
|
| required readers | Those who read only what they have to for their job or studies.
|
|
|
|
| residual news | Stories about events that are recurrent or long-lasting.
|
|
|
|
| royalties | The author's share of the net amount of a work's revenues.
|
|
|
|
| sampling | Measurements taken from a small percentage of the audience, chosen to represent the behavior of the rest of the audience; broadcast ratings are a form of sampling.
|
|
|
|
| satellite news gathering (SNG) | Reporting the news with equipment that enables transmission via satellite.
|
|
|
|
| second unit directors | Movie directors in charge of shooting the scenes that do not require the stars.
|
|
|
|
| seditious libel laws | Laws established in colonial America that made it illegal to criticize government or its representatives.
|
|
|
|
| selective exposure | Process by which people seek out messages that are consistent with their attitudes.
|
|
|
|
| selective perception | Process by which people with different attitudes interpret the same messages differently.
|
|
|
|
| selective retention | Process by which people with different views remember the same event differently.
|
|
|
|
| sensationalism | Use of exaggeration and lurid elements to produce a startling effect.
|
|
|
|
| sequestering | Isolating members of a jury.
|
|
|
|
| share | The percentage of homes in which the radio or television is in use and tuned to a particular station.
|
|
|
|
| shield laws | Laws designed to ensure confidentiality of news sources.
|
|
|
|
| shock jocks | Radio personalities who derive humor and ratings from lewd and tasteless comments, using tactics such as vulgarity, racism, sexism, and cynicism.
|
|
|
|
| shoppers | Free-distribution newspapers consisting mostly of ads.
|
|
|
|
| short wave | Long-distance radio broadcast band.
|
|
|
|
| situation ethics | Principle that ethical choices can be made according to the situation, without a rigid adherence to set rules.
|
|
|
|
| slander | Defamation that occurs in a transitory form, such as speech.
|
|
|
|
| small press | A publisher with few employees and minimal facilities. Many small presses try to publish serious books, especially poetry and avant-garde fiction.
|
|
|
|
| smart mobs | Crowds formed in response to cell phone postings.
|
|
|
|
| social learning theory | Theory that people learn by observing others.
|
|
|
|
| socialization | Process by which children learn the expectations, norms, and values of society.
|
|
|
|
| sound bites | Short, carefully crafted statements designed to be picked up in news reports.
|
|
|
|
| Soundscan | A point-of-sale computer system that determines sales for best-selling records lists.
|
|
|
|
| spam | Unsolicited e-mail messages.
|
|
|
|
| special interest magazines | Magazines aimed at specific readers with specific concerns and tastes.
|
|
|
|
| specialized stage (of media development) | Phase of media evolution in which a particular medium tends to break up into segments for audience members with diverse and specialized interests.
|
|
|
|
| spectrum scarcity | Limited nature of broadcast frequencies.
|
|
|
|
| split-run editions | Slightly different versions of the same magazine, as in demographic and regional editions.
|
|
|
|
| sponsored magazines | Magazines published by associations, such as National Geographic.
|
|
|
|
| spyware | Programs that track Internet users' activities and report them back to advertisers.
|
|
|
|
| standards and practices departments | Departments at television networks that oversee the ethics of their programming.
|
|
|
|
| stereophonic sound | Recording technique in which tracks are placed individually in the right or left speaker.
|
|
|
|
| stereotyping | Representing a member of a group by using oversimplified characteristics.
|
|
|
|
| stringers | Independent journalists who are paid only for material used.
|
|
|
|
| strip programming | A system of showing a program in the same time period five times a week.
|
|
|
|
| subliminal advertising | Promotional messages that the consumer is not consciously aware of.
|
|
|
|
| subscription fulfillment companies | Businesses that specialize in soliciting magazine subscriptions.
|
|
|
|
| sunshine laws | Laws that ensure that public meetings are conducted in the open.
|
|
|
|
| superstation | A local station whose signal is delivered to cable systems via satellite.
|
|
|
|
| survey methods | Research methods that rely on questionnaires to collect research data.
|
|
|
|
| sustaining programming | Regular unsponsored broadcast shows designed to maintain audience contact until advertising can be sold for that time.
|
|
|
|
| sweeps months | Months in which local stations use the ratings to set their basic advertising rates for the next three-month period—currently, November, February, May, and July.
|
|
|
|
| syndication | The process of selling media content to individual outlets.
|
|
|
|
| synergy | A combination in which the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
|
|
|
|
| tabloids | Newspapers characterized by a smaller size than a standard newspaper, a single fold, and abundant photographs.
|
|
|
|
| target marketing | The process of breaking up the advertising audience into diverse segments to reach those individuals most likely to purchase a particular product.
|
|
|
|
| technological determinism | Theory that states that the introduction of new technology changes society, sometimes in unexpected ways.
|
|
|
|
| teleconference | A news conference in which newsmakers and reporters in various locations are joined by a satellite or an Internet hookup; also called a videoconference or a satellite media tour (SMT).
|
|
|
|
| theory | A set of related statements that seek to explain and predict behavior.
|
|
|
|
| tie-ins | Consumer products built around movie characters.
|
|
|
|
| time shifting | Recording of a television program for playback at some later time.
|
|
|
|
| Tin Pan Alley | District in New York City where songs were written "on order" for Broadway shows.
|
|
|
|
| toll broadcasting | Early plan for radio revenue in which access to radio time would be by fee.
|
|
|
|
| Top 40 | Radio format in which the current 40 best-selling songs are played in rotation.
|
|
|
|
| track | A single recorded sound source, used in multitrack recording.
|
|
|
|
| trade advertising | Business-to-business promotions.
|
|
|
|
| trade books | Fiction and nonfiction books sold to the general public.
|
|
|
|
| trade cards | Illustrated cards with a business message on one side and artwork on the other.
|
|
|
|
| trade magazines | Magazines that focus on a particular business and are usually essential reading for people in that business.
|
|
|
|
| trade paperback | A quality paperback book with a larger trim size than the standard mass-market paperback.
|
|
|
|
| trademark | A word, symbol, or device that identifies a seller's goods.
|
|
|
|
| trailers | Brief previews of coming movies shown in theaters.
|
|
|
|
| transistor | A durable, solid-state, miniature version of the large and fragile vacuum tubes used in early radios.
|
|
|
|
| trial balloons | Leaks in which the source reveals that some action is being considered, in order to test public feeling about the action before going ahead with it.
|
|
|
|
| turnkey networks | Companies that provide fully automated around-the-clock programming for radio stations.
|
|
|
|
| tweeters | Small speakers that reproduce high sounds.
|
|
|
|
| two-source rule | Common newspaper rule stating that nothing should be published as fact unless at least two sources confirm it.
|
|
|
|
| two-step flow | Communication process in which media effects travel through opinion leaders.
|
|
|
|
| ultra high frequency (UHF) | Term used to describe stations transmitting on channels 14 and up.
|
|
|
|
| underground press | Alternative newspapers of the 1960s and 1970s that passionately criticized cultural and political norms.
|
|
|
|
| uniform resource locator (URL) | An Internet address that connects the user to a Web site on a particular computer.
|
|
|
|
| university press | A publisher that is affiliated with an institution of higher education and that publishes mostly academic books, especially original research by college professors.
|
|
|
|
| user ID | The first part of an e-mail address.
|
|
|
|
| uses and gratifications theory | Theory that looks at the ways media consumers choose media to meet their needs.
|
|
|
|
| utilitarian principle | John Stuart Mill's idea that actions are ethical only if they result in the greatest good for the most people.
|
|
|
|
| vanity press | A publisher that requires its authors to pay the full cost of producing their own books.
|
|
|
|
| V-chip | An electronic device that can be set to recognize and block programs with a particular rating.
|
|
|
|
| veil of ignorance | John Rawls's term associated with the idea that ethical behavior is possible only if everyone is treated equally.
|
|
|
|
| vertical integration | A business model in which a company owns different parts of the same industry.
|
|
|
|
| very high frequency (VHF) | Term used to describe television stations that operate on channels 2 through 13.
|
|
|
|
| Victrola | Early hand-cranked record player introduced by the Victor Company.
|
|
|
|
| video news release (VNR) | A ready-to-broadcast videotape designed for use in television news.
|
|
|
|
| video on demand (VOD) | Services that allow subscribers to order recent feature films, sporting events, concerts, news items, and special events at any time; television clips that users can access whenever they want to.
|
|
|
|
| videocassette recorder (VCR) | An improvement on the videotape recorder (VTR) that uses cassette tapes instead of reels.
|
|
|
|
| videotape recorder (VTR) | A device for recording sounds and images on reels of magnetic tape.
|
|
|
|
| videotext | An experimental system for delivering electronic newspapers to homes via television sets.
|
|
|
|
| virus | A program designed specifically to damage other software, and to propagate itself to other computers.
|
|
|
|
| Web 2.0 | The idea of a second-generation Internet that is highly participatory, allowing users to improve it as they use it.
|
|
|
|
| weblogs | Online journals or diaries; called blogs for short.
|
|
|
|
| webmasters | Those who maintain either content or systems for large Web sites.
|
|
|
|
| webzines | Magazines that appear only on the Internet, such as Slate and Salon; also called e-zines.
|
|
|
|
| whitewashing | The practice of using public relations messages to cover up problems without correcting them.
|
|
|
|
| wireless telegraphy | Name for early radio transmissions, before human voices could be carried on the airwaves.
|
|
|
|
| woofers | Large speakers that reproduce low sounds.
|
|
|
|
| World Wide Web | A simplified means of navigating the Internet based on hypertext links and graphical user interfaces.
|
|
|
|
| yellow journalism | A style of reporting characterized by unprecedented sensationalism; it reached its peak in the Hearst–Pulitzer circulation wars of the 1890s.
|
|
|
|
| zines | Low-cost self-published magazines put out by fans on a variety of topics; also called fanzines.
|