Dictionary of Media and Communications

Home , Beyond Nature, Chopsocky, Copyright Act of 1909, Embedded journalism, Narcotizing dysfunction, Plastic Box

Marcel Danesi

M.E.Sharpe Armonk, New York London, England FOREWORD

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Danesi, Marcel, 1946– Dictionary of media and communications / Marcel Danesi; foreword by Arthur Asa Berger. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-7656-8098-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Mass media—Dictionaries. 2. Communication—Dictionaries. I. Title.

P87.5.D359 2008 302.2303—dc22 2008011560

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.48-1984.

BM (c) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Images provided by Getty Images and the following: AFP: page 235; Andreas Solaro/Stringer/AFP: 82; Aubrey Beardsley/The Bridgeman Art Library: 27; Bernard Gotfryd/Hulton Archive: 190; Blank Archives/Hulton Archive: 16; Buyenlarge/Time & Life Pictures: 5, 155; CBS Photo Archive/Hulton Archive: 256; Dave Bradley Photography/Taxi: 127; Deshakalyan Chowdhury/Stringer/AFP: 60; Disney/Hulton Archive: 118; Ethan Miller: 43; Evan Agostini: 55; George Pierre Seurat/The Bridge- man Art Library: 234; Hulton Archive/Stringer: 36, 92, 129; Italian School/The Bridgeman Art Library: 153; Mario Tama: 67; Michael Ochs Archive/Stringer: 147; Paul Nicklen/National Geographic: 223; RDA/Hulton Archive: 53; Shelly Katz/Time & Life Pictures: 178; Stringer/AFP: 303; Stringer: 137; Susanna Price/Dorling Kindersley: 134; Time & Life Pictures/Stringer: 55, 182, 184; Transcendental Graphics/Hulton Archive: 188; Vince Bucci/Stringer: 221; Walter Sanders/Time & Life Pictures: 219; Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP: 229. Image on page 116 provided by Erich Lessing/Art Resource. foreword

Contents

Foreword by Arthur Asa Berger vii Introduction xi

A–Z 3

Chronology 313 Bibliography 325 Resources on the World Wide Web 329 About the Author 333

foreword

Foreword

With each year that passes, the mass media and the various means of communication available to us exert a greater and more direct impact upon our cultures, societies, economies, and everyday lives. Most of us live in a media-saturated society and spend increasing amounts of time with different kinds of media. According to a 2005 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, young people from the ages of eight to eighteen in the United States devote approximately forty hours a week to using media of all kinds for recreational purposes. In addition to more time, most of us also spend more money on accessing the media and on buying devices for recording information and for communicating with one another. Consider how much your family spends, for example, on all of the following:

access to the Internet, cable and satellite services, video game players and video games, and cell phones and cell phone contracts, not to mention all of the other gizmos and gadgets that come flooding onto the market in rapid succession. Think, for example, of the price tag on those large- screen high‑definition digital television sets; some run into thousands of dollars. Every day, meanwhile, we send billions of e-mail messages and receive billions of others—wanted or unwanted—from friends, family members, fellow student and colleagues, or spammers. Internet technology makes it as easy to send someone a message 10,000 miles away as it is to send a message to someone ten feet away. In barely more than a decade, cell phone use has exploded all over the world, with still new (non-talking) uses of the device—

vii foreword from texting to searching the World Wide Web to accessing satellite navigation systems—constantly are being developed. Cell phones have already exerted a major impact on society and our daily lives, shaping everything from politics to the dating behavior of adolescents. At the same time, video games and video game players now constitute a multibillion-dollar industry, even larger than the film industry. Apple’s iPods, other portable media players, and all the devices created for them have radically altered the way many of us, especially young people, access and listen to music. Powerful tools for using the Internet likewise have had a transformative effect, enabling millions of people to spend time blogging, buying and selling products on eBay, looking up information on Google and other search engines, ordering books and other products on Amazon.com and similar sites, compiling their pages on Facebook and MySpace, watching videos on You Tube, and guiding their avatars on Second Life. We use the Internet now to do everything from finding dates and marriage partners to looking up travel information, obtaining medical data, paying bills, and buying stocks. As the media and the means of communication have grown in importance and influence, studying them has become ever more widespread in high schools and universities. Courses on subjects that involve media literacy—such as advertising, marketing, linguistics, anthropology, and sociology—have become common. These courses are designed to teach students about the impact of the media and communications on our institutions and way of life, as well as on those in other countries—also part of the “global village.” Given the ubiquitous nature of old and new media and the new technologies that are constantly being developed, it is invaluable to have a single, handy reference book that covers all of them and related cognate fields (disciplines) in an informed and insightful manner. The Dictionary of Media and Communications enables students from high school to graduate school to find accessible, authoritative explanations of essential theories and concepts in all relevant subject areas. Also included are portraits of leading figures in media scholarship and clear, straightforward explanations of practical methods and constructs used in media studies, communications, and related fields, such as semiotics and psychoanalytic theory. With more than 2,000 entries of varying lengths, the Dictionary of Media and Communications is an authoritative and reader-friendly reference that enables anyone interested in the media and communications to find clearly written definitions and explanations. In addition to defining terms, individual entries may also include examples of how the terms are used and background history on the origins and development of related concepts. For visual appeal and to illustrate diverse subjects in terms that are meaningful to readers, the volume also includes dozens of photographs, line drawings, and diagrams.

viii foreword

In addition to the alphabetical listing of definitions, the Dictionary of Media and Communications contains several information-packed appendices. The Chronology is a detailed list of historic events for various media types, industries, means of communication, and cognate fields. To help readers pursue further research, the Bibliography suggests recommended books in the field, also organized by media and communications categories. Finally, Resources on the World Wide Web offers similar assistance with an extensive list. The Dictionary of Media and Communications is an invaluable resource that is readable, comprehensive, and authoritative. It is more than a reference book. Because of the centrality of media and communications in modern life, it is, in effect, an introduction to contemporary culture and to the wide-ranging theories and concepts that scholars have developed to better understand the world—some would say the “brave new world”—in which we now live.

Arthur Asa Berger Professor Emeritus Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts San Francisco State University

introduction

Introduction

In 1938, a truly significant event took place that epitomized the power of the emerging role of the media in the modern world. That event was the radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s novel about interplanetary invasion, The War of the Worlds. It was created by the famous actor and director, Orson Welles, as a radio drama simulating the style of a news broadcast. Welles pulled off his “reality-inducing effect” by using a series of fake “on-the-spot” news reports describing the landing of Martian spaceships in New Jersey. An announcer would remind the radio audience, from time to time, that the show was fictional. But many listeners believed that what they were hearing was factual. In New Jersey, many people went into a state of panic, believing that Martians had actually invaded the Earth. Concerned citizens notified the police and the army; some ran onto the streets shouting hysterically; and a few even contem- plated escaping somewhere—anywhere. The event was a watershed one in the history of the modern world, becoming itself a topic of media attention and, a year later, leading to the first psychological study of the effects of the media on common people, called the Cantril Study, after Hadley Cantril who headed a team of researchers at Princeton University. Cantril wanted to find out why some believed the fake reports and others not. After interviewing 135 subjects, the research team came to the conclusion that the key was critical thinking— better-educated listeners were more capable of recognizing the broadcast as a fake than less-educated ones. The Cantril report also laid the foundation for a systematic study of the media in universities and colleges, leading eventually to the establishment of departments, institutes, journals, book series, and the like for the study of modern media. Since the 1940s, such study has skyrocketed, becoming an area of

xi introduction intense interest, not only on the part of academics and researchers, but also on the part of virtually everyone. A seemingly different path of study was opened up in the late 1940s by the late engineer Claude Shannon (1916–2001). Shannon was the one who laid the foundations for investigating the relation between communication (in all its forms) and technology. He did this by devising a theoretical framework intended originally to improve the efficiency of telecommunication systems. Known as the “bull’s-eye model,” the framework was intended originally to identify the main components of such systems and describe in precise mathematical terms how they functioned in the transmission and reception of information. In bare outline form, Shannon’s model consisted of a sender aiming a message at a receiver as if in a target range—hence the designation bull’s-eye model. Shannon also introduced terms such as feedback and noise into the lexicon of communications study. However, few at the time saw a connection between the study of media and communications until a Canadian professor at the University of Toronto started to amalgamate the two domains in the 1950s. That professor was the late Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980), whose work on the relation between media and communications technologies brought to common awareness the fact that culture, social evolution, and technology are intrinsically intertwined. Ever since, the study of media and communication as an integrated phenomenon has been the rule in academia. McLuhan’s basic approach was to show that there exists a built-in synergy between media, mass communications technologies, and culture. He claimed that each major historical era took its character from the medium used most widely at the time. For example, he called the period from 1700 to the mid- 1900s the “Age of Print,” because in that period printed books were the chief media through which mass communications took place. But that is not all that occurred. The Age of Print changed the state of the world permanently, he suggested, because print literacy encouraged a radical new form of individualism and the subsequent growth of nationalism. The “Electronic Age” displaced the Age of Print in the twentieth century. The consequences of that displacement also have been colossal. Because electronic technology has increased both the breadth and rapidity of communication, it has radically changed how people interact and behave socially. Phones, radios, computers, and instant messaging devices have influenced the lives of everyone, even those who use them spo- radically or who do not use them at all. The Electronic Age may in fact be leading, as McLuhan suspected, to the end of individualism and literacy-inspired notions of nationalism generated by the previous Age of Print. In a fundamental way, the study of the media-communication nexus is an exercise in unraveling the psychological reasons why we evolve through communication devices and why modern economies and political systems depend so much on these devices. Without the media and its supporting mass com-

xii introduction munications technologies to “spread the message,” so to speak, fads and crazes such as sports spectacles, Hula Hoops, recipes, posters, songs, dance crazes, sitcoms, and clothing fashions, would hardly gain popularity. The world we live in is largely fabricated by a media-communications interconnection. No wonder, then, that studying this interconnection has become so critical. Mass communications technologies have literally brought about Huxley’s “brave new world”—a world described rather accurately by the prophetic 1999 movie, The Matrix. Like the main character of that movie, Neo, we all live our daily lives “on the screen” and our engagement with reality is more often than not through the “matrix”—which means both the network of circuits that defines computer technology and “womb.” With the advent of the Internet, new generations are now born within two kinds of wombs—the biological one and a technological one, as the movie so brilliantly brings out. The study of the media-communications nexus now has its own set of theories and analytical frameworks. These provide concepts and discourses that can be applied in part or in whole to a study of all modern-day cultural trends or processes. The appeal of such study is that it leaves the interpretation of these processes open to variation. This is the reason why there is no one theory of the media, but many. Media analysts today use a blend of concepts and techniques at various stages of analysis and for diverse purposes.

Purpose of This Dictionary

As McLuhan anticipated, the media and mass communications devices are at the center of our world, shaping lifestyle and worldview. Relatively young by academic standards, media and communication studies started growing in the late 1950s, after McLuhan’s influential writings started receiving international attention. The field has since produced a vast repertory of notions, ideas, techniques, theories, and methods of analysis. Many of these were originally borrowed and adapted from cognate disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, semiotics, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology; but many others have been self-generated, and are thus new, interesting, and often controversial. Newcom- ers to this area may thus experience unease or consternation with the vast repertory of terms that populate the field. This dictionary is an attempt to provide a comprehensible map through that field. Thus it contains entries dealing with the basic ideas, concepts, personages, schools of thought, theories, and technical trends that come up recurrently in the literature on media and communication. Since the literature also makes frequent references to cognate fields such as semiotics, psychology, linguistics, mythology, literary studies, cultural anthropology, and a few others, some of the most frequently used terms and ideas within these are also included. I must warn the user, however, that to keep the proportions of this dictionary within

xiii introduction the limits of a compact practical reference work, I have had to limit my choices to the main items that recur in the relevant literature. Inevitably, there will be some omissions and gaps. Nevertheless, I have tried to cast as broad a net as possible, so as to gather within two covers the bulk of the ideas and technical terms that the beginning student or interested general reader will need to know in order to decipher the relevant literature. Cross‑references to other terms contained in this dictionary are indicated with small capitals. The commentary provided for each of the personages consists of a brief statement about his or her relevance and/or contribution to the field. Only those personages to whom the technical literature regularly alludes have been included in this dictionary. A bibliography of relevant works is included at the back. Also listed are timelines for specific media or media genres, as well as a list of useful Web sites. Hopefully, the user will find in it all the relevant information she or he might need for conducting a personal analysis of the media-communications nexus that now “rules the universe,” so to speak. I also hope to have provided a framework for understanding the world we live in and probably will live in for the foreseeable future.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank the editorial staff at M.E. Sharpe for all their advice, support, and expert help in the making of this dictionary. I am especially grateful to Peter Mavrikis, without whom this volume would never have come to fruition. Needless to say, I alone am responsible for any infelicities that remain in the volume. I also wish to thank Victoria College of the University of Toronto for having allowed me the privilege of teaching and coordinating its Program in Semiotics and Communication Theory over many years. Another debt of grati- tude goes to the many students I have taught. Their insights and enthusiasm have made my job simply wonderful! They are the impetus for this dictionary.

xiv Dictionary of Media and Communications

last item

A roll footage used in an cations: for example, bf = edited film sequence, con- boyfriend; gf = girlfriend. sisting mainly of interviews or images that relate to ABC [see American the theme or topic being A Broadcasting Company] showcased abduction in contrast to, but also A&E Network [abbreviation of in complement with, i n d u c t i o n Arts and Entertainment Network] (generalizing on the basis of obser- cable and satellite television channel vations of particular patterns inher- launched in 1984 that produces and ent in something) and d e d u c t i o n broadcasts programs dealing with the (forming a conclusion on the basis arts and educational topics, as well of given premises); this term was as documentaries, biographies, and proposed by American philosopher popular entertainment formats. Web Ch a r l e s Pe i r c e to characterize a site: www.aetv.com method of reasoning carried out by informed hunches or “best guesses” A&R executive [abbreviation of on the basis of previous experience, Artists and Repertoire executive] knowledge, or understanding. In an executive of a record company classic mystery stories, the detective- who oversees artists and the record- protagonist solves a crime by using ing process abduction—that is, crime scene clues are interpreted in terms of skilled AAA [see American Academy of inference and previous experience. Advertising] aberrant decoding interpretation AAAA [see American Association of a media product or text that is not of Advertising Agencies] the one intended by the creator of the product or text. The term was coined AAI [see audience appreciation by Um b e r t o Ec o in 1965 to describe index] what happens when a message that is put together according to a specific AB roll sequence of two segments code (a set of meanings) is inter- (video, musical), composed so that as preted according to another code. For one fades away the other one blends in example, specific groups who are exposed to a particular media message abbreviation shortening of words, (such as an ad for beer) will decode phrases, or sentences: for example, hi it differently—an abstinent group (hello); bye (good-bye). Abbreviation might see it as an immoral message, is a major feature of communication while another group might view it in online chat rooms, text messages, as a lifestyle message that promotes and other types of digital communi- beer as a component of that lifestyle.

3 aberrant reading aberrant reading interpretation of a tion to show that the same position text in a way that was not intended or can be filled by other signs, but with expected by its author different meanings. For example, in the sentence The . . . ate the cake, aberration distortion of a video the empty slot can be filled by nouns image, caused by a corrupt signal or such as boy, girl, woman, or man. improper adjustment Absence is a technique for showing ways in which meaning is deter- Aboriginal People’s Television Net- mined. work [abbreviated as APTN] television network launched in 1999 with absence-of-language technique headquarters in Winnipeg (Canada) advertising strategy employing the devoted to broadcasting the stories omission of taglines, slogans, or any and cultural interests of Canada’s other kind of verbal commentary, First Nations. It is available nation- suggesting implicitly that a product ally on basic cable and via satellite. “speaks for itself.” Print ads without Web site: www.aptn.ca captions and TV commercial scenes without dialogue or explanation above-the-fold 1. top part of the are common absence-of-language front page of a newspaper (story techniques. Sometimes, the technique and/or photo) that is visible when is intended to provoke the viewer the newspaper is folded; 2. the most through the image. valuable part of a Web page, placed at the top part of the screen so that absolute cost actual cost of placing the user does not have to scroll down an ad in some medium (magazine, to see it; 3. any prominent story (in newspaper, radio, television, Internet) any medium) absolute time length of time that an above-the-line advertising promo- audio disc has been playing tional message for which a commission is paid, such as commission for abstract data type in computer an ad in a magazine or a stand at a programming, a data set defined trade fair by the programmer in terms of the information it can contain and the above-the-title the location of credits operations that can be performed that appear before the title of a movie with it (for example, the names of the starring actors, the name of the director, abstract expressionism a move- and the name of the producer) ment in twentieth-century art that broke away from the concept of art absence the exclusion of a s i g n (a as representation, promoting instead word, a symbol) from a specific loca- a mode of painting that expresses the

4 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

absurdist theater [also called theater of the absurd] popular and influential nonrealistic drama genre of the 1950s and 1960s. Influenced by existential philosophy, and especially by Albert Camus’s essay “Le Mythe de Sisyphe” (1942; “The Myth of Sisyphus”), absurdist dramas are characterized by such features as the elimination of traditional plot lines, the reduction of language to a game, the downgrading of characters to archetypes, the allusion to settings and locations as nonspecific, and portrayals of the world as alienating and incomprehensible. Key works in the genre include Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1952) and Eugène Ionesco’s Le Rhinocéros (1959).

Upward (1929) by Wassily Kandinsky AC Nielsen leading global market research firm, founded in 1923, best emotions spontaneously through the known for its Ni e l s e n ’s r at i n g s , act of transferring paint onto a can- which measure audience size and re- vas. The term was used originally to action to media programs and events. describe Russian-born artist Wassily Web site: www.acnielsen.com Kandinsky’s painting style between 1910 and 1914. Influenced by Euro- Academy Award [also called the pean avant-garde artists, the abstract Oscar] prestigious honor conferred expressionist movement found its annually by the Ac a d e m y o f main home in New York City in the M o t i o n Pi c t u r e Ar t s a n d 1950s. Abstract expressionist paint- S c i e n c e s in the United States to out- ings consist mainly of shapes result- standing actors, directors, composers, ing from the gestures made by the and others involved in motion pictures artist’s hand, called action paintings; or compositions of colors and shapes Academy of Motion Picture Arts for their own sake, called color field and Sciences professional organiza- paintings. Jackson Pollock, Willem tion founded in 1927 to promote the de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Helen advancement of the motion picture Frankenthaler, and Robert Mother- industry; composed of over 6,000 well are some well-known abstract motion picture professionals, includ- expressionists. ing actors, directors, writers, produc-

5 Academy ratio ers, and technical artists. Web site: access number telephone number www.oscars.org dialed by a computer to link it to an Internet service provider or other Academy ratio the ratio (1.33 to 1) type of network provider of the width of a film frame to the height of the frame, as standard- access panel group monitored for ized by the Academy of Motion research purposes so as to document Picture Arts and Sciences before the their television viewing habits development of widescreen format access provider [see Internet ser- acceleration factor increased vice provider] efficiency in communications technologies, which causes a more access television television that immediate impact of events upon the broadcasts independently of state media controls, usually with a small budget and reaching a limited area accent distinctive manner in which a language is pronounced, character- accessed voices individuals who are istic either of individuals, a region, given exposure by the media (celeb- a social group, or some other com- rities, politicians, experts) because munity their views are considered to be distinctive or, at least, not necessarily access ability of people to view, representative of those of the general investigate, or question the products, public activities, or motives of major media outlets and companies accessing practice of including verbal quotations and taped interviews access channel in cable television, a from various media originating from nonbroadcast channel dedicated to lo- people not employed by the media cal issues (for example, educational, organizations governmental, among others) accessory shoe camera bracket to access controller 1. device that which an accessory such as a flash moves image data to a video control- unit may be attached ler; 2. hardware that provides data link connectivity for area network accordion insert advertisement providers such as Ethernet inserted in a magazine, folded in an accordion style access head disk drive component of a computer that moves to a specific acculturation adaptive process by part of the disk’s surface to read the which change in culture occurs when information stored there two or more societies (with their own

6 acronym cultural traditions) come into contact acoustics study of the wave pat- for an extended period of time. Often terns produced by language sounds the result is a bidirectional adapta- (consonants, vowels, tones, etc.). tion, whereby the beliefs, conven- Now classified as a branch of tions, customs, and art forms of each p h o n e t i c s , the physical analysis of society in contact become fused or linguistic sound waves is traced to mixed (to varying degrees); or one Tonempfindungen als physiologische society may undergo partial or total Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik adaptation to the culture of the other (1863; On the Sensation of Tone as society (or societies). a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music) by the German physi- accumulation audience-counting cist He r m a n n v o n He l m h o lt z . method by which people exposed Acoustic phoneticians record and to a specific media product are analyze speech waves with devices counted once within a specified time and instruments designed to identify period recurrent patterns. acid house electronic disco music acquiescent audience people who popular in the 1980s, associated with are receptive to advertising and the use of the drug Ecstasy are more likely to be impressed by humorous, clever, or eye-catching acid jazz musical genre consisting of ads a blend of funk, jazz, and soul music that emerged in the 1980s acquisitions editor editor of a book publishing house who seeks new acid rock type of rock music popular works or evaluates submissions in the 1960s that used peculiar instrumental effects suggestive of psyche- acronym word, form, or abbre- delic (hallucinatory) experiences viation constructed with the initial letters of a phrase, expression, or ACORN [acronym for a classifica- group of words (or parts of words): tion of residential neighborhoods] for example, CD = compact disc, consumer research method of clas- DNA = deoxyribonucleic acid, laser sifying residential areas according to = light amplification bys timulated the type of people who live in them, emission of radiation, IQ = intelli- the type of homes in which they live, gence quotient. Acronymy is a major and other such categories feature of the language used in online social sites such as chat rooms, text acoustic rock style of rock music messages, and other types of digital played mainly on acoustic instru- communication venues: for example, ments (instruments without amplifi- cm = call me; ruok? = are you OK?; cation) g2g = got to go.

7 Acta diurna

Acta diurna (Acta publica or Acta action theory in some philosophi- populi) the first known newspaper, cal systems, the idea that actions are written on a tablet, which reported on different from behaviors. The term matters of public interest in ancient comes up occasionally in media Rome, after 27 b.c.e. studies in discussions of the relation between media and its effects on hu- actant in narrative theories, a recur- man behavior. rent role that manifests itself in stories across the world and across time: for ActionMedia trade name of a digital example, a hero, an opponent , a helper, video system developed by Intel that etc. The notion was developed primar- allows a computer to record, play ily by the twentieth-century French se- back, and manipulate video miotician Al g i r d a s Ju l i e n Gr e i m a s , who claimed that actants relate to each active audience in u s e s a n d g r a t i - other in a binary fashion, giving the f i c at i o n s t h e o ry , the people who narrative its trajectory and plot form: do not accept a media representation subject vs. object, sender vs. receiver , or text as it is presented to them, but helper vs. opponent, and so on. interpret it, or interact with it, for their own purposes and in their own actantial theory model of narrative way, regardless of the intention of the analysis based on the concept of creator of the representation or text a c ta n t active listening manner of listening action code 1. c o d e used to describe to a speaker, group, or media product events in a narrative; 2. commands (such as a documentary, feature film, used in computer programming or television program) so as to take into serious consideration the point of action code script (abbreviated as view being put forward ACS) scripting language used in some modem Doom source ports active participation way in which media intrude upon and influence action genre story that revolves the stories they are supposed to be around pugilistic action, martial arts reporting impartially action, or some other form of violent combat featuring a large number of active pixel region area of a com- action sequences puter screen that displays graphic information action replay repeat of a brief filmed segment, often in slow motion active reader in u s e s a n d g r a t i f i - c at i o n s t h e o ry , the individual who action shot scene involving move- does not read a media representation ment in a film or television program or text as it is presented to him or her,

8 Adbusters using it instead for his or her own ad impression opportunity to see purposes and in his or her own an advertisement; in online advertis- way, regardless of the intentions of ing, ad impressions are the number the maker of the representation or of times an ad is downloaded from a text Web page active video part of a video signal ad panel [see advertisement panel] that contains picture information adage [also called aphorism] formula- activism theory, doctrine, or practice ic statement designed to bring out some of assertive, often militant, action, generally accepted intuition, experi- such as mass demonstrations or ence, or truth, gaining currency over strikes, used as a means of opposing time: for example, haste makes waste; or supporting a controversial issue, necessity is the mother of invention. entity, or person adaptive control expenditure model actual malice reckless disregard of used by advertisers that takes into ac- the truth or falsity of some published count consumer responses to adver- or broadcast story tising campaigns. It does so typically by using statistical methods that actuality the live recording of an indicate the success of a campaign event on location as it actually un- and, thus, how much money can be folds poured into it. ad [see advertisement] Adbusters Canadian group of social activists with a popular Web site ad agency [see advertising agency] and magazine who are critical of the advertising process itself. The Web ad campaign [see advertising site and magazine of the same name campaign] were founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver. The ad copy printed text or spoken words organization offers not only serious in an advertisement critiques of advertising and consumerism, but also many clever parodies Ad Council [see Advertising of advertising campaigns, articles, Council] and forums on how one can recognize media manipulation, information ad hoc balancing of interests in on lawsuits and legislation on con- First Amendment cases, factors that sumer issues, and links for sending should be taken into consideration in e-mails to big businesses to contest determining how much freedom the their marketing strategies. Web site: press is granted www.adbusters.org

9 added value added value extra or additional pro- ies of media reception and communi- motion service or benefit that a pub- cation problems. lication can offer its advertisers, such as supplements or special sections admass segment of society at which an advertising c a m pa i g n is aimed addendum section of a book, magazine, or Web site that is tacked on, administrative research term first usually at the end, such as an appen- used by Pa u l La z a r s f e l d in 1941 dix or a further reading section to describe the type of research carried out by teams of researchers or addressable technology equipment institutions, using empirical methods enabling a program provider (such as (such as opinion polling) and seeking a cable television provider) to switch to answer clearly defined problems to pay services (who watches TV, why they watch it, how effective are advertising mes- addressee in Ro m a n Ja k o b s o n ’s sages, and so on) model of communication, the receiver(s) of a message; the person(s) adnorm measure of readership aver- to whom a message is addressed ages for print publications over a two-year period, used as a baseline addresser in Ro m a n Ja k o b s o n ’s for comparing specific ads on average model of communication, term refer- terms ring to the sender(s) of a message; that is, the person(s) who addresses a Adobe Acrobat trade name for soft- message to someone ware developed by Adobe Systems that converts documents and format- adjacency commercial break be- ted pages in such a way that they can tween television programs be viewed on a computer

Adler, Alfred (1870–1937) Austrian Adobe Photoshop graphics edit- psychiatrist who coined the term ing software developed by Adobe inferiority complex, which he saw as Systems the primary source of characteristic behaviors and of most neuroses—in Adorno, Theodor (1903–1969) contrast to Fr e u d ’s emphasis on influential German Marxist thinker sexual drives as the primary psychic who was a leading figure in the so- forces. Adler’s most influential works called Fr a n k f u rt Sc h o o l . Adorno are Über den nervösen Charakter berated pop culture as an aberra- (1912; The Nervous Constitution) tion of true culture. He and Ma x and Menschenkenntnis (1927; Under- Ho r k h e i m e r (another Frankfurt standing Human Nature). His works School founder) coined the term are often cited in psychological stud- c u lt u r e i n d u s t ry to describe the

10 advertisement panel process by which mass forms of advance statement given to the culture were produced—in analogy media in advance of an event’s occur- with the industrial manufacturing rence so as to optimize coverage of commercial products. Adorno did not see pop culture as a threat to adventure spy genre narrative that social authority, but rather as a way involves espionage, mystery, crime, to homogenize cultural products so and/or adventure that they can be consumed easily and without thought. His ideas are often adventure story action tale revolving cited in media studies. His work The around daring heroes and sly villains Culture Industry: Selected Essays on in fantastic situations. Robert Louis Mass Culture (English translation Stevenson’s novel Treasure Island published posthumously in 1991) is (1883) is an example of this popular considered significant. form of children’s literature. adperson [previously adman] advergame term that appeared in person whose job is in the field of Wired magazine’s “Jargon Watch” advertising column in 2001, now applied to free online games commissioned by major ADR [see automatic dialogue companies to promote their prod- replacement] ucts. Advergaming is the practice of using games to advertise a product, ADSL [see Asymmetrical Digital organization, or viewpoint. Typically, Subscriber Line] companies provide interactive games on their Web sites in order to draw adspeak kind of jargon used in the potential customers to them so that advertising field users will spend more time on the Web sites, becoming more aware of adspend amount of money spent on their products. advertising a particular product advertisement [abbreviated as ad] adult contemporary music genre public promotion of a product or popular music that appeals mainly service by means of a notice, such as to an older audience; this genre can a poster, newspaper display, or paid include music that was once aimed announcement in some electronic or primarily at teenagers, such as the digital medium, designed to attract music of Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, public attention or patronage the Rolling Stones, or Madonna advertisement panel [abbreviated adult movie [also called porn as ad panel] specially designed movie] sexually explicit movie that is advertising space in a newspaper or primarily of prurient interest magazine

11 advertiser advertiser manufacturer, service and Baltimore). In the first decade company, retailer, or supplier that of the twentieth century advertising advertises its product(s) or service(s) agencies began to hire psychologists to help create campaigns designed advertising public announcement, to increase the desire to buy goods promotion, support, or endorsement through persuasion techniques. of a product, a service, a business, American psychologist John B. a person, an event, etc., in order to Watson, for instance, was hired by attract or increase interest. A poster the J. Walter Thompson Agency. found in Thebes, dated to 1000 b.c.e., Today the ad agency business has which offered gold for the capture of developed into an enterprise so huge a runaway slave, reveals that adver- that, for some critics, it has come tising has been practiced since antiq- to symbolize the style of American uity. In both the ancient and medieval capitalism—a style based on hype worlds, advertising was also carried and evangelical fervor. out by town criers—people who read advertising materials to the public— advertising boycott boycott orga- since many people were illiterate. In nized against companies so as to the seventeenth century, the London persuade them to abandon an adver- Gazette became the first newspaper tising campaign for a specific social to set aside a section for purposes of or political reason advertising. Book publishers, seed companies, railroads, and steamship advertising brief list of objectives lines were among the early users and instructions issued by a company of nationwide advertising. Today, to an advertising agency for advertising has morphed into a the design of an advertising dominant form of social discourse c a m pa i g n influencing lifestyle, worldview, economic systems, politics, and advertising campaign [abbreviated even traditional values, since it is as ad campaign] series of advertise- designed to suggest how people can ments constructed around the same best satisfy their needs and reach theme or using the same style, which their goals. together attempt to make the identical pitch for a product in a specific advertising agency [abbreviated as way. For example, the McDonald’s ad agency] company that creates a d - “I’m lovin’ it!” campaign directed v e rt i s i n g c a m pa i g n s for products. its message to a young audience; the The first modern agency was founded DeBeer’s “Diamonds are Forever” in 1841 by Philadelphia entrepreneur campaign used images of elegance, Volney B. Palmer. A few years later, romanticism, and the like to pitch its Palmer opened offices in major East message about the beauty and classic Coast cities (New York, Boston, elegance of the company’s diamonds.

12 aerial

Advertising Council [abbreviated magazine, radio program, television as Ad Council] private nonprofit slot) organization founded in 1942 that produces and disseminates public advertising specialties special items, service announcements on behalf of such as T-shirts, mugs, pens, or cards, various sponsors. Web site: www. given away as part of an advertising adcouncil.org campaign advertising impressions number of advertising techniques procedures times that an advertisement actually designed to inform or persuade reaches an intended audience, that is, people. Among the most common the total number of views by all audi- techniques are the at t e n t i o n - ence members g e t t i n g h e a d l i n e , the basic appeal, the comparison of products, the advertising media communication p r o d u c t c h a r a c t e r , r e p e t i t i o n in channels that carry advertising mes- advertising , the s l o g a n , and the sages to consumers. These include testimonial . print media (newspapers, magazines, advertising time amount of time pamphlets), electronic media (radio, on radio or television set aside for television), outdoor signs and posters, advertising phone directories, direct mailings, novelties, and the Internet. advertorial advertisement that has the appearance of a news article or advertising page exposure measure editorial, in a print publication of the opportunity for readers to see a particular print advertisement, advice column section of a news- whether or not they actually look at paper, magazine, or Web page that the ad is intended to give advice to readers who have sent in questions or queries advertising plan explicit outline of what goals an advertising campaign advocacy advertising type of adver- should achieve, how to accomplish tising used to promote a particular those goals, and how to determine position on a controversial political whether or not the campaign was suc- or social issue cessful in achieving those goals advocacy journalism type of jour- advertising rate amount of money nalism intended to promote a position charged for advertising space or time on a political, controversial, or social issue advertising space any space available for advertising in a media aerial [also called antenna] metal- product (for example, newspaper, lic apparatus used for sending and/or

13 aerial advertising receiving electromagnetic waves or among the greatest works of theater signals ever written. aerial advertising ads of products affective behavior category of hu- or services displayed in the air from man behavior based on feelings, balloons or planes sentiments, and emotions aerial perspective technique of mak- affiliatelocal radio or television sta- ing objects appear more distant by tion that is part of a national network portraying them less sharply; based on the phenomenon of atmospheric affiliate feemonthly fee that cable distortion programming services charge local cable operators for the right to carry aerial shot camera shot taken from a their programs high position above the action affiliate marketingpractice of pro- aesthesia in both art criticism and moting companies that pay to have psychology, a subject’s sensory and their products or services advertised emotional reaction to a stimulus on a centralized Web site (a melody, painting, etc.), inducing a heightened sensitivity to its affiliate partnercompany that puts beauty advertising for other companies on its own Web site aesthetics the perception and experience of beauty and meaning in art; affiliate programform of advertis- aesthetics deals in particular with the ing on the Internet in which busi- question of whether such perception nesses use banners or buttons on their exists in the mind of the interpreter Web sites to advertise the products or or whether it is an intrinsic part of services of another business a work of art (independent of an interpreter). The term was introduced affirmative disclosureidentifying in 1753 by the German philosopher the source of information contained Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten. in an advertisement, required by the Media scholarship has shown that Federal Trade Commission or other aesthetic value is often determined authority, which may not be desired by tradition, trends, and other social by the advertiser. This consists gener- pressures on tastes, regardless of the ally in some statement that admits to intrinsic value of a work. For ex- some limitation in the product or the ample, in the early eighteenth century offer made. the plays of William Shakespeare were viewed as barbaric and obscene. Afrocentric talk term coined by Today, they are considered to be American researcher Jennifer Wood

14 aida to refer to the use of oral storytell- agency commission agency’s fee for ing traditions and themes by African designing and placing advertisements Americans to make sense of their world and thus to build self-identity agency roster list of different adver- and a sense of dignity tising agencies that work for the same company Afropop contemporary music from Africa and African communities agenda list of items or issues to be covered (e.g., by the media) in order Afropop Worldwide public radio of their purported importance international that features Af r o p o p music. Web site: www.afropop.org agenda setting according to one theory, influential role played by the afterimage visual sensation in which media in their determination of which an image persists after the visual issues are covered and their relative stimulus has been removed; for ex- order of importance ample, the spot of light one sees following a burst of light, such as that agent person who is authorized to act from the flash of a camera as the representative of another party (for example, a literary agent who afterpiece short comedic entertain- represents a writer) ment that follows the performance of a play aggregator Web site that collects syndicated news from other Web sites agate line standard measure of newspaper advertising space, used espe- aggressive cues theoretical model cially for classified advertisements that identifies certain classes of (1 column wide by 1/14 inch deep) people as acceptable media targets for real-world aggression age profileaudience for a particular media event, ad, or product, classified agit-prop practice of using the media according to age group to spread propaganda agency 1. means or mode of acting agora 1. a gathering place; in par- or behaving in a socially meaningful ticular, the marketplace in ancient way; 2. ability of individuals to act Greece; 2. a marketplace on the self-consciously and to exert their Internet will through involvement in social practices; 3. an establishment that AI [see artificial intelligence] conducts business for another party (e.g., an advertising AIDA [acronym for Attention, a g e n c y ) Interest, Desire, and Action] model

15 aided recall of how to use advertising to get the consumers’ attention, then develop their interest in a product, followed by consumers’ desire to purchase the product, and finally resulting in consumers’ action to actually go out and purchase it aided recall research method frequently used to determine what consumers remember about an advertisement they have seen or heard

AIR [see average issue readership] Album cover of Yellow Submarine (1969) airbrush technique for covering imperfections or removing flaws from text or its representation of a theme. photographic images Famous album covers include those created for the Velvet Underground airdate date of a radio or television by An d y Wa r h o l , featuring the im- broadcast age of a banana, and several created for the Beatles, especially the Sgt. airplay occasion when a recording is Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band broadcast on the radio, or the number (1967) cover. of times a record is actually played alienation term coined by Ka r l airtime amount of time given to Ma r x to describe a sensed estrange- a program in radio and television ment from other people, society, or broadcasting work. Today, psychiatrists define alienation as a blocking or disso- airwaves radio waves making broad- ciation of a person’s feelings. Some casting possible philosophers believe that alienation is produced by a shallow and dep- album recording of music that is ersonalized society. Fourth-century issued and marketed as a single theologian Saint Augustine wrote product, e.g., a record album or a CD that. due to its sinful nature, human- album ity was alienated from God. To Aus- trian psychoanalyst Si g m u n d Fr e u d , album cover jacket of a record alienation resulted from the split be- album (originally for a 33 1/3 rpm tween the conscious and unconscious record album), often of interest either parts of the mind. French social because of its relation to the musical theorist Émile Durkheim suggested

16 alphabet that alienation stemmed from a loss alliteration rhetorical (poetic tech- of societal and religious tradition. nique) consisting of the repetition Existentialists saw some measure of of the initial consonant sound(s) in alienation as an inevitable part of the several words in a phrase, expression, human condition. etc.: The sun always shines in summer; Peter plays the piano perfectly alienation effect in Marxist theory, the result of using alienating tech- alliteration technique advertising niques, such as unsettling lighting method based on alliteration , usu- effects or bizarre soundtracks, that ally involving the name of the brand force an audience to develop a criti- being advertised, purportedly enhanc- cal attitude toward a performance or ing the probability that a product’s message to which they are exposed name will be remembered: Marlboro man; Guinness is good; Frosted Al Jazeera influential satellite televi- Flakes; Tony the Tiger sion channel, based in Qatar and launched in 1996, that broadcasts in allness attitude the outlook of Arabic. Al Jazeera came to interna- people who think that they know tional notice after the terrorist attacks everything there is to know about of September 11, 2001, because of someone or something. In the field of its contrasting coverage of world semantics, this attitude is thought to issues compared with that of Western make communication more difficult. media. Web site: www.aljazeera.net/ English allofmp3.com one of numerous Russian Web sites that offer popular all-channel legislation U.S. federal music (for downloading to a com- law, passed in 1962, requiring all puter or mp3 player) for a fraction of television sets to be equipped with what iTunes charges both VHF and UHF receivers allusion indirect reference (to person, allegory literary work with a purely character, idea, etc.) in common symbolic meaning; that is, a work discourse or narrative art in which the characters and events symbolize spiritual, moral, or Alpha international code word for political meanings or ideas. Some the letter A, used in radio communi- historically important allegorical cations works are Le roman de la rose (thirteenth century) by Guillaume alphabet system of symbols, com- de Lorris and Jean de Meung; The monly called letters or characters, Divine Comedy (1321) by Dante used for representing speech sounds. Alighieri; and Pilgrim’s Progress Alphabets are distinguished from (1678) by John Bunyan. other systems by the fact that, ideally,

17 alphanumeric each letter in the system stands for a alternative comedy style of comedy particular sound in a word. A syl- and/or humorous material that is de- labary, on the other hand, consists of liberately different from mainstream symbols representing syllables; a pic- comedy tographic system consists of picture symbols for representing things and alternative media nonmainstream ideas (rather than sounds in words); media forms (such as pamphlets or and an ideographic system consists graffiti) that arise to complement of picturelike symbols that stand and sometimes challenge traditional for complex ideas (such as motion, media forms states, etc.). alternative newspapers [see alter- alphanumeric letters, numerical native press] symbols, and punctuation marks, mathematical symbols, and other alternative press nonmainstream conventional symbols, used in some press with a small circulation, which combination to create words, phrases, espouses radical viewpoints, espe- or entire sentences. This is a major cially in the area of politics feature of language used in chat rooms, text messages, and other types alternative rock rock music that is of digital communications: g2g = performed by relatively unknown Got to go; 2dA = today; gr8 = great. musicians and/or is promoted by small record companies alt Internet Web site that posts discussions about alternative subjects of Althusser, Louis (1918–1990) all kinds French Marxist scholar whose ideas are often cited in the literature on alterity [also called otherness] view media and pop culture, especially his that emphasizes diversity in phi- view that media are part of ideologi- losophy, the arts and sciences, and cal systems. Among his important media representations. This concept works are Pour Marx (1965; For gained prominence after Mi c h e l Marx) and Lénine et la philosophie F o u c a u lt ’s allegation in the 1980s (1969; Lenin and Philosophy). that the Other—anyone who was different in sexual orientation, eth- AM radio [abbreviation of amplitude nicity, etc., from those with social modulation radio] radio broadcasting power—had been excluded from or system based on a carrier wave of con- marginalized by Western systems of stant frequency but of varying amplitude representation. Amazon.com Web-based bookstore alternate media any media of adver- that has become one of the largest tising other than direct mail bookstores in the world

18 Ascii ambient advertising [also called the well-known Journal of Advertis- ambient media] advertising intended ing. Web site: www.aaasite.org for the outdoors (posters, ads on subway platforms, ads on buses) so American Association of Advertis- that people can be exposed to an ad ing Agencies [abbreviated as AAAA] during their everyday activities U.S. national trade association founded in 1917 whose members are ambisonics [also called surround ad agencies. Web site: www.aaaa.org sound] technique of using several separate audio channels to record and American Broadcasting Company produce sounds so that they com- [abbreviated as ABC] broadcast- pletely surround listeners ing network created in 1943 that, along with CBS and NBC, was one ambivalence category used by adver- of the Big Th r e e in the golden era tisers to describe consumers who are of television from the 1950s to the neither interested in, nor opposed to, 1970s. ABC is now a New York City- advertising based American communications corporation, whose holdings include ambush interview line of ques- television and radio stations, Inter- tioning that is intended to catch an net services, and print publications. interviewee off guard The company was acquired by Walt Disney Company Media Networks in America Online [abbreviated as 1996. Web site: www.abc.org AOL] online service provider created by Steve Case in 1985 as Quantum American dream belief that any- Computer Services. It changed its body can succeed in America, regard- name to America Online and its cor- less of background, race, gender, and porate structure in 1991. In January so on 2000, AOL announced its plans to merge with Time-Warner; the merger American Society for Composers, was approved by the Federal Trade Authors and Publishers [abbrevi- Commission in January 2001, and the ated as ASCAP] major U.S. perform- new corporate entity became one of ing rights organization founded in the world’s largest media conglomer- New York City in 1914 to protect au- ates. Web site: www.corp.aol.com thors, composers, and publishers by licensing and distributing royalties. American Academy of Advertising ASCAP’s earliest members included [abbreviated as AAA] association of Irving Berlin and John Philip Sousa. advertising educators, students, and Web site: www.ascap.org professionals, dedicated to the evaluation and improvement of advertising American Standard Code for education. The association publishes Information Interchange [abbrevi-

19 aT&T ated as ASCII] standardized way of amplifierdevice or equipment that converting text into a format that can makes sound louder be interpreted by any computer anachronism something that is, or American Telephone and Telegraph seems to be, out of its proper time; Company [abbreviated as AT&T] for example, using the word thou one of the largest communications rather than you would be considered companies, providing voice, data, an anachronism in modern English video, and online communications services to residential, business, anaglyph photograph or paint- and government customers through- ing showing different perspectives out the world. AT&T also operates or aspects of something with two a cable television system and of- contrasting colors that are super- fers local telephone service through imposed on each other. The image its cable lines in some parts of the is perceived as a three-dimensional United States. Its headquarters object when viewed with “3-D are in New York City. Web site: glasses” (two correspondingly www.att.com colored lenses).

Americanization purported influ- anagram a word or phrase produced ence that the United States has on the by rearranging the letters of another culture of other nations. The term has word or phrase: for example, Elvis = a negative connotation if the influ- lives; Presbyterian = best in prayer; ence is imposed unwillingly; it has a deliver = live red positive connotation if the influence is sought voluntarily. analog 1. mechanism in which data are represented by continuously vari- A-movie in contrast to a B-m o v i e , able quantities; 2. transmission of a a film that is considered to be of continuous electrical or radio fre- the best quality aesthetically and quency wave; opposite of d i g i ta l ; technically 3. recording that uses magnetic tape amplificationtechnological en- analog channel communications line hancement of sound transmission to (such as a telephone line) that carries increase volume a n a l o g signals amplification of devianceprocess analogy 1. comparison between whereby some activity, labeled as two things that are similar in some deviant, is exaggerated as a result of respects, so as to explain one of the social reaction to it, which is largely things or make it easier to compre- shaped and influenced by the mass hend: the atom can be understood as media a miniature solar system;

20 angle

2. process by which language forms the twentieth-century semiotician are created on the model of already Ro l a n d Ba rt h e s . existing forms: the suffix -ize (used for example in apologize, realize, ancillary market movie revenue categorize, symbolize, etc.) has been source other than the domestic box extended to create new words such as office one (foreign box office, video energize or digitize rights, television rights) analytic editing type of video or film ancillary-to-trade any product or editing in which a sequence of im- service, such as advertising, that sup- ages is constructed to follow a plot, ports trade rather than to explain it Andersch, Staats and Bostrom’s analytical engine calculating model of communication model machine invented by British math- proposed in 1969 stressing the ematician Ch a r l e s Ba b b a g e in the transactional nature of communica- 1830s, of which only a part was ever tion, in which meanings are created built. Babbage’s engine was, in ef- and interpreted by both the sender fect, the first general-purpose digital and the receiver in tandem, and computer, although it was conceived are partially shaped by outside long before electronics technology influences appeared. It had the capacity to perform various mathematical opera- androcentric revolving around or tions, using punched cards as a form emphasizing a male perspective of permanent memory. anecdote short account that helps anamorphic lens a lens that “squeez- to illustrate or stimulate interest in a es” or distorts a filmed image for more general issue widescreen projection Ang, Ien (1960–) international anarchist cinema genre that revolves media scholar known for her work around the theme that life is mean- on audiences, identity politics, and ingless or unfair and that includes an media representation. Some of her anti-authoritarian element. important works include Desperately Seeking the Audience (1991) and anchor main presenter of the news in Living Room Wars: Rethinking Media a televised newscast Audiences for a Postmodern World (1996). anchorage in advertising, the ability of captions to influence the meaning angle main point or focus of a story, gleaned from images (photos, print in journalism usually emphasized as ads, etc.). The term was coined by a headline

21 animal communication animal communication [also called anomie term coined by sociologist zoosemiotics] discipline that studies Emile Durkheim to refer to the sense ways in which animals communicate, of alienation and purposelessness focusing on innate signaling systems experienced by a person or a class as a result of a breakdown or lack animated motion picture movie based of standards and values. The term is either entirely or in part on a n i m at i o n often used in the literature by those who believe that anomie makes some animation moviemaking technique people more susceptible to the effects of showing slightly different draw- of mass media. ings in rapid succession, creating the illusion of continuous motion (this anonymous written, created, or visual illusion is also illustrated by produced by an unknown person or “flip books”) persons animatronics technique of using anonymous audience listeners or electronic and/or mechanical devices recipients who have no connection to animate puppets, models, or any to any single group and who are relevant object unknown to the creator of a media product anime [also called manga] Japa- nese comic-book drawing technique anonymous FTP method of con- characterized by very large eyes and necting to a remote computer without a layout in which the panels run from requiring special permission or a right to left password to download files annals records of published events or anonymous remail service for information within a particular field forwarding e-mails or newsgroup postings so that personal details are annotation act or process of provid- excluded ing critical commentary or explana- tory notes to a text or performance answerprint final edited version of a filmed piece to be checked for final announcement formal or public no- corrections or modifications tice uttered or communicated in some medium (oral, written, or recorded) antenna [see aerial] announcer person who introduces anthology collection of vari- radio or television programs or ous works taken from a specific shows; in sports, person who pro- genre within a medium (for ex- vides continuous commentary during ample, essays, poems, sitcoms, or the broadcast of a sports event documentaries)

22 antimonopoly controls anthology drama popular form of anticlimax rhetorical technique early television programming that of sequencing ideas in a phrase or brought live theater to television sentence in diminishing impor- audiences tance, usually for some humorous or satirical effect: He is intelligent, anthropology study of humankind handsome, but short. Thousands died from all points of view (evolution, in that horrific war; a great deal of culture, etc.). Lewis Henry Morgan, time was also lost. The term anti- who conducted research on the cul- climactic is often used to describe tures of the Iroquois in the nineteenth a sudden change from something century, is considered the North serious to something trivial or from American founder of the discipline; something compelling to something in Europe, British scholar Edward B. dull. Tylor is credited with its foundation. In the 1970s, anthropological meth- antics ludicrous or extravagant ac- ods such as ethnography (studying tions performed by an actor playing some cultural phenomenon through an exaggerated comic role systematic observation) were adopted by media researchers to gain insights antihero character in a story who into the ways in which traditional lacks the traditional qualities associ- forms of culture have been changed ated with heroes, such as bravery, by the mass media and mass commu- strength, idealism, or courage nications technologies. antilanguage 1. language created by anthropomorphism in literature a specific group in order to exclude and the arts, the attribution of human outsiders from the group; 2. language qualities to objects, animals, plants, created and sustained by a specific or gods group to express opposition to a dominant linguistic order. An ex- anthroposemiotics branch of s e m i - ample of anti-language is that found o t i c s studying sign use in the human in some rap lyrics, characterized by species (as opposed to sign use across intentional misspellings and other species). Biosemiotics is the more ge- devices that are in breach of standard neric term, used to refer to the study English. of sign use across species. antimonopoly controls regulatory anti-aliasing technique that mini- legislative measures designed to mizes the distortion of a digital image inhibit the control of business or sup- or sound signal, accomplished by ply by a single entity (for example, “smoothing,” or removing compo- to prevent media conglomerates from nents that have too high a frequency monopolizing the delivery of mass to be resolved by the recording device communications)

23 antinarrative antinarrative [see antinovel] similar characteristics (for example, calling a philanderer a Don Juan) antinomy putting together two reasonable but opposite premises in a antonym word that means the op- seemingly contradictory fashion so as posite of another word: light is the to achieve some rhetorical effect: for antonym of dark; hot is the antonym example, what is bad is really good of cold for you; inelegance is in fashion AOL [see America Online] antinovel [also called antinarrative] novel lacking the traditional elements AP [see Associated Press] of the narrative, such as plot structure, realistic characters, etc. Mol- Apache silence in sociolinguistic loy (1951) by Samuel Beckett is an analysis, the use of silence as a form antinovel. of communication in situations where words are difficult to find antirealism storytelling technique in which no attempt is made to repre- aphorism [see adage] sent a situation realistically apocalyptic thriller genre in which antithesis use of words, phrases, the story revolves around a cataclysmic clauses, or expressions of opposing event or disastrous end to life on earth meaning to emphasize contrasting concepts: for example, He is laugh- apocryphal of questionable authoring; I am crying. They are growing; ship or authenticity I am shrinking. apologue fable intended to impart antitrust laws legislative measures a moral lesson, in which animals or designed to protect trade and com- inanimate objects represent human merce from unlawful control by large characters: for example, the stories in corporations or single entities Aesop’s Fables (sixth century b.c.e.) and in the late nineteenth-century antiwar genre narrative that revolves Uncle Remus tales by American around a plot or a situation that writer Joel Chandler Harris brings out the absurdity or depravity of war aporia in discourse theory, the state or expression of doubt or uncertainty antonomasia 1. use of a title or about how to proceed in a conversa- honorific (Your Honor, Your Majesty, tion or in a communicative exchange etc.) in place of the person’s name; 2. using the name of a well-known per- apostrophe rhetorical strategy sonage to describe someone who has whereby an actor (or writer) turns

24 arbitrary code from the other characters, the audi- application software computer ence, or the reader to address a per- software designed for a specific task, son, a god, etc., who is either absent such as word processing, accounting, or deceased: for example, What is or inventory management life, my long-departed uncle?; Oh Death, who are you? appreciation index measure of how much someone has enjoyed a televi- apothegm [also called maxim] terse sion or radio program that he or she statement designed to embody a self- has viewed or listened to. The subject evident truth: for example, Beauty is is asked to record his or her degree of skin deep; Night follows day enjoyment as a score from 1 to 10. appeal 1. degree of likability of an appropriation process by which advertisement; 2. program or ad innovative or resistant cultural forms campaign asking for donations for a are taken up and commodified by particular cause media or culture industries; for example, rap music and lifestyle have appendix material added to the been appropriated by various brands end of a text (book, Web page, to advertise their products via images video) and personalities associated with rap culture apperception process of understanding by which new observations are APTN [see Aboriginal People’s related to past experience. This term Television Network] is used in the psychological literature on media processing. arbitrariness in Saussurean s e m i o t i c s , the theory that a s i g n Apple Computer Corporation trade stands for something in an arbitrary name for a computer technology way and not in a way motivated by company founded in 1976 by Steve the nature of its referent. There is no Jobs and Steve Wozniak that has evident reason for using, for exam- developed, among its many products, ple, cat to designate “a small feline the Apple Macintosh personal com- considered to be a domestic animal.” puter and the iPod. Web site: www Indeed, any well-formed word could .Apple.com have been coined for this naming purpose—as long as it was consistent application service provider [ab- with the word-formation patterns of breviated as ASP] 1. technology for English. delivering software applications and data via the Internet; 2. a business arbitrary code system of signals or that sells ASPs on a subscription or symbols that bears no direct relation rental basis to the ideas it portrays or reflects

25 arbitron

Arbitron provider of radio and tele- archive site on the Internet, a site vision rating and marketing services, that provides a large collection of founded in 1949, that publishes regu- downloadable public-domain files lar reports for selected markets. Web and programs site: www.arbitron.com Areopagitica pamphlet (1644) writ- archetype an inherited memory rep- ten and distributed by John Milton, resented in the brain by a recurring which defended freedom of the press image, form, or pattern. This mean- and the inviolability of books ing of the term was introduced by psychologist Ca r l Gu s t a v Ju n g to argot jargon used by a particular refer to symbolic and ritualistic forms group for in-group communication that manifest themselves universally (although it can spread to the soci- across cultures. A humorous clownish ety at large). The term is generally or jester figure, known as the trick- used to refer to the language used ster, for instance, is an archetype. by criminals or those belonging to This archetype surfaces as a buf- delinquent organizations. foon or fool at various rituals (as in carnivals), in narratives (for example, argument summary of the plot or Rumpelstiltskin), and in the assumed theme of a literary work character of modern-day comedians. Jung suggested that archetypes Aristotle (384–322 b.c.e.) Greek are the building blocks of culture, philosopher, a student of Pl a t o , enabling people to react to various whose ideas on logical thinking and life situations in ways similar to their on the nature of reality have influ- ancestors. enced (and continue to influence) modern-day Western philosophy archie early search system (consid- and scientific method. Aristotle’s ered the first Internet search engine) notion of c at h a r s i s has become for locating publicly accessible files widespread in the study of media or software audiences. architecture-opera exhibition con- Arnold, Matthew (1822–1888) sisting of a walk-through installation nineteenth-century British poet and and a live opera, presented on a set social critic whose ideas against the with video sculptures banality of popular forms of culture are still cited today. His classic study archive public records or historical Culture and Anarchy (1869) is a po- documents that have been preserved lemic against Victorian materialism. for future access; material (such as newspaper articles and film segments) Arpanet [abbreviation for Advanced that can be used again if needed Research Projects Agency Network]

26 article wide-area network created in the 1960s by the U.S. Department of Defense for the free exchange of information between universities and research organizations, also used by the military for its own communications. Arpanet was the network from which the Internet evolved. art any work or text (a painting, a sculpture, a musical composition, etc.) that evokes an a e s t h e t i c reaction, impelling people to contemplate its meaning and its qualities. The drawings found during the Paleolithic period, some 20,000 to 35,000 years ago, are likely to be the first works of art. Twenty-first-century art includes a wide range of media, such as film, video, sound recordings, and digital images. Isolde (1895) by Aubrey Beardsley art deco design style of the 1910s, art nouveau style of painting of the 1920s, and 1930s, which emphasized late nineteenth and early twentieth sleek elegance in form, reflective centuries, characterized primarily by of “modern” technology. The style the depiction of leaves and flowers in became popular in 1925 at the Paris flowing, sinuous lines. The earliest exhibition called Exposition Interna- examples of art nouveau are usually tionale des Arts Décoratifs et Indus- considered to be a chair designed in triels Modernes. Prominent examples 1882 and an engraved frontispiece for of art deco style include the interior an 1883 book (Wren’s Early Churches) of the Chrysler Building (1930) and by English architect Arthur Mackmur- Radio City Music Hall (1931), both do. The illustrations of Aubrey Beards- located in New York. ley are considered the most prominent art director individual who coordi- examples of this style. In the twentieth nates creative artwork in advertising, century, the art nouveau style became or the individual who oversees the fashionable in interior decor as well as design of a television or movie set magazine illustrations. art filmexperimental film created as article 1. text on a particular subject an artwork, not aimed at mass audi- in a newspaper and magazine; 2. ences, but at cinema connoisseurs online message or posting

27 articulation articulation 1. process of expressing ASP [see application service something; 2. in Marxist theory, a provider] term referring to the joining together of social forces in a hierarchical aspirer in advertising research, the way (with one being dominant over type of individual who wants prod- the other); for example, in many ucts that improve his or her lifestyle present-day societies, capitalism is image the dominant force even in political systems that include different modes assets data components (audio, of production video) that are used in multimedia applications artificial intelligence[abbreviated as AI] branch of computer science assignment desk [also called news devoted to the development of pro- desk] in print and televised media, grams that will allow computers to staff responsible for dispatching re- simulate or even replicate patterns of porters and/or camera crews to cover human intelligence (problem solving, news events speaking, etc.) assimilation [see acculturation] artificial languagelinguistic system invented for a particular purpose. assistive technology [abbreviated as The best-known artificial language AT] technology designed to assist devised to facilitate communication disabled individuals among people of different languages and cultural backgrounds is Esperanto. Associated Press [abbreviated as AP] major international news agency ASCAP [see American Society founded in 1949 in New York City. for Composers, Authors and Serves as a source of news informa- Publishers] tion and visual images for print media, radio, and television. Web site: ascription in media studies, adjust- www.ap.org ment of statistical information to reflect unexpected circumstances; for association psychological notion example, the reduced circulation of a which contends that concepts are magazine due to a printing delay formed on the basis of one thought leading to another that is connected A-side the more important side of a with it in some way (through experi- music single (recording) that usually ence, analogy, comparison, etc.). contains the title track Starting in the 1920s, psychologists of the behaviorist school used the ASCII [see American Standard theory of association to explain the Code for Information Interchange] development of mental skills and

28 attention-getting headline the acquisition of language. The ATM [see Asynchronous Transfer theory has been used to explain how Mode] certain media products are received and linked both to each other and to atmosphere 1. dominant mood or social life. tone elicited by a work; 2. ambient noise added to a recording in order to association principle in advertis- make the sound track more realistic ing, persuasive technique that aims to associate a product with a cultural atmospherics 1. noises that interfere value or theme, even though the with radio reception, caused by natu- cultural value may have no actual ral disturbances in the atmosphere; connection to the product 2. in advertising, tools for the creation of an “atmosphere” or identity assonance poetic effect achieved by for a brand, such as its name, logo, using words containing the same or and so on similar vowel sounds: for example, I hate to be late for my date ATR [acronym for awareness, trial, repeat] advertising model which asterisk a symbol (*) used to indi- claims that a consumer first becomes cate an omission or a reference to a aware of a product through advertis- note. Asterisks are sometimes used ing, then buys it once to try it, and to replace letters of words, or entire will buy it again if it is acceptable or words, that are considered obscene. suitable

Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber attack ad political advertisement that Line [abbreviated as ADSL] employs repeated negative assaults high-speed technology providing on another candidate’s character high-speed Internet access to local telephone service customers over attention economy theory that links conventional phone lines the present-day wealth of information to an economy, or scarcity, of Asynchronous Transfer Mode attention by individuals, particularly [abbreviated as ATM] high-speed as consumers; the proliferation of communications network technology available information on the Internet that allows multiple types of traffic is viewed as a significant factor in (voice, video) to be transmitted over attention economy a network in bundles called cells attention-getting headline style of AT [see assistive technology] headline used in printed advertisements, designed to immediately AT&T [see American Telephone attract the attention of the consumer. and Telegraph Company] Some headlines attract attention by

29 attention model of mass communication promising that some benefit will book or sees the movie at the same ensue from buying a product (such as time). The idea of audience entered a savings in money, improvement in media studies through psychologi- physical appearance). Other head- cal research on people’s responses lines are worded to arouse curiosity, to certain media messages according or to attract the attention of a spe- to age, social class, gender, and so cific group (e.g., “For those who are on. It is now believed that there is a young at heart”). constant dynamic interplay between audiences and producers of media attention model of mass commu- products. Audience research aims nication paradigm that presents the to identify the views, habits, and design of mass communication in opinions of media audiences of all terms of attracting and maintaining kinds. the attention of consumers, viewers, or listeners audience appreciation index [abbreviated as AAI] measure of audience attention value likelihood that an reaction to a certain media product. advertisement or media product will The measure is used as a factor in rat- attract and maintain attention and/or ings research. interest audience competence knowledge attitude in media studies, the dis- that audience members build up position of an individual toward a regarding their interests, which may media product, especially as acquired create an increase in audience satis- through cultural conditioning faction attitude change theory in media audience differentiation classifying studies, a principle that aims to audiences into categories, such as explain how people’s attitudes are age, social status, gender, and educa- formed and/or changed through me- tion, so as to determine the needs of dia exposure each group audience any group of people audience duplication percentage of exposed to media. Some audiences people reached by an advertisement (such as those for sports events or (or other media event) more than concerts) are physically present at once the media event. Other audiences (such as those for novels, televi- audience ethnography research sion, or radio) are not. Additionally, method in which the researcher joins audience members need not undergo a specific audience group in order to the experience at the same time (for observe their reactions to media from example, not everyone reads the within the group

30 audiology audience factor average number of by AC Ni e l s e n to monitor viewing audience members for a specific type habits. of program or event audio related to sound or its repro- audience flowparticular pattern duction; recorded sound material of shown by audiences who change ra- any kind, including the sound com- dio or television channels throughout ponent of a video or film recording a given period of time audio branding building a brand audience measurement research identity through auditory association technique that identifies what kinds of techniques, such as jingles and songs audiences receive a particular kind of media product and how they react to audio console unit consisting of elec- it. The audience is determined accord- tronic and/or digital components such ing to some variable or set of variables as a radio tuner or a disc player (age, class, gender, ethnicity). audio description oral description of audience positioning advertising, what is happening on screen for the designing, and showcasing a product visually impaired in such a way as to appeal to an audience characterized as having certain audio feed sound recording sent demographic or psychographic from one place to another features audio insert device on video equip- audience segment specific group ment that allows dubbing (the addi- of individuals exposed to a media tion of new sound effects or dialogue product. The group is determined to previously recorded material) according to some variable or set of audio recording sound reproduc- variables (age, class, gender, ethnic- tion of any kind. The first device ity, specialized tastes, media habits). that allowed for sound reproduction was Thomas Edison’s phonograph, audilog diary kept by selected audi- invented in 1877. ence members to record which television programs they watched over a audiocassette an a u d i o ta p e in a given period of time. It was intro- small plastic box for use in a tape reduced by AC Ni e l s e n as a means of corder. Audiocassettes have virtually rating television shows. disappeared, having been replaced by other kinds of audio recording and audimeter electronic recording playback devices. device that keeps track of when a television set is in use and to what audiology science devoted to the station it is set. It was introduced diagnosis and treatment of hearing

31 audiophile problems. Audiologists also study the auteur theory view that a director may effect of partial or total hearing loss be regarded as a film’s author, whether on a person’s ability to communicate. or not he or she wrote the script audiophile individual who has an author creator of a media product avid interest in stereo or high-fidelity (book, poem, play, program, etc.). In sound recordings traditional literary theory, the author is seen, implicitly, as the one who audiotape narrow magnetic tape injects a personal viewpoint into used to record sound for subsequent a work; the role of the reader is to playback discern and comprehend the author’s viewpoint. Recent theories, however, audiovisual [abbreviated as AV ] view the meaning of a work as result- materials, such as films and DVDs, ing from a negotiation of meaning that present information in audible between the author and the reader. and pictorial form authoring systems and software Audit Bureau of Circulation inde- computer systems and/or software pendent body consisting of members that allow for the creation of multi- from the media and the advertising media texts (texts that incorporate field, which provides circulation print, video clips, images, and sound) figures for print media. It also audits the circulation of print publications authoritarian theory hypothesis to insure that reported circulation which claims that the role of the figures are accurate.W eb site: www press is to serve the interests of .accessabc.com government, not of the citizenry, and should submit to governmental Austin, John L. (1911–1960) British control philosopher who developed a logical theory of speech acts, describing autobiography b i o g r a p h y of a utterances in terms of the functions person written by himself or herself. they have and the actions they are The term probably was coined by designed to bring about. His ideas are the British Romantic poet Robert often cited in media and communica- Southey in 1809. tion studies. autofunction device used for video auteur filmmaker or director who is editing and playback that performs perceived as having a unique functions such as focusing or personal style or approach to film- tracking making and who takes complete control over all aspects of film automatic dialogue replacement production [abbreviated as ADR] process that

32 Ayer Agency allows actors to re-record dialogue campaign; 2. average number of op- while watching themselves on screen portunities that individuals have to (during feature film production) view an advertisement autonomy in aesthetic theory, the average hours per head average act of creating a work without any number of television viewing hours reliance on some other idea, cultural that an entire population spent, or product, or value could have spent, watching a particular program or series autoscript type of prompting device or system used by television an- average issue readership [abbrevi- nouncers or presenters ated as AIR] estimated number of people who have read an issue of a AV [see audiovisual] publication during the period that it has been in print availability time and number of slots in a medium available for advertising average quarter-hour average purposes number of people listening to a radio program, or watching a television avant-garde experimental work program, during a 15-minute period whose style or content falls outside the mainstream avi extension for a multimedia video format file avatar 1. in v i rt u a l r e a l i t y environments (such as certain types awareness test advertising research of Internet chat rooms), a picture, technique that measures the cumula- photograph, or animation of a human tive effect of an a d c a m pa i g n in user, chosen by the user to depict his terms of a product’s ability to enter or her virtual-reality identity; 2. in into consumer consciousness advertising, a brand icon designed to move or morph freely across media axiom notion universally believed to be true and therefore accepted with- average audience 1. average num- out proof. Mathematics, for instance, ber of homes or persons tuned into a is constructed on the basis of axioms, radio or television program during a which are consistent with one another minute of broadcasting time; 2. aver- and few in number. age number of persons who viewed an issue of a print publication Ayer Agency one of the first docu- mented a d a g e n c i e s in the United average frequency 1. average num- States, founded by advertising ber of times that the same individual pioneer Francis W. Ayer in 1869 in is reached by the same advertising Philadelphia

33 first item

B movie [also called B for various purposes (for picture] 1. motion picture advertising, to explain the produced on a low budget; contents of the book, etc.) 2. low-budget motion picture produced to accompany B back issue previous issue the main feature of a double or edition of a periodical billing during the 1930s and 1940s back projection cinematic technique b2b advertising [see business-to- in which the background for a scene business advertising] is created by projecting images onto a screen that is behind the action Babbage, Charles (1792–1871) being filmed; also called background English mathematician who designed projection or rear-screen projection a machine (called the analytical engine) that he claimed would be background 1. setting or part of capable of carrying out complex scene (in a movie, photograph, etc.) operations. Although he never built that appears to be located at the back even a working model of the ma- of the scene; 2. information that pro- chine, lacking appropriate technology vides details or resources for a news and funding, its principles of design story; a background story provides foreshadowed the modern computer. information on events that preceded His book Economy of Machines and the current news story Manufactures (1832) became the basis of the field of study known today background music music that ac- as operational research. companies action or dialogue in a film or television program, usually baby boomer individual belonging added at the postproduction stage to an age category of people born during the period after the end of backing 1. accompaniment provided World War II (1945) through 1961. for a solo musician or singer, usually This category is quoted often in recorded on a separate track; 2. in the the media literature. Baby boom- theater, a flat piece of scenery placed ers constitute a market segment in behind an opening such as a window advertising. or door back catalog all the publications, backlist list of books that are not recordings, videos, etc., that a par- currently promoted by a publisher but ticular artist or company has ever that are still in print produced backup 1. accompaniment to the back cover back of a book or maga- main performer of a piece of popular zine on which text is normally added music; 2. a reserve or replacement, as

34 banner in backup computer files or a backup mance and love; 2. popular romantic schedule for filming song with a slow tempo badge distinctive branding that is balloon in comics and cartoons, given to a product in order to increase figure resembling a balloon, which its appeal contains words that represent either the speech or thoughts of a character Baird, John Logie (1888–1946) Scot- tish electrical engineer who was a pio- bandwagon effect advertising neer in the televising of moving objects strategy that focuses on the pressure to conform to a commonly held view; Bakhtin, Mikhail (1895–1975) it incorporates exaggerated claims Russian literary theorist who claimed that everyone is using a particular that communication, including both product literature and dialogue among people, is not merely an exchange of infor- bandwidth 1. range of frequencies mation, but rather, a negotiation of involved in radio and telecommunica- meanings. Bakhtin also introduced tions transmission; 2. amount of data the idea that pop culture serves that a communication channel, such the same kind of social functions as an Internet connection, is capable as medieval carnivals. Among his of transmitting most important works are Problemy tvorchestva Dostoevskogo (1929; bank 1. place of storage, such as revised in 1963 as Problemy poetiki a data bank; 2. secondary part of a Dostoevskogo; translated in 1973 as headline, running just below it (nor- Problems of Dostoyevsky’s Poet- mally in smaller type) ics) and Voprosy literatury i estetiki (1975; The Dialogic Imagination, banned books books that have 1981). been banned from public libraries or schools for social, political, moral, balance leveling of a signal coming or other reasons. Among the most from each channel in a stereo audio famous banned books in the United recording, so that the sound can be States are The Adventures of Huck- blended for various acoustic and leberry Finn (Mark Twain), Of Mice aesthetic purposes and Men (John Steinbeck), and The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger). balanced programming the practice of giving fair and/or impartial cover- banner 1. print media term for age to a topic or issue the headline of a story of unusual importance, stretching over the entire ballad 1. song or poem, in folk or width of the page; 2. slogan used by traditional style, dealing with ro- a newspaper immediately below its

35 banner exchange

in Europe in the late 1500s, lasting until the mid-1700s, characterized by ornamentation. In music the style is emblemized by the composers Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741).

barrier signal a defensive nonverbal signal, such as crossing the arms or holding a hand in front of the face

barter deal in television syndication, an arrangement whereby no money is exchanged between the local station and the syndicator. The syndicator offers a new program in exchange for P.T. Barnum a portion of advertising revenue. title; 3. online advertising message Barthes, Roland (1915–1980) that runs across the top of a Web page French semiotician who has become widely cited in media and pop culture banner exchange agreement be- studies, particularly concerning his tween two businesses allowing ban- view that modern systems of repre- ner advertisements to be displayed on sentation, as well as performances each other’s Web site and spectacles, are recreations of ancient myths. Popular wrestling, for Barnum, P.T. (1810–1891) famous instance, is a complex performance U.S. showman who presented such in which bodies, facial expressions, popular and sensationalized attrac- gestures, and speech evoke ancient tions as General Tom Thumb, a forms of theater and spectacle. Bar- midget, and Chang and Eng, con- thes was also a founder of the “New joined twins. With James Bailey, Criticism,” a literary movement he founded the Barnum & Bailey Cir- prominent after World War II, which cus, which merged with the Ringling emphasized the interpretation of a Brothers Circus in 1919 to become text itself, independent of authorial the Ringling Brothers and Barnum intentions or historical factors. His & Bailey Circus. To promote his at- most quoted work in media studies is tractions, Barnum relied on colorful Mythologies (1957). advertising and publicity stunts. base and superstructure in Marx- Baroque style in painting, litera- ist theory, an economical system is ture, and music that first appeared called the “base” of society, around

36 beach box which a “superstructure” (consist- the values and norms of the news ing of laws, religion, culture, etc.) is organization (editors, writers, etc.) constructed bathos sudden stylistic descent from base band 1. in telecommunica- the lofty to the trivial, producing a tions, the narrow range of frequencies comical effect: or example, What required for transmitting a single shall I do? I lost my best friend and message; 2. form of a satellite signal my scarf! as it is being transmitted, before it is converted into sound and/or pictures baud rate speed of data transfer within a network in bits per second BASIC [abbreviation of beginner’s all-purpose symbolic instruction Baudrillard, Jean (1929–2007) code] a simplified high-level pro- French sociologist often quoted in gramming language developed in media studies. Among Baudrillard’s the mid-1960s by John Kemeny and ideas, perhaps the one most discussed Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth College. is that of the simulacrum, which It is widely considered to be one of claims that people have become the easiest programming languages so accustomed to viewing reality to learn. through the media that they are no longer capable of distinguishing basic cable service package of practically between fact and fiction. television channels that a cable com- The gap between the two is filled by pany makes available to subscribers, a simulacrum, or a mode of seeing usually at a lower cost than packages one in terms of the other. Among that include premium channels his most quoted works in the media literature are La société de consom- Basic Telecommunications Agree- mation (1970; The Consumer Society, ment of 1997 accord drawn up by the 1998) and Simulacres et simulation World Trade Organization to allow (1981; Simulacra and Simulations, free trade for telecommunications 1994). services. The agreement was signed by 69 countries. Bay Psalm Book the first book published in the American colonies Bass’s double action model of in- in 1644; originally titled The Whole ternal news flow (1969)model that Booke of Psalms describes news as being processed in two stages before release: first, by BBC [see British Broadcasting those who gathered the information Corporation] (reporters, researchers, etc.), and second, by those who process the in- beach box device that connects an formation to make it consistent with external microphone to a digital

37 beam video camera, designed to provide inquiry (term coined in 1913 by John better sound recording quality B. Watson). Behaviorism traces its roots to the ideas and methods of the beam (n) 1. shaft of light; 2. direc- Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov. In tional radio signal; (v) 3. to broadcast 1904, Pavlov introduced the idea of radio or television signals conditioned response, on which behaviorism is based. He demonstrated beat generation 1950s generation the notion with an experiment that of American writers, including Jack has become a classic in the annals of Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. psychology. He started by presenting Burroughs, and Lawrence Ferlinghet- a piece of meat to a dog, noting that ti. Beat writers became famous for the animal would salivate instinctive- their eccentric lifestyle and literature, ly, as anticipated. Pavlov called this which was intended to denounce the dog’s unconditioned response. He the American dream of wealth and then began to ring a bell while pre- prosperity. Their style was typically senting the meat; after a number of improvisational and dealt with the repetitions, the dog began to salivate role of drugs, sex, and mysticism in in response to the ringing bell, even if modern human life. The beat writers no meat were presented. The ringing, are often considered to have set the Pavlov noted, would not have made stage for the hippie and countercul- the dog salivate initially, but asso- ture movements of the 1960s. ciating it with the meat eventually brought about a conditioned response bebop style of jazz music that origi- in the dog. Starting in the 1960s, nated in the 1940s, when a number of behaviorism became marginalized young American musicians began ex- within psychology. Today it has been perimenting with more complicated revived somewhat to explain certain chord patterns and melodic ideas in a types of behaviors and is thus viewed combo (small group) setting as part of a more comprehensive theory of human behavior. It is used beginner’s all-purpose symbolic as well in media studies to explain instruction code [abbreviated as responses to mediated stimuli. BASIC] programming language developed in the mid-1960s by Bell, Alexander Graham John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz (1847–1922) Scottish-born Ameri- at Dartmouth College. It is widely can inventor of an apparatus for the considered to be one of the easiest telephonic transmission of voice, first programming languages to learn. demonstrated in 1875, patented as the telephone in 1876. behaviorism the study of observable and quantifiable behavior as the Bell, Daniel (1919–) American only legitimate form of psychological sociologist whose work concerns

38 Bettelheim, Bruno the effects of political and economic a channel for the release of pent-up structures, including mass media, on emotions the individual. Among his frequently cited works are The End of Ideology Berne Convention [full form: (1960) and The Cultural Contradic- International Convention for the tions of Capitalism (1976). Protection of Literary and Artis- tic Works] international copyright below-the-fold 1. the lower half of agreement, originally adopted in the front page of a newspaper, gener- 1886. The agreement provides a ally considered to have less impor- framework for the protection of intel- tance than the upper half; 2. the parts lectual property, copyright, patents, of a Web page that can be seen only and trademarks. by scrolling down the page Berners Lee, Tim (1955–) inventor benchmark 1. point of reference; 2. of the World Wide Web and director in advertising, a measure of a target of the World Wide Web Consortium, audience’s response to the early stag- which seeks to create protocols es of an advertising campaign, which and standards for the sharing of is later compared to the response at information the end, so as to test the efficacy of the campaign Bernstein, Basil (1924–2000) Brit- ish sociologist who developed the Benedict, Ruth (1887–1948) concept of social code as a means American anthropologist who of understanding social beliefs and conducted important research on behaviors. Among his works are Native American cultures in the Class, Codes, and Control (1971) 1920s and 1930s. Benedict claimed and Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and that culture largely determined Identity (1996). the choices that individuals made throughout their lives. Among her best seller product such as a book, most influential works are Patterns compact disc, etc., that sells very of Culture (1934); Zuñi Mythology well, often shortly after it is pub- (1935); Race: Science and Politics lished or issued (1940); and The Chrysanthemum BET [see Black Entertainment and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Television] Culture (1946). Beta trade name for a video format, Benjamin, Walter (1892–1940) phi- known for the fact that it was overtaken losopher and aesthetician associated in the consumer marketplace by VHS with the Fr a n k f u rt Sc h o o l , often cited in media literature with regard Bettelheim, Bruno (1903–1990) to his view that pop culture provides American psychologist (born in

39 Bezos, Jeffrey Preston

Austria) who is well-known in media tions that promote the standardiza- studies for his penetrating analyses of tion of bibliographical methods and fairy tales. Bettelheim claimed that research. the fairy tale represents a universal need to engage with the workings of Big Band music music popular in the the imagination and an innate sense 1930s and 1940s, performed by large of fantasy. Its elements (from the dance or jazz bands, usually featuring characters to its settings) are essen- improvised solos by lead players tially a r c h e t y p e s , in the Jungian sense of the term. His major work is big beat [also called electronica] The Uses of Enchantment: The Mean- type of electronic music that blends ing and Importance of Fairy Tales elements of rock with other styles, (1976). distinguished by its constant rock- style drum beats Bezos, Jeffrey Preston (1964–) founder and CEO of Amazon.com Big Brother concept introduced by (in 1994) George Orwell in his 1949 novel 1984, describing a totalitarian society bias 1. failure to cover the news in in which the government, like a “big an impartial manner (intentionally brother,” constantly watches and or not); 2. a high-frequency volt- monitors its citizens in order to detect age combined with an audio signal any signs of unrest or nonconformity during recording in order to reduce distortion big city dailies newspapers published in cities such as New York, Los An- bibliography list of books, articles, geles, Chicago, and Boston etc., consulted and thus considered to be pertinent to a given subject. Big Five studios the five major mo- The General Catalogue of Printed tion picture studios—Paramount, Books maintained by the British MGM, Warner Brothers, Twentieth Library, the catalogs of the Biblio- Century Fox, and RKO—during the thèque Nationale in Paris, and the 1930s and 1940s Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., are widely used bibliographi- Big Four networks CBS, NBC, cal collections. Publishers also issue ABC, and Fox, the leading television bibliographies for informational (and networks (before the advent of cable publicity) purposes. In the United and satellite television) States, Publishers Weekly first appeared in 1872, and Books in Print in big idea an innovative new idea 1948. The International Federation behind an advertising c a m pa i g n for Documentation and the American intended to attract potential Documentation Institute are institu- consumers

40 binary opposition big screen movies made to be seen in of Communication and Journal of a movie theater rather than on televi- International Communication. sion or on a Web site binarism a structuralism theory Big Three networks the original that we extract meaning from two networks—CBS, NBC, ABC— forms (words, symbols, etc.) simul- considered the leading television taneously by detecting a minimal networks before the advent of Fox difference between them. The words and of cable and satellite television cat and rat differ minimally in terms of the initial sounds with which they Bildungsroman literary genre that are constructed. This binary differ- emerged in the early part of the ence keeps the two words distinct. Romantic period; a novel revolv- Binarism can be applied to a vast ing around the development of a array of forms; for example, in music young protagonist in psychologi- the difference between a major and cal and social terms. Perhaps the minor chord is signaled in a binary most famous Bildungsroman is fashion by a semitone difference in Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young the middle tone of the chord. Werther (1774). J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is a well- binary feature element that is either known American example of the present [+] or absent [–] in the consti- Bildungsroman. tution of form, thereby keeping it distinct. The word cat is marked as billboard 1. outdoor advertising [+singular] and cats as [–singular]. sign; 2. poster advertising a newspa- The [±singular] is a binary feature. per by showing the main headline of the day (usually found outside news- binary opposition refers to the fact paper stands); 3. advertising message that many aspects of meaning are shown before, after, and during the perceived in terms of opposites, such breaks of a television program as good vs. evil, night vs. day, etc. An opposition often leads to a connected billing 1. listing of performers, set of derived oppositions. So, for with prominence given to the lead- example, in a narrative the good char- ing performers; 2. way in which a acters are opposed to the evil ones performance, product, or spectacle is in terms of derived oppositions such publicized as us vs. them, right vs. wrong, truth vs. falsity, and so on, which manifest Biltereyst, Daniel (1962–) well- themselves in actions, statements, known scholar who has written on plot twists, etc. In social theory, some film censorship and reality television; binary oppositions, such as self vs. his articles have been published in other, us vs. them, man vs. woman, journals such as European Journal young vs. old, are seen as potentially

41 biodata dangerous because of the tendency of In groups of eight, bits become the people to identify with the positive familiar b y t e s that are used to repre- element in the opposition, seeing the sent all types of information, includ- other as negative. ing the letters of the alphabet and the digits 0 through 9. biodata biographical details about an individual bit caster radio station accessible only on the World Wide Web biography 1. account of a person’s life in the form of a book, movie, bit map an image stored in the form television program, etc.; 2. literary of b i t s . Bit maps cannot be enlarged genre dealing with people’s lives as without some distortion of quality. metaphors of life in general. In the ancient and medieval worlds, biog- BITNET [acronym for Because raphies were written primarily about It’s Time Network or Because It’s the most prominent individuals— There Network] network created in heroes, rulers, saints, etc. Giorgio 1981 connecting computers in the Vasari’s Vite de’ più eccellenti educational and research domains (at architetti, pittori e scultori italiani universities, schools, institutes, etc.) (1550; Lives of the Most Eminent to communicate news of develop- Architects, Painters, and Sculptors) ments in academic, scientific, and marked a humanistic interest in the related matters. lives of other types of individuals. As a literary genre, the biography traces biweekly newspaper or magazine its roots to The Life of Samuel John- that is published once every two son, LL.D. (1791) by James Boswell. weeks biopic [abbreviation of biographical black box technologies television picture] movie that presents the biog- systems (such as TiVo) that allow raphy of (usually) a well-known person viewers to record and save programs by digital storage means rather than biotechnology 1. use of microorgan- onto videotape, as with older VCR isms as agents to produce useful ma- systems terials or aid in industrial processes; 2. application of technological facts Black Entertainment Television and principles to biological science, [abbreviated as BET] American as in bioengineering cable network with programming targeted at African American audiences bit [short for binary digit] the small- in the United States est unit of information handled by a computer; one character of a system black-and-white movie or photo- that uses only two characters (0 and 1). graph using only black and white

42 blockbuster era

bleed 1. to print something so that the colors blend into each other; 2. to print something beyond the edge of a page

bleep out to efface an offensive word or phrase uttered on radio or television

blind booking practice of renting films to exhibitors without letting them view the films beforehand

blind certificatetype of online c o o k i e used to track which Web sites have been visited by an individual by identifying the computer system used BlackBerry blink ad television commercial lasting just one second BlackBerry trade name for a handheld wireless device that provides blitz intensive, short-term marketing e-mail and Internet services, along campaign with phone, text messaging, and software applications block-booking early movie studio tactic of getting theaters to accept blacklist 1. list of people who are not marginal or inferior films in order to approved or who are to be boycotted; obtain access to major films with the 2. list of people from whom corre- most popular stars spondence (especially e-mail correspondence) is not welcome block printing technique of printing from carved blocks of wood or other blackout any interruption or exclu- materials sion of a broadcast for technical reasons, on account of a labor dispute, blockbuster film or book that gains or due to government prohibition widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales blanket coverage advertising to the general public (with no target group blockbuster era period from the in mind) 1970s onward, when movie studios started making relatively inexpensive blat slang term for tabloid newspaper movies for large audiences. These

43 blockbuster mentality movies came packaged with cable secular songs in the early 1900s, deals, video/DVD products, etc. distinguished by slow tempo and sorrowful melodies and lyrics and blockbuster mentality movie-making played on simple instruments. After philosophy characterized by the 1950 some blues musicians, includ- taking of reduced risks by producing ing B.B. King and Ray Charles, used movies with blockbuster potential electric guitars and louder electric basses. Record companies applied the blog [abbreviation of weblog] Web terms rhythm and blues and soul to site with a regularly updated list of music in these styles. commentary and links to information on the Internet. A blog often serves Bluetooth trade name for a technol- as a publicly accessible journal for an ogy that enables portable electronic individual or community of individu- devices to connect with each other als, and tends to reflect the distinct and the Internet character and personality of the site’s users. Blogs are set up with easy-to- Blumler, Jay G. (1924–) one of the use authoring tools. founders of u s e s a n d g r at i f i c a - t i o n s t h e o ry . Among his key works blogosphere parts of the World Wide are Television in Politics (with D. Web where bloggers communicate McQuail; 1968) and The Uses of with each other Mass Communication (as editor, with E. Katz; 1974). blogware software designed to help people set up blogging sites blurb short complimentary text, often written about a book on its cover blowup enlargement of a photograph, or jacket or part of a photograph, so that its details can be seen more clearly BMI [see Broadcast Music Inc.] blue-eyed soul soul music performed Boas, Franz (1858–1942) German- by white musicians, rather than Afri- born American anthropologist who can American musicians laid the foundations for modern theories about the effects of culture bluegrass music type of folk music on human behavior and develop- originating in the southern United ment. Boas argued that differences States, typically played on banjos and in human behavior are determined guitars and characterized by rapid primarily by environment, not tempos and jazzlike improvisations genetics. He was among the first to emphasize field research—studying blues style of music that evolved a people by living among them. His from southern African American books include The Mind of Primitive

44 boom

Man (1911) and Race, Language, and had invented printing on paper from Culture (1940). movable type in the eleventh century. Paper was introduced to Europe body double actor whose job is to in the fifteenth century by Islamic substitute for a starring actor for scholars. The technology for mov- some reason during filming (for able metal type was perfected by the stunts, for specific action sequences, German printer Johannes Gutenberg, etc.) making the production of paper- based books rapid and much more body language set of manner- affordable. The first book printed isms, gestures, postures, and facial with such technology was the Bible expressions that represent or com- in 1455. The mass-produced book municate something. The elements encouraged literacy among all classes of body language are divided into of people. witting (gestures, expressions, etc., used intentionally to communicate book club 1. organization that sells something) and unwitting (gestures, books to members, generally at expressions, etc., used instinctively reduced rates, such as Book-of-the- to reveal an emotional or affective Month Club and Literary Guild; 2. state). informal group formed to read and discuss books Bollywood name (mimicking “Holly- wood”) that refers to India’s prolific book superstores large book chains, movie industry such as Barnes & Noble and Borders, that sell not only books but also other book collection or assemblage of products (videos, records, etc.) and pages held together in some way and usually include a coffee shop and containing verbal text and (some- other amenities times) figures and illustrations. The clay tablets of ancient Mesopotamia bookmark address of a Web site that and the scrolls of ancient Egypt, is stored in a computer’s memory so Greece, and Rome were the earliest that it can be revisited easily books (or proto-books). By the fourth century c.e., a ringed assemblage, books on tape audiotape books that called a codex, became popular as a generally feature actors or authors book form. It was made with wooden as narrators of entire or abridged tablets covered with wax. In the early versions of popular fiction and trade Middle Ages scribes in monasteries books used quill pens to copy books. As a result of this costly process, books boom long, adjustable stand or pole were rare objects, read primarily by used to suspend a microphone or clerics and aristocrats. The Chinese camera

45 boomerang response boomerang response any audience box office1. booth in a theater where response to a media text that is the tickets can be purchased; 2. income opposite of the one intended from ticket sales for a movie or entertainment event boosted sample used primarily for marketing purposes; to sample from brainwashing 1. severe, forcible in- a portion of a population, rather than doctrination, usually with a political the whole or religious intent, aimed at destroying someone’s basic convictions and bootlegging illegal pirating of CDs, attitudes and replacing them with an DVDs, etc., that are produced and alternative set of fixed beliefs; sold without permission from the 2. application of a concentrated original copyright holder means of persuasion, such as an advertising c a m pa i g n , in order borderless world common reference to induce a specific belief or to the global economy in the age of motivation the Internet brand 1. trademark or distinctive Bourdieu, Pierre (1930–2002) name identifying a product or a French sociologist, well-known for manufacturer; 2. product line so iden- his treatment of the notion of c u l - tified; for example, a popular brand t u r a l c a p i ta l . Among his key of soap works are Sens pratique (1980; The Logic of Practice, 1990) and La dis- brand awareness measure of how tinction (1979). many people are aware of a brand and to what degree boutique agencies in advertising, small regional advertising brand development index [abbre- a g e n c i e s that offer personalized viated as BDI] comparison of the services percent of a brand’s sales in a market to the percent of the national popula- bowdlerize to eliminate from a piece tion in that same market of writing whatever is construed as being obscene or offensive. The term brand image imbuing a product was coined from the surname of Dr. with an identity or distinct Thomas Bowdler, the English editor “personality” by giving it an who, in 1818, published Shake- appealing name, designing a distinc- speare’s plays in an edition, titled The tive logo for it, devising appropriate Family Shakespeare, from which he pricing (for a specific market seg- excised “those words and expressions ment), associating it with a certain which cannot with propriety be read lifestyle through advertising, and aloud in a family.” so on

46 bbc brand loyalty the tendency of con- ies literature to refer to the process sumers to buy the same brands they whereby the messages of brand have bought in the past advertising and those of other cultural sectors are no longer separate. brand magazine consumer magazine Revlon, for instance, spent millions published by a retail company for of dollars in the early 2000s for readers with demographic charac- close-up shots of its products during teristics that are similar to those the broadcasting of the American TV consumers with whom the company soap opera All My Children. normally does business Break dancing acrobatic style of brand manager person who has dancing to rap music, characterized marketing responsibilities for a spe- by body spins on the ground cific brand breakfast television informal, brand name product name that is magazine-style television program designed to convey a specifici m a g e broadcast early in the morning with which consumers can identify or relate to. In the last two decades breaking news unplanned news of the nineteenth century many U.S. coverage of an event that is in the firms began to market packaged process of unfolding or has only goods under brand names. Previous- recently happened ly, such everyday household products as sugar, soap, rice, and molasses bricolage technique of putting had been sold in neighborhood stores together different elements from a from large bulk containers. The first media text to create something new. brand names of products date from Bricolage involves the borrowing about 1880, and include Ivory, Pears, and mixture of sources to produce Sapolio, Colgate, Kirk’s American new forms. The notion has been used Family, and Packer’s. Along with in particular to describe subcultures Bon Ami, Wrigley, and Coca-Cola, that appropriate elements of main- such products quickly became house- stream culture in order to transform hold names. or subvert their meanings (as in punk fashion). branding 1. practice of attaching distinctive meanings to a product, Brin, Sergey (1973–) Russian-born thus identifying it to consumers in a American cofounder of Google, specific way (in terms of quality, in along with Larry Page terms of its lifestyle connotations, etc.); 2. integration of brands with British Broadcasting Corporation media events, programs, etc. Today, [abbreviated as BBC] one of the first branding is used in cultural stud- broadcasting systems, established in

47 British invasion

1922 in the United Kingdom. The November 2, 1920, is generally con- BBC is noncommercial and is, there- sidered to constitute the starting point fore, funded by an annual license fee of professional broadcasting. paid by television owners. broadcast spectrum portion of British invasion a musical move- the electromagnetic spectrum on ment that began in 1964 when British which the Federal Communications rock bands such as the Beatles and Commission allows broadcasters to the Rolling Stones achieved immense transmit popularity in the United States and elsewhere broadcast television television programming reaching mass audiences. broadband high-speed connec- Experimental telecasts took place tion capable of transmitting a large in the late 1920s and the 1930s. In quantity of data. Cable TV uses the United States, c b s and n b c were broadband, and so do many computer leaders in such telecasts. In 1936 the connections. Ra d i o Co r p o r at i o n o f Am e r i c a (later RCA Corporation), which Broadcast Music Inc. [abbreviated owned NBC, installed television as BMI] agency that collects license receivers in 150 homes in the New fees on behalf of American music York City area. NBC’s New York creators. It was established in 1939 station began experimental telecasts by the American radio industry. Web to these homes. A cartoon of Felix the site: www.bmi.com Cat was its first program. NBC established the first regular TV broadcasts broadcast radio radio program- in the United States in 1939. Televi- ming reaching mass audiences. sion broadcasting was suspended in Experimental radio broadcasts began 1941, when the United States entered around 1910, when Lee De Forest World War II, until after the war’s produced a radio program from the end in 1945. Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, starring the famous opera broadcasting transmission of pro- singer Enrico Caruso. Many histori- grams (radio, television, Web-based, ans consider radio station WWJ, in etc.) for public purposes and utiliza- Detroit, the first commercial radio tion. Many historians identify the station. It began regular broadcasts Westinghouse Electric Corporation on August 20, 1920. Others claim as the first commercially owned radio the distinction for station KDKA in station to broadcast to the general Pittsburgh. KDKA grew out of an ex- public, shortly after World War I. perimental station that began in 1916. The station was called KDKA, and The station’s broadcast of the 1920 it broadcast mainly variety pro- U.S. presidential election results on grams. The American Telephone and

48 bulletin board system

Telegraph Company was probably buddy movie film genre that focuses the first broadcaster to charge fees on the relationship between friends regularly, starting in 1922, for airing commercials. Early radio program- buffoonery comedy characterized ming consisted of variety shows as by ridiculous jokes, antics, and tricks well as adaptations of stage works redesigned for radio in the form of bulk mail mail (usually advertising) action serials, situation comedies, that is sent by regular (snail) mail at and so-called soap operas. The Public reduced rates Broadcasting Act of 1967 led to the establishment of noncommercial bulk rate reduced rate offered to broadcasting and the founding of the advertisers who buy large amounts Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) of advertising space in the United States. Public stations operate on contributions from various bull’s-eye model of communication sources, including government, view- model that depicts communication ers, corporations, and benefactors. as a mathematical process dependent Broadcasting technologies continue on probability factors, that is, on the to develop. Direct Broadcast Satel- degree to which a message is to be lite (DBS) uses satellite signals for expected or not in a given situation. It transmission. is called the bull’s-eye model because it envisions the process as consisting broadsheet [also called (errone- of a sender aiming a message at a re- ously) broadside] 1. early colonial ceiver as if in a bull’s-eye target range: newspaper imported from England, consisting of a single sheet; 2. full- Sender Message Receiver size newspaper; 3. a newspaper that → → covers the news in a serious, informa- tive way bullet model [alternative name for hypodermic needle model] model brochure booklet or pamphlet con- positing that media have direct taining advertising material powerful effects on people

Bronze Lion award for advertising bulletin board Web site that allows given at the Cannes International members of an interest group to Advertising Festival exchange messages, chat online, and exchange software browse to look up and view Web sites Bulletin Board System precursor to browser software program allowing the Internet, using software capable a user to browse the Internet and to of dialing up a connection and up- download and view Web files loading and downloading information

49 Bundling bundling any transmission system burst campaign concentrated adver- that allows for the delivery of televi- tising period for a product, especially sion, video-on-demand, audio, high- before it is launched speed Internet access, phone service, and fax via cable bus physical signal path that allows signals to travel between system burden of representation 1. the components within a device such as a difficulties that media face when they computer or set-top box, or between use a single personage to represent computers in a network an entire group; 2. the fact that a few personages from a previously under- business-to-business advertising represented group in the media will advertising aimed at businesses and bear the burden of promoting a posi- not at consumers tive role model for the entire group button fatigue in television audi- burlesque variety show that includes ence measurement research, the comedy skits and sometimes a strip- phenomenon of weary viewers fail- tease act. The term was used origi- ing to log on and report their viewing nally to characterize the plays of the habits Greek dramatists Aristophanes and Euripides and the Roman playwright buying motive explanation of con- Plautus. The two main genres of liter- sumers’ desires to purchase particular ary burlesque are known as the mock products epic (which treats a lofty subject in a ludicrous way) and the travesty byline identification, usually printed (which satirizes a serious subject in a at the beginning of an article, of the frivolous way). In the United States, journalist or reporter who is respon- the word was applied to a form of the- sible for the story ater that became the rage in the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by comedy byte basic unit of electronic data acts, musical acts, and the striptease. storage, equal to 8 b i t s . Files and computer memory are measured burn to copy data onto a compact in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, or disc, DVD, or other digital format gigabytes.

50 last item cabaret 1. club or restau- in the late 1940s in order to rant that provides entertain- broadcast television signals ment consisting of singing, to places that either could dancing, or comedy; 2. the not receive them through show that takes place at a C the air, or who could re- cabaret ceive them only with much interference. Some cable systems car- cable wire or bundle of wires that ry more than 100 channels; this large carry electric current, or a bundle of number has made n a r r o w c a s t i n g glass fibers that carry pulses of light. possible. Unlike broadcasting, which Cables provide the most practical tries to appeal to the largest possible means of transmitting communica- audience, narrowcasting offers pro- tions signals. grams that appeal to a particular interest. Cable channels may specialize cable drop system system connect- in news, movies, comedy, science, ing individual homes to the coaxial music, health, religion, weather, and cable that distributes cable television so on. Customers pay a monthly fee for service, plus additional fees for cable modem modem connect- certain channels. Most cable services ing a computer to the Internet via also offer one or more channels that a specified In t e r n e t s e r v i c e make movies or special events avail- p r o v i d e r able on a pay-per-view basis. These can be ordered either by telephone or cable network television network through a set-top box. that consists of channels distributed by companies to paying subscribers cablecast any broadcast that is trans- (usually by transmitting signals via mitted via a cable television network cables, rather than through the air) cache area in a computer’s memory Cable News Network [abbreviated that stores frequently used data so as CNN] international news broad- that it can be retrieved more quickly casting company, based in the United than data stored the computer’s in- States and founded in 1980, which ternal hard disk. Caches allow a user was the first to introduce 24-hour faster access to Web pages because news coverage the cache stores these in a temporary file. cable telephony telephone service offered by a cable television cacophony literary and rhetorical company technique aimed at creating a disso- nant effect through the use of words cable television television service via with harsh sounds: for example, yuk cable. Cable television was first used for disgust; blah for boring

51 callback callback 1. practice of interviewers camera 1. device for taking photo- or researchers of making a further graphs or motion pictures; 2. part of attempt to contact a person or group a device that converts images into for an interview; 2. a second audi- electronic impulses for television tion for a role in theater, television, broadcasting or film camera angle relation between the calligraphy art of handwriting, usu- position of a camera to the action be- ally perceived as being beautiful or ing filmed (higher, lower, closer, etc.) artistic in order to provide a different view of the action call-in phone call from a radio listener or a television viewer to a talk camera control unit console in a show, a current affairs program, etc., television production room that con- upon invitation of the program to do trols the cameras on the studio floor so remotely calotype early system of photog- camera lucida instrument that proj- raphy using translucent paper from ects an image onto a surface such as a which prints could be made piece of paper (so that the image can be traced) calypso 1. Caribbean ballad, especially Trinidadian, consisting of camera obscura instrument that uses syncopated rhythms and usually deal- a dark chamber with a small aperture ing satirically with public issues; 2. that brings the image of an outside Caribbean dance music, often played object into focus on a facing surface. by a steel band The camera obscura is the precursor of the modern camera. camcorder portable video camera and recorder cameraperson [previously camera- man or camerawoman] someone cameo 1. in literature, a brief depic- who operates a movie or television tion of someone or something; 2. camera brief appearance of a well-known actor in a scene in a movie, television camera-ready material that is in its program, etc. (also called a cameo finished format, ready to be photo- role or appearance) graphed or scanned for publication cameo appearance single brief camera shot 1. the part of the subject appearance by a well-known per- that is recorded on film by a camera; former in a play, movie, or television 2. a particular view of a scene, a program person, etc.

52 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival camera work series of camera techniques used in shooting movies or in making television programs camp a style of performance that is affectedly feminine, exaggerated, or deliberately brash in an amusing manner campaign journalism 1. journalism that relates to the events, issues, etc., that come up during a political campaign; 2. by extension, any type of journalism that reports a story from a particular viewpoint in order to promote a cause

Campbell, Joseph (1904–1987) American scholar famous for his ideas and writings on myth, based on the writings of Sigmund Freud and Cannes Film Festival Poster, Carl Jung and the novels of James September 1939 (The actual event was Joyce and Thomas Mann. Camp- postponed to 1946, after World War II.) bell analyzed the a r c h e t y p e s that surface in all myths (the hero, the candid camera hidden camera used mother, the father, the trickster, the to film people unawares, often in journey, etc.). His book The Hero situations designed to elicit amusing with a Thousand Faces (1949) has in- responses fluenced many subsequent studies of myth. Campbell’s four-volume Masks canned laughter prerecorded laugh- of God (1959–1967) has also become ter used for a specific broadcast event a classic in the field. (especially for a sitcom) in place of a real audience Canadian Broadcasting Corpora- tion [abbreviated as CBC; also called Cannes Film Festival one of the old- Société Radio-Canada] government- est and most prestigious film festivals owned public service Canadian radio in the world, held each May in the and television network. The CBC city of Cannes in southeastern France operates two television networks; one broadcasts in English and the other in Cannes Lions International Adver- French. The CBC also operates two tising Festival annual festival held cable television news networks. to recognize the best advertisements,

53 canon including television commercials, nally published in 1940 by Princeton print marketing, direct marketing, University Press. and online advertising. The festival awards the prestigious Palme d’Or to CAP codes [full form: Committee the best production company. of Advertising Practice codes] codes of advertising standards and canon 1. in aesthetic theory, the stan- practices, drawn up by the Com- dard by which a work is judged; 2. a mittee of Advertising Practice (a sanctioned or authenticated group of U.K. agency), designed to protect literary works consumers cant 1. group-based language with its capitalism political and economic own distinctive markers (tone, gram- system based on the private owner- matical features), especially jargon; ship of the means of production and 2. boring style of speech character- distribution of goods. Capitalism is ized by clichés and worn-out phrases. characterized by a free competitive market and by the “profit motive.” Cantril Study famous media effects study, conducted by Hadley caption 1. tagline for an advertise- Cantril and his team of researchers ment; 2. verbal text accompanying at Princeton University following an illustration or photograph; 3. short the famous “War of the Worlds” on-screen text that explains or relates broadcast of 1939 by Orson Welles to the visual image (for example, the as part of Mercury Theater of the name of the person who is talking) Air Presents. The broadcast was a radio version of H.G. Welles’s 1898 capture theory view that regulators novel, but it interspersed fake “news” are influenced by the interests of the reports of Martian landings in New industries they regulate Jersey, which were so realistic that near panics occurred in many areas— car card [also called bus card] despite periodic announcements by poster placed on buses, subway cars, CBS that the program was merely a etc. dramatization. The Cantril researchers wanted to find out why some card rate advertising charge without listeners believed the fake reports any discounts and others did not. After interviewing 135 people, the team came to the caret symbol written on a section of conclusion that the key was critical text indicating where something (a thinking—better-educated listeners letter or a word) is to be inserted were more capable of recognizing the broadcast as a fake than were less- caricature distorted or exaggerated educated ones. The study was origi- visual portrayal of someone (usually

54 cartoon

exhibits, games, rides, and shows; 2. feasting and merrymaking just before Lent. The idea of carnival has been used to explain the appeal of pop culture spectacles, which allow people to temporarily ignore the restrictions by which they normally abide.

carrier company that delivers telecommunications messages

cartel large group of businesses that agree to operate as a monopoly, especially to regulate prices and production

cartoon drawing that caricatures an Caricature of Charles Dickens (1868) event or personage. There are three by André Gill main types of cartoons: editorial cartoons, which caricature current events in magazines and newspapers; a well-known personage) for comical gag cartoons, which usually carica- effect. By extension the term is used ture groups rather than individuals, to refer to any representation of this in magazines and on greeting cards; kind, including verbal. The use of and illustrative cartoons, which are caricature can be traced to the ancient used to illuminate aspects of a new Egyptians and Greeks. It was also product or educational topic in a used by Italian artists of the Renais- humorous way. The term is also used sance. In the eighteenth century it to refer to strips of drawings (comic emerged as a form of satire. Spanish strips) and to animated humorous painter Francisco José de Goya, for instance, used caricature to satirize political and social injustices in his 80 etchings called Caprichos (1799). In 1841, the English weekly magazine Punch became the first magazine to use caricature. In the United States, The New Yorker magazine continues the tradition. carnival 1. traditional form of Looney Tunes characters Sylvester outdoor amusement that consists of and Tweety, introduced in the 1940s.

55 cascading style sheet films intended primarily for children castoff estimate of how much space (also called toons). a piece of text will occupy when it is printed cascading style sheet technique for storing font, spacing, and color in- casualization the trend in the media formation in a style sheet that can be industry of full-time jobs becoming applied to any text on a Web page increasingly reorganized into part- time or project-based employment case study analysis based on exhaus- tive compilation of data regarding an catachresis vague, improper or individual or group ambiguous use of language for effect: for example, the misuse of the case-study method method of media suffix -ish to mean “bad qualities” as research that makes use of a group clownish, childish, etc. of case studies from which to draw general conclusions and principles catalog album in record retailing, any album that is more than three cassette sealed plastic device con- years old taining audiotape or videotape catalyst effect the support the media cassette recorder device for recording can garner for an issue simply by and playing audiotape or videotape showcasing it, leading to an increased interest in the issue, to financial cast actors and other performers who commitment to it on the part of audi- play the parts in a play, dance, movie, ences, etc. etc. catchline word or phrase at the top Castells, Manuel (1942–) Marxist of a script that identifies an item on a theorist known for his critical studies program of media. His key works include The Urban Question: A Marxist Approach catchword first word or phrase on a (1977) and City, Class and Power page of printed text, designed to draw (1978). attention to it casting agency agency that audi- catharsis the “purification” or tions and hires actors for a particular “emotional release” that the theatri- production cal representation of tragic events has on an audience (as coined by Ar i s - Casting Society of America [abbre- t o t l e ). Through the tragic drama, viated as CSA] American association the audience’s pent-up emotions are of film, television, and theater casting sublimated and thus cleansed. This directors, founded in 1982 term is now used in media studies to

56 censorship refer to the purported purging effect exposure. A celebrity is usually an of some media representations. actor, a television personality, a pop musician, etc. catharsis hypothesis claim that the representation of sexuality and cellular phone [also called cell violence in media has a preventive phone] wireless telephone that effect. The claim posits that engaging transmits and receives messages via in fantasy sex or violence releases radio signals. It enables people to potentially negative impulses that communicate over a wide area by otherwise might be acted out in real using a network of radio antennas life. and transmitters arranged in small geographical areas called cells. The cathode-ray tube outmoded vacuum first commercial cellular system went tube used on older television sets for into operation in 1983 in the United creating images and text on a screen States. Cellular service is now available throughout most of the world. CATV [see community antenna television] cellular radio radio that receives frequencies that operate in cells accord- CBC [see Canadian Broadcasting ing to position. This reception allows Corporation] car radios to be swapped to the right frequency as the car travels from cell CBS [see Columbia Broadcasting area to cell area. System] celluloid 1. photographic film used in CD [see compact disc] making movies; 2. by extension, the cinema as an art form CD-ROM [see compact disc read- only memory] censorship the control of what people may say, hear, write, or read. CD-RW [see compact disc In most cases, this kind of control rewritable] comes from a government agency or from various types of private cease-and-desist order directive groups. Censorship can be directed issued by a regulatory agency, such at books, newspapers, magazines, as the Federal Trade Commission, re- motion pictures, radio and television quiring an advertiser to stop running programs, and speeches. It also may a deceptive or unfair advertisement, influence music, painting, sculpture, campaign, or claim and other arts. In the United States, the Bill of Rights and the Supreme celebrity person who is widely Court serve as checks on unlimited known primarily because of media censorship.

57 censorware censorware term used to describe system (antenna, cable, etc.) capable Web content-filtering software of transmitting information central processing unit [abbrevi- channel of distribution route used ated as CPU] microprocessor chip by a company to distribute its prod- that translates commands and runs ucts (through wholesalers, retailers, programs. The CPU coordinates mail order, etc.) computer functions, retrieves instructions from memory, executes instruc- channel surfing[also called tions, and stores results in memory channel-hopping] going from chan- locations. nel to channel (with a remote control) with no particular program in mind centralized organizational structure a method of organizing inter- chanson de geste one of more than national advertising c a m pa i g n s 80 Old French epic poems of the whereby decision making occurs eleventh to the fourteenth centuries through a company’s central office celebrating the deeds of historical or legendary figures, especially the Certeau, Michel de (1925–1986) exploits of Charlemagne and his French scholar who wrote influential successors. The Chanson de Ro- books critiquing pop culture and land (circa 1100), attributed to the mass media, including L’invention du Norman poet Turold, is the most quotidien (1980; published in English popular of the chansons. It recounts as The Practice of Everyday Life, the Battle of Roncesvalles in 778 and 1984) and Heterologies: Discourse the heroic feats of Roland, a knight on the Other (1986). of Charlemagne’s court. Roland’s death in a suicide-like defense of a chain break pause for station iden- mountain pass renders him a Chris- tification and commercials during a tian martyr. network telecast character 1. role played (by an channel 1. physical system used in actor) on stage, in a movie, etc.; 2. the transmission of signals (such as personage depicted in a text (a play, the air in speaking); 2. television or a novel, a movie, etc.); 3. famous radio station broadcasting on a speci- or well-known person (also called a fied frequency band personage); 4. symbol used in a writing system or code (for example, a channel capacity amount of infor- computer code) mation that a communications system can carry character actor actor who normally plays a particular type of role (the channel of communication any “bad guy,” the “sidekick,” etc.)

58 chief shopper charade game in which two compet- chiasmus rhetorical technique con- ing groups of participants choose a sisting of the inversion of two paral- team member to act out the syllables lel phrases or clauses: I went to New of a hidden word or an entire phrase York; to Chicago went he using pantomime so that the group members can guess the word or phrase Chicago School school of philosophical inquiry at the University charge artist member of a theater of Chicago between 1894 and 1904. troupe who is responsible for over- Founded by John Dewey (1859– seeing the physical layout and ap- 1952), its notable members included pearance of a stage George H. Mead, James H. Tufts, James R. Angell, Edward Scribner charts list of the best-selling musical Ames, and Addison W. Moore. The recordings over a given time period Chicago School sought to apply the (week, month, etc.) principles of pragmatism to social inquiry. As such, it rejected strictly chat group group of computer users empirical approaches and attempted sharing a common interest who com- to understand the ways in which hu- municate with each other on-line man groups shaped meanings collectively and interactively. This implied chat room Web site where computer a systematic questioning of received users can exchange messages in real notions and standard explanations time that makes the Chicago School a representative of critical inquiry. A chauvinism excessive or biased al- leading contemporary exponent of legiance to a particular gender, group, Chicago School pragmatism is phi- or cause losopher Richard Rorty. checkbook journalism practice of chick flickfilm that is intended or paying money to get an exclusive sto- perceived to appeal primarily to ry that will purportedly sell many cop- women, given its romantic or senti- ies of a newspaper or magazine and/or mental plot, or its focus on human bring prestige upon the journalist relationships or the changing role of women in society chiaroscuro use of light and dark colors or shades together in drawing, chief income earner in marketing, painting, or cinematic representa- the individual in a household earning tion to emphasize contrast. Promi- the highest income nent artists who used the technique include Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, chief shopper in marketing, the Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, individual who does the shopping for Georges de La Tour, and Rembrandt. the household

59 children’s movies

duced the phrase “manufacturing consent” to refer to the manipulation of the media in order to gain a consensus on political ideologies and programs. Among his works are Manufacturing Consent: The Po- litical Economy of the Mass Media (1988) and Media Control (1997).

chopsocky genre of film featuring violent martial arts action

choreography art of planning a dance and other movements or forms Noam Chomsky that accompany music children’s movies films that are chorus 1. group of people who sing intended to appeal to children. The together; 2. type of song performed pioneer in this area was Walt Dis- by many singers together; 3. repeated ney (1901–1966), who first became part of a song coming after each stan- known in the late 1920s and 1930s za, in which a whole group of singers for creating such cartoon film often joins the soloist; 4. in ancient characters as Mickey Mouse and Greek drama, group of singers and Donald Duck. He later produced dancers who engage in dialogue with feature-length cartoon films as well the actors and comment on the action as movies about wild animals in their on stage natural surroundings and films starring human actors. chroma key filming technique whereby the background of a filmed children’s television television scene is altered or replaced without programming, including television affecting the foreground channels, intended to appeal primarily to children, consisting typically chromaticism 1. style or composi- of cartoons, educational stories, and tion in music based on the chromatic the like. scale (a scale consisting of twelve notes whereby every note is a semi- Chomsky, Noam (1928–) American tone apart from the next one; 2. the linguist and social critic, internation- science of colors ally renowned for his methods of linguistic analysis and his work on chronemics study of cultural history power structures in media and the in terms of eras, dates, and the sig- dangers of globalization. He intro- nificant events associated with them

60 circulation chronicle long historical narrative, life, as seen in Carl-Theodor Dreyer’s often including legends and myths, La passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928) presented in chronological order and Luis Buñuel’s and Salvador Dalí’s Un chien andalou (1929); 2. alternate chronology order in which events term for documentary , meaning occur, and its significance to a sto- literally the “cinema of reality” ryline or to some other aspect of a movie, program, etc. CinemaScope brand name for an early widescreen projection system churn the turnover in cable subscrib- for movies, developed in 1953 by ership, whereby the number of new Twentieth Century Fox, intended pri- subscriptions offsets the number of marily to lure the curious away from cancellations their television sets cine club independent rival to conventional movie theaters, typically cinematheque small movie theater showing independent films with an intimate atmosphere cineaste filmmaker or any film cinematic relating to films, filmmak- enthusiast ing, or to the style in which films are made cinema art, industry, or business of making movies developed origi- cinematographer person responsible nally from the technology of moving for the lighting and camerawork in pictures. According to most histo- the making of a movie rians, the first true movies were the ten-part version of the trial of French cinematography the art or technique army officer Alfred Dreyfus (1899); of shooting movies Cinderella (1900); and A Trip to the Moon (1902) by French magician Cinerama trade name for a method, Georges Méliès. Although shown introduced in the 1950s, of produc- originally in Paris, Méliès’s films ing early widescreen movies with were an instant success and were enhanced three-dimensional effects; subsequently shown in many coun- like Ci n e m a Sc o p e , Cinerama was tries. In the United States, Edwin S. intended to attract people to the Porter’s 1903 film, The Great Train movie theaters and away from their Robbery, became a sensational hit. television sets cinema advertising advertising circular advertisement (or similar shown on cinema screens before the text) distributed to a large number of featured film people cinéma vérité 1. cinematic style circulation average number of cop- stressing the stark, realistic portrayal of ies distributed of some publication

61 citizen journalism

(newspaper, magazine, etc.) during classical music music composed a given period. In advertising, this by musicians considered to be the term is also used to refer to the total founders of high musical art (Bach, number of people who have an op- Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, etc.). portunity to observe a billboard or The term classical music is used to poster. contrast with popular music, which includes country music, jazz, and citizen journalism [also called civic rock music. Classical also has other journalism] practice centered on the meanings. If capitalized, it refers to participation of readers and journal- a style of music that developed in the ists in community issues, making late 1700s. newspapers a forum for discussion and engagement classical narrative structure dominant mode of storytelling found in city desk newspaper section devoted Hollywood films, consisting of three to financial topics and/or local news distinct stages: a state of equilibrium or order; a period of disruption to that city editor newspaper editor who is state; and a climactic resolution that responsible for financial news and/or restores the equilibrium local news classicism 1. a literary and artistic civil society a society in which style associated with the ancient institutions, social relationships, and Greeks and Romans; 2. a style, organizations operate under the rule movement, or period distinguished of the state, but are not necessarily by qualities that suggest ancient clas- aligned with it sical art and writing: for example, the art and music of the period that clandestine stations illegal or spans the mid-1700s to around 1820 unlicensed broadcast stations is called classical operated by clandestine groups or agencies (revolutionary sub- classificationsystem of identifying cultures, intelligence agencies, movies according to content: PG, etc.) PG-13, R, etc. clapper board pair of hinged classified adsmall notice, usually boards used at the start of each take on a special page of a newspaper or in a film, identifying the film and magazine, indicating that something scene is wanted or offered (a job, an apartment, a pet, a car, etc.). Classified ads classic rock rock music of the 1960s are usually grouped into categories, and early 1970s, associated especial- such as “real estate,” “help wanted,” ly with the hippie movement etc.

62 close-up

Claymation trade name for a stop- and finally we obliterate them; 2. frame animation method that uses point at which a narrative, perfor- clay figurines mance, etc., takes a decisive turn clean feed 1. video recording without Clio Award annual award for excel- captions; 2. sound recording without lence in product package design and commentary; 3. earpiece used by brand advertising radio or television announcers so that they can hear all sound apart from clip extract from a recording their own statements clip art commercially produced cliché word or phrase that has lost its artwork, usually copyright-free, avail- original effectiveness through over- able on-line and through many digital use: for example, All’s well that end’s products (such as CD-ROMs), that can well; Father Time; Mother Nature; be used to enhance presentations of text lips sweeter than wine closed captioned any television click stream the series of choices broadcast that has captions that can (clicks) made by a user or browser on be seen at the bottom of the televi- the Web sion screen if the television set has the appropriate device click through clicking on a banner ad or other onscreen ad that allows closed-circuit television television the user to get to the advertiser’s Web system in which video cameras are site hooked up by cable to monitors. Surveillance systems use this type of click through rate fee applied to television. advertisers for the display of banner ads. Each time a visitor clicks closed text a type of text (usually through the ad, the advertiser is narrative) from which only a limited charged a fee. range of meanings can be extracted (term coined by Um b e r t o Ec o ). De- cliffhanger story, play, or motion tective or crime scene stories are usu- picture that depends on strong and ally closed texts because the idea is to sustained suspense for its dramatic figure out the identity of the murderer interest or criminal. An open text, on the other hand, is one from which readers can climax 1. rhetorical technique extract multiple meanings. consisting of the progressive arrangement of ideas from the least to the close-up filmed shot that shows a most forceful: First we comment on person’s face (or other part of the what they did, then we attack them, body), to the exclusion of other parts

63 cluster group cluster group group of people with something. For example, the code similar traits (lifestyle, social back- that underlies an action adventure ground, etc.) for the purpose of audi- hero is based on the ancient view ence analysis of heroes as having superhuman strength, as being moral and good- clutter the appearance of many sepa- looking, as having (often) some rate commercials during one televi- tragic flaw or weakness, and so on. sion commercial break This code is implicit in how fictional heroes are portrayed. One of the first CNN [see Cable News Network] to use code theory to study media and pop culture was Ro l a n d Ba rt h e s , cobranding practice of display- who claimed that a print ad, for ex- ing two or more corporate logos in ample, can be decoded (understood) certain venues (such as in bookstores as a text with two levels—the literal where coffee brands are sold), on a level, consisting of the objects and product Web site, etc., to indicate straightforward message of the ad, joint business partnership which is a “noncoded” level; and the symbolic level, based on ideological cobweb site Web site that has not and cultural meanings, which is the been updated in a long time “coded” level. St u a rt Ha l l argues that sometimes the audience does not co-culture a cultural strand that ex- actually receive the coded message ists alongside a mainstream cul- of a media text, but rather that it can ture. For example, some aboriginal decode it in oppositional ways, that societies have preserved their original is, in ways that the maker of the text cultures, which exist alongside main- did not anticipate or desire. stream culture. codes of narrative a set of codes coda 1. in music, a section at the supposedly underlying narrative texts end that brings the work to a formal singularly, in part, or in combination. conclusion; 2. by extension, any These include a c t i o n c o d e , e n i g m a concluding addition to a text (verbal, c o d e , referential c o d e , s e m a n t i c artistic, etc.) c o d e , s y m b o l i c c o d e code 1. system of signs with specific codex 1. book formed by putting functions (alphabet code, decimal together sheets of paper; 2. collection number system, etc.); 2. system of of ancient manuscripts in book form. cultural meanings implicit in a media The codex was popularized by early product that is built into it. Basi- Christians, who cut pieces of papyrus cally, a code is a system of elements into sheets and sewed them together (features, traits, meanings, images, on one side. They bound the pages etc.) that we perceive to be a part of with thin pieces of wood. As a result,

64 collocation a reader could open it at any page. cold medium [also called cool me- The codex remains the major book dium, as opposed to hot medium] form today. according to Ma r s h a l l McLu h a n , any medium that requires a greater cognition faculty of knowing based degree of interaction from the user in on reasoning, intuition, or perception, order to determine meaning or a combination of these collage a work of art created by cut- cognitive dissonance sense of ting, arranging, and adhering various anxiety resulting from a discrep- materials, such as cloth, paper, pho- ancy between beliefs and actions, tos, and other objects, onto a surface such as opposing air pollution while engaging in activities, like driving, collateral materials the print, visual, that cause pollution (term coined by and other materials that go into a American psychologist Leon Fest- marketing or advertising campaign inger). To avoid this sense of anxiety, people will typically search for infor- collective identity identification mation that will confirm or reinforce with a community or the institutions their beliefs, rather than contradict by which it is represented, based on them. gender, class, lifestyle, and nation cognitive psychology theory theory collective representation creation of of media claiming that exposure to media texts or products by a commedia shapes cognition munity that reveal something crucial about it (its history, beliefs, etc.) cognitive style mode or way in which information is processed: collective unconscious As defined for example, auditory cognitive style by Ca r l Gu s t a v Ju n g , an inher- (= processing information audio- ited part of the unconscious mind orally), visual cognitive style that is shared by all members of a (= processing information visually), culture. It includes thought patterns and so on called a r c h e t y p e s , which have developed through the centuries. cognitivism 1. psychology move- According to Jung, archetypes enment or school, which emerged in able people to react to situations in the 1950s, emphasizing the study of ways similar to their ancestors. For mental processes by seeking parallels this reason, the collective uncon- between brain function and computer scious contains wisdom that guides operations; 2. general approach in all humanity. psychology that focuses on how the mind handles different kinds of collocation the meaning that a word information and problems or phrase develops by virtue of its

65 colonialism association with other words that are Columbia Broadcasting System used commonly with it. For ex- [abbreviated as CBS] early televi- ample, pretty is linked with girl, boy, sion network that, along with ABC woman, flower, garden, color, etc. and NBC, was one of the Big Th r e e (e.g., pretty girl, pretty boy); whereas in the golden era of television, from handsome is associated with man, the 1950s to the 1970s. CBS is best vessel, overcoat, airliner, etc. (e.g., known in the annals of broadcasting handsome man, handsome vessel). history for the work of broadcaster The collocation may overlap, but Edward R. Murrow (1908–1965), when it does, it involves subtle nu- who become renowned during World ances in meaning: for example, pretty War II (1939–1945) for his on-the- boy vs. handsome boy. scene radio broadcasts describing German bombing attacks on London. colonialism 1. the rule of a group His listeners in America could hear of people by a foreign power; 2. in the bombs exploding in the back- Marxist theory, any form of eco- ground. nomic, political, or social oppression (unjust treatment) of one group by Columbia Pictures early Hollywood a group of different cultural back- studio established in 1914, producing ground many popular family films, including The Karate Kid (1984) and the colonization in advertising, use of Spider-Man films (from 2002). the symbolism of a culture in order to appeal to its members column article in a newspaper or magazine that appears on a regular color field paintingtechnique estab- basis, and that is usually written by lished by a group of artists during the the same person, usually on the same 1950s and 1960s that aimed to reduce subject. For example, Dear Abby, painting to the purity of color on a one of the most famous advice col- flat plane umns, was written under the name of Abigail Van Buren starting in 1956. color grading process of preparing The column has been published in film so that color effects are uniform over 1,200 newspapers in the United throughout the movie (now done States and other countries. It con- digitally) sists of responses to reader questions about such subjects as family life, color temperature warmth of any marriage, health, death, and social color as measured on the Kelvin issues. scale comedy form of drama or entertain- colorcast television program broad- ment that deals with humorous or cast in color ridiculous aspects of human behavior

66 comics comedy-variety hour television entertainment program that features a wide variety of acts comic book magazine using cartoon characters. Most tell stories, though they have also been used for education, artistic expression, and other purposes. Because of their popularity, characters from comic books have been used in advertising. Many characters have also appeared on radio and television and in motion pictures, as well as in books, plays, songs, and as toys. Characters called superheroes, who have extraordinary powers, are especially popular. Among the first American comic books are the Famous Funnies (first First issue of Spider-Man (1962) sold in 1934). In 1938 Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster put out the first Superman comic, one of the most comic opera opera with a humorous popular characters in the history of plot and a happy ending comic books. Superman inspired the creation of other heroes, notably comic relief interlude inserted or Captain Marvel and Batman. Start- introduced in a serious literary work, ing in the 1970s, many independent play, movie, etc., designed to provide or “alternative” artists experimented relief from tension through humor with new styles, more sophisticated formats, and stories suited to adults; comics story consisting of c a rt o o n s this form is usually called a graphic arranged in panels (horizontal lines novel. The most celebrated ex- or strips). Dialogue and thoughts are amples are Maus: A Survivor’s Tale shown in b a l l o o n s . Historians trace (1986) and Maus II (1991) by Art the origin of comics to the Richard Spiegelman. They tell of the artist’s Felton Outcault’s series Hogan’s Al- relationship with his father and the ley, first published in 1895. Two other experiences of his parents in the early comic strips were The Katzen- Holocaust. jammer Kids (1897) by Rudolph Dirks and Little Bears (1892) by comic-book movie genre of film James Guilford Swinnerton. Com- based on a comic book, comic book ics quickly became a popular feature character, or comic strip of newspapers. The first successful

67 coming-of-age movie daily strip, by Bud Fisher, came out (Pantaloon) was a greedy and lustful in 1907 with the title Mr. A. Mutt; merchant who tried to disguise his it was later renamed Mutt and Jeff age by wearing tight-fitting Turkish and was turned into a comic book in clothes. The Doctor used senseless 1911. The first mass-produced series Latin phrases and prescribed worth- was Famous Funnies, which first less remedies. The boastful Captain appeared in 1934. The 1938 publi- was actually a coward and a childish cation of Action Comics, featuring lover. Pulcinella (Punch) was a pot- the Superman comic strip, inspired bellied rascal who planned outra- countless other comic books. The geous plots to satisfy his desires. adventure comic genre, however, Columbine, a female character, was actually began with the publication in intelligent and charming, standing 1929 of Tarzan and Buck Rogers. In out noticeably in a world character- 1934, Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon ized by masculine idiocy. and Al Capp’s Li’l Abner (a satirical comic strip) gained broad appeal. commentary news or other report, One of the most respected comic broadcast live from an event (for strips of all time was Peanuts by example, a televised baseball game) Charles M. Schulz, which appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers and commercial radio, television, or was translated into more than 20 Internet advertisement. Commer- languages. cials were first developed for radio in the 1920s. Based on narrative, the coming-of-age movie movie dealing persuasive qualities of the human with young people and the problems voice, and often the allure of musi- they face during adolescence cal jingles, the radio commercial became a highly effective vehicle for comix comics and comic strips promoting products. With the advent designed for adults, especially those of television after World War II, the involving eroticism advertising industry adapted the idea of the radio commercial to the new commedia dell’arte comedic style visual medium. And, of course, to- that was extremely popular in Italy day, commercials are found through- in the sixteenth and seventeenth out cyberspace. centuries, in which stock characters improvised their dialogues from commercial art art created for standard plot outlines, usually wear- commercial reasons, especially ing traditional masks and costumes. advertising The commedia style was eventually adopted by conventional theater. commercial break slot during a ra- Arlecchino (Harlequin) was a lecher- dio, television, or Web program dur- ous and artful character. Pantalone ing which commercials are broadcast

68 Communication science commercial laissez-faire model of common culture cultural forms, media communication model claim- rites, beliefs, symbols, etc., that all ing that there should be “free trade” members of a community share and in the marketplace for media prod- that define the community as such ucts, as there is for goods communal sense idea that the commercial radio radio run by a pri- meanings attached to things are vately owned business. In contrast to shaped by the beliefs held by specific public and nonprofit radio, commer- communities cial radio stations sell broadcasting time to advertisers who want to reach communication exchange of mes- listeners. Sponsors pay the stations sages through some c h a n n e l and in for time during and between the pro- some m e d i u m . Communication theo- grams to advertise their products. rists usually classify communication into modes, that is, different ways of commercial television television run exchanging messages: for example, by a privately owned business, which gestural (hand-based communica- sells broadcasting time to advertisers tion); vocal (voice-based communication); visual (picture-based commodificationin Marxist theory, communication); signaling (bodily the idea that in capitalist societies, based communication); and so on. works of artistic or cultural value When pluralized (communications), are valued in ways that parallel how the term refers to media systems or commodities or articles of trade are technologies of communication. valued communication network any system commodification of information (such as the Internet) that connects idea that information is a commod- people for communication purposes ity that can be bought and sold like goods, not something that should be communication science [also called freely available communication studies] discipline that studies communication in all its commodity fetishism in Marxist dimensions and manifestations. The theory, view that the commodities technical features of communica- produced and sold under a capitalist tion systems were first studied by the system take on the characteristics of American electrical engineer Claude fetishes E. Shannon. In 1948 he developed a model of communication that has common carrier communications become the point of reference for company (such as a phone company) all subsequent models. In Shannon’s that provides telecommunications model, communication is said to services to the general public occur between a sender (a speaker,

69 communication theory a radio transmitter, etc.) who (or phy on the Internet. The Act has been which) encodes a message—that criticized as a breach of freedom of is, uses a c o d e to construct it—and speech as well as for its difficulty of a receiver (a listener, an audience, implementation. etc.) who (or which) has the capacity to decode the message—that is, communications gap misunder- to use the same code to decipher the standing caused by a failure in message. The sender uses a natural communication between different m e d i u m or artificial device, or both, individuals or cultural groups who do to convert a message into a physical not share a common reference system signal so as to be able to transmit it (language, set of values, etc.) across a c h a n n e l . Any interference in the channel is called n o i s e ; the communications satellite satel- process by which the receiver regu- lite used to relay radio, telephone, lates itself by feeding back informa- television, and other signals around tion on the transmitted message is the world. Communications satellites called f e e d b a c k . play a major role in modern forms of broadcasting, delivering programs communication theory any theory to local cable companies or directly aiming to explain how (and perhaps to homes through direct broadcast why) communication takes place. satellite (DBS) systems. The Interna- Communication theorists investigate tional Telecommunications Satellite verbal and nonverbal forms (gesture, Organization (INTELSAT) owns the body language, facial expression) largest system of communications of human communication, animal satellites. communication, and the effect of technological change on communications spectrum range communication and culture. of electromagnetic frequencies used in wireless communication communications [used in the plural] systems system of communicating by some technological means (telephone, ra- communicative competence capac- dio, television, computers). In media ity to use and adapt speech to match studies, communications refers to the social contexts or to carry out social study of providing information and functions entertainment through media such as magazines, newspapers, radios, communicology term sometimes televisions, computers, etc. used for communication s c i e n c e

Communications Decency Act of communiqué official announcement 1996 U.S. legislation intended to given by an agency or person to the prevent the transmission of pornogra- press or the public

70 complicity of users communisuasion communication offers full recordability and re- that is intended to be persuasive or recordability suggestive comparative analysis 1. comparative community antenna television [ab- study of the mass media systems in breviated as CATV] outmoded term different areas of the world; 2. in ad- for c a b l e t e l e v i s i o n vertising, analysis of different media available for producing an a d v e rt i s - community publishing construction i n g c a m pa i g n of Web pages by local schools, clubs, and nonprofit groups, carried on-line compassion fatigue diminution or by newspaper Web sites loss of sympathy on the part of an audience for a group or cause commutation test procedure for because of overexposure by the fleshing out meaningful differences media in forms and media texts, consisting of substituting (commuting) elements compensation payments made by in forms and texts in specific ways networks to affiliates for clearing or locations. For example, in the content word pair cat and rat, one element of sound—the initial consonant in competence in linguistics, the ability each word—produces a difference in to use language and understand its meaning. In advertising studies, the rules, structures, etc. test consists of removing an image or a word from an ad and replacing competitive check analysis of rival it with another, in order to see what advertising trends conducted on the kind of subject or audience reaction it basis of data supplied by monitoring produces. agencies compact disc [abbreviated as CD] compilation filmfilm put together disc without grooves whose data is from previous footage stored digitally and is readable only by laser compiler computer program that converts another program from a compact disc read-only memory high-level language to an intermedi- [abbreviated as CD-ROM] compact ate one disc containing digital information (such as data and instructions) that complicity of users idea that an cannot be manipulated or altered audience does not want the full truth in news reports about difficult situa- compact disc rewritable [abbrevi- tions, reinforcing a reporter’s ten- ated as CD-RW] compact disc that dency to censor coverage

71 composer composer creator of music for a film computer art graphic element score, a television program, etc. or other artwork created on a computer; or art generated by a compositing merging of different computer itself, given appropriate levels of film or digital images instructions composition 1. way in which the computer-assisted personal inter- parts of a media text are put together; view face-to-face interview during 2. the social characteristics of a target which the interviewer inputs the audience responses directly into a computer for immediate analysis compulsory heterosexuality in feminist theory, the idea that ho- computer conferencing a meet- mosexuality is repressed in media ing of two or more people at distant representations and heterosexuality sites, each at a computer exchanging emphasized or portrayed as the norm messages computer electronic device ca- computer games games found on- pable of performing a vast array of line or available in some format such tasks (calculating, word processing, as CD-ROM etc.) on the basis of the instructions (called a program). Digital comput- computer graphics pictures (charts, ers operate using numerical digits to drawings, figures, icons, etc.) on a represent something; analog comput- computer screen, as opposed to al- ers operate using numerical values phabetic and numerical symbols and to represent a continuous range; characters mainframe computers are computers housed in specific locations (early computer literacy understanding of mainframe computers had more the basic principles of computers and memory, speed, and capabilities their uses, including computer terms than personal computers); personal computers are smaller computers de- computer memory capacity of a signed for individual use, which now computer to store data, measured have many of the same capacities as in b y t e s . Random Access Memory mainframe computers; supercomput- (RAM) can be read or changed by the ers are powerful mainframe comput- user; Read-Only Memory (ROM) can ers with a vast computation capacity. only be read, not altered. computer animation use of comput- computer network combination of ers to create film animation, rather hardware, software, and connections than the traditional (now largely that allows individual computers to abandoned) hand-drawing techniques communicate with each other and

72 confidence limits share common resources such as among the first rock groups to record files, software, hardware peripher- such albums, starting with The Who als, and electronic mail. Networks Sell Out (1967). Probably the most may also protect shared data from popular of these albums is the rock mistakes made by any one individual opera Tommy (1969). and assure that data is transmitted correctly. Since the first computer conceptual art art movement that networks debuted in the late 1960s, views the representation of traditional they have had an enormous impact on objects as irrelevant and that focuses the way information is stored, distrib- instead on ideas and information uted, and processed. as the essential elements of a work. Conceptual artists use various media, computer science systematic study such as written documents, photo- of all aspects of computers—design, graphs, video, film, charts, and maps, operation, etc. in nontraditional ways. computer-telephone integration in- concrete music type of electronic tegration of computer and telephone music created by combining record- systems so that the same networks ings of live sounds (natural, mechani- can be shared by both cal, etc.) with previously composed musical tracks conative function the way in which a message influences a receiver or the concurrence-seeking tendency the response of the receiver (the term is inclination of people in audiences to associated with Ro m a n Ja k o b s o n ’s agree with each other or to respond to model of communication) a media event in similar ways conceit amusing or imaginative condensation in the field of psycho- expression that connects things that analysis, one of the mechanisms by are perceived to be dissimilar: for which dreams express subconscious example, my life is a barnyard feelings, condensing the emotions into symbolic forms concentrated marketing promotion of a product in one market area conference 1. meeting of two or more persons to discuss common concentration of ownership owner- concerns; 2. meeting to discuss the ship of numerous media companies previous edition of a newspaper, by a few individuals or companies magazine, etc., in order to plan for the forthcoming one concept album musical album centered on a story line or theme. confidence limitsrange within which The British rock group The Who was the statistical findings of a survey can

73 confidentiality be said to be trustworthy or useful for The power of connectionism in inferential purposes computer design entered popular culture in 1996 when chess master confidentialitythe practice of media Garry Kasparov played against a professionals to keep secret the supercomputer called Deep Blue, names of those who provide them which operated on the basis of 256 with information microprocessors connected to each other. Deep Blue had the capacity conglomerate large business orga- to compute more than 100 million nization consisting of a number of chess positions per second. Although media companies Kasparov won the match (with three wins, two draws, and one loss), Deep conglomeration process by which Blue was the first computer to win a one individual, group, or organization game against a chess master. buys up media systems or outlets. For example, when one newspaper or connectivity ability to communi- newspaper chain buys other newspa- cate with another piece of software, pers, the press industry is said to be hardware, or entire communication undergoing conglomeration. Support- system ers of conglomeration claim that it is a desirable business practice that pro- connotation added or associated tects jobs and brings stability to the senses of something (a word, symbol, marketplace. Opponents claim that it figure, story, etc.). The word square confers too much power on dominant means, at a primary literal level, owners who can shape knowledge of “plane figure with four equal sides events to suit their interests. and four right angles.” However, it is also used with a large number of congruence theory premise that peo- added meanings, all of which never- ple prefer balance and consistency theless imply the square figure or its among their beliefs and that changes uses: he’s a square (a person who is in attitude occur largely in order to too conventional or old-fashioned; create agreement with existing beliefs a square meal (an adequate meal); lay it out squarely on the table (say conjuncture in Marxist theory, the something honestly). Creative texts interrelation of all social factors that (poems, novels, etc.) are interpreted bring about social change. The fac- primarily in connotative ways. tors include political climate, technology, and economics. consensus shared acceptance of norms, values, beliefs, worldview, etc. connectionism in computer science, the execution of multiple operations consistency practice of ensuring that in tandem, rather than in sequence. media coverage is uniform and does

74 consumer sovereignty not contradict itself, so that audiences consumer activism direct action by will be more likely to accept the consumers to protest some aspect of coverage as believable advertising, production, or sales, particularly concerning their influence consolidation reduction of media on social values outlets and concentration of ownership in a few large companies consumer advertising advertising of products and services for the general conspiracy of silence agreement not public (as opposed to specialized, to broadcast a certain piece of sensi- trade, or professional advertising) tive information among those who have it consumer behavior ways in which people behave when obtaining, us- conspiracy theory belief that there is ing, and disposing of products (and a conspiracy among those in control services) of the media to cover up or suppress sensitive information consumer culture 1. a lifestyle or value system in which worth does not constituency specific readership of a reside in people themselves but in the newspaper or magazine. The implica- products with which they surround tion is that the political views of the themselves; 2. view of society as be- readership are shaped by the newspa- ing dominated by consumerism per or magazine. consumer jury test method of test- construct the specific concept or ing advertisements that involves ask- hypothesis underpinning any me- ing consumers to compare, rank, and dia product (e.g., political or social otherwise evaluate an advertisement theories) or an ad campaign constructivism [also called con- consumer panel group of consum- structionism] 1. art movement ers who report on products they originating in Moscow around 1920, have used so that manufacturers can emphasizing abstract geometric improve them on the basis of what figures constructed with industrial they report materials; 2. philosophical view that reality does not exist outside the consumer research studies con- artifacts, representations, and theo- ducted by advertising and marketing ries constructed by human beings to firms regarding consumers, includ- interpret that reality; 3. theory that ing determining their needs, lifestyle the language(s) spoken by someone choices, etc. filters (constructs) that person’s perception of reality consumer sovereignty 1. the view

75 consumer survey that a consumer should have the created by effective media marketing power to influence what is produced; campaigns. 2. the view that the consumers of media products should dictate what is contemporary hits radio radio sta- broadcast tion broadcasting the latest trends in popular music consumer survey collection of data regarding the lifestyle, habits, content 1. meaning of a message, a etc., of a specific group of potential program, a movie, etc.; 2. in mul- consumers timedia, information sources and programs that can be digitized for a consumerism 1. concern or preoc- communications network. The con- cupation with material goods; 2. tent is what the work means, and the advocating the rights of consumers, form how it has been created. as against the efforts of advertisers content analysis 1. study of how the consumerization process by which a mass media create their c o n t e n t society evolves into a predominantly and why they do so; 2. any statistical consumerist one, as a result of forces description of media content, as for such as globalization example, how many times a certain theme, word, etc., appears in a text, a contact 1. Ro m a n Ja k o b s o n ’s term program, and so on; 3. technique of for the physical context in which counting the number of times that an a message is transmitted and the item appears in a media text connections that exist or are established between the participants; 2. content management management person who provides information to a of the material contained on a Web journalist site contagion effect theory that the me- content providers media companies dia have the emotional power to bring or individuals that produce mate- about a craze. A classic example is rial to be broadcast on a particular the “Cabbage Patch doll craze” of network or Web site 1983, when hordes of parents were prepared to pay anything to get the context situation, background, dolls for their daughters at Christmas. environment (physical, social, Another example is the hysteria gen- psychological), function, utilization, erated by the arrival of the new video etc., that determines the meaning of game system by PlayStation in 2007. something. A discarded cigarette butt Such examples of mass hysteria are is seen as rubbish if it is found on a attributed to the contagion effect and city street. But if the butt is inserted are thus explained as having been in a picture frame, displayed in an art

76 convergence gallery, and given a title such as A online encyclopedia that encourages Final Smoke, then its meaning would users to add to an entry or to correct be vastly different. The cigarette it; the latter is a dictionary containing butt’s context of occurrence and so- pop culture terms as contributed by cial frame of reference will determine users. its meaning. control group in a media-based contextual advertising online experiment, the group that is not advertising technique by which ads exposed to something for purposes automatically intrude into a Web ses- of investigation (in contrast to an sion, whether wanted or not experimental group, which is) continuity scheduling advertisements controlled circulation circulation of to appear at regular intervals over a a magazine free of charge to readers period of time who meet a specific set of advertising criteria continuity editing editing a film to make sure that time sequences, along conundrum type of riddle based on with costumes, references in the ac- punning: for example, When is a win- tion, etc., are consistent throughout dow not a window? When it’s ajar. the film convention in media content, certain contracting company independent standardized elements of style that broadcasting company that sells distinguish specific genres advertising time and space convergence 1. erosion of traditional contrast technique of opposing two distinctions among media due to con- elements in some way (two words, centration of ownership, globaliza- two symbols, two forms) so as to sig- tion, and audience fragmentation; nal a difference. The words night and 2. process by which formerly sepa- day contrast with each other in mean- rate technologies such as televi- ing, whereas cat and rat contrast with sion and the telephone are brought each other both in meaning and in together by a common technologi- the initial sound with which they are cal base (digitization) or a common constructed. industrial strategy. The Internet is a perfect example of technological contributed content Web site Web convergence; it can deliver digitized site that allows visitors to add con- print, images, sound, voice, data, etc., tributions to its content. Two well- equally well. Large corporations such known contributed content Web sites as AOL are examples of industrial are www.wikipedia.com and www. convergence; they bring together urbandictionary.com; the former is an various media systems (television

77 convergence theory broadcasting, newspapers, etc.) under cooperative news gathering practice a single corporate umbrella. whereby member newspapers share the expenses of acquiring news and convergence theory view that all returning profits to the members media are constantly undergoing convergence cooption the appropriation by advertisers of trends in youth culture, conversation communication by making them appear to be their own, means of language and subsequently promoting their products through the template of conversation analysis identification these trends and study of the patterns that under- gird conversations, from turn-taking copy 1. spoken words or written text to topic switching, and the reasons in an advertisement; 2. text designed why these take place to be read out loud on radio or television conversion rate proportion of people contacted through some marketing copy editor person whose job it is scheme who actually end up purchas- to check and correct written texts for ing a particular product publication converter [also called set-top box] copyright exclusive right held by device in a radio or television re- the creators of original works to ceiver for changing from one range reproduce, distribute copies of, of frequency to another, allowing perform publicly, or display their users to get different channels original work, or to create derivative works based on the original. cookie 1. file that aW eb site creates The duration of copyright is the au- to identify visitors and potentially thor’s life plus 50 years (in Canada), track their activities on the site and plus 70 years (in the European on the Web; 2. information profile Union), or plus 75 years (in the about a user that is automatically United States). accepted by the Web browser and stored on the user’s hard drive copy testing technique of measuring the effectiveness of advertising mes- co-op placement placement of ads sages by showing them to specific on the Web pages of on-line book- types of consumers sellers corantos early seventh-century cooperative advertising practice by one-page newssheets, published in which two companies share advertis- Holland and imported to England by ing costs British booksellers

78 counterculture core audience percentage of people media and audience reactions or who watch or listen to an entire pro- behaviors gram from beginning to end correspondence column section of a corollary something that follows newspaper or magazine where read- logically from something else, requir- ers’ letters are contained ing little or no additional proof correspondent journalist or reporter corporate advertising advertising of who regularly reports on a particular an entire corporation rather than of area of information, usually from the its products same geographical area corporate media mass media con- cost-per-thousand [abbreviated trolled by large corporations as CPM] cost of reaching 1,000 consumers, calculated by the cost of corporate portal Web site that al- placing an advertisement divided by lows access and provides links to all the number of thousands of consum- the information and software applica- ers it reaches tions held by a corporation costume drama drama set in a corporate video video produced by particular historical period, requiring a company to inform or educate its costumes and sets that are authentic employees to the period

Corporation for Public Broadcast- cottage industry industry charac- ing U.S. nonprofit agency that funds terized by relatively smaller opera- local noncommercial broadcasters for tions and closely identified with its cultural or educational programming personnel corporatization process of making couch potato person who watches a a government agency behave like a lot of television private company under marketplace rules counteradvertising advertising that is designed to respond to a competi- corrective advertisement advertise- tor’s advertising ment that a regulatory body requires of an advertiser that will correct counterculture a subculture whose misleading information contained in values contradict those of the domi- a previous advertisement nant culture. The term crystallized in the 1960s to refer to young people correlation analysis statistical study who rejected the worldview and the of any potential relation between lifestyles of the middle class. They

79 counterleak used music and other forms of protest coverlines suggestive headlines on to argue against gender and race magazine covers designed to shock discrimination, the Vietnam War, and or intrigue potential consumers other causes that were prominent during the era. cowboy genre narrative that revolves around the time frame of the 1800s in counterleak revealing to a reporter the American West, featuring a heroic that somebody else has leaked infor- cowboy and his horse, often fighting mation, so as to induce the reporter to Native Americans or outlaws believe that there is a conspiracy CPM [see cost-per-thousand] counterprogramming scheduling of television programs in order to attract CPU [see central processing unit] audiences that have been watching similar programs aired at the same crane shot film shot taken from a time on other channels crane (a large movable arm for a camera), creating a higher angle from coupon ad print advertisement with which to view the scene a discount coupon attached, which the consumer can cut out and use crawl scrolling text across a televi- at a retail store or can return to the sion or movie screen to convey infor- advertiser mation such as programming credits or news updates coups and earthquakes syndrome supposed practice of Western creative director person in an societies to ignore news events advertising agency who coordinates related to other societies unless they the creation of advertisements for a involve political turmoil or natural product or service disasters credits the names of photographers, camerapersons, costume designers, courtroom TV television channel etc., who were part of the production that presents information, stories, and team; often broadcast at the end of a documentaries dealing with criminal film or program cases, as well as broadcasting actual trials creole language that evolves from contact with another language, cover story most important story becoming the native language of a in a magazine, featured on its front community (Haitian Creole, Guya- cover nese Creole, etc.) coverage attention the media give to crew persons who carry out technical a certain person, event, etc. work for a television program or film

80 cross-media ownership

(camerapersons, lighting managers, New Criticism movement, influenced etc.) by T.S. Eliot, proposed the study of works aside from historical context or crisis definitiontheory that a crisis authorship. By mid-century, several is defined as such only when it is other trends emerged: psychoanalytic covered by media, forcing those in criticism focuses on the unconscious authority to act accordingly aspects of the work (archetypes, dreams, myths, etc.); semiotic (or critic person who expresses opinions structuralist) criticism focuses on about a work (a book, a film, etc.) the meanings of texts in sign-based terms; hermeneutic criticism looks at critical media theory theory that the the language with which, and cultural media operate primarily to justify and context in which, a work is created; support the status quo at the expense Marxist criticism interprets works of ordinary people in terms of ideological factors and forces at work in its production; femi- critical news analysis news coverage nist criticism investigates the role and that is perceived as being neutral and representation of women in works; highly reliable and deconstructivist criticism looks at a work in terms of the meanings it critical research term first used by creates by itself, rather than through Pa u l La z a r s f e l d in 1941 to describe some external channel. research that takes as its object the impact of media on people by examining Croce, Benedetto (1866–1952) Ital- how certain media products influence ian philosopher and critic who argued audience behaviors, as well as the rela- that art allows human beings to give tion of media to culture and history expression to their instinctive sense of beauty and ugliness critical studies examination of the overall impact of the media on crosscutting repeated alternation society between filmed sequences to give the impression that the sequences are criticism examination of literary, ar- simultaneous tistic, or media texts (novels, poetry, films, television programs, etc.) in cross-media advertising advertising terms of their aesthetic worth, their the same product in several media social import, their style, their genre forms and outlets (radio, television, characteristics, and so on. Tradi- print, etc.) tionally, criticism revolved around issues such as the author’s intent, the cross-media ownership ownership structure used to make the work, etc. of several media outlets (press, radio, In the early twentieth century, the television, etc.) by one company

81 crossover crossover 1. media product that was made for one medium, but that gains popularity in another (for example, a novel such as The Godfather that is known more in its movie form than in its book form); 2. any popular work that crosses over to another genre where it may become even more popular (for example, from rock to country). The music of Elvis Woman in a Hat (1934) by Pablo Picasso Presley was considered to be pure rock music in the 1950s and 1960s. CSA [see Casting Society of It started to cross over to the country America] field in the late 1970s and is still classified as both “early rock” and C-SPAN U.S. cable television chan- “country.” nel that covers politics and current affairs cross promotion technique by which two or more advertisers associate cubism twentieth-century art move- with each other to reach more people ment based on the use of cubes and other geometric forms, rather than cross-reference reference from one a naturalistic representation. The part of a book, index, or table to movement started in Paris around another 1908, becoming popular in the 1920s, marking the beginning of abstract crossword puzzle with sets of art. Cubist painters include Pablo numbered squares to be filled in with Picasso, Georges Braque, and Marcel words, according to given clues, Duchamp. Cubist sculptors include one letter to each square, so that the Picasso, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, words may be read both across and and Aleksandr Archipenko. down cue 1. written text to a piece of cryptogram something constructed audio; 2. sign given for some action, in code or cipher: for example, event, or broadcast to begin 1–14–4 = and (each number stands for a letter in the English alphabet, in cue card card placed near a televi- order) sion camera that a presenter reads, while appearing to look straight at cryptography making or decipher- the viewers ing messages in a secret code that has a key, or method, for identifying the cult filmfilm that gathers a devoted hidden message group of followers

82 culture jammers cultivation differential degree to particular culture concerned. What is which persons have been undergo- right in one society may be wrong in ing the cultivation e f f e c t and the another, and thus no basic standards degree of influence this has had on exist by which a culture may be their views and beliefs judged right or wrong. cultivation effect process by which cultural studies tradition of research audiences are purportedly inclined to that contends that the examination accept values, beliefs, etc., that are of cultural context is essential for an presented to them by media coverage accurate understanding of media over an extended period of time cultural theory the idea that cultural cultural capital particular knowl- meanings are negotiated by media edge and background possessed by and audiences as they interact audiences, which shape their interpretation of media texts culture the arts, beliefs, language(s), institutions, rituals, etc., practiced by cultural imperialism belief that the a specific group of people cultural artifacts of a politically and economically dominant power enter culture industries in the Fr a n k f u rt into another country and eventually Sc h o o l specifically, and in early cul- dominate it, thereby spreading the ture theory generally, profit-making cultural, political, and specific values enterprises that have debased culture of the dominant power to the exclu- by turning it into a commodity. In sion of indigenous values and voices this view, the function of culture is not to enrich or enlighten but to ma- cultural memory complex of sym- nipulate and indoctrinate. bols, rituals, etc., that are acquired from being immersed in a culture, culture jammers a group social which, over time, becomes part of activists with a popular Web site and memory magazine that are critical of the advertising process itself. The Web site cultural proximity desire of people and magazine offer not only serious to see or hear media products from critiques of advertising and consum- the comfort of their own cultural erism, but also many clever parodies backgrounds of advertising campaigns, articles and forums on how one can recognize cultural relativism view that differ- media manipulation, information on ent cultures predispose their members lawsuits and legislation on consumer to view the world in different ways. issues, and links for sending e-mails Essentially, relativists maintain that to big businesses to contest their what is right or wrong depends on the marketing strategies. Culture jam-

83 culture of deference mers see themselves as a loose global Among his works are Mass Media network of media activists aiming to and Society (as editor, with Michael change the way in which informa- Gurevitch, 1991) and Culture Wars: tion flows. They claim that brands, The Media and the British Left (with fashions, celebrities, spectacles, and Ivor Gaber and Julian Petley, 2005). entertainments are all that consumer culture has to offer. It is only by “de- current events news or a discussion constructing” the symbols of branded of news of the present time culture that true culture can reassert itself. curtain raiser story that precedes the main story, so as to provide back- culture of deference the tendency of ground information news reporters to censor themselves so that the organization for which custom publishing creation of cus- they work will not find their coverage tomized versions of print newspapers, objectionable magazines, or books for particular audiences culture wars any clash of tastes and ideologies with regard to cultural cutaway short scene inserted be- products. For example, in the United tween two scenes in order to avoid States there is currently a “culture clumsy editing war” between right-wing ideologues, who consider pop culture products cut-in scene that is inserted into portraying sex and violence generally another scene in a film to be improper and even destructive of “traditional values,” and civil liber- cutting room room in which film tarians who see such popular expres- editing is carried out sions as necessary to keep a political system based on freedom of speech cyberadvertising placement of com- intact and functional. mercials on on-line sites cumulative audience [abbreviated cybercafé café that provides comput- as cume] 1. number of people who ers where people can pay to browse listen to a radio station for at least the Internet five minutes a day; 2. proportion of a target audience who have had the op- cybercommunications communica- portunity to hear or see an advertise- tions that take place over the ment during some broadcast Internet

Curran, James (1973–) scholar cyberculture culture that is evolving whose work on globalization comes over the Internet, including chat- up frequently in the media literature. rooms, profile sites, etc.

84 cyborg cyberfeminism study of the effects of cybersex sexual activity involving new technologies on women’s issues virtual reality on the Internet cyberjunkies persons who spend too cybershopping buying goods and much time on the Internet, becoming services over the Internet “addicted” to it cybersleuthing in popular culture, cybermall on-line shopping site link- crime solving that uses advanced ing a home page with a large num- cyber technologies ber of online businesses, allowing customers to make purchases cyberspace the realm in which electronic information exists (term coined cybermarketing any kind of by American writer William Gibson Internet-based marketing strategy or in his 1984 science fiction novel promotion (targeted e-mails, bulletin Neuromancer). The term has given boards, etc.) rise to a host of derived terms, such as cybercafes, cybermalls, etc. cybernetics science that studies communication in living organisms, cybersurfer person who spends a lot computers, and organizations. The of time on the Internet science was founded in 1948 by Norbert Wiener, who claimed that cyberterrorism terrorism that em- the control systems in machines ploys the Internet to communicate process information in ways that are with fellow terrorists and to enter the analogous to the ways in which the communication systems of targets in nervous system processes stimuli, order to destroy them that is, primarily on the basis of the nature of the stimuli. Known as cyberwar use of electronic commu- feedback, this concept is the founding nications and the Internet to damage notion of cybernetics. an adversary’s computer systems and files cyberporn pornographic material available on the Internet cyborg human body or other organ- ism whose functions are taken over in cyberpunk movement associated part by various electronic or electro- with the technological breakthroughs mechanical devices of the early 1980s and their effect on the popular culture of the era

85 first item

D3 digital tape format that Daily Me news Web site is capable of recording that lets users tailor con- composite video signals tents to their liking. Some media analysts argue that DAB [see digital audio D this type of site empow- broadcasting] ers common people to become more sophisticated informa- dactylology communication by signs tion consumers, drawing those who made with the fingers, especially as might otherwise be disinclined to practiced by people who are speech- reflect critically on information into impaired the world of news and public affairs. Others argue that it cuts users off Dadaism (also called Dada) art and from the full richness of news and literary movement, starting around information, confining them to their 1916 and fading by 1922, that re- preexisting preferences. Web site: jected traditional forms of art through www.DailyMe.com incongruity and nonsensicality. The term dada, a French baby-talk dance music style of popular word for “hobbyhorse,” was chosen electronic music with a disc jockey arbitrarily by Romanian-born writer talking or rapping as people dance Tristan Tzara because it was nonsen- (usually in a club setting) sical. Revoking all accepted values in traditional art making, Dadaists used dance program reality television art techniques that were deliberately program featuring dancers, usually in unintelligible and outrageous. competition

DAGMAR [full form: defining darkroom room isolated from advertising goals for measured all outside light that is set up and advertising results] model intended equipped for developing photographs to identify the effects that advertising has on consumers, measured in DARS [see digital audio radio stages, from awareness of the product service] to action (purchasing) DAT [see digital audiotape] daguerrotype (early forerunner of the photograph) process of recording data [singular, datum] 1. informa- images on polished metal plates tion of any type (usually in the form of facts and figures and obtained daily 1. newspaper published every through surveys, experiments, etc.); day; 2. in film, an unedited print of 2. information available on computer a day’s filming, usually created for (text, images, numbers, etc.) that can review by the director be stored or processed

86 Davis, Angela data analysis compilation and database marketing strategy where- interpretation of d a t a so as to by advertisers store information ascertain patterns implicit in it, about consumers so that they can use often by employing a statistical it to personalize or target messages method according to consumer characteristics such as age, gender, social class, data compression [see digital lifestyle, etc. compression] data entry putting information in a database modeling technique of computer by keyboarding, scanning, using the information in a d ata b a s e or some other way to create a Web site or to simulate or predict something, such as trends in data mining compiling and sifting a market through large quantities of d a t a so as to extract from it any usable patterns; datacasting 1. distribution of digital for example, using demographic data data, usually online; 2. transmitting to analyze the shopping habits of a data on demand (such as weather targeted advertising population reports) data protection any strategy, such as dataveillance (imitating surveil- legislation or software applications, lance) any massive electronic com- used to prevent d a t a from being used pilation and distillation of consumer in an unauthorized fashion d a t a data sheet online document that provides a detailed description of a dateline line at the beginning of a product, service, etc. printed news story or news release giving the place and date of the database organized compila- story’s origin tion of d a t a structured logically (alphabetically, topically, etc.) for DATV [see digitally assisted quick access and utilization. A television] few computer databases became commercially available in the Davis, Angela (1944–) prominent 1960s; online databases (usually feminist social critic whose analyses available to anyone) started in the of the representations of race, gender, 1970s. hegemony, homophobia, and sexuality in representational practices database management system com- are widely cited. Her works include puter program that allows a user to Women, Culture, and Politics (1989) organize and manipulate the informa- and Blues Legacies and Black Femi- tion in a d ata b a s e nism (1998).

87 day-after recall test day-after recall test advertising re- death metal music type of heavy search method designed to ascertain metal music characterized by hard- how much someone can remember edged loud instrumentation, brutality about an advertisement or commer- in lyrical material, growling vocals, cial the day after it was broadcast and horror symbolism day player actor or technician who Debord, Guy (1931–1994) French is hired on a daily basis for a film social critic who described the production purportedly destructive effects of modern-day circus-like spectacles daypart partition of a day into blocks on human cultures. Among his best for programming and advertising known works are La société du purposes (for example, 6 a.m. to spectacle (1967; published in English 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3 p.m. as Society of the Spectacle, 1973) to 7 p.m., 7 p.m. to 12 midnight) and Commentaires sur la société du spectacle (1988; published in English d-book book that can be downloaded as Comments on the Society of the in electronic form from the Internet Spectacle, 1990).

DBS [see direct broadcast by decentralized system in advertising, satellite] mode of operation in which a manager, rather than a centralized depart- deadline time by which c o p y must ment, is responsible for marketing be submitted for publication or and advertising a product broadcast deceptive advertising advertising dead spot geographic area where that is purported to make misleading radio or television reception is poor, or untruthful claims even though it falls within the usual range of the transmitter decipher in literary and media studies, to determine the meaning of a dead zone area where mobile phone complex or ambiguous text (to de- networks do not operate cipher a novel, to decipher a movie, etc.) dealer aids advertising materials and devices used by stores to stimulate deck secondary part of a newspaper sales (posters, in-store television sets headline that summarizes a story showcasing a product, and the like) decode [synonym for decipher] to dealer tie-in advertising that publi- determine the meaning of a complex cizes the names of local dealers who or ambiguous text. The term implies stock a product that there is a hidden c o d e in the

88 definition text that guides its reception and a greeting or tribute, especially on understanding at an unconscious the radio level. deduction [in contrast to abduction decoder 1. person who decodes and induction] process in which a media texts; 2. device designed to conclusion about a particular follows unscramble mixed signals or to select from a general premise: for example, signals so that a program can be All cats are mammals; Pumpkin is received on a television set a cat; therefore we can deduce that Pumpkin is a mammal. deconstruction approach to literary and media texts instigated by deep focus cinematic technique of Ja c q u e s De r r i d a in the 1960s bringing the components of a scene and 1970s. Because of the relative into focus by using a camera shot that nature of language, Derrida claimed, shows a large depth of field no text can have an unchanging or central meaning. Deconstruction is defamation statement about a person also called p oststructuralism . that is untrue and impugns his or her It challenges traditional assump- reputation in some way tions about texts as mirrors of reality because words, being what they are, default option or mode (a font style, refer to other words. Since texts are a letter case, etc.) that will auto- structured on b i n a ry o pp o s i t i o n s matically be selected by a computer (e.g., man vs. woman, good vs. evil), when the user does not specify an they tend to produce biased inter- alternative pretations, wherein one of the two concepts in the binary opposition defensive communication mes- is given prominence, and this has sage that recipients will intentionally vast cultural consequences. Decon- misinterpret or reject because it jars structionist readings of media texts with their own values, beliefs, or thus involve an examination of the worldview unarticulated oppositions that under- pin their seemingly straightforward deficit financingin television par- surface meanings. lance, strategy used by a TV production company of leasing programs to decor scenery used on a stage or a a network for a fee that is less than movie set the cost of production in the hope of recovering the loss later through dedication 1. inscription in a liter- rerun syndication ary or musical work, intended as a tribute to an individual or cause; 2. definitiondegree of clarity that an musical piece played or requested as image or sound has (in a photo, on a

89 defocusing television screen, on a monitor, in a demographic editions national recording) magazines that tailor their advertising according to the demographics of defocusing filmic technique of their subscribers (age, gender, occu- blurring an image deliberately for a pation, education, income, ethnicity, psychological effect education) delay line device that delays the demographic segmentation transmission of an electronic signal classification of media audiences according to a pre-arranged or preset or consumers according to demo- interval graphic characteristics (age, gender, class, economic level, delay system mode of operation education) employed to delay the transmission of a live broadcast by a few seconds demographics classification of so that infelicities such as profanities audiences and consumers according can be removed to their age, sex, income, education, and other variables. It does deleted scene any scene deleted from not include classification by their a film or program either for artistic, subjective attitudes or opinions. political, or legal reasons demonization undermining of a deliberative listening interpreting a person (or group) by the media, media text with the sole intention of usually by means of an attack on deciphering the message built into personal characteristics of an indi- it (rather than simply taking it in for vidual (or the leader or members enjoyment or some other such reason) of a group) delivery system computer system demonstration effect claim that combining the hardware and software some people buy products to required to play a certain multimedia impress or keep up with their product neighbors demand programming radio format denotation initial, specific, or literal based on requests by listeners meaning of a word, text, etc., as opposed to its connotative meaning. demo sample or entire version of a The denotative meaning of square recording, produced for promotional is a “plane figure made up of four purposes equal lines meeting at right angles.” On the other hand, in the expression demodulation process of translating a square person, it has a nondenota- an a n a l o g signal into d i g i ta l form tive meaning (unfashionable, old-

90 dma fashioned). In advertising analysis deregulation loosening or elimina- the term is often used to refer to the tion by the government of ownership surface meaning of an ad, that is, and other rules for media systems what the ad is designed to highlight about the product. However, the Derrida, Jacques (1930–2004) actual meaning of an ad depends on French philosopher who founded the some encoded message that is be- deconstruction movement that yond its denotative meaning (usually has been applied broadly to media involving lifestyle, instinctive needs studies. Derrida’s main contention is and fears, etc.). that the meaning of a text cannot be determined with any degree of cer- denouement final part of a plot in tainty because it shifts according to a drama or narrative in which the who analyzes it, when it is analyzed, outcome is clarified how it is analyzed, and so on. dependency theory hypothesis that desensitization process through people who are exposed habitually which audiences, as a result of view- to a medium tend to become psycho- ing portrayals of violence or degra- logically dependent on the medium, dation in the media, are thought to much as a drug user becomes depen- become insensitive to violence and dent on a drug suffering in real life depth interview method of advertis- desexualize 1. to remove sexual ing research, whereby a trained inter- features or ideas from a media text, viewer meets with consumers, asking so as to make it acceptable to a wider each of them a series of unprepared audience; 2. to deemphasize sexuality questions that aim to identify at- or the role of sex and gender in media titudes and values that might have portrayals been missed with other methods. The interviewer does not use predeter- design audit process of checking mined questions because the purpose and evaluating the design of a brand of the interview is to give respon- product, an ad, a Web site, etc. dents the opportunity to express their personal views and tastes openly and design grid basic form or grid used spontaneously. as a template for designing a magazine’s page layout depth of fielddistance in front of a camera within which actors and an designated market area [abbreviat- entire scene can be shown in focus. ed as DMA] geographic designation, This technique guides the viewer’s used by AC Ni e l s e n , that specifies eye to particular characters or areas which population areas fall into a on the screen. specific television market segment

91 desk desk in newspaper parlance, a department concerned with a certain topic or area of coverage (e.g., sports desk, city desk) desk editor in newspaper parlance, person who prepares texts in a final version for publication desktop publishing [abbreviated as DTP] publication by means of computers equipped with specialized software, rather than by means of traditional typographical practices detective story work of fiction that centers on a crime, featuring a detective who will solve the crime by questioning suspects, putting together clues, and eventually hunting down the perpetrator. The detective Cover of The Union Jack (1900) featuring Detective Sexton Blake generally withholds the significance of the clues until the end. Edgar Allan Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin, who determination in Marxist theory, appeared in an 1841 story titled claim that the economic system used “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” is in a society determines its “super- considered the first fictional detec- structure” (culture, beliefs) tive. Charles Dickens followed Poe’s lead with Bleak House (1852–1853) determinism doctrine or view that and his unfinished novel, The every human act is caused by some- Mystery of Edwin Drood. Shortly thing or is subject to universal laws thereafter, The Moonstone (1868), of causation, thus denying any free by Wilkie Collins, became the first will (the ability to make choices popular detective novel. Sir Arthur freely) Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet (1887) introduced Sherlock Hol- development theory idea that mes, perhaps the most famous of media systems and governments all fictional detectives. Today, the should work together to ensure that detective story has become one of a country will be better served, or the most popular forms of fiction in to promote partnerships with other movies and television. countries

92 dial-up access deviance behavior that departs from dialectic philosophical term describ- or challenges social norms. Deviance ing the process of examining ideas is a major theme in crime narratives, logically, through discussions based for example, and in m o r a l pa n i c on questions and answers. Pl a t o ’s theory. Dialogues used the dialectic method, which he based on observations of deviancy amplification spiral his teacher Socrates, who used it social phenomenon whereby media to reveal truth through disputation. coverage of a deviant event makes Plato’s student Ar i s t o t l e used the it appear to be more common than term as a synonym for logic. Hegel it is and causes people to pay more used the term dialectic with a differ- attention to it than they otherwise ent meaning, namely as one phase of would any historical development that tends to be confronted and replaced by its diachrony [in contrast to s y n c h r o n y ] opposite which, in turn, tends to be change in language over time; by replaced by a phase that is some- extension, any kind of change in any how a resolution of the two opposed representational system. Diachrony phases. This meaning was adopted by refers to evolutionary tendencies Marx and elaborated to encompass within systems to produce change in the tension that exists in capitalist those systems. societies between the proletariat and the ruling classes dial radio or television plate or disk, with numbers or letters on it dialogics as defined byM i k h a i l for tuning into a station. Dials are Ba k h t i n , the construction of now largely obsolete, having been verbal utterances in a dialogue replaced by devices such as remote on the basis of opinions and controls. The term has remained, ideologies, which reflects a web of however, in expressions such as: ongoing power struggles between “Turn the dial” and “You can always people dial that program out.” dialogue 1. conversation of any kind; dialect variant of a language used 2. literary genre modeled on every- by a particular group of speakers. day conversation; 3. words spoken Dialects may arise from geographic by characters in a text (book, radio, or social factors. For example, movie, program, etc.) American and British dialects of English differ due to geographic dial-up access nonpermanent con- distance; dialects within British nection to the Internet requiring a English reflect differences in the level modem or other device that allows of education, economic status, and a user to dial a telephone access the like. number in order to make such a con-

93 diary column nection. This method of connection is originate in the narrative, such as now largely obsolete. soundtrack music and credits. diary column column written by jour- différence Fe r d i n a n d d e S a u s s u r e ’s nalists or bloggers about their lives term for c o n t r a s t , which claims that two forms are kept distinct in meaning diary method market research tech- through some minimal difference such nique whereby respondents keep a as a sound: for example, pin versus regular written account of the adver- bin. By extension, the term is now tising materials (ads, commercials, used to refer to any difference, includ- posters, etc.) they have noticed, the ing social differences, such as young purchases they have made, and the versus old. The term is used in current products they have actually used media analysis to support the view that meanings are constantly shifting diaspora scattering of any com- and thus reconstructing each other munity that once lived together in a through minimal differences. single location because of some event (war, persecution); the term has been diffusion spread of media content applied traditionally to the Jewish either generally throughout society or diaspora specifically within a target audience dictionary reference book or list- digerati [in imitation of literati] ing containing words, phrases, and people with expertise in, or profes- expressions with their definitions and sional involvement with, computers, other information the Internet, or the World Wide Web dictum authoritative saying or digest compilation of articles, stories, pronouncement: Those who ignore reviews from different sources, history are condemned to repeat it brought together in a magazine, book, or broadcast, often in summa- didactic containing a moral, social, rized or condensed form or ethical message; of an instruc- tional nature digicam [see digital camera] diegesis the fictional world created digital 1. any medium that operates by narratives by means of a digital system; 2. any form of transmission in which a sig- diegetic elements originating in a nal is sent in small, separate packages narrative (including dialogue and (in contrast to a n a l o g ) sound effects) that appear to be aris- ing out of the plot. In film, nondi- digital audio broadcasting [abbre- egetic elements are those that do not viated as DAB] audio broadcasting

94 digital music distribution platforms using digital recordings, which give social inequalities, because not every- clearer sound than analog recordings one has equal access to such technology and, even among those who do, digital audio radio service [abbre- not everyone is equally competent in viated as DARS] delivery of digital using it. Unequal access or unequal audio signals by satellite directly to competence is thus said to create homes or automobiles classes of “information haves” and “information have-nots.” digital audiotape [abbreviated as DAT] audiotape cassette or other digital film productionproduc- magnetic tape that offers high-quality tion of films using primarily digital digital sound technology, rather than previous technologies digital cable television digital television delivered to homes via cable digital galaxy [in imitation of Gutenberg galaxy] notion that digital camera [abbreviated as digi- digital technologies have changed the cam] camera that takes and stores ways in which people communicate pictures in digital form. Like previ- and interact ous cameras, digital cameras have lenses, apertures, and shutters, but digital imaging any form of photog- they do not use film. Instead, they use raphy that is based on digital technol- devices that transform images into ogy. It has been suggested that this digital information. Digital photos term should replace photography can then be manipulated and printed altogether. using a computer. digital media media based on digital digital compression [also called technologies data compression] 1. method of representing data in an abbreviated digital media players computer form by removing redundant data, programs or systems that allow by replacing repeated data with a individual users to display video shortening code, or some other such or audio data on home computers. technique; 2. digitizing signals so that RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, they can be carried over one channel and QuickTime are examples of such systems. digital delivery daily online distribution of daily newspapers digital music distribution platforms online sites like PressPlay, digital divide view that digital Rhapsody, MusicNet, iTunes, and technology and its attendant culture others that allow for downloading of contribute to the exacerbation of music files

95 digital photography digital photography [also called mation are stored digitally. A DVD is digital imaging] photography using the same size as a standard compact digital cameras and equipment disc (about 4 3/4 inches or 12 centi- meters) in diameter, but it can store digital radio radio broadcasting that much more information. Each side of is transmitted digitally, with the ca- a DVD can contain two data layers, pacity to provide a greater choice of one beneath the other. A single DVD channels and a superior sound quality currently has the capacity to store up than all previous nondigital systems to 17 gigabytes (billion bytes) of information. DVD technology was one digital recording audio recording of the first types of digital technol- made with digital equipment, produc- ogy that made it possible to integrate ing a high-quality clear sound computer, audio, and video material. digital retouching use of digital digital video editing editing video technology to alter a photograph, materials using digital technology either to remove imperfections or to change something in the photo with- digital video recorder [abbrevi- out revealing that it was altered ated as DVR] video recording and playback device attached to a televi- digital rights management protec- sion set that allows users significant tion of digitally distributed intellec- control over the content they record tual property or see digital service line [abbreviated as digitally assisted television [abbre- DSL] line providing access to the viated as DATV] television signals Internet that is faster than the previ- transmitted partly through digital ous dial-up modem devices means digital television [abbreviated as digitally originated graphic [abbre- DTV] television set and television viated as DOG] small logo used to broadcasting system using digital identify a television channel, shown technology typically in one corner of the screen digital terrestrial broadcasting digitization [also called digitaliza- course of action aiming to make all tion] conversion of any kind of data forms of broadcasting digital (text, images, sound, graphics) into an electronic language that can be digital versatile/video disc [ab- used by computers or other digital breviated as DVD] round flat platter systems. Because it offers unprec- on which motion pictures, computer edented opportunities for manipu- programs, and other types of infor- lation of data, digitization raises

96 drtv crucial questions about authorship, dipstick survey survey intended to intellectual property, and selectiv- identify only one aspect of some au- ity of information. This term is now dience behavior, such as the number used to characterize the evolutionary of viewing hours independently of characteristics of all media—which the TV programs watched are becoming digitized throughout the world. direct action advertising advertising intended to elicit a quick response digizine [abbreviation of digital in consumers, appealing directly to magazine] magazine that can be ac- emotional needs cessed by computer from a Web site direct broadcast by satellite [abbre- diglossia use of different forms of the viated as DBS] generic term for the same language or, sometimes, of dif- broadcasting of radio and television ferent languages in the same speech signals over a wide area by satellite area, one of which is sometimes con- technology. DBS began in 1994. sidered more important or functional than the other direct cinema a type of c i n é m a v é r i t é developed in the 1960s in the Dijk, Jan A.G.M. van (1952–) United States, in which the setting scholar whose work on the effects of is not a studio or designated area but new media technologies on cultures the real world (the ghetto of a real and societies is often cited in the city, the backstreets of a town, etc.) media literature. Among his most influential works are The Network direct mail advertising practice Society (1999) and Digital Democ- of sending people leaflets or bro- racy (2000). chures through the mail. Today, such advertising also takes place in online dime novels [also called pulp versions, where it is called spam. fiction] inexpensive nineteenth and early twentieth century novels that direct marketing marketing practic- deal mainly with sensationalized es that are aimed directly at (and are adventure, crime, horror, or romance. accessible to) consumers, bypassing The term dime comes from the fact retailers (for example, through mail that they were originally sold for a order and the Internet) dime. direct response television [abbrevi- dionysian as defined by Friedrich ated as DRTV] advertising strategy Nietzsche, the creative and intuitive seeking immediate response to a aspects of the human psyche, as op- television commercial by providing posed to the mind’s rational mode of an on-screen phone number, e-mail thinking address, or Web site

97 direct sponsorship direct sponsorship radio and televi- disaster (such as an asteroid hitting sion programming bearing the name earth) or a human-related disaster of the advertiser who has sponsored (such as a ship sinking in the ocean) a program or series (appearing in the program’s title) disc a storage device, built into a computer or removable as a separate directional medium advertising me- device (such as a flat plastic object) dium that gives potential consumers information on where to find products; disc jockey [abbreviated as DJ] for example, a directory, a catalog announcer for a radio program that consists chiefly of recorded popular directness of address the way in music; by extension, anyone who which television addresses people. plays recorded music for a specific Since television is essentially a do- function (such as at a wedding, a mestic medium, its style is typically dance, etc.) conversational (rather than formal), engaging audiences directly and disclosure of information act of emotionally, rather than logically and passing on information that was in- rationally. tended to be kept secret. This term is used especially in journalism jargon. director person who plans and controls the performance of a play, a mo- disco music flamboyant, dance- tion picture, or a show on television, oriented popular music genre that radio, or the Internet. In traditional emerged in the 1970s. Disco music film theory, the director is considered was emblemized by the 1977 movie more important than the scriptwriter; Saturday Night Fever. The punk often the two are one and the same rock and new wave movements that person. surfaced in the mid- and late 1970s began partly as a backlash against the direct-to-home multichannel broad- perceived superficiality and glitziness cast service for television and radio of disco. transmitted via communication satellite that subscribers receive directly discography list or catalog of record- on their own receivers ings (by a performer, a group, etc.) or of writings or annotations about them director’s cut version of a movie over which the director has complete discourse 1. use of language in control; often, this version is not communication; 2. serious discus- released to theaters sion about a subject; 3. particular style of talking and writing (as in the disaster movie film genre in which “discourse of science”). This term the plot revolves around a natural was used by Mi c h e l Fo u c a u lt

98 displacement to describe how language is used a message on a particular subject, by people and institutions to shape which is then displayed on the site social reality. In this sense, discourse is seen as a form of power because dish antenna television antenna in it articulates and ensconces (through the form of a dish that can receive language) the ideas that are accepted many channels and services from a as truth. The term is now extended to satellite include nonverbal and other kinds of “languages” (visual discourse, narra- Disneyificationthe spread of Ameri- tive discourse, and other discourses). can representations of childhood culture, as symbolized by the Walt discursive contestation ability of the Disney Company, which are seen to audience of a news broadcast to chal- be intrusive into other cultural views lenge its content and slant (as opposed of childhood to passive reception of the broadcast) disparaging copy advertising copy discursive form as defined by phi- that is critical of another company’s losopher Su s a n n e La n g e r , anything products or campaigns constructed in linguistic form and thus governed by the properties of dispatch news item sent by a news that form. One of these is detach- correspondent or agency to a net- ment, since one can focus on a word work, station, or Web site in a sentence or a phrase without impairing the overall understanding displacement capacity of words (and of the sentence or phrase. Presen- symbols generally) to displace refer- tational forms, on the other hand, ents (the things to which they refer), cannot be detached without impairing evoking them mentally (not physical- the overall meaning; for example, ly). A word such as cat is a sequence one cannot focus on a note or phrase of sounds (or letters) that evokes a in a symphony without destroying the particular mental image of an animal, sense of the work. even if the animal is not physically present. The animal is thus said to discursive gap breach in language have been “displaced” from the that can exist between senders (such physical world to the mental world. as television newscasters) and receiv- In Ma r x i s t t h e o r i e s o f m e d i a , the ers (such as audiences). The popular term is sometimes used to refer to press has attempted to close this gap the process by which the meaning of by using primarily colloquial or slang something is transferred to something language. else; for example, portraying punk musicians as having the same charac- discussion group on the Internet, a teristics as criminals, thus implying Web site that lets any visitor write that they are socially deviant.

99 display advertising display advertising 1. advertising distinctive feature aspect of lan- that includes product or company guage or some other code that keeps features and symbols (such as a logo) forms within the code discernibly in addition to the ad text itself; 2. ad- distinct. For example, the difference vertising taking up a substantial area between the s sound in sip and the of a newspaper page z sound in zip exists as the absence or presence, respectively, of the dissemination distribution of an vibration of the vocal cords during idea, statement, or information pronunciation. Such vibration is a through a medium distinctive feature. dissident press press that publishes distribution system electronic sys- articles, reviews, etc., that are per- tem that moves signals over a cable ceived as opposing the mainstream television network from the headend, press, usually challenging the social where signals are received and pro- and political status quo cessed, to the geographical areas that receive cable service dissonance conflict between the ideas, values, or views that a person diurnals daily accounts of local news holds and those directed at him or her printed in England in the 1600s. through some form of communica- Diurnals are the forerunners of the tion (especially the media) modern dailies. dissonance theory view that people diversificationa company’s venture will experience a kind of discomfort into ownership of other related or when confronted with new informa- unrelated enterprises, thus “diversify- tion and thus will attempt to limit the ing” its business discomfort through manipulation of the information (selection of some DJ [see disc jockey] aspects and rejection of others, adapting it to previous information, etc.) docudrama dramatization of real-life events (such as the sinking of the Ti- distantiation idea that media tanic) through film, radio, or television products “keep a distance” from the ideological systems within which docufiction 1. any fictional narrative they were created. The term was used using documentary techniques; 2. in the past to refer, for example, to work in which actual recorded events classical musicians in Soviet Russia are combined with recreations or (Shostakovich, Prokofiev, etc.) whose imaginary scenes compositions, though created in Soviet Russia, “kept their distance” documentary nonfictional movie or from Communist ideology. program dealing with events or issues

100 doo-wop in a factual manner, including inter- domestic problem that the characters views, film footage, and other types have to solve. of information dominant culture culture that is docusoap documentary that follows accepted as the norm, or the main- the lives of real people at home, stream, by most people living in a work, play, and other locales, resem- specific society bling the style of a fictionals o a p o p e r a dominant discourse form of d i s - c o u r s e that is given the highest DOG [see digitally originated social authority or precedence over graphic] other discourses. For example, in a religious society, the discourse of dog-eat-dog marketing and advertis- clerics and theologians is dominant, ing strategy of attacking the competi- whereas in secular societies it tion mercilessly through disparaging is not. ads and other promotional strategies dominant ideology system of beliefs Dolby trademarked electronic circuit and values that a culture accepts as that improves the quality of recorded the norm sound by reducing noise dominant reading one of three dolly shot filmic tracking shot using supposed readings or interpretations a moving platform (dolly) rather than that can be gleaned from a media text some other platform (for example, a (the other two being subordinate guiding rail) and r a d i c a l ) whereby the audience accepts the meanings, values, and domain name 1. on the World Wide viewpoints built into the text by its Web, a name that identifies the makers owner of a site in some way (with a sequence of words, phrases, ab- doorstepping practice of journalists breviations, symbols, etc.); 2. more to pressure an individual who is an generally, the Internet address of a unwilling source of information by computer or network (for example, standing outside the person’s resi- .edu, .org, etc.) dence or place of work, or by asking questions as the person walks by domestic comedy a television hybrid of the s i t c o m in which characters doo-wop style of singing and and settings are usually more impor- songwriting, starting in the 1950s, tant than the complicated situations characterized by catchy melodies, that characterize sitcoms. The basic simple rhythms, beautiful vocal har- structure of the text revolves around a monies, and often featuring a choral

101 dot-com accompaniment with the expression downlinking transmission of data “doo-wop” (hence the name of the from a satellite downward to receiv- genre) ers within its range (called a footprint) dot-com any company that conducts its business primarily through the In- downloading transferring data from ternet. The term refers to the fact that the Internet to a computer, or from the Internet address of such compa- one computer to another nies ends in “.com.” downtime period of time in which dot-com crash the burst of the “dot- a communication network is inop- com bubble” (the increase in dot-com erative, because of maintenance or businesses that gained rapid success mechanical breakdown in the late 1990s) in which many dot- com businesses went bankrupt in the drabble short fictional work, usually early 2000s around 100 words in length dot-comer person who owns or drama [also called theater] 1. play works for a dot-com enterprise (usually serious in tone) written to be performed on a stage or platform double substitute who resembles an with appropriate props; 2. by exten- actor and who stands in for him or sion, any play in any media (e.g., her, especially in scenes that are dan- radio, television). It is not known gerous or that require some special how or when drama began, but nearly skill every culture has had some form of it. Some archaeologists claim that it may double exposure exposure of two have developed from religious ritu- images on the same piece of film, als and ceremonies in which people making it seem that they have been impersonated gods or animals. Others shot at the same time suggest that drama may have originated in rituals of praise performed double feature [also called twin bill] for a dead hero, when the deeds of the two films shown on the same bill (for hero’s life were acted out. Eventually, a single price of admission) the stories of the lives were performed apart from the rituals, leading double opt-in method by which us- to the birth of drama. A third theory ers who want to receive information claims that drama evolved from from a Web site can register them- mythic storytelling, which developed selves as subscribers into dramatic retellings of events. There are four main forms of West- double-spotting technique of run- ern drama. First, the tragedy, which ning a commercial twice in a row revolves around some tragic event or

102 drive-time audiences life story, usually of a hero who dies dramatization adaptation of a work at the end because of a flaw in his or of fiction, or the presentation of a her character or on account of a devi- real-life event, in dramatic form (for ous act perpetrated by an evil per- the stage, radio, etc.) sonage. Second, the serious drama, which emerged in the 1800s and dramaturgy art of d r a m a , referring which shares many of the features of to both the actual dramas and how tragedy, but in which the hero is more they are staged and the analysis of ordinary than the traditional tragic drama in all its dimensions (from the hero and which does not necessarily script to the performance) have to end in his or her death. Third, the melodrama, which revolves dramedy [blend of drama and around the actions of a villain who comedy] television program that threatens the “good characters” in the blurs serious and comic themes play, and which usually has a happy ending. Fourth, the comedy, which dress program television program aims to evoke laughter, but which can in which a real person (rather than raise serious questions. an actor) is transformed socially by dress experts who change his or ap- drama documentary [also called pearance by suggesting what clothes docudrama] television or radio pro- to wear, what cosmetics are appropri- gram that dramatizes real events, fic- ate, etc. tionalizing them somewhat for effect dress rehearsal final rehearsal of a drama series television or radio play or musical performance, usually drama broadcast in episodes in costume dramatic irony stage technique of drip campaign low-profile ad telling an audience about an incon- campaign for a product, intended to gruity on the stage, of which the maintain brand awareness in a subtle characters in the play or movie are way, rather than through an intensive unaware campaign dramatis personae list of the names driver brand product brand that of the characters in a play or story influences (that is, “drives”) a (Latin for the “characters of the purchase decision (e.g., Classic drama”), often printed at the begin- Coca-Cola versus a sub-brand of ning or end soft drink manufactured by the same company) dramatist someone who writes dramas for the stage, radio, television, or drive-time audiences radio audienc- some other medium es who listen to the radio in their cars

103 dropped call in the morning on their way to work duopoly single ownership of a media or school (usually 6 a.m.–9 a.m.) outlet by two organizations (as op- and in the late afternoon on their way posed to monopoly, in which several home (usually 4 p.m.–7 p.m.) media outlets are owned by the same organization). Duopoly was sanc- dropped call a call on a mobile tioned by the FCC in 1992. phone that is terminated because of loss of signal Durkheim, Émile (1858–1917) French sociologist who saw simi- DRTV [see direct response larities among the world’s myths television] as evidence for a “collective consciousness” in the human spe- dry run rehearsal that does not use cies. Durkheim saw the spread any recording equipment of materialism as a destructive spiritual force in modern-day societ- DSL [see digital service line] ies, leading to alienation and other psychic disorders. One of his most DTV [see digital television] influential books is De la division du travail social (1893; The Division of dualism philosophical view that the Labor). mind and body are separate entities, and that human beings have a dual DVD [see digital versatile/video nature—the corporeal and the psychic disc] dubbing 1. adding music, voices, or DVR [see digital video sound effects to a film, a broadcast, recorder] or a recording by making a new sound track; 2. recording a sound dystopia [opposite of utopia] track in a different language 1. place or condition that is bad or imperfect; 2. literary genre in which dumbing-down making popular everything is flawed, condemning media texts (such as news reports) modern forms of social life. The less intellectually challenging so that classic example of dystopian litera- a larger audience can be gained ture is Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley. The novel reflects dummy layout of a newspaper page, Huxley’s concern over the impact showing where advertising materials of science and technology on are to be placed society.

104 last item ear box in the top corner of a meaning in the text that the front page of a news transcends these factors and paper, used for advertising cannot be simply discarded or weather information (as deconstructionsists E claim). Perhaps his most early window theory no- influential works in the area tion that media provide children with of text interpretation are The Role of a “window on the world” before they the Reader (1979) and The Limits of have developed the critical ability to Interpretation (1990). judge what they are exposed to, thus influencing their worldview as they e-commerce [see electronic grow up commerce] earned rate discounted rate for print economic determinism view of advertising space, reserved for fre- some social theorists that economic quent advertisers conditions, structures, or systems determine social and cultural conditions easy listening style of popular music with simple melodies, lyrics, and economies of scale 1. view that the harmonies, aimed mainly at adult relative cost of some media ventures audiences tend to decline as the size of the ventures grow; 2. more generally, eBay one of the largest online com- the savings that can be gained merce companies by producing larger quantities of something e-book [see electronic book] e-consulting [see electronic e-business [see electronic business] consulting]

Echelon global computer surveil- écriture in semiotic theory, writing lance system that has the capacity to as a critical tool or as a means of intercept communications challenging certain values, norms, social practices, ideologies, or views echo plate device used in broadcast- (originally proposed by Ja c q u e s ing or recording that creates rever- De r r i d a ) berations or echo effects e-democracy [see electronic Eco, Umberto (1932–) Italian semi- democracy] otician and novelist who claims that, while the interpretation of a text may Edison, Thomas Alva (1847–1931) indeed be influenced by tradition and American inventor of the phonograph reader whims, there is nevertheless (early record player), and contributor

105 editing to the development of the telegraph, educational advertising advertis- telephone, and motion pictures ing designed to simulate education, informing (“educating”) consumers editing altering texts of any kind to about a product, especially if it has remake them clearer, more appropriate, cently been introduced into the market or more effective edutainment [blend of education and editing decision list in film parlance, entertainment] any media product or list of all the shots, audio tracks, and text that both educates and entertains images available for editing effective frequency exposure to an editing system computer system advertisement that brings about con- (such as software) that allows users sumer awareness with little expendi- to create, modify, add, and/or delete ture of time, money, and effort any type of information found on a Web site or file effective reach percentage of an audience that has had an effective edition 1. copies of a publication exposure to an ad or commercial that have been printed on a specific date; 2. particular version of a regular effects coordinator member of a broadcast film or television production crew responsible for planning and direct- editor 1. person in charge of e d i t i n g ing special effects any text; 2. person in charge of the direction and content of a newspaper effects models in media studies, or magazine models that explain any effects (psychological, social, cultural) that editorial 1. article or column in a media may have on people, societ- newspaper or magazine written by ies, and cultures, such as h y p o d e r - the editor or under his or her direc- m i c n e e d l e t h e o ry , m o r a l pa n i c tion, giving opinions about a subject t h e o ry , and u s e s a n d g r at i f i c a - or event; 2. broadcast expressing the t i o n s t h e o ry opinion of the announcer, program, station, or network effigydummy made to represent a hated person or group, used to editorial policy the stance or critique, affront, or insult the person position taken by a media outlet or group on a specific issue or set of issues e-fraud [see electronic fraud]

EDTV [see extended-definition ego in psychoanalysis, the part of television] the psyche containing consciousness

106 Electronic Frontier Foundation and personal memories. The ego is electronic bulletin board systems one of the three basic constituents computerized systems, e-mail or of human character, the others being Web-based, that allow users to post the id and the s u p e r e g o . In classical and share messages, computer pro- psychoanalytic theory, the ego is said grams, and other digital information to resolve conflicts among a person’s instinctive impulses, his or her sense electronic business [abbreviated as of guilt, and the demands of social e-business] 1. Internet company; reality. In popular usage, the word 2. practice of conducting business has come to mean selfishness, losing through the Internet its psychoanalytic sense. electronic cartoon [abbreviated as eighty-twenty rule in marketing, e-toon] a humorous drawing that is rule-of-thumb which assumes that 80 produced online percent of the products marketed will be consumed by 20 percent of the electronic church use of electronic customers media to broadcast religious subject matter e-journalism [see electronic journalism] electronic commerce [abbreviated as e-commerce] business transactions elaborated codes [in contrast to carried out over the Internet restricted codes] d i s c o u r s e patterns that are thought to be characteristic electronic consulting [abbreviated of the middle classes and educated as e-consulting] consulting services individuals, involving the use of a on such matters as Web page design, large vocabulary, full grammar, and offered to companies that do business other formal speech devices on the Internet e-learning [see electronic learning] electronic democracy [abbreviated as e-democracy] use of the Internet electronic book [abbreviated as to distribute information freely on e-book] digital book having the matters of a political, social, and/or appearance of a traditional paper ideological nature book but with its content stored digitally. E-books can be updated electronic fraud [abbreviated as from a bookstore or a Web site that e-fraud] criminal fraud that takes sells them. place on the Internet electronic bookmark function on an Electronic Frontier Foundation Internet browser that allows a user to nonprofit agency that supports the return to a Web page easily protection of individual civil liberties

107 electronic game in the world of advanced communica- puter networks and systems such as tions technology the World Wide Web electronic game [see computer game] electronic music [also called electronica or techno] style of music that electronic journalism [abbreviated became popular in the 1980s, using as e-journalism] publication of news equipment such as synthesizers and that occurs on the Internet or in some computers to produce its characteris- other electronic broadcast medium tic “electronic sound” electronic learning [abbreviated electronic news gathering record- as e-learning] learning involving ing of news events using small video the utilization of electronic technol- cameras and a minimal crew ogy, such as computer networks and Internet-based coursework electronic news production system software that allows newsroom pro- electronic magazine [abbreviated duction on a desktop computer as e-zine] magazine that is accessed online Electronic Numerical Integra- tor and Computer [abbreviated as electronic mail [abbreviated as ENIAC] world’s first all-electronic e-mail] mail sent from one computer general-purpose computer; designed to another. To send and receive e-mail and built in 1946 by American messages, an individual must have engineers John W. Mauchly and J. an e-mail address, which serves the Presper Eckert, Jr., at the University same function that a street address of Pennsylvania. ENIAC was 1800 does for traditional mail delivery, square feet in size, weighed 30 tons, now called “snail mail.” Such ad- contained 17,468 vacuum tubes, and dresses are obtained from commer- had 6,000 manual switches. cial businesses known as Internet service providers (ISPs) or online electronic program guide on-screen services. These also supply the com- television guide providing informa- puter software needed to compose, tion about programs and channels send, receive, and read e-mail. electronic publishing [abbreviated electronic media media such as as e-publishing] publication and dis- radio and television (in contrast to tribution of books online or in some p r i n t media) electronic format (such as CD-ROM) electronic money [abbreviated as electronic shopping [abbreviated e-money] currency in digital form as e-shopping] buying products and that can be transmitted through com- services online

108 emergent culture electronic smog electronic fields Ellul’s theory of technique produced in the atmosphere because [after philosopher Jacques of overflow radiation from radar, Elull] idea that technological broadcasting transmissions, electrical advances make communication appliances, or mobile phones; consid- and social interaction increasingly ered by some to constitute a serious efficient health risk e-mail [see electronic mail] electronic town hall use of electronic media (television, Internet) for e-mail campaign advertising cam- political purposes on the part of both paign that uses e-mails to deliver politicians and the public pitches for a product, service, or political purpose electronica [see electronic music] embedded journalism news cover- electrotactile illusion semblance of age in which correspondents actually touch produced by v i rt u a l r e a l i t y take part in some aspect of a war technology (such as accompanying a specific battalion) in order to report on it “as elegy poem or song lamenting a it happens” deceased person. The elegy became popular in the ancient world through the writings of Callimachus (third emblem visual symbol designed to ennoble something or someone or century b.c.e.) and Catullus (first to represent it as distinctive in some century b.c.e.). Among the best- known English-language elegies are way: for example, the emblem used Lycidas (1638) by John Milton and by the Girl Scouts Elegy Written in a Country Church- yard (1751) by Thomas Gray. emergent attribute benefit, quality, concept, or experience that is associ- ellipsis 1. omission of a word or ated with a brand: for example, the words necessary for making a “friendliness” of Google complete grammatical construction, because the construction can emergent culture 1. idea that be understood in the context in radical cultural forms tend to emerge which it occurs: for example, Sarah spontaneously from the general is as smart as her brother instead population to challenge the status of Sarah is as smart as her brother quo; 2. notion developed by British is smart; 2. series of dots used in social critic Ray m o n d W i l l i a m s writing or printing to indicate an that at any point in its history, a omission: The colors are red, blue, new form of culture emerges to orange . . . and yellow prominence

109 Emmy Award

Emmy Award honor conferred an- empiricism view in philosophy and nually by the American Academy psychology that we learn through of Television Arts and Sciences for experience and thus that we are born outstanding achievement in televi- with an “empty slate” (tabula rasa), sion. Emmys are given to perform- as opposed to innatism, which asserts ers, directors, writers, art directors, that we are born with all knowledge costume designers, editors, sound structures already intact and that the mixers, and performers. The first environment simply triggers them Emmys were awarded in 1949. Web site: www.emmys.org empowerment process (political, social) that gives people the ability to e-money [see electronic money] make their own choices and control their lives emoticon string of keyboard characters that, when viewed sideways encoder person, group, or institution (or in some other orientation), can that creates a message on the basis of be seen to suggest a face expressing a specificc o d e or codes a particular emotion. An emoticon is often used in an e-mail message or encoding [opposite of decoding] newsgroup posting as a comment on process of making or saying some- the text that accompanies it. Common thing with the resources of a spe- emoticons include the smiley :-) or :) cificc o d e . The quantity ‘“four” and the winkey ;-) and the yawn :-O, can represented with the digit “4” among others. or “100”—the former is encoded from the decimal code and the latter emotional appeal advertising from the binary code of numbers. technique designed to appeal to the Analogously, a media text, such as a emotions rather than to the rational sitcom, is put together with a spe- intellect of the consumer cific social code (father as head of the family, mother as wise leader of emotive function as defined by the family, etc.), which shapes how R o m a n Ja k o b s o n , the role played it is perceived, which audiences it is by the addresser’s (sender’s) emo- meant to attract, and so on. tions in the construction and delivery of messages in communication encryption electronic masking of information on the Web that can be empathy feeling of identification deciphered only by a recipient who with the experience or emotions of has the unmasking code, known as another person the decryption key empirical data data that comes from enculturation process whereby actual observations someone acquires the values, beliefs,

110 enlargement and worldview of the culture in endnote reference that appears at the which he or she is reared or to which end of a chapter or book, rather than he or she is exposed at the bottom of a page encyclopedia reference work (paper, endorsement public support given to electronic) giving information on a product for advertising purposes all or specific types of knowledge. In ancient times, scholars presented engraving art of carving images on a information in any order they chose, hard surface and they had few ways to check its accuracy. They also scattered these in enhanced television services op- various forms (in scrolls, on papyri, tional or additional services, such etc.). The word encyclopedia did as subtitles and closed captioning, not come into common use until the provided by some channels or cable 1700s, when the modern concept of companies this work surfaced as a result of the ideas of Enlightenment scholars who ENIAC [see Electronic Numerical started listing items of knowledge in Integrator and Computer] alphabetical order and according to field (science, music, art, language, enigma baffling puzzle or riddle. etc.). The first popular encyclopedia The Riddle of the Sphinx, solved of this kind was constructed by Denis by Oedipus, is probably the first Diderot as a 28-volume work titled enigma ever composed: What is it Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonée that walks on four at sunrise, on two des sciences, des arts et des métiers at noon, and on three at dusk? The (1751–1772)—Encyclopedia of Sci- answer is human beings who crawl ences, Arts, and Trades—that set the (on all fours) at birth (the sunrise standard for all subsequent encyclo- of life), stand up as they grow (the pedias. Until the mid-1980s, most noon hour of life), and need a cane encyclopedias were only available to make it through old age (the dusk in book form. The first compact disc of life). encyclopedia was produced by Grolier in 1985. Compton’s Multimedia En- enigma code one of the fivec o d e s cyclopedia was released in this format used in the construction of media in 1989, integrating various media texts, based on secrets and how they (sound, pictures, etc.) and text in what work emotionally and intellectually came to be called a CD-ROM. There in texts. The other codes are called are now online encyclopedias, the a c t i o n , referential , s e m a n t i c , most widely used being Wikipedia and s y m b o l i c . (Web site: www.wikipedia.org). Since these can be updated, many predict the enlargement copy of a photographic end of the paper encyclopedia. image that is larger than the original

111 Enlightenment

Enlightenment [also called the constant search for novelty and the Age of Reason] eighteenth-century avoidance of offending or alienat- philosophical movement that em- ing important audience segments. In phasized reason and science (rather Marxist theory, entertainment is seen than faith and religion). The Enlight- as part of capitalist i d e o l o g y , since enment lasted until the late 1700s; it is claimed that entertainment is its leaders included several French used to justify discursive and social philosophers—the Marquis de Con- practices, especially discriminatory dorcet, Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques ones, such as sexism. Rousseau, and Voltaire—and the English philosopher John Locke. entertainment reporter journalist Philosophers of the Enlightenment or broadcast announcer who reports started the tradition of organizing on entertainment news, especially knowledge in e n c y c l o p e d i a s and of concerning celebrities creating institutes for the preservation of knowledge and the conduct of entertainment television television scientific inquiry and debate. channel that deals with entertainment news, issues, announcements, celebrities énoncé in cultural theory, the way in which a content of a text is presented enthusiast in advertising jargon, any since, as its French name implies, the individual who loves ads and com- text has to be enunciated or expressed mercials for their own sake in a specific way entropy measure of information entailment 1. process of coming to a and of the efficiency of information logical conclusion on the basis of the systems based on probability factors. given premises or facts; 2. in lin- When an alarm system is “off” it has guistics, any sentence that is inferred virtually no entropy, whereas when from another: for example, Bill is a it is “on” it has maximum entropy. bachelor entails Bill is not married. The term is also used to indicate the amount of “disorder” that exists in a enterprise fictionliterary genre of system, as measured by randomness fictional works, written primarily by factors present in it. women, revolving around the theme of female triumph (enterprise) in a epic lengthy narrative poem or song male-dominated world through hard telling about the deeds of heroes and work and determination the gods. Some epics recount how a culture or people began. The earliest entertainment mode of contact with epics were probably sung and had an audience that aims to provide no established text, just the outline an experience that is pleasurable. of a well-known tale. In Western Entertainment is characterized by a culture, the epic began with the Iliad

112 e-publishing and the Odyssey by Homer, who may episode 1. part of a serial (novel, have lived during the eighth or ninth movie, television, etc.) that is century b.c.e. Both form a cycle published or broadcast separately; based on the partly historical and 2. incident in a plot that has signifi- partly mythical Trojan War. Homer cance for the overall story was followed in Roman culture by the poet Virgil. Epics start in medias epistemic as defined by Mi c h e l res (in the middle of things), that is, Fo u c a u lt , the ways of thinking and after a significant portion of the action knowing that are characteristic of a has already taken place and with an specific intellectual era: for example, “invocation” in which the poet asks “medieval thought,” “Enlightenment a Muse for divine inspiration. Epic philosophy.” For Foucault, an episteme poetry declined during the 1700s with is a form of knowledge grounded in the rise of prose fiction. Its appeal discourse derived from a specific era was revived in the Romantic period and mode of thought. For instance, the by English poet William Wordsworth gender of an individual (the role he or with his epic poem The Prelude she is expected to play according to his (1805, published 1850) and by Ameri- or her biological sex) is an episteme can poet Walt Whitman with his Song that can only be interpreted in specific of Myself (1855); and in the twentieth discourse and cultural terms, not to century by British poet T.S. Eliot with mention historical traditions. his Four Quartets (1943). The popular series of Star Wars movies (starting epistemology in Western philosophy, 1977) have epic structure, starting in the study of knowledge in all its di- medias res and having the same type mensions, from what it is to how it is of thematic content of ancient epics, acquired and encoded by language. It especially the Homeric epics. also includes the study of the relation between knowledge, belief systems, epigram short, usually witty poem or truth, and reality. saying. In ancient Greece, epigrams were inscribed often on statues, epithet descriptive word or phrase buildings, coins, and the like. Popular (usually with satirical or critical intent) sayings are really epigrams: When it used in place of the actual name of rains it pours; The only way to get rid someone, highlighting an attribute or of a temptation is to yield to it (Oscar feature of his or her personality: for Wilde). example, egghead for “a smart person” epilogue 1. short section added to eponym person for whom a place or the end of a work, providing further thing is named information, insight, etc.; 2. speech given by an actor to address an audi- e-publishing [see electronic ence directly at the end of a play publishing]

113 equal time equal time Federal Communications etching the art of engraving a figure, Commission requirement that when symbol, or word on a hard surface a political candidate is allowed to broadcast a message by commercial ethics rules or principles of behavior media, opposing candidates must be that are purported to guide actions offered equal time ethnocentrism tendency of seeing equilibrium in a narrative, the state things in terms of the values, beliefs, of stability present at the start and and worldview associated with one’s the state to which it returns after the ethnic heritage resolution of tensions. A narrative starts off typically with a situation in ethnographic research [also called which things are as they are (hence participant observation] anthropo- in equilibrium). Then something logical method of describing peoples happens to upset the equilibrium or groups by becoming involved with (a crisis, a challenge). This state of them in some way (such as living imbalance is eventually resolved and among them for a period of time). the initial stable state is put back, The term also refers to a written, regained, or re-evoked in some way. photographic, or filmed report that provides such a description. escapism use of media (such as going to the movies) to escape from e-toon [see electronic cartoon] daily routine or pressing personal problems euphemism word or phrase used in place of another because it is consid- escapist genre any text (novel, ered less offensive or discordant: for television program, film, piece of example, pass away for die; vomit for music) that provides pure entertain- throw up ment, rather than engagement, allowing people to “escape from reality” Euro English an official language of temporarily the European Union e-shopping [see electronic eurocentricism tendency of shopping] Europeans, or those of European heritage, to evaluate things in essentialism view that a text always terms of their European cultural contains an “essence” that defines it heritage as an exemplar of a genre evaluation research advertising esthetics [see aesthetics] method of analyzing how well an ad campaign has met its original e-system [see electronic system] aims

114 expression event television television program- lenged because they are not articulat- ming that involves reporting an event ed as such. The term was introduced live, such as a baseball game or a by Ro l a n d Ba rt h e s to explain why concert the dominance of those in power goes unexamined—because it is evergreens in television syndication, not named as such (exnominated). popular and enduring network reruns This ensures that people will see the such as I Love Lucy and Seinfeld values of dominant groups not as tied to any special interests, but rather as exclamation abruptly uttered word or implicit human values. The term has phrase expressing a strong emotion, been used, by extension, to explain such as fright, grief, imploration, why stereotyping persists in the hatred, and so on; for example, Yikes! media. Help! exogenous stations clandestine exclusive story that has only been broadcasting operations situated covered in one media outlet in ad- outside the regions to which they vance of other outlets transmit programs exegesis critical explanation or analy- experiential advertising advertising sis of a text method based on getting the consumer to experience the product directly existentialism twentieth-century (for example, by trying it) movement in philosophy, writing, and the arts which denied that life has any experimental group group that is intrinsic meaning or purpose and thus being experimented upon (as opposed that individuals must assume responsi- to the control group, which is not) in bility for their actions. Existentialism order to see if it reacts, behaves, or crystallized from the ideas of Danish does something differently philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard and German philosopher experimental research research Friedrich Nietzsche. Existentialist using actual subjects to discover writers emphasize the isolation that an if a media text or an advertising individual experiences in a cold and campaign produces observable (and barren universe. The most prominent sometimes measurable) results existentialists include writers Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Gabriel exposé newspaper report, television Marcel; and philosophers Karl Jaspers documentary, or Web site designed to and Martin Heidegger. reveal a scandal, crime, etc. exnomination view claiming that expression 1. look on someone’s face widely held values are rarely chal- that communicates some thought or

115 expressionism

external search method of finding information from external sources or from the World Wide Web

external service in international broadcasting, service used by a country to counter enemy propaganda and spread information about itself

extra actor employed temporarily in a minor role in a film production

extramercial in cyberadvertising (advertising online), an ad that slides down a Web page

eye candy nonessential features on a The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch Web page emotion; 2. word or phrase com- eye tracking 1. advertising research municating a specific concept: in the method whereby the eye movement mood, night and day, etc.; 3. interpre- of subjects is recorded in order to tation of a musical text that draws out determine which parts of the brain its emotional qualities are activated while viewing an ad or commercial; 2. technique of follow- expressionism early twentieth- ing the eye movements of Internet century art movement emphasizing users in order to determine what they the inner experiences of humans look at and for how long, so that Web (such as fear, love, etc.). Edvard page designers can improve the ef- Munch’s expressionist painting The fectiveness of their sites Scream, for example, conveys a feeling of anguish and inner torment in a eyeballs Internet users who visit a very dramatic way. particular Web site frequently extended-definition television[ab- eyewitness account report of an breviated as EDTV] enhanced televi- event by someone who was there to sion transmission system that offers a observe it very high definition and wider aspect ratio e-zine [see electronic magazine]

116 last item fable story designed to profiles can be posted. It impart a moral lesson or a was originally developed verity about human life; the for university students, characters are often animals faculty, and staff, but has or mythical creatures who F since expanded to include are given human traits, and anyone. Web site: www. the moral is often stated explicitly at facebook.com the end. The animal stories of Aesop (sixth century b.c.e.) are among the facial expression appearance as- best-known and oldest fables in histo- sumed by the face, unconsciously or ry. Another collection of beast fables wittingly, to communicate something is the Sanskrit Panchatantra (ca. third (usually an emotional state). Facial century c.e.). A popular collection of expressions include winking, smil- fables, entitled Le roman de Renart, ing, grimacing, and the like. In 1963 emerged in France between the late psychologist Paul Ekman established twelfth and fourteenth centuries. The the Human Interaction Laboratory fables of Jean de la Fontaine, pub- in the Department of Psychiatry at lished between 1668 and 1694, be- the University of California at San came internationally renowned. Other Francisco for the purpose of studying fabulists include the nineteenth- facial expressions. Ekman and his century Danish writer Hans Christian research team have established some Andersen and the twentieth-century facial expressions as universal signs Italian novelist Italo Calvino. of particular emotions. fabliau generally satirical, often facsimile [see fax] bawdy tale composed and recited by wandering minstrels; the genre fact sheet 1. information sheet or emerged in France in the twelfth booklet that provides details about century and was popular through the a subject covered by a broadcast or mid-fourteenth century. Around 150 news story; 2. sheet containing data fabliaux have survived. The form was about a product, used by advertisers emulated by medieval writers, includ- to help them create ads and cam- ing Geoffrey Chaucer, whose Canter- paigns bury Tales contains six fabliaux. The fabliau is considered a precursor to factory studios the first film produc- the modern short story. tion studios fabula in narrative theory, any story fad a craze or fashion trend that is with f a b l e -like qualities and structure taken up with great enthusiasm for a brief period of time: for example, the Facebook online social networking hula hoop fad, the sudoku fad, and site, founded in 2004, where personal so on

117 fadeaway fadeaway filming technique of gradually decreasing light or sound until it disappears completely fade-in technique of gradually introducing images or sounds until they become visible or audible fade-out 1. technique of gradually removing images or sounds until they become invisible or inaudible; 2. Still from Snow White and the Seven gradual loss of a broadcast signal Dwarfs (1937) fair use legal principle stating that false consciousness in Marxist under certain limited conditions (e.g., theory, the claim that common people for educational purposes) individuals develop a false sense of their social may make copies of copyrighted ma- identity, which helps maintain the terial without seeking the permission status quo and is thus of great advan- of the copyright holder tage to the ruling class, which wants to avoid change in social structure. Fairness Doctrine U.S. broad- Essentially, false consciousness oc- casting regulation (abolished in curs when people are conditioned 1987) that required broadcasters to not to see any need to take political cover issues of public importance action in their own best interests. fairly and to provide equal air time to representatives of opposing family movies movies designed for viewpoints viewing by families together; the story line often revolves around rela- fairy tale story revolving around tions between children and parents fairies or other imaginary supernatural beings who become involved in family viewing television program- human affairs using magic. Tales ming that is deemed suitable for of Mother Goose (1697) by French children writer Charles Perrault and Fairy Tales (2 volumes, 1812–1815) by the famous-person testimonial in adver- Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm tising, the endorsement of a product Karl, are among the best-known fairy by a well-known person (a movie tales in Western literature. star, an athlete, etc.) false claim untrue or exaggerated fan (derived from “fanatic”) a person claim made in the advertising of a with a strong liking for or interest in product or service a performer, program, event, or sport

118 fast motion fan fictionfictional story written by visitors often have about the site or the fan of a celebrity, in which the ce- the information it contains lebrity is the main character (posted typically on Web sites) farce comedy genre intended to evoke laughter through caricature by fantasy literary genre that features placing characters in improbable or imaginary or magical worlds, charac- ludicrous situations. In the medieval ters, and events, usually intended for period, farces were often based on children. The most famous fantasy folk tales. Today, farce, slapstick, and in children’s literature is, arguably, buffoonery are used interchangeably Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in to designate any comedy involving Wonderland (1865), revolving around pranks (e.g., throwing a pie in some- the adventures of a girl named Alice, one’s face, pushing unsuspecting who reaches a magic land after she people into swimming pools, etc.). follows a white rabbit down a hole in the ground. Perhaps the most popu- Farnsworth, Philo T. (1906–1971) lar fantasy novel by an American American pioneer in television author is L. Frank Baum’s Wonderful technology, who built an electronic Wizard of Oz (1900), which follows television camera tube known as an the adventures of a girl who has been image dissector in 1927; it produced carried by a cyclone from Kansas to a an electronic signal that corresponded magic land. E.B. White’s Charlotte’s to the brightness of the objects being Web (1952), about friendship among televised animals on a farm, is another classic example of a fantasy story. fashion shoot session for photo- graphing models wearing clothing fanzine magazine produced by fans fashions, usually for publication in a for other fans of a celebrity or a magazine hobby (such as a particular video game). The early fanzines were fashion show exhibition of clothing created around punk bands in the in the latest styles, worn and displayed mid-1970s and then spread to other by models on a runway, usually ac- domains of popular culture, such as companied by music. Many media sports (teams, for example, published critics now identify fashion shows as a fanzines). Today, Internet discussion specific genre of variety show. sites and blogs have taken on the functions of fanzines, rendering them fast-forward function on a tape virtually obsolete. recorder that causes the tape to wind forward rapidly FAQ [full form: frequently asked questions] section on Web sites that fast motion film action that ap- provides answers to questions that pears faster than is naturally possible

119 fasttrack because it was shot at a slower speed Federal Communications Act of than the speed at which it is projected 1934 U.S. legislative act that established the Federal Communications FastTrack network application that Commission permits users to interconnect, search file directories, and share music, Federal Communications Commis- video, and other files sion [abbreviated as FCC] federal agency, founded in 1934, responsible fax [abbreviation of facsimile] de- for regulating broadcast and elec- vice allowing the electronic transmis- tronic communications in the United sion of printed or pictorial documents States. Web site: www.fcc.gov across telephone lines or through wireless technology from one loca- Federal Trade Commission [abbre- tion to another viated as FTC] federal agency, established in 1914, that is responsible for FCC [see Federal Communications regulating national advertising and Commission] for ensuring consumer protection. Web site: www.ftc.gov fear appeal advertising message that makes the audience anxious or fear- feedback 1. response pattern to a ful, emphasizing ways in which the given communication; 2. information product can help people overcome that is fed directly back to the sender their anxiety or fear in a communication system, enabling the system to adjust its operation as feature 1. longer, more probing article needed; in linguistic communication, or story in a print medium (newspaper the process by which people adjust or magazine) covering human inter- their messages as they are delivering est topics as opposed to hard news; 2. them, in response to the reactions item for a radio or television program, (facial expressions, bodily move- usually consisting of interviews ments) of their interlocutors. feature filmmain film shown at a feeder cables television cables that motion picture theater (or on televi- run from trunk cables to individual sion), usually the longest of two or neighborhoods more films shown in one program feeding sending a program or signal feature syndicates clearinghouses from one station to other stations (such as United Features and King Features) that provide the work Fellinesque a film or media text that of journalists, feature writers, and blends reality and fantasy, remi- cartoonists to newspapers and other niscent of the methods of Federico media outlets Fellini, the renowned Italian motion

120 feminist theory picture director. Fellini often de- media and society. Early feminist veloped the script as the film was criticism viewed media representa- being made. Many of his films rely tions of women as constructs that heavily on the use of symbolism and were subservient to the male psyche, imagery, creating obscure dreamlike arguing that these were degrad- sequences. ing to women, as well as a source of influence in promoting violence feminism movement advocating against women. Some of these cri- equal rights and opportunities for tiques were well founded, given the women. Feminist beliefs have existed spread of images of women as either throughout history, but feminism “sexual cheerleaders” or “motherly did not become widespread in the homemakers” in many media pro- Western world until the mid-1800s, grams (such as TV sitcoms). How- when women began to protest against ever, already in the 1950s, there were social and political injustices, such sitcoms such as The Honeymooners as the barring of women from voting and I Love Lucy that featured strong- in elections and serving on juries, willed, independent females as and from admission to most institu- protagonists. Moreover, having inter- tions of higher education and most preted the display of women’s bodies professional careers. Many histori- in media and advertising as serving ans regard the feminist movement male voyeurism, the early feminists as a turning point in the history of are now critiqued as having ignored modern societies. There have been the fact that open sexuality played several waves of feminism, starting a critical role in liberating women. in the 1960s, influencing theories of With the entrance of Madonna onto culture, gender, and the like. The first the pop culture stage in the mid- one, called strictly “feminism,” took 1980s, the tide in feminist theory the general slant on sexual culture as changed radically, leading to what serving male-oriented interests and, is now called postfeminism. Post- thus, catering to male voyeurism; feminists interpret the representation the second main wave, called “post- of female sexuality in public places feminism,” starting in the 1980s, took and in media not as exploitation, the view that females have actually but rather as a transgressive form of always been in charge of the gaze social discourse, even viewing strip- themselves, that is, that while the teasing and pornography as crucial voyeurs may be men, what they look players in the ongoing sexual revolu- at is under the control of women. tion in women’s liberation. The post- feminist perspective has thus come feminist theory [also called femi- forward to provide a vastly different nist criticism] important theory view of media representations of emerging in the late 1960s devoted womanhood than traditional feminist to deconstructing gender biases in and religious views.

121 femme fatale femme fatale female character in figurea representation of someone or movies and other media of great something (a diagram, picture, draw- seductive charm who leads men into ing, etc.) compromising or dangerous situations or who destroys those who figure of speechword, phrase, or succumb to her charms expression that has a nonliteral sense, adding color, evaluation, or insight Ferguson, Marjorie (1929–1999) to a text: He was born with a silver feminist scholar whose work on the spoon in his mouth = He was born representation of women in media is into a privileged situation widely respected. Among her most influential works are Forever Feminine: file sharing activity of exchanging Women’s Magazines and the Cult of information electronically, especially Femininity (1983) and Cultural Studies through the Internet in Question (with P. Golding, 1997). File Transfer Protocol [abbreviated fetish 1. object perceived as having as FTP] common way of transferring magical powers; 2. object or body files across the Internet, usually with part that causes sexual arousal, often a browser becoming an object of fixation film1. thin sheet or strip of devel- feuilleton section of a European oped photographic negatives or newspaper containing fiction, re- transparencies; 2. sequence of images views, and cultural articles projected onto a screen with sufficient rapidity as to create the illusion fiber-optic cablecable that carries of motion and continuity; 3. by ex- signals rapidly over very thin glass tension, a work (narrative, documen- fibers for long-distance transmissions tary, etc.) realized in this form [see also cinema] fiction any work whose content is imaginary rather than purely factual. film musicmusic composed to ac- The fabliaux, romances, and novellas company a film of the Middle Ages were the forerunners of the novel, the first true fiction film noirmoody, pessimistic film- genre. making style that was very popular in the United States during the 1940s field of viewextent of a scene that and 1950s (in French, the term noir can be captured by a camera means “black”). A typical film noir showed a world of corruption and fieldworkin marketing, research crime, with cynical characters trapped method consisting of gathering infor- in dismal situations that led invariably mation by conducting surveys to their destruction. The plot gener-

122 Fiske, John ally took place in large American fine artsarts (such as sculpture, cities, generally at night and in dingy painting, and music) that are per- surroundings. The movie’s gloomy ceived to have aesthetic qualities tone was accentuated by edgy music rather than simple decorative or and shadowy backgrounds. Some utilitarian functions (crafts) famous examples of film noir include The Maltese Falcon (1941), Double fin-syn[ see Financial Interest and Indemnity (1944), and The Big Heat Syndication Rules] (1953). Starting in the 1970s some American directors attempted to fireside chatbroadcast in which the recapture the film noir style with mov- president of the United States talks ies such as Chinatown (1974), Taxi in an informal manner to the people. Driver (1976), The Grifters (1990), This type of program was initiated on and L.A. Confidential (1997). radio by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression as a way of film theoryarea of film studies that reassuring people about his policies. deals with film genres, rather than any specific analysis or critique of firewallsoftware preventing unau- films. Film theorists look at movies thorized access to a computer, Web as t e x t s and how they deliver mean- site, etc. ings (aesthetic or otherwise). First Amendment amendment to filmography1. writing about movies; the U.S. Constitution that guarantees 2. list of movies, usually of a given freedom of speech and is thus continu- director, actor, or a specific genre ally cited in media debates: “Congress shall make no law respecting an es- filtering softwaresoftware that auto- tablishment of religion, or prohibiting matically blocks access to Web sites the free exercise thereof; or abridging containing offensive material the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacefully to final cutfinal edited version of a film assemble, and to petition the Govern- released publicly ment for a redress of grievances.” first edition1. first print run of a Financial Interest and Syndication daily newspaper; 2. first published rules [abbreviated as fin-syn] FCC version of a book rules outlining the amount of program ownership that television first-run syndicationprogramming networks are allowed. Rescinded in produced specifically for the syndi- the mid-1990s, the rules were in- cated television market tended to prohibit the major networks from running their own syndication Fiske, John (1939–) scholar whose companies. insights on the meanings built into

123 fixed break media products and events (intention- flashbackliterary or cinematic tech- ally or unconsciously) have become nique of inserting an earlier event into widely cited. Among his most influ- the normal chronological order of a ential works are Television Culture narrative, showing what happened or (1987) and Understanding Popular providing further information Culture (1989). flickcolloquial term for m o v i e or f i l m fixed breakpractice of placing commercials in a specific place within flierleaflet used for advertising a radio or television programming purposes format floodlightlamp with a wide angle, fixed spotitem that is broadcast at a used to provide light broadly for film- specific time; for example, news on ing purposes the hour floor managerperson who is re- flackderogatory epithet describing a sponsible for the technical aspects public relations professional of filming during a film shoot or in a television studio flamingact of sending an offensive e-mail or of posting an offensive floppy disk small plastic disk coated newsgroup item on both sides with magnetic material that can record and store computer flappersstylish and fun-loving data. Floppy disks are being used less young women of the 1920s, who and less as new technology is mak- showed disdain for the previous ing available more convenient and Victorian social conventions through powerful devices such as USB ports changes in clothing and lifestyle that have rendered the floppy disk’s storage capacity inadequate for many flash1. brief news story that is types of files. broadcast immediately, often inter- rupting an ongoing program; 2. flow1. movement of something device used to produce a short bright such as information; 2. an evening’s light in photography scheduled programming; 3. view put forward by Ray m o n d Wi l l i a m s flash forwardto jump forward to a that audiences experience television later point in a narrative for a dra- programs not as autonomous entities matic effect but as elements in a flow of similar entities flash prankW eb site designed to shock visitors with sudden scary im- flow chartdiagram used in computer ages and loud noises science and other sciences and dis-

124 footnote ciplines, which is designed to show folk rock style of music developed how the procedures used in perform- by Bob Dylan (1941–) in the 1960s ing a task are connected to each other with poetic lyrics set to a rock beat, but evoking traditional folk music fly-on-the-wall documentarydocu- melodies, rhythms, and themes. Folk mentary style, similar to c i n é m a - rock was the first major challenge to v é r i t é , in which small cameras are rock’s domination by the British in used to film subjects as they go about the 1960s. their routine business folklore set of traditional beliefs, sto- FM radio [full form: frequency ries, sayings, and art forms. Folklore modulation radio] system of radio includes cures, superstitions, festival transmission in which wave frequen- customs, games, dances, proverbs, cies are modulated in tandem with nursery rhymes, charms, and riddles. the audio signal being transmitted. The first FM system was established folktale narrative tale, usually cre- in 1936, but became popular only in ated in early oral traditions; examples the late 1960s. Frequency modulation include myths, legends, fables, and has several advantages over the al- fairy tales ternate radio broadcasting system of amplitude modulation (AM): greater follow shot camera shot in which a freedom from interference and static; moving subject is filmed as the cam- a higher signal-to-noise ratio; and opera follows the subject eration in the high-frequency bands. follow-up news report that further focal points five main areas of inter- investigates an earlier news story est in the study of media and communication: the media text, the maker font character or set of characters of the of the text, the audience, American same style of typeface (such as Times) society (or its equivalent in other parts of the world), and the media footage selection of film sections that have been already shot focus group interview research method that brings together audiences footer 1. text that appears at the bot- or consumer groups to discuss a media tom of a page; 2. section at the bot- text or an ad, under the guidance of a tom of a Web page containing links trained interviewer. The responses are and information on how to contact recorded and are later analyzed. the owners of the Web page and on the copyright policy in place folk music music style consisting of a people’s traditional songs and footnote 1. note at the bottom of a melodies page containing information, such

125 footprint as a reference citation or further perceived by a viewer to be nearest to explanation, about the preceding text; him or her 2. something appended to a text as an explanation, reference, or comment foreign correspondent journalist who lives or visits another country to footprint area supplied by a signal report news about it for broadcast or from a satellite publication forced exposure advertising research form theory art and philosophi- technique whereby consumers are cal theory claiming that the physi- brought to a facility to view and pro- cal structure of a work is separable vide commentary on a commercial or from its content. In a work of art, the ad campaign content is defined as the meaning of the work, and the form is the way in Fordism view that a product should which the work has been put togeth- be accessible and affordable to the er. Recent form theories stress that workers who produce it and that they form and content are interconnected, should be paid a fair wage based on rather than separable. the value of what they are producing. The term makes reference to auto- formalism emphasis on form rather maker Henry Ford’s highly mecha- than content in a work of art nized and standardized mode of automobile production in the 1920s. format 1. in computer science, the This term is now used, by extension, way data is structured so that it can to describe a type of situation that be used, stored, and retrieved; 2. pre- stresses conformity and uniformity. sentation and style that distinguishes The term post-Fordism has recently a radio or television program from emerged to describe a world in which others; 3. difference in size, shape, new technologies and economic mar- and appearance of media products kets have made it possible to break (for example, tabloid vs. newspaper away from the mechanized form of format) production and, by extension, from social conformity. format clock hourly radio programming schedule forecast prediction of what the weather will be like in the near format radio radio station that plays future, broadcast or printed regularly only one type of music (for example, (on radio, on television, in newspa- country) or broadcasts one type of pro- pers, on Web sites) gramming (for example, news radio) foreground in painting and filmic formula technique advertising technique, part of a scene that is technique that uses formulaic speech

126 framing

Fourth Estate a synonym for the p r e s s

Fox Broadcasting Company known as the “fourth network” (after NBC, CBS, and ABC), launched in 1986 by Ru p e r t Mu r d o c h . This broadcasting company introduced many new types of programs, including reality- based shows such as Cops. Web site: www.fox.com

fragmentation process by which a Vinyl 45 record formerly unified or mass audience fragments into segments. For example, to describe a product, imitating the availability of specialty television proverbs, sayings, etc.: for example, channels has resulted in the fragmenta- A Volkswagen is a Volkswagen! Coke tion of the television audience. Radio is it! underwent a process of fragmentation in the 1950s with the introduction of forty-fives[ 45 rpm records] discon- television. Fragmentation makes it tinued type of record disc that could difficult to reach mass audiences and be played on phonograph turntables may threaten the economic survival of operating at 45 rpm. It was developed media that depend on them. by RCA in the late 1940s. It had high quality but had limited storage space. frame 1. a phrase or sentence with a blank in it for assaying which kinds Foucault, Michel (1926–1984) of words or forms are permissible French philosopher who became there (structurally or semantically); widely known in the 1970s for 2. a rectangular image on a screen; his writings on the role of history 3. on a Web page, a part that allows and culture in determining how for modification of other parts of the people develop beliefs and how same page everyday practices guide people in defining their identities. In Mad- framing 1. adjusting the position of ness and Civilization (1960), for a film in a projector so that the image instance, he showed how definitions can be seen correctly on the screen; and perceptions of madness have 2. the way in which a film is put to- changed over time to reflect changes gether by specific camera techniques; in cultural worldviews. His most 3. the way in which people organize quoted work is the History of Sexual- and interpret events (such as spec- ity (1984). tacles and programs)

127 franchise franchise 1. right to sell certain as Thomas Frank, Todd Gitlin, and products or services for a particular Mark Crispin Miller, draw heavily period; 2. conversion of a media upon the general arguments made by product (such as a film) into a series the Frankfurt School. of sequels and spin-offs; 3. license to use a brand name; 4. license to free market model economic system broadcast within a specific area and/ in which nongovernmental decision or for a specific time period makers determine how resources will be used, what goods and services will franchise filmsmovies produced be produced, and how these will be with the intention of making sequels distributed among members of society; free competition in the market Frankfurt School [full form: helps to guide these decisions Frankfurt Institute for Social Research] school of critical inquiry freedom of expression basic right founded at the University of Frank- of any free society, without which, furt in 1923; the world’s first Marx- it is claimed, journalists, academics, ist institute of social research. Its and others cannot perform their vital leading members included Theodor role of seeking and spreading new Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert knowledge Marcuse, Erich Fromm, and Leo Lowenthal. Its aim was to understand freedom of information basic the way in which human groups cre- right to have access to information ate meaning collectively under the of all kinds, from the type held by impact of modern technology and governments to that held by media how modern societies have come organizations under the domain of c u lt u r e in- d u s t r i e s . The Frankfurt School was freedom of speech right to speak out highly pessimistic about the possibil- publicly or privately, through any me- ity of genuine individuality under dium of expression, including books, modern capitalism and condemned newspapers, magazines, radio, televi- most forms of popular or mass sion, motion pictures, and electronic culture as channels of consumerist documents on computer networks propaganda that indoctrinated the masses and disguised genuine social freedom of the press freedom to inequalities. The School’s main publish anything without censorship contention was that typical media before or after. Freedom of the press fare was vulgar, functioning primar- has been debated since modern print- ily to pacify ordinary people. Though ing began in the 1400s. Some govern- not affiliated with the School, some ments place limits on this freedom, contemporary critics of contempo- fearing the power of words to spur rary pop culture and media, such people to act against them.

128 ftp freelance writer, journalist, or artist who works independently and is paid by assignment freenet online information network run by volunteers, charging no access fees freeware software available primarily through electronic bulletin boards and user groups that can be downloaded free of charge freeze frame single image held still in the middle part of a motion picture sequence frequency measurement of radio Sigmund Freud waves, indicating where a station is found on the radio dial Friendster online social networking site launched in 2002 where personal frequency modulation [see FM profiles can be posted.W eb site: radio] www.friendster.com

Freud, Sigmund (1856–1939) fringe time television time slot just Austrian neurologist and founder before or after prime time, when of psychoanalysis. Freud claimed there is more program availability that human behavior was guided by the unconscious—the part of Frith, Simon (1946–) musicolo- the psyche that contains wishes, gist best known for his work on the memories, fears, etc., which mani- sociology of popular music. In Sound fest themselves in dreams, symbols, Effects (1983), Frith examined how syndromes, and the like. Freud popular music relates to audience introduced such terms as ego, id, su- expectations of a social and political perego, and Oedipus complex, among nature. others, which have become widely used in media studies. Froogle Google’s shopping engine friends on social networking Web FTC [see Federal Trade sites, people who have access to other Commission] people’s profiles and who post their own profiles FTP [see File Transfer Protocol]

129 full duplex full duplex network connection that but rather as tools that are used by makes it possible to send signals in people for recreation or even to gain opposite directions at the same time knowledge of the world. Functional- ism holds that if there were no need full nester in marketing jargon, an for the media, the media would older consumer who owns his or her not exist. The media, therefore, are home and is interested in living the adaptations to our needs. Functional- “good life” ists ask, therefore, how the media contribute to social equilibrium, fully connected world concept in how the media system constitutes an which most people and organizations integrated whole, and what needs the can be linked via the Internet media answer or fulfill. functionalism 1. twentieth-century funk music style of popular music architectural movement stressing derived from jazz, blues, and soul, functional rather than decorative characterized by a heavy bass line design; 2. twentieth-century psycho- and syncopated rhythms logical school founded by William James and John Dewey; 3. in media funnies part of a newspaper where theory, the claim that the consump- cartoons and comic strips are pub- tion of media products is due to the lished individual’s active view of these products as functional. In effect, me- futurism Italian art movement that dia and psychological functionalism lasted from 1909 to about 1916. is based on the view that individuals Futurist artists glorified the power, can make their own choices. Media speed, and excitement of the machine are not seen as manipulation systems age.

130 last item gag joke or comic skit told maintaining their flow, and or acted out by a comedian so on: for example, uh . . . or by comedians together huh, yeah, well, May I . . . ? gag order restriction of the G game console computer publication, discussion, or console for game play- broadcasting of specific information ing, usually operated with a game controlling device, such as a joystick gallery television studio produc- or game pad tion room where the director and the members of the production crew sit game show television program in during filming or taping which a game is played by contestants, offering prizes to the winner Gallup Poll public opinion poll on a political or social topic or issue, as gangsta rap style of rap music in developed by George H. Gallup, an which the lyrics deal with themes American statistician who specialized involving gangs, gangsters, and/or in public opinion surveys. The poll criminal lifestyles became well-known after it predicted correctly the outcome of the 1936 gangster film film genre dealing with presidential election. Gallup also gangsters or with plots revolving developed a method of measuring around criminal activity with gang- audience interest in news features sters as primary role players and advertising. Web site: www .galluppoll.com garage music style of electronic dance music inspired by disco and Galtung, Johan (1930–) Norwegian associated primarily with urban styles analyst of news media and a leader of of rap and hip-hop the global peace movement. Galtung has studied the socio-psychological gatekeepers in media studies, those reasons why certain items receive who make the decisions regarding media attention, while others (just as what will appear in media and espe- socially important) do not. cially which items are newsworthy and which are not Galvanometer test research method that measures physiological changes gateway page opening page of a Web in consumers when they are asked a site containing the key words that en- question or are shown some stimulus able a search engine to locate it material (such as a print ad) Gauntlett, David (1971–) major gambit speech strategy used for researcher on media effects, whose opening and closing conversations, work is quoted often in the relevant

131 gaze media literature. Among his most gendered genre movie genre, televi- influential works are Moving Experi- sion program, or television chan- ences: Understanding Television’s nel directed at a specific gender by Influence and Effects(1995) and providing themes, characters, and Media, Gender, and Identity (2002). situations that are purported to appeal to a specific gender exclusively; for gaze in feminist theory, the act of example, WE: Women’s Entertain- looking at representations of women, ment is a network designed to appeal which reveals information about the primarily to women, while Spike TV power relations that exist between is designed to appeal primarily to men and women. In Western society, men. the gazers have typically been the males; the ones gazed at, the fe- genderlect [blend of gender and males. This pattern is apparent in the dialect] language choices that are artistic and erotic portrayals that have characteristic of males or females in characterized the history of Western speech situations visual representation. Following the rise of feminism and g e n d e r general audience made up of people t h e o ry , gazing patterns have started from all walks of life, and with “ge- to change radically. neric” or “random” properties, rather than segmented into demographic gazette local newspaper or one that is categories (age, class, etc.). This cat- associated with an organization egory is used in rating systems as a comparison base to the demographi- gender sexual identity constructed cally segmented ones. in cultural context. For example, in Western society, men are often Generation X the children of portrayed as “sex-seekers,” showing “b a b y b o o m e r s ,” born in the 1970s an aggressive interest in sex as part and purported to lead a lifestyle that of their gender identity, and women is vastly different from that of as the targets of their interest; in their parents, based on a rejection other cultures, such as several Na- of their parents’ values. They are tive American traditions, that inter- more inclined than their parents est is seen as part of female gender to use new media technologies identity. as sources of information and entertainment. gender theory in feminism, theoretical framework that evaluates repre- generational marketing marketing sentations, genres, etc., in terms of and advertising tailored to specific how they represent gender and how generations of consumers (b a b y they reflect ideologies (for example, b o o m e r s , Ge n e r at i o n X, teenagers, patriarchy) older people)

132 gesture genre category or classification of perception such as feelings, images, works of art based on subject matter, and sensations, and behaviorism , themes, and/or style. Examples of lit- which called for the study of observ- erary genres are poetry, prose, drama, able aspects of behavior. fiction, science fiction, and mystery novel. Examples of television genres gestural dance dance deliberately are sitcom, soap opera, quiz show, structured by gesture patterns, including and talk show. body language, eye contact, and posture geodemographic clustering tech- gesture movement of the body, nique of classifying consumers on the especially the hands, to communicate basis of the d e m o g r a p h i c character- something, unconsciously or witting- istics common to the area in which ly. The former are called, more pre- they live cisely, natural gestures and the latter conventional gestures. Several main geographics measurement of where types of gesture have been identified. audiences and consumers live Illustrators are gestures that literally illustrate vocal utterances: for ex- Gerbner, George (1919–2005) wide- ample, the circular hand movements ly quoted media theorist whose con- typically employed when talking of a cept of the cultivation e f f e c t has circle; or moving the hands far apart become a target of major discussion when talking of something large. and debate. His model of communica- Emblems are gestures that directly tion, developed in 1956, emphasizes translate words or phrases: for exam- the interactive role of the sender and ple, the “OK” sign, the “Come here” the receiver, the context, and the me- sign, the hitchhiking sign, waving, dium used during the different stages obscene gestures, etc. Affect displays of communication. His major work is communicate emotional meaning: for The Global Media Debate (1993). example, the typical hand movements that accompany states and expres- Gestalt psychology school of sions of happiness, surprise, fear, psychology, founded around 1912 anger, sadness, contempt, disgust, by Max Wertheimer, that stresses etc. Regulators are gestures that are the study of patterns, or forms, as used to monitor, maintain, or control the important part of perception and the speech of someone else. Exam- experience, since form in its total- ples include the hand movements for ity is seen as being more important “Keep going,” “Slow down,” “What than the sum of its parts. Gestaltists else happened?” Adaptors are the rejected structuralism , the most gestures used to satisfy some need: common psychological theory in the for example, scratching one’s head early 1900s, based on studying the when puzzled, rubbing one’s fore- separate elements of experience and head when worried, and so on.

133 ghetto cool

computer memory required to store a single character

girl groups musical ensembles made up exclusively of female performers and, usually, portraying a gendered view of topics

Gitlin, Todd (1941–) radical American critic of the mainstream media and popular culture. His most influential works are Inside Prime Time (1983) and Watching Television (1986).

glam rock popular rock music style of the 1970s, characterized by performers who wore glamorous cloth- The V-sign for peace ing and jewelry ghetto cool the adoption of a “ghet- global advertising advertising to” lifestyle (in a real or simula- directed at global audiences and thus tive way), generally in imitation of adapted to the global context. For g a n g s ta r a p and other hard forms example, the use of sexual themes of hip-hop culture in the promotion of an automobile would be attenuated or removed in ghost site Web site that is no longer a global advertising campaign so as being updated but is still available for to avoid offending societies where viewing sexuality is not expressed openly. ghostwriter person who writes global branding inserting brand something for another person, usu- products into world markets, adapt- ally a celebrity, pretending to be the ing their promotion to the legal, author social, and cultural exigencies of each market GIF [full form: graphic interchange format] computer image format used global marketing use of a com- commonly for nonphotographic im- mon marketing plan to sell a product ages on Web sites everywhere in the world gigabyte unit equivalent to 1,024 global media media systems, such as megabytes, a byte being a unit of AOL or Disney, that possess com-

134 Goffman, Erving munication and media networks (and distribution capacities) that embrace most of the world

Global Positioning System [abbreviated as GPS] system comprised of 24 satellites (21 active and three spares) that allows users to precisely identify their location anywhere on the globe Glyph indicating “No Smoking!” global village term coined by Ma r - glocal genre any media text pro- s h a l l McLu h a n to characterize a duced by local groups but incorporat- world that is united electronically, ing global forms and ideas in a virtual (or cybernetic) village. McLuhan argued that the medium glocalization process whereby local in which information is recorded or regional cultures are becoming and transmitted is decisive in shap- increasingly similar to each other as ing trends and in charting future a result of aspects of globalization progress. So, by simply switching (economic, technological, etc.) on their television sets to satellite- transmitted programs, or visiting Web gloss short definition, translation, sites, people tend to feel connected to or explanation of a technical term, others in an abstract, rather than real, usually inserted in a footnote or in fashion. parentheses globalization process by which glossary alphabetical list of g l o s s e s , formerly separate, discrete, or local often placed at the end of a work or cultures, businesses, or institu- a section of the work (such as at the tions are brought into contact with end of a chapter) one another and with new groups of people in an interactive fashion, glyph public sign that provides infor- generally through the Internet. This mation visually gives the sense that the world is a single place. Supporters of global- Goffman, Erving (1922–1982) soci- ization claim that it liberates popula- ologist who examined the self-image tions from local and often restrictive or persona that people present in lifestyles, generates wealth, makes social situations, arguing that social possible the movement of people life was very much like the theater, and ideas, and contributes to the de- as people perceived themselves as velopment of human rights. Critics playing specific roles, adapting to the claim that it eliminates crucial social situation linguistically, behaviorally, and cultural differences. and in other ways. His most impor-

135 go-go tant work is The Presentation of Self gonzo journalism style of journal- in Everyday Life (1959). ism that is more concerned with such things as the reporter’s relation to the go-go popular style of music originat- story or the emotional effects on the ing in Washington, D.C., in the 1970s, people involved in the story, rather which featured a strong beat and than the actual facts of the story “go-go dancers,” scantily clad women dancing alone to the music on special Google largest Internet search en- raised platforms during a band perfor- gine, founded in 1998, which has an mance or during a floor dance index of over 10 billion Web pages. The name originated from a play Gold Lion award given at the on the word googol, which refers to Cannes International Advertising 10100 (the number represented by a 1 Festival for achievement in various followed by one-hundred zeros). The categories, including print marketing, word has found its way into everyday outdoor advertising, and television language as a verb, meaning, “to use commercials the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet.” Internet gold record a golden replica of a address: www.google.com record that has achieved at least one million in sales gopher computer program that searches file names and resources golden age of cinema period of on the Internet, organizing them into movie production during the 1920s menus that contain links to other files and 1930s when cinema was in its or databases infancy and when Hollywood movies enjoyed an unprecedented, and since gospel music evangelical music unparalleled, popularity derived from African American spiritual and blues vocal music. Gospel golden age of radio period from the music’s first influential composers late 1920s to the late 1940s when and performers included Thomas A. radio was the dominant medium for Dorsey, who coined the term; C.A. home entertainment Tindley; Gary Davis; Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who first brought gospel into golden age of television period from nightclubs and theaters in the 1930s; the early 1950s to the late 1980s and Mahalia Jackson. Gospel music when television was the dominant has had a significant influence on medium for home entertainment, rhythm and blues, soul music, and before the rise of the Internet other pop music styles. golden oldie piece of music that was gossip column regular newspaper popular in a previous era or magazine column dealing with

136 graffiti

typified by the Cathedral of Notre- Dame de Paris; the style was revived in the nineteenth century; 2. literary style generally characterized by darkness and gloom. The term was used during the late 1700s and early 1800s to describe a type of popular fiction that revolved around mysterious and supernatural events; the novels were called Gothic because they took place in gloomy castles built in the Gothic style of architecture. The first such novel was The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole. Other early gothic novels include The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and The Italian (1797) by Ann Radcliffe; The Monk (1796) by Matthew G. Lewis; Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) by Charles Maturin; Frankenstein A Goth at the Wave Gothic Festival, Leipzig, Germany, May 25, 2007 (1818) by Mary Shelley; and Wuther- ing Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte. rumors and gossip about celebrities and well-known public figures governmentality concept developed by Mi c h e l Fo u c a u lt meaning, gotcha journalism news reporting essentially, the art of government; in which journalists nab evildoers intended to imply that governing is or interview people caught in some not limited to the political sphere, but illegal act reaches out to all spheres, from the cultural to the artistic goth form of punk music and lifestyle, especially among youths, GPS [see Global Positioning System] characterized by the wearing of dark clothes, the use of dark cosmetics, graffiti inscriptions of various kinds and other gothic forms of symbolism, scratched, carved, or drawn on a intended to challenge mainstream wall, pole, or other public surface. society Graffiti have allowed linguists to reconstruct earlier stages of a language, Gothic 1. architectural style preva- and social scientists to examine the lent in Europe from the twelfth ideologies or lifestyle of certain through the fifteenth centuries, groups (as has been done to study the emphasizing light and verticality, graffiti of gangs, teen cliques, etc.).

137 GrammAtology grammatology term coined by or bombastic diction and mode of Ja c q u e s De r r i d a , term referring delivery to the priority of writing over vocal speech in the development and use of graph 1. in mathematics, diagram language, contrary to what linguists representing changes in a variable; have traditionally maintained. Derrida 2. unit in writing representing a claimed that pictographic language sound, a syllable, or entire concept preceded vocalized language and that, to this day, writing has a much more graphic art form of visual art relat- crucial function in human affairs than ing to methods of reproduction such do other forms of language. as printing, engraving, or etching. The term is used generally in refer- Grammy Awards honors given an- ence to the illustrations found in ad- nually for outstanding achievement in vertisements, book designs, posters, music. The first Grammies (the name is and the like. an abbreviation of gramophone) were given in 1958. They are now awarded graphic design craft of combining in dozens of categories, from best com- text and illustrations in design (for position to the best musical arrange- example, in ad texts, book covers). ment. Web site: www.grammy.com Writers produce words while photographers and illustrators create gramophone machine used formerly images; the graphic designer incorpo- for playing records, invented in 1887 rates these elements into a complete by Emile Berliner, a German immi- layout. grant to the United States graphic display computer screen Gramsci, Antonio (1891–1937) Ital- with the capacity to display graphics ian Marxist intellectual and politician who is often quoted in media studies graphic equalizer device on an elec- because of his notion of h e g e m o n y , tronic playback machine that allows or domination of the media by those separate adjustments to be made to in power in order to subtly influ- the sound quality ence public opinion in their favor. His influential Lettere dal carcere graphic novel novel developed from (published posthumously in 1947; c o m i c b o o k s , in which cartoon im- published in English as Letters from ages are interspersed in the written Prison in 1973) actually outlines a text. An example of a graphic novel less dogmatic version of communism is Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark than that of most Marxists. Knight Returns (1986). grandiloquence form of speech and graphical user interface [abbreviat- discourse characterized by pompous ed as GUI] display format that allows

138 gross rating point a computer user to select commands, WDOO VKRUW call up files, start programs, and do other tasks by using a mouse to point to icons or lists of menu choices on the screen as opposed to having to type in text commands. The first GUI to be used in a personal computer QRWVKRUW QRWWDOO appeared in Apple Computer’s Lisa, introduced in 1983; its GUI became the basis of Apple’s extremely suc- amplified the field narratology , cessful Macintosh (1984). the study of narratives of all kinds. Greimas’s most significant contri- graphics 1. pictorial manipulation of bution in the field is the “semiotic data, used in computers, the graphic square,” which posits that o pp o s i - arts, and so on; 2. pictorial display of t i o n s hold in a square-like fashion information on a computer rather than in a binary manner. For example, the word tall takes on Graphics Interchange Format meaning in contrast to not tall, short, [see GIF] and not short. Thus, the meaning of tall is gleaned from a semiotic square G-rating movie and television clas- of oppositions. sification indicating that the movie or program is suitable for general gripe site Web site providing an op- audiences portunity for users to counter or challenge another person or an institution grazing act of watching several television programs simultaneously gross audience compilation of all the audiences studied for an advertising green light process procedure lead- campaign or media experiment. The ing to the decision to make a movie gross audience may actually include duplicated audience members. green room small room near a broadcast studio in which program gross cover number of times a radio guests wait before they are inter- or television commercial has been viewed or where actors can go to rest seen or heard greenwashing public relations strat- gross rating point method of deter- egy of companies to counter the ad- mining the effectiveness of outdoor vertising tactics of environmentalists advertising, with 1 percent of a sample group represented by a Greimas, Algirdas Julien (1917– point in a statistical method of 1992) French semiotician who analysis

139 Grossberg, Lawrence

Grossberg, Lawrence (1947–) grunge, consisting of torn jeans and American cultural theorist who has flannel shirts sought to show how audiences become attached to certain performers, guerrilla marketing marketing that texts, or programs. His most influen- uses nontraditional media and strate- tial book is We Gotta Get Out of This gies to promote products or services Place (1992), in which he contends that rock culture, once considered GUI [see graphical user interface] deviant and aberrant, has become part of conservative culture. guide publication that lists programming (radio or television) times and ground entire or connecting surface typically describes the content of of a scene in a movie shoot each program listed Gutenberg Galaxy [after Johannes group in Web talk, network of online Gutenberg (c. 1390–1468), a German individuals who share a common printer] term coined by Ma r s h a l l interest McLu h a n to refer to the world that resulted from the availability of group system method of organizing cheap books and the spread of litera- an advertising agency into groups, cy as a consequence of the invention each with its own area of specialized of print technology. expertise (marketing, ad creation) gutter press generic term to describe grunge style of rock music made tabloid newspapers famous by the late musician Kurt Cobain, derived from punk rock, and gynocriticism in f e m i n i s t t h e o ry , characterized especially by anguished study of the writings produced by lyrics; also used to describe the style women and how they convey the of clothing worn by followers of “female experience”

140 last item

Habermas, Jürgen (1929–) tion posted on the World German philosopher who Wide Web sees art as the force of change in cultural systems. hacktivism the use of hack- Habermas is widely known H ing for political or social for his critiques of the ten- purposes [blend of hacking dency of Western capitalist democra- and activism] cies to evaluate social progress in terms of economic efficiency. His halftone image produced by break- major works include Theorie und ing down photographs into a series of Praxis (1963; Theory and Practice, dots that appear as shades of gray on 1973), Erkenntis und Interesse (1968; a page Knowledge and Human Interests, 1971), Theorie des kommunikativen Hall, Stuart (1932–) influential Handelns (1981; A Theory of Com- media scholar who has become municative Action, 1984), and Der well-known as a major proponent of philosophische Diskurs der Moderne r e c e p t i o n t h e o ry , or the view that (1985; The Philosophical Discourse audiences are not passive consumers of Modernity, 1987). of media texts but, rather, selectors of them according to their particular habitus [term coined by Marcel preferences. Among his best-known Mauss and later used by Pi e r r e works are Encoding and Decoding Bo u r d i e u ] the ways in which soci- in Television Discourse (1973) and ety’s dominant classes talk, act, and Representation: Cultural Represen- behave. Noting that success in society tations and Signifying Practices (as depends largely on the individual’s editor, 1997). ability to absorb the habitus of the dominant class, Bourdieu suggested halo brand product brand that lends that it is similar to, but more funda- value to a company’s subbrands by mental than, knowing a language. association. The halo brand is also called the master brand. hacker 1. individual who uses his or her computer expertise to gain halo effect theory that the way some- unauthorized access to a computer one looks and acts can lead observers system or a site either to learn about to make unwarranted assumptions the system or to examine and/or about the person. For example, some- manipulate its data; 2. more gener- one who is unkempt and appears ally, an aficionado of information scruffily dressed might be judged technology (perhaps mistakenly) to be someone who would not be suitable for a hacker ethic view that users should white-collar job. In media studies, it have absolute free access to informa- is used to refer to the phenomenon of

141 hammocking viewers reporting not what they actu- hard sell aggressive methods of ally watched but what they believe advertising they should have watched. hardback book published with a hammocking technique of inserting rigid cover, usually more expensive a television program between two and in a larger format than paperback highly popular programs to boost its ratings hardcore 1. extreme form of a pop music style such as punk or hip-hop; hang time amount of time someone 2. sexual portrayal in movies that is spends visiting a Web site completely explicit

Haraway, Donna (1944–) important hardware [in contrast to software] feminist critic whose analyses of the the computer’s actual machinery cyborg have ignited a wide-ranging and equipment, including memory, debate on the amalgamation of hu- cabling, power supply, peripheral mans with technology and especially devices, and circuit boards. Hardware of the effects of this amalgamation specifies a computer’s capability; on women. Her most cited book is software instructs the computer what Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: to do. The Reinvention of Nature (1991). Harlequin traditional c o m m e d i a hard copy printed copy of a text, as d e l l ’a r t e character; a wily, unscru- opposed to electronic copy (con- pulous comic servant. By the early tained in a computer file or docu- seventeenth century Harlequin had ment) been transformed into a faithful valet involved in amorous exploits. He hard disc permanent storage disc in wore tight-fitting peasant clothes with a computer. The term is also used to colored patches decorated with bright refer to the entire hard drive. triangles and diamond shapes. He carried a slapstick and wore a black hard news news stories that are half-mask. designed to help audiences make intelligent decisions about an issue harmony 1. in music, two or more or event, with little accompanying tones used together and perceived as commentary pleasant-sounding; 2. chord structure and movement in a piece of music hard rock type of rock music that is (as distinguished from melody and characterized by loud guitar accom- rhythm) paniment and a strong insistent beat, with singing that often simulates a Hartley, John (1948–) influential form of shouting culture theorist, whose analyses

142 heavy viewer of television have become widely headline news newscast or channel quoted, particularly Reading Televi- that deals only with topical news and/ sion (written with John Fiske, 1978) or events that are currently taking place Hawthorne effect tendency of research subjects to give the type headphones pair of earphones joined of information that they believe is across the top of a listener’s head required by the researchers. More generally, it refers to how people headset headphones that have a small react to different situations and are microphone for two-way communica- influenced by factors in those situation, used by television producers, tions (such as the type of interview camerapersons, and others during used by researchers, the personality filming, taping, or broadcasting of the researchers, etc.). The term Hearst, Randolph (1863–1951) comes from the name of a factory one of the most prominent figures in called the Hawthorne Works, where the history of newspaper publishing a series of experiments were carried in the United States. Hearst helped out between 1924 and 1932. bring about the era of y e l l o w j o u r n a l i s m , employing circulation- Hays Code set of censorship guide- boosting tactics. In 1935 he owned lines for movies in the United States 28 major newspapers, 18 magazines, issued in 1934. Under severe criti- radio stations, movie companies, and cism, the Code was abandoned in news services. 1967 and replaced by a rating system. heavy metal rock music style HDTV [see high definition marked by amplified and sometimes television] distorted guitar “power chords,” a hard beat, a thumping bass, and an headend equipment that allows cable aggressive style of singing. Heavy subscribers to receive transmission metal emerged in the late 1960s from signals. The headend receives signals the heavy, blues-oriented music of from an antenna or antennas, process- Steppenwolf and Jimi Hendrix. In the es the signals, sending them through 1970s and 1980s bands such as Led the distribution system to customers. Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, headline 1. short title printed in Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, and Van heavier type at the top of a newspaper Halen developed the style further. article telling what it is about; 2. line printed at the top of a page giving heavy viewer person who watches the running title, page number, and television frequently and, for that possibly other information related to reason, is often included in target content study audiences

143 Hebdige, Dick

Hebdige, Dick (1951–) media analyst on the part of the dominant class in renowned for his studies of youth sub- a society to gain the consent of those cultures. His best-known book is Sub- who are dominated. The instruments culture: The Meaning of Style (1979). of hegemony range from outright coercion (incarceration, secret po- hedge redundant phrase used in lice, threats, physical elimination) to conversation, such as “I mean” and gentler and more “managerial” tactics “you know,” which nevertheless has (education, religion, control of the a communicative function, such as mass media). The concept of hegemo- making a statement less blunt or ny has found widespread use in media conveying personal assurance studies, where it is used to refer more to the cultural production of consent, hedonism ancient Greek philosophy rather than overt forms of coercion. that pleasure is the only true goal of life and that its pursuit is what Heidegger, Martin (1889–1976) motivates humans. British philoso- German philosopher who posited that phers Jeremy Bentham and James the individual living in a consumerist Mill and his son, John Stuart Mill, mass culture is always in danger of renamed the philosophy utilitarian- being deprived of a sense of self- ism, expanding it to encompass the worth. He called the resulting mental well-being of the greatest number of state nihilism. His most influential people, not just individuals. work, Sein und Zeit (1927; Being and Time), dealt with the fundamental Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich philosophical question of “being-in- (1770–1831) German philosopher the-world,” or “What is the meaning who defined a process of human of being?” His work had a significant progress (which became known as influence on French philosophers the Hegelian dialectic) that involved Mi c h e l Fo u c a u lt and Ja c q u e s the generation and interaction of op- De r r i d a . posing concepts. To understand any aspect of culture or the human condi- Helmholtz, Hermann von (1821– tion, one must retrace its origin and 1894) German physicist whose development through this process. research on the physics of sound His works include Phänomenologie ranked as the outstanding work of his des Geistes (1807; The Phenomenol- time in acoustics ogy of Mind), Wissenschaft der Logik (1812–1816; Science of Logic), and herd journalism practice of report- Grundlinien der Philosophie des ers staking out a house or following a Rechts (1821; Philosophy of Right). story in large groups hegemony [as defined by Italian Herder, Johann Gottfried von Marxist Antonio Gramsci] the efforts (1744–1803) German philosopher

144 hidden-fear appeal who claimed that national character 2. a view of history from the female is encoded in a people’s language perspective, as opposed to history = and literature. His Ideen zur Philoso- his story, or the conventional view of phie der Geschichte der Menschheit history from the standpoint of men (1784–1791; Outlines of a Phi- losophy of the History of Mankind) heterogeneous audience audience opened the way to the modern-day consisting of demographically di- systematic comparative study of verse members, that is, members who civilizations. differ in age, gender, education, class, ethnicity, religion, or another variable Herman and Chomsky’s propaganda model [as articulated by heteroglossia exposure to, or con- Edward Herman and No a m Ch o m - struction of, an unfamiliar language s k y in Manufacturing Consent: The or languages, implying new perspec- Political Economy of the Mass Media tives or new meanings (1988)] a model of news reporting that claims that the overriding con- heterophily differences of opin- sideration of news agencies is sup- ion, values, or viewpoints that arise porting the views of those in power, between two people conversing with thus essentially producing a form each other of propaganda rather than impartial news commentary heterotopia the different “social spaces” (features of language, deliv- hermeneutics 1. systematic study of ery, turn-taking sequences, etc.) that texts on the basis of their language arise surreptitiously and unconscious- and their history; 2. study of how ly between two people conversing people interpret texts. The essence with each other of hermeneutic method is to locate a text in the context of the times in heuristic 1. designed to facilitate which it was produced, not in terms learning (for example, a pedagogi- of current ideas and theories. cal method); 2. in computer science, a program that can adapt to user hero/heroine 1. personage, often su- instructions, activities, or responses pernatural or mythical, endowed with (for example, checking spelling and bravery and strength (in myth, the grammar) hero is remarkable for his or her bold exploits and is favored by the gods); hidden-fear appeal [also called 2. principal character in a work of scare copy] advertising technique fiction designed to promote such goods and services as insurance, fire alarms, herstory 1. the biography or study of a cosmetics, and vitamin capsules by particular woman or group of women; evoking the fear of poverty, sick-

145 hierarchy of effects ness, loss of social standing, and/or ated with f i n e a r t s such as classical impending disaster music, the ballet, opera, and painting, and low culture with popular spec- hierarchy of effects series of steps tacles such as wrestling and erotic by which consumers receive and use movies. This distinction raises the information in reaching decisions question of what cultural content is about whether or not to buy a prod- better or worse and, more important- uct. The steps include: awareness of ly, who has the right (if any) of de- the product, knowledge about it (and ciding so. In actual fact, most people the company that makes it), tastes can easily distinguish between the connected with it, preference, convic- two levels of culture. Great works of tion, and purchase. art foster engagement; many popular media artifacts, on the other hand, are hieratic flowing script (executed with designed solely to provide distraction reed pens on papyrus) developed by and entertainment, even though the the Egyptians around 2700 b.c.e. in dividing line between the two is often place of h i e r o g ly p h i c writing blurry indeed. Many of the forms intended originally for entertainment hieroglyphic ancient Egyptian writ- have themselves evolved into works ing system, originating around 3000 of art. Some pieces of jazz and rock b.c.e., based on stylized pictorial music, for example, are now listed symbols. These represented not only alongside the works of the great people, things, and ideas, but also classical composers. Some types of a few consonant sounds. The latest advertising, too, may be considered hieroglyphic writing dates from 394 artistically interesting. c.e. Hieroglyphic writing was deciphered after the discovery in 1799 of high definition television[abbrevi- the Rosetta Stone, a slab that had the ated as HDTV] television system same text in Greek and hieroglyphic that presents a picture that is wider writing. Jean François Champollion than conventional television screens compared the two, thus deciphering and has twice as many lines of scan- the hieroglyphs. ning for increased clarity and detail. HDTV uses digital technology to high-concept movie movie produced process the original signal, transmit with a large budget on the belief that it, and reproduce it in the television it can be easily marketed and turned set. In addition to providing digital into a commercial success high-resolution video, HDTV transmits a digital audio signal that results high culture vs. low culture distinc- in CD-quality sound. Essentially, tion made between forms of culture the technology used to create HDTV considered to be of greater or lesser produces picture and sound that rival worth. High culture is often associ- those found in movie theaters.

146 history technique in advertising hi-fi[abbreviation of high fidelity] reproduction of sound by a radio, CD player, or other device with as little distortion of the original sound as possible high-speed photography filmic technique in which consecutive multiple shots are taken quickly to capture an action that is too fast to be seen with the naked eye hip-hop youth-based music and lifestyle that emerged in African Ameri- can neighborhoods of New York in Hippies (also called “freaks”) in Los the 1970s, characterized originally Angeles in the summer of 1967 by rap music and breakdancing. Rap came to national prominence with their worldview. They let their hair Sugar Hill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight grow long and walked barefoot or (1979). In its original form, hip-hop wore sandals. Many used marijuana, combined spoken street language LSD, and other drugs. The Beatles with cuts, called samples, from older helped spread the hippie movement records. The themes of hip-hop lyrics with their songs, as did the Grateful originally revolved around political Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez, issues, racial discrimination, mas- and Bob Dylan, among other such culinity, and an implicit mockery of musicians of the era. the existing social order. Over time, hip-hop has become more melodic historicism 1. theory that forces and eclectic, incorporating elements beyond human control influence the from the blues, rhythm and blues, course of human history; 2. theory jazz, and soul. that each historical era develops its own unique forms of culture that can hippies counterculture youth of only be understood in context the 1960s and 1970s. The hippies rejected the traditions and lifestyles historiography study of history in of bourgeois (capitalist) society. They general, or of the history of a move- proclaimed a world based on love ment, era, trend, etc. and peace, strongly opposing the Vietnam War. Many lived together on history technique in advertising communes, refusing to be tied down technique whereby a significant to a fixed job. They were sometimes historical event is incorporated into called “flower children” because they the ad, either by allusion or by direct gave people flowers to symbolize reference

147 hit hit a record, play, movie, or other er to use the Internet; 2. the first page creative product that has become of a Web site that welcomes a user a success with both audiences and critics home video theater system composed of audio and video equipment hit rate number of occasions that a that recreates the movie theater Web site has been viewed by Internet experience in the home. The system users includes a large-screen television and a multi-speaker sound system. Hoggart, Richard (1918–) Ma r x i s t cultural theorist and founder of the homology in Marxist theory, view Centre for Contemporary Cultural that a media text is designed to de- Studies at the University of Birming- liver meaning in politically controlled ham. In The Uses of Literacy (1957), ways (either explicitly or implicitly) Hoggart laments the passing of true culture under the forces of capitalist- homophily situation in which based consumerist economics. interlocutors share the same values, ideas, beliefs, and worldview during Hollywood city originally founded dialogue, conversation, or other form by Horace Wilcox in 1887, a prohi- of verbal communication bitionist who envisioned a community based on religious principles. It hooks, bell (1952–) [written in was consolidated with Los Angeles lower-case style] prominent African in 1910 and became the center of American feminist critic (born Gloria the movie industry by 1915. By the Watkins) whose work on race and 1960s, it also was the source of much gender representations in the media American network television pro- have become topical and widely gramming. Web site: www quoted. Among her works are Black .hollywoodchamber.net Looks (1992) and Reel to Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies (1996). holography photography without lenses, whereby a three-dimensional horizontal integration acquisition image is recorded on a plate or film of a smaller company by a larger by laser, which splits into two beams, one, such as, for example, a large forming a pattern reflecting the shape newspaper taking over a smaller rival of the photographed object. When the newspaper pattern is exposed to light, a three- dimensional image (a hologram) is Horkheimer, Max (1895–1973) a formed. founding member of the Fr a n k - f u r t Sc h o o l . His Dialektik der home page 1. the page that is loaded Aufklärung (1947; Dialectic of En- when someone opens up their brows- lightenment), written with Th e o d o r

148 human interest

Ad o r n o , is a widely quoted work house music style of dance music, that traces the origins of modern-day derived from d i s c o m u s i c , using elec- totalitarianism to the Enlightenment tronic or synthesized sound effects concept of instrumental reason. house organ magazine published horror genre literary genre intended by a company for its employees and to provoke feelings of fear or shock. clients, containing information about Horror stories are of ancient origin the company, its products, and its and form a substantial part of folk employees literature. They may feature supernatural beings such as ghosts, witches, houses using television [abbreviated or vampires, or may address more re- as HUTs] percentage of homes watch- alistic psychological fears. In Western ing television during a specific time literature, the horror genre emerged period and within a specific region in the eighteenth century with the g o t h i c novel. The horror genre was html [abbreviation of hypertext also one of the first to become popular markup language] computer lan- in movies, remaining so to this day. guage that is used to prepare h y p e r - t e x t documents on the World Wide host 1. person who welcomes and Web. The text coding consists of speaks to invited guests on radio and commands in angle brackets < > that television programs; 2. in a computer affect the display of elements such as network, the main computer control- titles, headings, text, font style, color, ling functions and files; 3. computer and references to other documents. linking individual personal computers to the Internet http [abbreviation of hypertext transfer protocol] protocol used for hosting business of putting Web sites exchanging files on theW orld Wide onto the Internet Web. Web browsers are http clients that send file requests toW eb servers, hot in reference to a microphone, hot which in turn handle the requests via means that the microphone is “on” an http service. hot medium [in contrast to cold medium] Ma r s h a l l McLu h a n ’s huckster a publicity agent or writer term referring to any medium, such of advertising copy (usually used as a as film and radio, that requires little pejorative) interaction and interpretation on the part of an audience human interest reporting style that is designed to touch audiences emotion- hot spot building or area where ally on issues that are important to wireless Internet users can access an most people. Often a human-interest Internet connection story focuses on the trials and tribula-

149 humanism tions of ordinary humans caught in different identities (in contrast to the extraordinary predicaments construction of self on the basis of a single cultural model) humanism a cultural movement in Renaissance Europe, characterized hype exaggerated publicity strategy by a revival of classical letters, an for a movie, a program, a product, individualistic and critical spirit, and or a spectacle, designed to create a shift of emphasis from religious to excitement secular concerns hyperbole exaggerated statement humor state of producing or perceiv- used for effect and not meant to be ing something as funny, generally ac- taken literally: for example, Waves as companied by laughter. Humor takes high as mountains hit the beach many literary and media forms: wit is humor based on cleverness; satire hypercard software designed by deals with human weaknesses, making Apple that provides users with a fun of them; sarcasm is more nasty, of- processing tool consisting of “cards” ten taking the form of indirect stinging collected together in a “stack,” with commentary (That’s a lovely suit—too each card containing text, graphics, bad they didn’t have your size); irony and sound. implies the opposite of what is being said or done through understatement; hypercommercialism increasing the farce, slapstick, and buffoonery involve amount of advertising and blending it pranks and practical jokes; parody and into actual media content burlesque alter a story comically; and mimicry involves imitating someone hyperlink word, symbol, image, or else for comic effect. other form in a h y p e rt e x t document that “links,” or directly transfers the humor in advertising use of humor user, to another element in the docu- to make a product appealing, which ment or to another site. The hyperlink allows a brand to keep in step with is activated with a mouse click. changing times and with changing humor trends hypermedia information retrieval system used for accessing texts, HUTs [see houses using television] audio, video, etc., on the World Wide Web. A hypermedia navigation might hybrid combination of art forms, include links to music, opera, har- styles, or genres resulting in a new mony, composers, and musicology. form, style, or genre hyperreality the simulation of reality hybridity in cultural theory, the in media, perceived by some com- crossbreeding and intertwining of mentators as more authentic than ac-

150 hypothesis tual reality. The term is used often in hypertext markup language semiotics and psychology to portray [see html] the inability of people to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in hypertext transfer protocol [see http] technologically advanced societies. Some well-known theorists of hyper- hypodermic needle theory in media reality include semioticians Jean Bau- studies, a theory that the mass media drillard and Umberto Eco. The main can directly influence behavior. The thrust of hyperreality theory is that theory claims that media are capable the real world has been replaced by a of directly swaying minds with the copy world, where we seek simula- same kind of impact that a hypo- tion for its own sake. For example, dermic needle has on the body. This life within a theme park such as Dis- theory is now largely discredited. It neyland allows people to engage in has been found, for example, that me- the fantasy worlds such a park creates dia impacts are indirect and are often and live through them temporarily. mediated by group leaders. People of The problem, argue Baudrillard and different social classes come up with Eco, is that such hyperreal experienc- different interpretations of media es start to dominate consciousness, products, tending to perceive them as making it difficult for many humans interpretive communities. However, to distinguish between the simulation this theory is still used by some to and its object of representation. This claim that people are influenced by theme is, incidentally, intrinsic in the what they watch on TV, to variable 1999 movie The Matrix. degrees. hypertext system of storing text, im- hypothesis an assertion that is as- ages, and other files that allows for sumed to be valid or true because it links to related text, images, etc. The seems likely to be so; a hypothesis term surfaced in 1965. Hypertext is usually set forth as an assump- makes it easy for users to browse tion that must be tested and proved. through related topics, regardless The term is used in social scientific of their presented order. In Internet research on media primarily in the browsers, hypertext links (hotlinks, expression hypothesis testing, a or h y p e r l i n k s ) are usually indi- method of assuming an hypothesis cated by a word or phrase with a (for example, television induces vio- different font or color. These create lence) and then conducting a study or a branching structure that permits experiment to ascertain if the hy- direct, unmediated jumps to related pothesis is true or false (and to what information. degree it is so).

151 first item

IBM [see International s u p e r e g o . The id is defined Business Machines] as part of the unconscious, where instinctual drives IBOC [see in-band-on- and accumulated memories channel] I exist, influencing behavior reflexively. iceberg principle in advertising, a principle claiming that advertising idealism philosophical theory that should aim its messages at the strong physical reality does not exist inde- needs and desires that lie hidden pendently of human minds, which deep within the psyche, in analogy filter it accordingly. Idealism is the to an iceberg that is only 10 percent opposite of both materialism, which visible, with the remainder hidden claims that mental consciousness is below the water a purely physical phenomenon, and realism, which claims that physi- icon 1. sign or symbol resembling cal reality is independent of human its referent (e.g., a star figure stand- minds and can be understood objec- ing for a star); 2. a visual image; 3. tively through the senses. Idealism picture of a sacred personage; 4. a starts with Plato, who maintained person in pop culture who is revered that the ideas produced by the mind (e.g., a celebrity); 5. picture on a imperfectly mirror physical reality. computer screen standing for a spe- In the eighteenth century Irish phi- cific command, function, etc. (e.g., losopher George Berkeley extended icon of a file folder) Plato’s concept by claiming, essentially, that nothing exists outside iconography 1. the imagery used in the mind, since it is the mind that a work of art or a body of works; 2. classifies matter and not matter itself. study of art that focuses on i c o n s or German philosopher Immanuel Kant symbols in painting and sculpture. also claimed that the properties of Icons of pagan gods have been found human perception shape how reality as far back as 3000 b.c.e. in the is understood. In contrast, G.W.F. Middle East. Iconography became a Hegel believed that the human mind main aspect of the Eastern Orthodox was capable of truly understanding Churches, where icons are painted reality as it is, not as it is perceived. according to rules established by ecclesiastical authorities. ideational function of language use of language to express or construct iconoscope tube first television cam- ideas era tube, developed in 1923 ident visual image identifying id in psychoanalytic theory, the in- a channel that is inserted briefly stincts, in contrast to the e g o and the between television programs

152 illuminated manuscripts identification1. form of unconscious imitation on the part of people of what they have seen or heard in the media; 2. ability of audiences to identify emotionally with fictional characters ideogram 1. picture sign representing an object or idea, rather than a word: $ = dollars; & = and ideological criticism critical reading of a text from a specific ideological perspective, that is, from the standpoint of a specific set of assumptions, beliefs, or viewpoints ideological state apparatus in Marx- ist theory, ways in which a society imposes an i d e o l o g y on its members, either by coercion or persuasion ideology system of thought based Illuminated manuscript on a specific set of assumptions, beliefs, or viewpoints that appears patterns, tone of voice, and typical to be a product of common sense, choice of words but which is actually socially constructed. Those strongly committed idiom expression that cannot be un- to a particular ideology have diffi- derstood from the individual mean- culty understanding and communicat- ings of its words, but in its totality: ing with supporters of a conflicting to be born with a silver spoon in ideology. For Ka r l Ma r x , ideology one’s mouth; to go on a wild goose referred to the ideas and values of the chase ruling classes, which are reproduced by the dominant social institutions idol 1. image or statue of a deity used (the law, family, religion, education). as an object of worship; 2. by exten- The term was coined in 1796 by the sion, any celebrity who is worshipped French writer Antoine-Louis-Claude, by certain types of fans: a teen idol, a Comte Destutt de Tracy to describe matinee idol, etc. his “science of ideas.” illuminated manuscripts books idiolect an individual’s manner of written and illustrated by hand, with speaking, including pronunciation bright colors and precious metals.

153 illusion

image advertising advertising aiming to make a brand or company name easily remembered, that is, to transform it into an i m a g e

image map graphic image on a Web An illusion form site that has h y p e r l i n k s in it that link to another Web page Illuminated manuscripts were created as objects of luxury during the medi- image processing computer analysis of eval and Renaissance eras. an image, identifying its components illusion form (drawing, figure, photo) image schema [introduced by that produces an erroneous percep- American linguist George Lakoff and tion. People are typically fooled into American philosopher Mark Johnson] seeing AB as longer than CD, even in linguistics and media studies, recur- though it is not. Called the Müller- ring abstract images that guide lan- Lyer illusion, it is caused in all guage and perception. These function likelihood by the fact that people are to compress sensory information into accustomed to interpreting outward- general patterns. For example, image extending arrowheads as increasing schemas derived from the experience the length of lines and, vice versa, of orientation—up vs. down, back vs. to interpreting inward-extending ar- front, near vs. far—can be detected rowheads as decreasing the length of in such expressions as: I’m feeling up lines. In cultures where such drawing today; We are getting closer to each techniques do not exist, it has been other every day; He’s at the top of his found that the illusion does not occur. class; and She’s near her goal. illusionism 1. techniques designed imagery 1. picture formed in the to make representations resemble mind; 2. comparisons, descriptions, reality; 2. techniques that produce and figures of speech that help the illusions; 3. stage magic mind form images; 3. expressive im- illustration picture, figure, or ages used in art and media diagram used to explain or decorate something, especially written text imagined community idea that media audiences form abstract IM [see instant messaging] communities in the “mediasphere” according to shared beliefs and image 1. mental picture; 2. public ideas that influence how they view of something or someone, often interpret the media. The term was intentionally instigated by advertising coined by the American scholar or propaganda Benedict Anderson.

154 impressionism

Impression, Sunrise (1872) by Claude Monet imaging system software capable of imperative form in advertising digitizing images technique consisting in the use of the imperative form of verbs, creating IMAX trade name for a large-format the sense that an authoritative source movie projection system with three- is giving advice: for example, Just do dimensional technology it! (Nike); Have a Bud! (Budweiser)

IMC [see integrated marketing imperialism 1. extending power communications] and dominion, either by invasion or by gaining political and economic immediacy view that a news story control; 2. by extension, the spread of will have greater impact if it refers to a particular type of media fare (such a recent or ongoing event as American media) to other areas of the world impact scheduling practice of running advertisements for a product close impressionism art style emerging in together (on radio or television) so as to France in the 1870s, characterized make a strong impact on audiences by rich hues that allow the painter to convey an “impression,” rather than impartiality being completely objective a realistic or exact representation, of and uninvolved in reporting the news light and form. The subject matter

155 impulse pay-per-view of impressionists consisted of the independent phone companies local objects of everyday life (landscapes, service telephone companies that street scenes, etc.). The principal are not affiliated with a major phone artists of the movement were Claude company Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Édouard in-depth reporting news report- Manet, and Camille Pissarro. ing that goes into detail and is well researched impulse pay-per-view pay-per-view television service that makes it pos- index 1. list of the contents of a print sible to order programs on the spot, publication; 2. in semiotics, sign without advance reservation whose function is pointing out something real or imaginary in temporal, in-band-on-channel [abbreviated as spatial, or relational terms; for ex- IBOC] digital radio technology that ample, the index finger; words such allows for the integrated use of digi- as this or that and here or there. tal and analog signal transmissions indicator any nonverbal cue used incentive marketing strategy, such during conversation, such as a frown, as the giving away of free gifts, de- scratching the head, folding the arms, signed to provide a favorable image nodding, etc. of the product or company indie [abbreviation of independent] incidental music music composed to any production or broadcast compa- be played at the same time as some ny, group, or individual not tied to a action in a film, play, or television mainstream studio, network, or media program organization indecency in broadcasting, any individualism belief or social theory material that depicts sexual or other maintaining that a single individual’s biological activities in ways deemed freedom is as important as the wel- unacceptable by community stan- fare of entire groups, communities, dards societies, and the like independent film[abbreviated as indoctrination any forcible imposi- indie] any film that is not produced tion (overt or covert) of a particular by a major studio, but by an “inde- system of values and beliefs pendent” producer, company, etc. induction [in contrast to abduc- independent media media outlets tion and deduction] logical process not tied to a major network or large of reaching a general conclusion media system on the basis of particular facts; for

156 information processing model example, if one measures the num- est amount of information because it ber of degrees in a large number of has a lower probability of (expected) triangles (in the plane), one comes to occurrence. the induction that there must be 180° in all triangles—a conclusion that information architecture methods remains valid unless or until proved used in designing a Web site differently information blizzards information industrial advertising advertising to overload to which people are exposed businesses, rather than to individuals by media, which is difficult to digest and reflect upon infoholic individual who has become obsessed with information, seeking information gap disparity in access it out constantly, especially on the to information among individuals and Internet groups infomediary Web site where special- information highway 1. computer ized information is available network, such as the Internet, linking many users, making it possible infomercial [blend of information to transfer information quickly and commercial] extended television and broadly; 2. circulation of both commercial that mimics a television personal communication and mass program. Often infomercials feature media through new technologies celebrities who advertise a product in talk show style. information line line of text running across a computer screen providing infonesia [blend of information and information about the program being amnesia] inability to remember a executed or the file being used piece of information or its location information management task of on the Internet controlling information and its flow within an organization or system information 1. anything that can be perceived, accessed, stored, and information overload according to retrieved; 2. measure of the prob- one view, the excess information that ability that a message will occur. If a information t e c h n o l o g y has pro- message is expected with 100 percent duced, which is too much for people certainty, its information value is to use intelligently or even practical- 0. For example, in a house alarm ly, and which may have deleterious system, the “no ringing” state is the effects on social systems expected one and, thus, the one that carries this value; the “ringing” state, information processing model ad- on the other hand, carries the high- vertising model evaluating the effects

157 information retrieval of an advertising strategy directed at uses are, etc. Perhaps the first true audiences who are identified as being theory of information was the one put effective in processing information forward by Cl a u d e Sh a n n o n in the late 1940s, known as the b u l l ’s-e y e information retrieval process of m o d e l , because it depicts informa- using or manipulating a database in tion transfer as a closed system order to extract some specific infor- between a sender directing a mes- mation from it sage at a receiver as if he or she were a bull’s-eye target. Although many information science science that have since been critical of the uses concerns the production, compila- of this model to explain how human tion, structuring, storage, retrieval, communication works, its general and propagation of information . outline and corollary notions, espe- The field is interdisciplinary, utiliz- cially that of f e e d b a c k , have proved ing ideas and techniques from other to be useful in all areas of communi- cognate disciplines (computer sci- cation science. ence, linguistics, etc.). Today, most of the research within the field revolves information worker individual who around how to use computer-based works with information in some way, methods in the organization of in- such as creating Web pages or con- formation. It also includes the study structing computer databases of bibliometrics, the discipline that measures such things as the growth informational appeal advertising or decline in the number of books on technique describing the demonstra- a specific topic. ble characteristics of a product (how it works, how it is made, and so on) information society world order in which the exchange of information infotainment [blend of information (more than goods) shapes social and and entertainment] television or economic systems other media form of entertainment based on presenting factual informa- information superhighway [variant tion in an engaging way of information highway] inherent drama advertising utilizing information technology range of a mini-drama style that emphasizes computer-based media systems and the benefits that accrue from purchas- telecommunication, including radio, ing a product, such as the nutritional television, print, and the Internet value of a food or the gas-saving quality of a car information theory any theory attempting to explain what informa- inheritance factor tendency for tion is, how it is processed, what its ratings of a program to rise if it is

158 im aired after a popular program; the achieve an output, that is, a desired rise is said to be “inherited” from the result preceding program input hardware computer devices in-house agency advertising agency or systems that allow for information that is owned and operated by a to be introduced into a computer, company to manage its advertising including a mouse, a keyboard, an program optical scanner, a voice recognition module, and the like. in-line graphic image that is part of a Web page inquiry test in advertising, a test measuring the effectiveness of an ad Innis, Harold (1894–1952) Canadian or ad campaign based on responses historian famous for his studies of the to it interrelation between culture, media, and technology. Innis divided media insert shot close-up shot of a into time-biased and space-biased headline or some other item that is media. The former include handwrit- inserted into a filmed scene in order ten and oral media that are intended to show the viewer what a character to last for many generations, but are in the scene can see used in relatively small communities; the latter include most of the modern inside back cover page on the inside electronic and print media, which are of the back cover of a publication that designed to reach as many people can be used for advertising and vari- as possible, but will typically not ous information-providing purposes last long in time. While time-biased media favor a sense of community, inside story reportage based on the space-biased media favor commer- firsthand experiences of those who cialism and imperialism. Among his are inside a company or organization most important works are Empire and in the news Communications (1950); The Bias of Communication (1951); and The instant book in the book industry, Strategy of Culture (1952). strategy of publishing a topical book as quickly as possible after a major inoculation effect ability of audiences news story to resist being persuaded by a commercial, a news program, etc., if they instant messaging [abbreviated as are warned beforehand that an attempt IM] real-time communication be- to persuade them is about to occur tween two or more people based on typed text, which is transmitted via input information introduced into a the Internet. An early form of IM was computer system that allows a user to used on private computer networks

159 instant replay such as the Plato system of the early intellectual property are trademarks, 1970s. IM systems were used by patents, and copyright. engineers and academics in the 1980s and 1990s to communicate across the Intelsat [see International Internet. IM became a popular form Telecommunications Satellite of communication after mobile IM Organization] devices, such as palm pilots, came onto the market en masse. interactive any piece of software or computer system that allows easy instant replay playback of a video, communication between the user and often in slow motion, to show a par- computer ticular moment in a sports event on television interactive advertising advertising that is sensitive and thus adaptive to institution in media studies, the input from the audience through the social, cultural, and political sys- Internet tems within which a media system operates interactive media media that allow for two-way communication be- institutional advertising the promo- tween the media and users (such as tion of an organization rather than a viewers), enabling users to obtain product responses in real time integrated information response interactive multimedia multimedia model claim that product acceptance system that allows users to control a is not necessarily a result of advertis- program, or else to control the way a ing’s effect on the way the product program works is perceived, but rather that product acceptance will tend to increase after interactive television [abbreviated as the product has been tried ITV] system integrating television, telephone, and Internet systems to integrated marketing communica- deliver a wide range of choices to a tions [abbreviated as IMC] market- viewing audience ing campaign that integrates public relations strategies, advertising, and interactivity ability to participate other aspects together for greater ef- in, or control, media products, rather fectiveness in product promotion than passively receive them intellectual property original work intercultural communication com- that was created, and thus belongs to, munication between people from dif- an individual, institution, or compa- ferent social, linguistic, and cultural ny. The main methods used to protect backgrounds

160 internet intercutting going back and forth in the late nineteenth century by the between filmed scenes or shots of International Phonetic Association, to actions occurring at different time make it possible to represent sounds periods to give the impression that as accurately and consistently as pos- they are simultaneous sible. For example, [k] stands for the same sound represented alternatively interdiction technology technology by the alphabet characters k, ch, and that descrambles pay channel cable q in English: keen, school, quiet. television signals International Telecommunications interface software that allows com- Satellite Organization [abbreviated munication between a computer as Intelsat] world’s first commercial and a user, including commands, satellite operator, established in 1965. prompts, and other such devices. The Web site: www.intelsat.com term is also used to refer to hardware (cards, plugs, and other devices) internaut an Internet user, especially that allows the computer to move a regular one information. Internet the “network of networks” interference unwanted signals from that connects millions (perhaps bil- other sources, disrupting radio or lions) of computers around the world. television reception Networks connected to the Internet use a common protocol, TCP/IP interjection sound or expression (Transmission Control Protocol/Inter- conveying a strong emotion: Yikes! net Protocol), which allows them to Wow! have unique addresses and to communicate easily with one another. intermercials commercials that run The Internet grew out of a Defense while users are waiting for a Web Department program called ARPA- page to download NET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in International Business Machines 1969 with connections between [abbreviated as IBM] computer man- computers at the University of ufacturer, headquartered in Armonk, California at Los Angeles, Stanford New York, incorporated in 1911 as Research Institute, the University of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording California–Santa Barbara, and the Co. It chose its present name in 1924. University of Utah. ARPANET was Web site: www.ibm.com used by researchers and especially to provide a secure communications International Phonetic Alphabet system in case of war. As the network [abbreviated as IPA] list of more than expanded, academics and researchers 80 phonetic symbols, first devised in other fields began to use it as well.

161 Internet protocol

In 1971 the first program for send- air radio broadcasts over the World ing e-mail over a distributed network Wide Web, or else creates its own was developed. By 1973, the year programming international connections to ARPA- NET were made, e-mail represented Internet relay chat software that most of the traffic on ARPANET. allows Internet users to join conver- The 1970s also saw the develop- sations or chats organized in an infor- ment of the TCP/IP communications mal way around particular subjects at protocols, which were adopted as specificW eb sites standard protocols, leading to the widespread use of the term Internet. Internet service provider [abbrevi- In 1984 the domain name addressing ated as ISP] company that provides system (.com, .net, and the like) was Internet connections and services. introduced. In 1988 real-time com- ISPs provide computer users with a munication over the Internet became connection to their site, as well as possible with the development of In- a log-in name and password. They ternet Relay Chat protocols. In 1989 may also provide software packages, the Wo r l d Wi d e We b was created, e-mail accounts, and a personal Web leading to the proliferation of Web site. ISPs are all connected to each sites and users by the mid-1990s. By other through network access points 1997 there were more than 10 million (public network facilities on the hosts on the Internet and more than Internet backbone). one million registered domain names. Internet access can now be gained via Internet telephony system that al- radio signals, cable-television lines, lows users to make phone calls using satellites, and fiber-optic connections, the Internet. To make calls, users in addition to the public telecommu- need to install a sound card, micro- nications network. phone, and loudspeaker in their computers, along with special software Internet protocol standard that that manages the system allows digital computers to communicate over long distances. On the Internet television online television Internet, information is broken down station that either simulcasts versions into small packets, sent individually of on-air television broadcasts over over different routes at the same time, the World Wide Web, or else creates and then reassembled at the receiving its own programming end. Protocols collect and reassemble the packets and then send them to the interpellation [term coined by desired destination. Lo u i s A lt h u s s e r ] in Marxist theory, style or register in which people are Internet radio online radio station addressed in conversation, which that either simulcasts versions of on- relates to their position in society.

162 intranet interpersonal communication intertextuality interrelation of a text exchange of information between (such as a novel) with other texts individuals, using not only language, external to it (such as a religious text, but also other modes, such as gesture, a scientific text, etc.). An external body posture, and so on text can be cited directly (as in a bibliographic reference in a scholarly interpersonal framing signals that paper) or indirectly, as for example, inform people who are talking to each Homer’s Odyssey in James Joyce’s other whether or not the conversation Ulysses. In advertising, intertextual- is serious and what purpose it has ity involves allusions to pop culture, other ads, and the like. interpersonal function of language use of language to bond with others, intervention video fictional or as opposed to its use for exchanging documentary video produced to raise information awareness about a specific social or political issue interpretant [term coined by Charles Peirce] the meaning that interview encounter during which someone perceives from a sign a journalist or a radio or television announcer asks someone relevant interpretation 1. deciphering what questions about a topic something means; 2. an individual’s understanding and/or execution of intimization technique of making a a work (of art, music, or theater) news story more appealing by adapt- through acting, performing, etc. (for ing it to reflect widely held views or example, a pianist’s interpretation of beliefs on the part of audiences Bach’s preludes and fugues) intonation melodic patterns built interpretive community group of into utterances for specific effects or people who interpret a text or media communicative purposes (to express product homogeneously surprise, doubtfulness, etc.). In many languages, intonation also serves a interpretive journalism news report- grammatical function, distinguishing that explains events in the light of ing one type of phrase or sentence broader social or philosophical issues from another. Thus, You like it is an assertion when spoken with a drop in interstitial advertisement in cy- pitch at the end, but a question when beradvertising (advertising online), spoken with a rise in pitch at the end. use of images that seem to appear and disappear mysteriously on the intranet private computer network, screen as users click from one Web providing members with Internet and page to the next World Wide Web features, such as

163 intransient advertisement e-mail and Web pages. By sealing the IP terminal special unit that allows intranet off from the larger Internet, users to create and edit video before people can protect information from transmitting it to the main page unwanted and possibly criminal sources. As security issues have IPA [see International Phonetic arisen around the Internet, intranets Alphabet] have gained in popularity, particularly among businesses. iPod trade name for a portable device designed and marketed by Apple intransient advertisement adver- Computer onto which users can tisement that the target audience can download music or programs; keep; for example, the ads in news by extension, any such device papers and magazines irony amusing or subtly mocking intrapersonal communication phrase or statement in which the internal dialogue (talking to literal meaning stands in opposi- oneself) tion to the intended meaning. For example, if an opera singer goes inverted-pyramid style reporting off key a few times, someone in the style in which news stories are struc- audience might shout out ironically tured and presented, starting with “You sure know the song well!” By the most important items and ending extension, the term is used to refer with a short background piece to any mocking or incongruous text or performance. For example, when investigative reporting type of a character knows something that reporting in which a journalist does the other characters do not know, a research to expose someone or sense of irony is evoked. In Oedipus something for engaging in incorrect Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus kills a behavior and to reveal who is trying man, not knowing that the man is his to cover it up father Laius. Oedipus puts a curse on Laius’s killer. The irony is that he has invisibility underrepresentation unsuspectingly cursed himself. of certain minority groups by the mainstream media, thus making ISP [see Internet service provider] them “invisible” to the majority of audiences ITV [see interactive television]

164 jung, carl gustav

Jakobson, Roman (1896– gam of several styles in 1982) Moscow-born Ameri- New Orleans at the start of can linguist well-known for the 1900s, including West his work on communication African music, black folk theory, often quoted in me- J music, and light classical dia studies. Jakobson saw music popular in the late language as an adaptive communica- nineteenth century. Most early jazz tive instrument serving human needs was played by small marching bands and whims, and influenced by the or by solo pianists. In 1917 a group structure of cultural codes. A com- of white New Orleans musicians prehensive collection of his writings called the Original Dixieland Jazz can be found in Selected Writings Band recorded a jazz phonograph (1971–1982). record, creating a sensation; the term “Dixieland jazz” was immediately at- Jameson, Frederic (1934–) promi- tached to it. In 1922 the New Orleans nent Marxist theorist well-known Rhythm Kings, and in 1923 the Cre- for his works on p ostmodernism . ole Jazz Band, led by cornetist King Among his most influential books are Oliver, became popular throughout Marxism and Form: Twentieth Cen- the United States. The term “cool tury Dialectical Theories of Litera- jazz” surfaced 1948, when tenor ture (1971) and Postmodernism, or saxophonist Stan Getz recorded a the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism slow, romantic solo of Ralph Burns’s (1991). composition Early Autumn with the Woody Herman band. This style was jargon specialized vocabulary used adopted by a group of young musi- typically by members of a profession cians that included Miles Davis, Lee or line of work (doctors, musicians, Konitz, Gerry Mulligan, and arranger psychologists, etc.): for example, Gil Evans. Their recordings empha- perorbital hematoma = black eye, in sized a lagging beat, soft instrumental medicine; licorice stick = clarinet, sounds, and unusual orchestrations among jazz musicians. By extension, that included the French horn and the any form of pretentious or hollow tuba. The recordings, with Davis as language. leader, were later released as Birth of the Cool. Java programming language used to create tiny programs that give addi- jazz journalism lively form of popu- tional versatility to Web page design lar tabloid journalism of the 1920s jazz musical form, often improvisa- Jensen, Klaus Bruhn (1956–) tional, developed by African Ameri- expert on the research methodolo- cans. The specific origins of jazz are gies used in communication theory, not known. It emerged as an amal- often quoted on matters regarding

165 jingle the use of such methodologies in the and related commentary through me- field. His most cited book is Hand- dia. The term was originally applied book of Qualitative Methodologies to the reportage of current events in for Mass Communication Research printed form, specifically newspa- (1991; coauthored with Nicholas W. pers, but it now includes electronic Jankowski). forms as well (radio journalism, television journalism, online journalism). jingle brief and catchy piece of music, composed to advertise a product journalist person whose job it is to or to identify a station or a presenter write for a newspaper or magazine, or to prepare news for radio, television, jive jazz-based swing dance popular or Web broadcasting in the 1930s and 1940s joystick handheld control lever hav- JOA [see joint operating ing an upright stick on a pivot, used agreement] to play computer games joint operating agreement [abbrevi- jpeg [see Joint Photographic Ex- ated as JOA] agreement that allows a perts Group] failing newspaper to merge aspects of its operations with a successful com- jukebox machine that plays records petitor, as long as its editorial and when a coin is inserted, invented in journalistic operations and perspec- 1906. The term jukebox referred to tives remain unaltered the original kinds of places that maintained such machines, called “juke Joint Photographic Experts Group joints.” By 1941 there were nearly [abbreviated as jpeg] computer 400,000 jukeboxes in the United format for images that allows users to States. The jukebox became an icon compress data, albeit with some loss of the early rock culture of the 1950s, of quality soon after the Seeburg Company produced the first jukeboxes in 1950 journal magazine or periodical to play 45 rpm singles. that deals with an area of special or specialized interest, generally pub- jump cut cut from one shot in a film lished by a professional body for its to another similar shot within the members same footage, giving the impression that something has jumped, thus forc- journalese type of communication ing the audience to reflect on what style characteristic of journalists had occurred just before. journalism writing, collection, jumpstation Web site that provides preparation, and distribution of news links to other Web sites

166 junk mail

Jung, Carl Gustav (1875–1961) is an archetype found in rituals, Swiss psychiatrist whose concept of sculptures, and other representa- the a r c h e t y p e has become widely tional forms throughout time used in media and advertising stud- and across cultures, normally as ies. Jung saw archetypes as uncon- a symbol of reproduction or of scious thought patterns shared by masculinity. all humanity, which gain expression in the various symbols and forms junk mail unsolicited advertising (myths, tales, fantasies, rituals, etc.) and promotional material that arrives that embody them across cultures: through the mail and through the for instance, the phallus figure Internet

167 first item

Kant, Immanuel Kennedy went on to win the (1724–1804) German election; a debate emerged philosopher, famous for his in media studies shortly theory of knowledge. In his thereafter on the effects of Kritik der reinen Vernunft K television on viewers. (1781; Critique of Pure Reason), for example, Kant discusses keyboarder person whose job it is to the nature of knowledge in math- input data in a computer ematics and physics, arguing that the propositions of mathematics encode keyed advertisement advertisement real experience, reflecting the mind’s that asks its viewers to write down a unique ability to grasp reality and then specially coded address that will in- formalize this grasp through formal dicate where they saw it, thus helping categories (such as propositions). advertisers glean the effectiveness of advertising in a particular newspaper karaoke form of entertainment in or magazine which people sing popular songs accompanied by pre-recorded music, kidvid video aimed at children played by a machine that may also display the words on a screen kilobyte unit of computer memory equivalent to 1,024 b y t e s Katz, Elihu (1926–) eminent media scholar who co-created the t w o - kinescope early television pic- s t e p f l o w t h e o ry model of media ture tube developed by Vl a d i m i r processing. Among his most influen- Zw o r k y n for RCA tial works are The Export of Meaning (1990) and Media Events: The Live kinesics study of body language, Broadcasting of History (1992). that is, postures, gestures, touch patterns, and the like and the mes- Kennedy-Nixon TV debate famous sages that they convey during human television debate between Richard interaction. Kinesic communication M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy that is partly based on innate signaling turned the 1960 U.S. presidential systems, but in larger part on cultural election in favor of Kennedy. People traditions (handshaking, touching, who heard the debate on radio main- etc.). tained that Nixon had won it, coming across as the better candidate; those kinetoscope parlors early movie who saw it on television claimed the parlors that used a motion picture opposite. Nixon looked disheveled device called a kinetoscope, which and worried; Kennedy looked confi- was encased in a wooden cabinet dent and came across as a young and and which could be viewed through handsome “president of the future.” a slit

168 Kuleshov effect

KISS [full form: keep it short and Kristeva, Julia (1941–) Bulgarian- simple] advertising philosophy that born French feminist scholar whose the best type of advertising message work on intertextuality is widely is one that is concise and clear quoted. Using psychoanalytic theory, Kristeva has also been concerned kitsch a form of entertainment or art with the representation of otherness, that is considered to be in poor taste especially in horror films. One of her or lacking aesthetic quality most quoted books is Language: The Unknown (1989). knowledge gap view that those who already are knowledgeable (educated, Kuleshov effect theory, proposed well-informed) receive more benefit by Russian film theorist Lev Kule- from the media and new informa- shov, that a single shot or piece of tion technologies than those who film can be given a different interpre- are not—hence the formation of a tation when shown next to another “knowledge gap” between the two one

169 first item label 1. the identifying ele- communicators or readers ment of a product, package, to focus on specific items in or other item; 2. trademark utterances without impair- used by a record company: ing overall understanding; for example, the RCA label, L the latter, on the other hand, the Naxos label cannot be broken down and detached without impairing the Lacan, Jacques (1901–1981) French meaning—one cannot focus on a note psychoanalyst who claimed that the in a piece of music without destroy- unconscious part of an individual’s ing its sense. mind reflects the structure of the language he or she speaks. Lacan also language [from Latin lingua, mean- divided the psyche into three levels— ing “tongue”] as its etymology the imaginary, the symbolic, and the suggests, language can be defined real. His ideas have recently been as the “use of the tongue” to create applied to the study of pop culture, meaning-bearing forms called words, which is portrayed as a symbolic phrases, and sentences. Wherever bridge between the imaginary and the there are humans, there is language. real world. His major concepts are And all languages serve humans in found in Écrits: The First Complete similar ways, such as naming (and Edition in English (2006). thus classifying) the things of reality that are relevant and meaningful to lampoon satirical work designed to them. There are about 6,000 lan- ridicule something or someone. One guages spoken in the world today, of the best-known U.S. publications not including dialects (local forms written in the style of a lampoon is of a language); of these, only around Mad Magazine. 200 languages have a million or more speakers. All languages share five LAN [see local area network] basic characteristics: (1) distinctive sounds, known as phonemes, which landing page Web page where a user are used to signal differences in arrives, normally via a h y p e r l i n k meaning; (2) meaning-bearing units known as morphemes; (3) grammati- Langer, Susanne (1895–1985) cal structure (rules for combining American philosopher often quoted morphemes into larger forms called in media studies because of the sentences and utterances); (4) strate- important distinction she made gies for using language in various between the discursive symbols used personal and social ways; and (5) in language and the nondiscursive or resources for making new words and, presentational ones used in various thus, new meanings. Most languages forms of art. The former possess the use from 20 to 60 vocal sounds to property of detachment, allowing make their words, indicating that

170 late night vocal sounds are not meaningful with an appropriate move, and so on. elements in themselves, but rather Analogously, the ability to speak and that they are building blocks in the understand a language is dependent constitution of larger structures (such upon knowing the language game as words). Words are units of sounds itself (langue); whereas the actual use that have meaning, standing for of langue in specific social situations objects, actions, or ideas. Grammati- depends upon psychological, social, cal structure is the manner in which and communicative factors. He called words are related to each other to the latter parole. form larger units of meaning such as sentences. The strategies for using a LAPS test [full form: literary, language for various purposes, such artistic, political, scientific value as communication and representation, test] a standard of obscenity estab- are the result of traditions that are lished in Miller v. California (1973), deemed important by a speech com- whereby a work is considered to be munity. Finally, language provides obscene if it lacks serious literary, the means through which people can artistic, political, or scientific value. adapt creatively to new situations and In the late 1960s a California court experiences. Every time we come up found Marvin Miller guilty of send- with a new word, we are acknowl- ing obscene unsolicited advertising edging that a small part of the world material through the mail. In 1973 has changed. the case reached the Supreme Court; the Court ruled that states may censor language pollution use of language material if they apply the LAPS test. to confuse or mislead As a result, standards for obscenity differ widely in different parts of the langue [term coined by Ferdinand country. de Saussure] native speakers’ unconscious knowledge of the structure Lasswell’s model of communica- of the language they speak. Saussure tion a model of communication compared langue to the rules of theory formulated in 1948 by Harold chess. No matter how well or poorly Lasswell, which stipulates that the someone plays, his or her ability to roles played by the communicants, play chess in the first place is depen- the nature of the channels they are dent on an unconscious knowledge using, what they are saying, to whom of the chess game itself. Now, the they are saying it, and the effect it is actual moves he or she makes dur- supposed to make are pivotal factors ing a specific chess game depend in shaping the message that is com- on factors that are external to this municated knowledge, involving how best to respond to an opponent’s moves, relate night time period in radio and lying on past experience to come up television scheduling after p r i m e

171 latency t i m e , and thus late at night, charac- pioneered the study of the effects terized by programming with contro- of media on audiences. With El i h u versial and/or bawdy content Ka t z , he created the t w o -s t e p f l o w model. His most important work is latency period of dormancy in which The People’s Choice: How the Voter a complex of thoughts, feelings, or Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential mental images remain undeveloped Campaign (1944). or unexpressed; 2. amount of time it takes data to move across an Internet lead 1. main story on the front page connection of a newspaper; 2. main role in a play, movie, or program Latin American music popular music genres created by Latin American lead-in introductory piece before artists, such as the tango, the rumba, a program or segment on radio or the samba, the salsa, and others. Lat- television in American music has always had an important influence on the popular leak disclosure of confidential infor- music of the United States. Since the mation to the media 1950s, a number of Latin American rock music performers have injected leased channels in cable television, a Latin American style into rock channels that allow customers to buy music generally, gaining widespread time for producing their own programs popularity. These include Ritchie Va- or for presenting their viewpoints lens, Carlos Santana, Gloria Estefan, and the group Los Lobos. leased line line hired from a telecommunications company providing a laugh track pre-recorded laughter permanent link to an Internet service that is added to a sitcom or comedy provider program in appropriate spots legend [see also urban legend] 1. law of primacy theory that the initial story (often about a heroic figure) argument that is presented to audi- popularly believed to have a histori- ences will stand a better chance of cal basis, but which is not always convincing them than will subsequent verifiable (for example, the legend of ones King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table); 2. by extension, any layout design of a printed page or a personage or celebrity whose fame Web page, showing the position of has become enduring through media text and graphics exposure

Lazarsfeld, Paul (1901–1976) legitimation process by which cer- widely quoted media scholar who tain values, ideas, beliefs, or opinions

172 lexicon pass into the mainstream of public influential works are Anthropologie opinion structurale (1958; Structural Anthro- pology, 1963) and Le cru et le cuit leitmotif 1. melody associated (1964; The Raw and the Cooked, with a character, situation, or ele- 1969). ment in a musical drama or opera; 2. any recurring theme in a poem, lexicography study and craft of a novel, a TV sitcom, a movie, etc. dictionaries and dictionary making. Even though the German composer Dictionaries are generally subdi- Richard Wagner did not use this term, vided into general, specialized, and it is often applied to the study of his thesauruses. A general dictionary operas, in which specific melodic contains definitions and information phrases are used to identify charac- on everyday language and selected ters or themes. technical terms; a specialized dictionary provides technical information on lemma heading or entry that indi- terms used in a particular field (math- cates the topic of a work or passage ematics, physics, medicine, law, etc.); (for example, a heading title on a a thesaurus contains, essentially, lists book page indicating the title of the of synonyms and antonyms. The book) information provided by a dictionary may include the history of words letterhead 1. stationery with a (known as etymologies), associated printed heading that a company, indi- idioms and expressions, dialectal vidual, or institution uses for official variants, slang, and the like. Bilin- letters and documents; 2. the printed gual dictionaries translate the words, heading that appears at the top of a expressions, and phrases of one letterhead language into another. Today, there are various online dictionaries that Lévi-Strauss, Claude (1908–) have the advantage (over print ones) Belgian-born French anthropologist of providing updated information whose notion of mythic opposition is daily. For this reason, many lexicog- often quoted in the media literature. raphers are predicting the demise of Lévi-Strauss saw innate oppositions both the print dictionary and the print in human consciousness—such as e n c y l o p e d i a , which can only be good vs. evil, mother vs. father—as updated by revisions and subsequent the motivating forces in the cre- republication. ation of early myths and thus of the foundations of early cultures and lexicon 1. list of special terms used languages. Such oppositions continue in a particular field (lexicon of math- to surface in modern-day represen- ematics, lexicon of literary terms, tational, linguistic, symbolic, and etc.); 2. total stock of words, phrases, ritualistic activities. Among his most and expressions in a language

173 libel libel 1. false and malicious statement Liebes, Tamar (1943–) often-quoted that damages a person’s reputation; scholar on the effects of media on 2. published or broadcast statement audiences and on the processes that unjustifiably exposes someone to involved in the decoding of media ridicule or derision texts. Among her most influential works are Media, Ritual, and Identity libertarianism philosophy asserting (as editor, with James Curran, 1998) that good and rational people can tell and The Export of Meaning (with right from wrong if presented with all Elihu Katz, 1990). the facts. For this reason any form of censorship is seen to be unnecessary. lifestyle segmentation way of group- Libertarians maintain that control ing audiences according to their hab- of the media does not belong to the its, the kinds of music they like, etc. government but to the people whom the media serve. light viewer in media research parlance, a person who watches very libido in psychoanalysis, the energy little television associated with the instincts that motivate a large part of behavior. lighting equipment and techniques The term was coined by Si g m u n d used for lighting a play, a movie set, Fr e u d , who posited that the libido or a television set. As such, it is part develops in stages: in the oral stage, of the overall film text, being used to the infant gets pleasure from activi- bring out various meanings, empha- ties such as breast suckling; in the ses, nuances, etc., that the text is anal phase, the child gets pleasure designed to produce. from being able to control bowel movements; in the genital phase, limited effects theory view that the which starts at around puberty, effects of media on people are limited sexual urges dominate the libido. by variables such as class, education, This notion has been used occasion- cultural background, and age. Essen- ally in advertising studies to explain tially, the theory argues that the mass how some kinds of ads are designed media have relatively few effects on to stimulate the libido. people. library music music for films or line producer member of a film television shows that is available for production team responsible for the a fee from a specialized library daily operations, such as procur- ing technical help and ensuring that license 1. permission to engage in a maintenance is carried out business or other regulated activity; 2. permission to operate a specific linear perspective art technique by radio frequency which the perception of depth and

174 linguistic relativity hypothesis

faculty that has genetic information built into it about what languages in general must be like; the latter, known as parameters, are said to constrain the universal principles to produce the specific language grammar to which the child is exposed. Although Chomsky assigns some role to cultural and experiential factors, he maintains that the primary role of Box in linear perspective linguistics must be to understand the universal principles that make up the distance on a surface is produced by speech faculty. parallel lines that converge on the ho- rizon. The technique simulates visual linguistic relativity hypothesis a perception by showing images in the claim that language shapes world- same perspective as we see them in view. The hypothesis has a long the real world—in visual perception, history, going back to the ancient distant objects appear smaller and world. It was in the eighteenth less distinct than near objects. century, however, that it came to be discussed and debated formally lines speech or dialogue that an actor by language scientists and philoso- has to deliver phers, such as Johann von Herder, who claimed that there was an linguistic competence abstract intrinsic link between language knowledge of language. This term and ethnic character, and Wilhelm was coined by the American linguist von Humboldt, who argued that No a m Ch o m s k y , who defined it as the grammar and vocabulary of a the innate knowledge that people specific language shaped the thought employ unconsciously to generate and behavior of the people born into and comprehend sentences, most of it. In the first part of the twentieth which they have never heard previ- century, anthropologist Edward ously. Chomsky proposed a system Sapir and his student Benjamin Lee of analysis, which he called transfor- Whorf researched native American mational-generative grammar, that languages to test the validity of the would allow the linguist to identify hypothesis, coming to the conclu- and describe the general properties of sion that languages do indeed seem linguistic competence, sifting them to guide how people think and act. out from those that apply only to par- Given the importance of their work, ticular languages. The former, called the hypothesis is now also known as universal principles, are purported to Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The Sapir- be part of a species-specific language Whorf version of linguistic relativ-

175 linguistics ity claims that the grammar and listening share share of total radio vocabulary of a particular language audience that is faithful to a specific provide the cognitive strategies radio station for interpreting reality, since they make available words and structures listings information on what a spec- for certain specific events, while tacle or event will contain (venue of ignoring others. This does not block performance, times, admission prices, understanding among speakers of contact details) different languages, as translation and paraphrases demonstrate. But it listserv Internet discussion group does show that there is diversity in whose members use e-mail or instant human language that reflects diver- messaging to exchange messages sity in cultural and psychological among themselves and/or with other experiences. groups linguistics the science of language. literacy 1. ability to read and write Linguists study the formal aspects of a language proficiently; 2. by exten- language (sound systems, grammar, sion, any ability to decipher texts vocabulary, and so on), its uses in (media literacy, visual literacy). communication, its relation to cogni- Those who cannot read and write are tion, and its interrelation with culture called illiterate. It is believed broadly and society. that without literacy, people’s ability to function in society diminishes links speech excerpts that introduce considerably. The worldwide literacy the next item in radio and television rate has risen since 1900. By the programming mid-1990s, 73 percent of the world’s population was thought to be literate. linotype older technology that was With the advent of the Internet, more used to carry out the mechanical and more people are becoming liter- setting of print type (rather than ate than ever before in the history of manual) humanity. Models and perception of literacy are shaped by the medium in lip-sync [full form: lip synchro- which the written word is expressed. nization] technique of mouthing a The Internet and the many devices recorded statement or a song without that it has permitted for recording and actually speaking or singing, giving sending messages is reshaping how the illusion that one is performing it the written word is being used and live thus how literacy will eventually be redefined in the near future. In effect, listenership number and type of the World Wide Web is fast becoming people who listen to a radio broad- the new platform upon which linguis- cast or station tic and stylistic trends will emerge.

176 lobbying literal 1. following the exact words worth and aesthetic qualities. Litera- of the original (for example, a literal ture has two main forms: fiction and translation); 2. interpreting words nonfiction. The former is imaginary concretely, without exaggeration or writing, even though authors may imagination. A word such as square include facts about real persons or has the literal meaning “plane figure events; the latter is factual writing constructed with four equal lines about real-life situations, including meeting at right angles.” But it can such genres as history, biography, also be used with other meanings, as autobiography, and the diary. in He’s a real square and We finally squared our differences. litotes rhetorical technique of understatement, especially by employing a literary criticism discipline con- negation of the contrary: for example, cerned with the study of literature. I received not a few e-mails on that Western literary criticism began with issue; This is no insignificant problem Pl a t o . Subsequently, Ar i s t o t l e developed a set of principles of liter- Little Three studios [in contrast ary analysis that is still used today, to the Big Five] Columbia, United including the distinction between the Artists, and Universal motion pic- literal and the metaphorical. Since ture production studios, which had the Renaissance, literary criticism smaller production operations than has primarily focused on the value the Big Five of literature as an imaginary frame for viewing reality. In the twenti- live broadcasting of an event as it eth century, a radical reappraisal of unfolds traditional critical techniques crystallized, leading to the development of live shot filmed event that is broadcast deconstruction and p o s t s t r u c - live without a presenter at the scene t u r a l i s m , among other approaches. live voiceover commentary for a pre- literary journalism style of journal- recorded video, often used in news ism that presents stories by adapting reporting fictional storytelling techniques to nonfictional materials LiveJournal Web site that allows users to create and modify their social literature 1. in its broadest sense, network sites and Web pages everything that has ever been written, including comic books and lobbying action taken by a group of pamphlets, as well as the novels of supporters and representatives of a Fyodor Dostoyevsky and the plays of particular cause or organization to William Shakespeare; 2. in a narrow- gain the support of a political party, a er sense, writing considered to have media organization, or an individual

177 local access programming local access programming television programming selected and/or produced within communities and aired on channels provided to the community by the cable television operator local area network [abbreviated as LAN] network connecting two or more computers, usually within the same building. Local area networks McDonald’s Golden Arches logo now exist for the home, monitoring control of heat, water, and various appliances, as well as security logo [abbreviation of logotype] systems. distinctive design or trademark used by an organization or a com- local media media outlets and orga- pany for itself or for its products so nizations serving a small area of a that they can be easily recognized. country (for example, neighborhood Logos are the pictorial counterparts newspapers, local radio stations) of brand names. Well-known logos in the United States include Ralph localization method of making na- Lauren’s polo horseman, Lacoste’s tional or international media products alligator, the “good hands” of the more suitable or appropriate for a Allstate Insurance Company, the smaller local media market “rock” of the Prudential Insurance Company, the McDonald’s “golden localized advertising strategy ad arches,” the Macintosh “apple,” and campaign aimed specifically at a the “stagecoach” of the Wells Fargo particular region (country, state, Company. Logos are often designed province, or city) to evoke historical or cultural themes or symbolism. For instance, location filmingfilming that takes the logo of the apple suggests the place in specific real-life locations, biblical story of Adam and Eve, away from the studio or set even though the original fruit was named simply a “forbidden fruit”— log filerecord of how many users it was depicted as an apple by the have visited a Web site and how they early religious painters. Its bibli- navigated through it cal symbolism is encoded into the Macintosh logo. logging (on and off) to register or terminate an action or activity with a logocentrism belief that language computer as an authorized operator shapes worldview

178 Lumière brothers logograph symbol for a word with- loudspeaker device for making out any cues as to its pronunciation: sounds louder, especially in a radio, 1 = one in English, uno in Italian; & record player, or public-address = and in English, e in Italian. system lógos [in contrast to mythos] 1. in low culture [see high culture vs. philosophy, reasoning about reality low culture] or the power of reasoning itself; 2. in Christianity, the word of God, made low-budget filmsfilms that are incarnate in Jesus Christ produced very cheaply, with minor actors and simple production tech- longitudinal studies in marketing niques, usually dealing with horror, research, studies that are conducted crime, or prurient themes over long periods of time low-involvement hierarchy the idea long-playing record record format that indifferent customers respond to introduced by Columbia Records in an ad’s appeal only through repeated 1948 that could reproduce over 20 exposure minutes of high-fidelity sound on each of two sides of the record Lull, James (1950–) American communications scholar whose work look and feel the appeal of a Web site’s on audiences is widely quoted (his design, layout, and user-friendliness work is found mainly in journals and periodicals). His method of audience lookism the claim that good-looking analysis stresses ethnographic analy- people achieve greater success in life sis, rather than statistical analysis of because others are influenced posi- audience behaviors and reactions to tively by their looks media stimuli.

Lotman, Jurij M. (1922–1993) Lumière brothers two French broth- Estonian semiotician well-known for ers, Auguste (1862–1954) and Louis his study of the relation between bi- Jean (1864–1948), who are identified ology and culture. His major contri- as having invented the technology bution to culture study is the idea that behind motion pictures. The brothers culture is a system of signs, called held a public screening of projected the semiosphere, that provides the re- motion pictures on December 28, sources for cognitive survival, in the 1895, in a Paris café. Thomas Edison, same way that the biosphere provides adapting a projector developed previ- the resources for physical survival. ously, presented the first public exhi- His most important work in English bition of projected motion pictures in is Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic the United States on April 23, 1896, Theory of Culture (1990). in a New York City music hall.

179 lurking lurking act of reading newsgroup Rapport sur le savoir (1979; The postings or chatroom conversations Postmodern Condition: A Report on without participating Knowledge, 1984).

Lyotard, Jean-François (1924–1998) lyric 1. type of song-like poetry that well-known and often-cited theorist of communicates subjective feelings; postmodernism. His most important 2. [plural, lyrics] the verbal text of a work is La condition postmoderne: popular song

180 last item macaronic any statement collection of articles or sto- or text characterized by a ries (or both). Most popular mixture of Latin words or magazines also include il- words from another lan- lustrations and photographs. guage, usually for comic M The magazine concept effect traces its roots to early printed pamphlets and almanacs. One MacBride Commission commission of the first was the German Erbauli- set up by UNESCO in 1978 to assess che Monaths-Unterredungen (Edify- the impact of Western technology and ing Monthly Discussions), published media on developing countries from 1663 to 1668. Pamphlets appeared in England and America in the MacGuffinin a book, play, or movie, 1700s, primarily as literary publica- an event that seemingly drives the tions. One of the first true magazines, plot but which later turns out to be called The Gentleman’s Magazine, unimportant. The term was popular- published from 1731 to 1914, started ized by director Alfred Hitchcock, out as a collection of excerpts from who explained it in a 1939 lecture various books and pamphlets. The at Columbia University: “In crook first magazine published in America, stories it is most always the necklace called the American Magazine, and in spy stories it is most always came out in 1741 in Philadelphia the papers.” and lasted only three months. (Ben- jamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s machinery of representation claim Almanack—though not considered a that the mass media is a “machine” true magazine—was first published that produces representations of reality in 1732.) Two other magazines, The that audiences perceive as authentic Columbian (1786) and The American Museum (1787) quickly followed. macro-level effects purported large- In 1830, Godey’s Lady’s Book, the scale effects of the media on cultures first American magazine for women, and societies started publication. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), macrophotography close-up pho- Harper’s Weekly became popular for tography producing images that are its drawings of the battlefront. The life-size or larger than life late 1800s and early 1900s saw a boom in the magazine industry, with magalogue a designer catalogue Life, Time, Sports Illustrated, Van- made up to look like a magazine ity Fair, and The New Yorker coming onto the scene. Magazines have had magazine newspaper-like publica- considerable impact on modern soci- tion, but smaller in size, issued at ety. During the 1960s, for example, regular intervals, and containing a magazines such as Cosmopolitan and

181 magazine program

magic bullet theory view that the media are powerful shapers of individuals. Like a “magic bullet,” media products are said to be a “killing force” to people’s minds.

magic realism style in art, literature, or media that presents magical, occult, or mythic themes in a realistic manner

magnetic tape thin plastic strip coated with iron oxide on which sounds, video, or other kinds of data can be recorded

magnificationprocess of enlarging a photograph or other image Time magazine mail form Web page designed to be Ms. conveyed new visions of women used as an online order page outside their traditional portrayals as homemakers. Today, many magazines mail server computer whose only cater primarily to specialized inter- function is to distribute e-mails ests. Called niche publications, they through the Internet are designed to attract target audiences and advertisers who want to reach mainframe computer large central them. In the late 1980s, British-born computer to which users are con- editor Tina Brown brought back the nected by terminals more general magazine by reviving Vanity Fair. With the computer age, mainstream media [synonym of magazines called e l e c t r o n i c m a g a - mass media] dominant, powerful z i n e s (e-zines) are now available media organizations, such as the over the Internet. major newspapers and television networks magazine program television program organized in a “magazine mainstreaming 1. in cultivation style” with features such as reports theory, the ability of television to or close-up interviews of celebrities. move people toward a common view An example of such a program is of how things are by the way they Entertainment Tonight on American represent or depict them; 2. efforts television. by media outlets to include nonwhite

182 manufacturing consent and nonmale personnel among their Maletzke’s model of communica- employees tion often-cited model created by theorist Gerhard Maletzke in 1963 makeup cosmetics, preparations, of the contextual and psychosocial and the like applied to the face or factors that influence communica- body to modify one’s looks, and used tion activities and patterns, such as for particular effects in theater, the the self-image of the interlocutors movies, and television. Makeup is and the type of social environment in especially important in establishing which the communication takes place character onstage, and is thus used to suggest age, occupation, personality, Malvern screen thin, flexible LCD and so on. television screen that can be rolled up makeup artist member of a film, managing editor editor of books television, or theater production team or newspapers who is responsible who is responsible for makeup and for the overall editorial process, hairstyling including budgeting and scheduling matters male gaze in f e m i n i s t t h e o ry , the idea that men have traditionally manga [also called anime] Japa- exercised psychological power over nese comic-book drawing technique women by being the lookers, with distinguished by characters drawn women functioning as those who with very large eyes and (sometimes) were looked at. Although this a layout in which the panels run from power relation has been changing right to left radically, its remnants are still found somewhat in media and manifest meaning the meaning in a advertising media text that is obvious, as opposed to a latent or subtextual meaning. male-as-norm in f e m i n i s t t h e o ry , For example, the manifest meaning idea that language referring to of some television sitcoms (such as females, such as the suffix -ess (as Married with Children, which was in actress), the use of man to mean popular in the 1980s and 1990s) may “human,” and other such devices, be entertainment, but its latent mean- strengthens the perception that the ing might be a critique of the tradi- male category is the norm and that tional family. the corresponding female category is a derivation and thus less important. manufacturing consent [term Sexist terms such as chairman, an- coined by No a m Ch o m s k y ] the chorman, etc., are cited as examples camouflaged practice by govern- of how the English language mirrors ments or institutions of gaining social gender biases. the consent of common people by

183 manuscript controlling or manipulating what the media show and how they do so manuscript any document written by an author before it is edited and published. Before the computer age, the term referred to any handwrit- ten document. Now, it refers to any computer-generated document (in a specific kind of file). In antiquity, people living around the Mediter- ranean Sea wrote manuscripts on papyrus, leather, and wax tablets. During the Middle Ages, manuscripts were written on parchment and on vellum (a refined form of parchment). Since the 1400s, paper has been used to prepare manuscripts. Scholars Guglielmo Marconi known as philologists study ancient (and medieval) manuscripts in order to reconstruct the cultures and social Marcuse argued that the media help systems of the era from which they indoctrinate and manipulate common emanate. people, promoting a false consciousness that plays into the hands of the Marconi, Guglielmo (1874–1937) system of power that oversees the Italian inventor who popularized social order. His most quoted book is wireless telegraphy, known shortly An Essay on Liberation (1969). thereafter as radio. Marconi shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with marginality pushing minority groups Karl Ferdinand Braun of Germany, to the periphery in media coverage who had developed ways of increasing the range of radio transmissions. markedness way of classifying In 1900 Marconi established the words or grammatical categories American Marconi Company, which as being general, or unmarked, or made it easy and practical to send specific and thus marked. In English, signals across the Atlantic for the first the word man is unmarked for gender time. because it is the general form standing for males and females together: Marcuse, Herbert (1898–1979) Man does not live by bread alone. On Fr a n k f u rt Sc h o o l philosopher the other hand, woman is the marked and a leading figure in the New Left form because it is constrained to movement that emerged in the 1960s. signifying females alone. This creates

184 marketing the impression, by extension, that 2. study of the probable users of a masculinity is the norm, and that product. Many marketing firms use femininity is a special case in point. surveys to determine what kinds of people make up a market; others market area geographical area that observe what customers actually buy represents a particular market of buy- to learn about their habits; others ers for a specific product analyze the effect that the public image of a company or its products has market forces mathematical re- on consumers. lationship that exists between the supply and demand for a product or market segmentation process of di- service, which ultimately dictates viding a market strategically, so as to what it will cost be able to develop advertising materials for the segment or segments that market liberalism ideology claim- are believed to be favorably respon- ing that market forces should be sive to them allowed to develop on their own momentum without any outside market share that part of an audi- interferences or impositions (by ence that can be linked to a particular governments, controlling agencies, medium or program interest groups, etc.) market test any technique evaluating market power influence that results reactions to promotional and adver- when a large share of sales is con- tising campaigns. Marketing agencies trolled by a major company. Market determine potential markets for a power enables large companies to product or service before it is adver- limit competition and to raise prices tised. A research team then tests draft above competitive levels. Such com- advertisements in the potential mar- panies often put up obstacles called kets. On the basis of this market test, entry barriers that are designed to the manufacturer will decide whether thwart new firms from getting started an ad campaign is worthwhile. in an industry. The most extreme form of market power is called a marketing process of promoting monopoly. In a monopoly, a single products and services through tech- firm or a group of firms controls the niques such as segmentation, testing, supply of a product or service for etc. Since the early 1990s, businesses which no substitute exists. have used the Internet to carry out many of their marketing activities. market research 1. information- Marketing over the Internet generates gathering activities carried out in more detailed information about cus- order to improve marketing and tomer interests and buying behavior advertising strategies for a product; than was ever possible before.

185 marketing communications marketing communications skillful system determines the intellectual deployment of media outlets (radio, and cultural history of a society. television, online communications, He proposed a system, called com- print advertising) to promote a prod- munism, in which all citizens give uct or service according to their means and take according to their needs. His theo- marketing firmbusiness that pro- ries have influenced the policies of vides advice on the distribution and governments in many countries, as sales of goods and services, including well as numerous academics, even in recommendations on pricing, packag- capitalist nations. ing, advertising, merchandising, and distribution Marxism socioeconomic theory developed by Ka r l Ma r x and marketing intelligence information Friedrich Engels. It constitutes the collected about a market that can be blueprint behind communism, hold- used to shape a marketing or adver- ing that all people are entitled to tising campaign enjoy the fruits of their labor, but are prevented from doing so in capitalist marketing model model of the systems, which divide society into marketing process, usually gener- two classes—nonowning workers ated by specially designed computer and nonworking owners. Marx called software, that allows marketers to the resulting situation “alienation,” assess how to best utilize advertising and he theorized that when the work- resources ers repossessed the fruits of their labor, alienation would be overcome marquee 1. sign over the entrance of and class divisions would cease to a theater or other venue that displays exist. The collapse of the Soviet the name of the featured event and/ Union and China’s adoption of ele- or performers; 2. piece of text that ments of a free-market economy in scrolls across a screen in a highlight- the 1990s marked the end of Marx- ed band ism as a practicable theory of society, though it retains interest as a critique martial arts movie film genre in of market capitalism and a theory of which the martial arts play a domi- media effects. nant role, especially in the action sequences Marxist theories of the media theories that espouse Marxist phi- Marx, Karl (1818–1883) German losophy in explaining the modern social theorist who predicted that mass media. Essentially, Marxist capitalism would eventually collapse critics maintain that the media rein- under pressure from working people. force the values of those in power by For Marx, the prevailing economic representing them as the norm. The

186 mass culture best-known Marxist theories of the clude those of Ludwig van Beethoven media come under the rubric of the and Napoleon. Finally, festival masks Fr a n k f u rt Sc h o o l . are used in such festivals as Carnival and Mardi Gras. masala style of Hindi filmmaking that combines various genres (action, mass a large group, the collective romance, comedy, adventure) aggregate (one of the most frequently used words in media and communica- mask 1. covering of the eyes, the tions). Its meaning is most often pe- mouth, or the entire face, sometimes jorative. It is claimed that the people used by fictional heroes (for example, living in a mass culture, for instance, Zorro and the Lone Ranger wore tend to lose their individual identity eye masks, while early Hollywood and assume a group or collective bandits wore a mouth mask to cover identity. As such, they are likely to their identities); 2. covering of the do things as a group that they would entire face worn by a Greek or Ro- never do alone (for example, engage man actor in ancient drama to portray in riots or illegal activity). a character and magnify the voice; 3. any ritualistic covering over the face. mass communication 1. communi- Masks are divided into four types. cation system that reaches massive First, ceremonial masks were used in numbers of people; 2. actual process many tribal societies to influence or of designing and delivering media appeal to the gods. These masks rep- texts to mass audiences resented the gods and were worn during ceremonies, suggesting that the mass communication theory any gods were present in spirit. Second, theory that aims to explain or predict theatrical masks, such as those used cultural and social phenomena as in- by the ancient Greeks in their dra- terrelated with mass communication mas, allowed the audience to follow and mass media systems the play and to grasp the characters portrayed by the actors. The Chinese mass culture type of culture found and Japanese also used masks in in urban societies, where various this manner. Third, burial and death cultures, subcultures, countercul- masks have been used since antiq- tures, and parallel cultures exist uity in ceremonies relating to death. in constant competition with each Typically, in many tribes the masks other. The mass culture dominates represent dead persons, and it is the other cultures at the same time thought that their spirits return during that it is composed of them. So, for the ceremony. In Western countries, instance, American pop culture is death masks are sometimes used to a mass culture. But within it there preserve the memory of an important are subcultures and parallel cultures personage. Famous death masks in- (goth culture, Hispanic culture, etc.)

187 mass manipulation model of media communication

popular in Europe and the United States in the 1800s. Many were cheaply made, inexpensive editions of novels.

mass marketing marketing that is directed at large numbers of people

mass media media (radio, television, newspapers, periodicals, Web sites) that reach large audiences. Attached to the meaning of this term, however, is the erroneous view that large agglomerations of people are one-dimensional or homogeneous. As research on media audiences has shown, this is hardly the case. De n i s McQu a i l ’s characterization of the mass media, in his 1969 book Towards a Sociology of Mass Com- munications, is used commonly today as a general framework for the study English mass market paperback novel (1952) of mass media. He identifies the main features of the mass media as follows: that nevertheless are part of its social fabric. • They usually require complex formal organization. mass manipulation model of media • They are directed toward large communication model claiming that audiences. consumers and audiences take in me- • They are public and their content is dia texts and advertising campaigns open to everyone. passively and that they are being • Audiences are heterogeneous. constantly influenced surreptitiously • The mass media establish simulta- by them neous contact with a large number of people who live at a distance mass market paperback paper- from each other. back book intended for a mass • The relationship between media market, typically found on racks personalities and audience mem- in drugstores, in supermarkets, at bers is mediated (nondirect). airports, and in bookstores. Mass • The audience is part of a mass market paperbacks first became culture.

188 McDonaldization mass society in culture theory, a MATV [see master antenna society consisting of very large num- television] bers of people, who (it is believed) are easily manipulated by the mass maxim concise statement or saying, media and government bureaucra- perceived as expressing some inher- cies. One of the most frightening and ent truth: for example, Look before evocative images of mass society can you leap; Two heads are better than be found in George Orwell’s novel one 1984 (1949). maximal awareness point at which master antenna television an advertising campaign convinces [abbreviated as MATV] televi- consumers to buy an advertised sion transmission whereby a single product (master) antenna delivers television signals to hotels, apartment build- McCombs and Shaw’s agenda- ings, mobile home parks, and other setting model of media effects mod- locations where it is impractical for el created by Maxwell E. McCombs individual viewers to have a separate and Donald L. Shaw in 1976, which antenna claims that the way in which the media present events determines how master brand [also called parent they will be perceived and thus how brand] dominant brand in a business, important they will become in public such as Sony audio video equipment, awareness to which s u b b r a n d s can be added (Sony movies) McDonaldization [term coined by George Ritzer in The McDonaldiza- master shot wide camera shot that tion of Society (1993) and later allows viewers to see all the ongoing expanded upon by the American action in a scene sociologist Alan Bryman in The Disneyization of Society (2004)]. As materialism 1. philosophical theory Bryman states, McDonaldization as claiming that consciousness is a the process “by which the principles purely physical phenomenon; 2. in of the fast-food restaurant are coming culture theory, idea that culture is to dominate more and more sectors expressed through material products of American society as well as the and that this is ultimately destructive rest of the world.” Bryman compares of true culture this process to “Disneyization,” which he defines as the correlative matinée theater performance or process “by which the principles of movie showing that is held in the af- the Disney theme parks are coming to ternoon, often with cheaper seats than dominate more and more sectors of evening performances or showings American society as well as the rest

189 McLuhan, Marshall of the world.” The term is now used to characterize the process by which large corporations are taking over more and more sections of society.

McLuhan, Marshall (1911–1980) Canadian communications theorist whose ideas on technology, culture, and the media have been the source of considerable debates in media studies. McLuhan argued that technological changes in the ways in which we encode information lead to radical changes in society. Thus, each major historical epoch is shaped by the communication medium that it uses most widely. For example, he called the epoch spanning the early Marshall McLuhan 1700s to the mid-1900s the age of print, because print was the chief medium by which people gained Man (1964), The Medium Is the Mas- and exchanged knowledge. The sage: An Inventory of Effects (1967), age of print encouraged the growth and War and Peace in the Global of individualism, democracy, and Village (1968). the separation of work and leisure, among many other things. The elec- McLurg’s Law claim that news tronic age replaced the age of print in about events farther away have less the early twentieth century. Because value than news about similar events it can reach so many people in many from the place where they are be- parts of the world, electronic media ing reported. For example, the law have since “shrunk” the world into a predicts that news about a single “global village” where everyone (no casualty in one’s local area will have matter where they live in the world) much higher newsworthiness than can become involved in the lives of news about hundreds or thousands everyone else, leading to the growth of similar casualties in some remote of international virtual communities. area of the world (with respect to McLuhan’s fascinating works where one lives). The term refers to include The Mechanical Bride: the name of a British news editor Folklore of Industrial Man (1951), who claimed that news events dimin- The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making ish in importance relative to their of Typographic Man (1962), Under- distance from London. Today, it has a standing Media: The Extensions of more generic meaning.

190 meaning theories

McNelly’s model of news flowmod- Among her best-known works are el defined by J.T. NcNelly in 1959, Coming of Age in Samoa (1928), showing how the stages through Growing Up in New Guinea (1930), which a news event passes, before Sex and Temperament in Three it is published or broadcast, influ- Primitive Societies (1935), Male ence the way in which it is ultimately and Female (1949), and Culture and perceived Commitment (1970).

McQuail, Denis (1938–) well-known mean world syndrome view hold- media analyst who has written ex- ing that audiences get the impression tensively on theories of mass media from the media that violent crimes and on Us e s a n d Gratifications occur more frequently than they models. Among his books are Com- actually do. From this impression, munication Models for the Study of audiences develop the view that it is a Mass Communications (1981) and “mean world” out there. Mass Communication Theory (1983). He proposed several theoretical mod- meaning what is understood when els, including the accountability of something is presented or communi- media model (concerning the respon- cated. The technique of o pp o s i t i o n sibilities of the media) and the model is often used in media studies to flesh of audience fragmentation (which out what something means. This results from wider choice among approach assumes that the meaning television audiences). is something that cannot be determined in the absolute, but only in Mead, George Herbert (1863–1931) relation to other forms and meanings; American philosopher often cited in for example, good vs. evil, hero vs. media studies because of his analysis villain, etc. In media representations of how social structures influence in- the poles of an opposition take on dividual experiences. He is probably specific form. Thus, for example, the the source of the concept of “con- evil villain in a movie might wear struction of the Self,” which claims black and the hero a lighter color of that selfhood is not inherited, but clothing, or vice versa (as was the constructed by the individual through case with Zorro). contact with others. meaning theories theories about Mead, Margaret (1901–1978) meaning and how it unfolds. The American anthropologist, known mainstream view of meaning is that especially for her studies of adoles- there are two levels, a literal and cence as a construction of modern a figurative level, with the former societies. Mead maintained that the consisting of the basic meaning of child-rearing practices of a culture something and the other a derivative influence how someone matures. form of meaning. The terms refer-

191 media ence, sense, and definition are often the Gu t e n b e r g Ga l a x y , after the used in discussions of meaning. German printer Johannes Gutenberg, Reference is the process of identify- who is traditionally considered the ing something; sense is what the inventor of movable type in the West. identification elicits psychologically, historically, and socially; and defini- media analysis analysis of all tion is a statement about what that aspects of the media; for example, identification means by convention. how they evolved and how they affect The terms denotation and connota- individuals and society tion are preferred to reference and sense in contemporary theories of media broker business that offers meaning. Consider the word cat. organizations media-buying, media- The word identifies a “creature with planning, and other such services four legs, whiskers, retractile claws.” This is its denotative meaning, which media buyer individual working for allows us to determine if something an ad agency who has the responsi- real or imaginary is a “cat.” All other bility of buying space or time in a senses of the word are connotative; media outlet (a slot in a magazine, for example, He let the cat out of radio time) for an advertisement or ad the bag; My friend is a real cool cat. campaign Such senses are historically acquired meanings and can only be understood media center 1. department of an in reference to particular cultural uses organization responsible for releas- of that word. ing information to the media; 2. a computer that, in addition to its usual media [plural of medium] 1. any computing functions, also provides means of transmitting information; access to digital media such as digital 2. the various forms, devices, and radio and digital television systems that make up mass communications considered as a whole, media circus profuse media cover- including newspapers, magazines, age that a particular event attracts, radio stations, television channels, distorting the significance of the and Web sites. Before alphabetic event in the process writing, the media for communicating information were oral-auditory media concentration 1. process of and pictographic. Writing facilitated buying space in only one medium the creation and storage of printed for advertising or publicity, rather texts. Later print technology made than in various media, thus develop- such texts available to masses of ing strength through concentration; people. Ma r s h a l l McLu h a n called 2. domination of media markets by a the social world in which the use small number (or even just one) large of printed texts became widespread media corporations

192 media plan media control any mechanism set up media event an event that attracts by governments to regulate the media a great deal of attention from the media, often organized or manu- media convergence [also called factured deliberately to gain such convergence] process whereby old attention and new media technologies are available either separately or together media images impressions and views through digitization of people or events generated by the media media councils groups of people from the media and the public who media institution organization investigate complaints against the involved in producing media forms media (cinema, television) media dependency theory [see media literacy [also called mediacy] also dependency theory] claim that in-depth knowledge of how the people can easily become dependent media work and how they might upon mass media in ways that paral- influence audiences—similar to lit- lel substance dependency. Supporters eracy and the ways in which literacy of this theory claim that people can permits people to better understand easily become habituated to televi- written texts in all their dimensions sion or online navigation, but might (psychological, social, etc.) be unaware of their dependency, or may not care that they have become media messaging sending text, im- dependent. ages, and sound from one mobile phone or device to another media dominance technique of buying a large amount of space or time in media objectives overall aims that one medium for an advertisement or a company has in placing advertise- program, and then shifting to another ments or ad campaigns in specific medium after achieving optimum media outlets coverage and frequency. The strategy is to “dominate” media space and media organizations organizations time as much as possible. providing information to their customers, either directly with their own media effects model any model that media communications or else by sees media as influencing individu- offering marketers a way of reaching als and/or societies in a negative audiences through advertising way. The best-known models of this type are the m a g i c b u l l e t t h e o ry media plan plan designed to place and the h y p o d e r m i c n e e d l e strategically an ad campaign in vari- t h e o ry . ous media outlets so as to reach as

193 media reception many potential customers as possible mediasphere [term coined in analo- with the least amount of expenditure gy with biosphere and semiosphere] world in which the media interrelate media reception [also called recep- with social processes, influencing tion] act of reading, interpreting, etc., these processes directly, including media texts within specific locations dialogue, rituals, and the like and cultural contexts. Reception theory generally claims that interpre- mediation view that media literally tation is not homogeneous or passive, mediate reality, rather than present but involves background assump- it in a straightforward manner. For tions, audience dynamics, and other example, the 1950s American TV sit- factors. com called I Love Lucy portrayed the female gender through the character media research studies that of Lucy as a strong-willed, indepen- investigate the media, including dent female, in charge of her own how they influence people, how they life. On the other hand, the 1980s– shape social processes, how they 1990s sitcom Married with Children present news, and how they structure depicted the same gender mockingly events through the character of Betty as a boorish, sex-starved female who media selection process of choosing lived out her existence mindlessly the appropriate media for an adver- day after dreary day. The two pro- tising campaign so as to make it as grams thus mediated the meaning of effective as possible “female gender” through differences in character portrayal. media strategy plan of action by an advertiser for bringing advertising medium [see media] messages to the attention of consumers through the use of appropriate medium is the message Ma r s h a l l media McLu h a n ’s famous maxim referring to his belief that each medium media text any media product or cre- shapes the nature of the message ation, such as a television program, a it is designed to deliver. In Under- radio show, a newspaper column, or standing Media (1964), McLuhan an advertisement. Like any written stated: “The medium is the message. text (a novel, a poem), a media text This is merely to say that the per- has the property of cohesion and sonal and social consequences of any predictability that allows interpreters medium—that is, of any extension of to identify it as such and experience ourselves—result from the new scale it as a whole. that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by mediacy [see media literacy] any new technology.”

194 message mega-agencies in the advertising memoir biographical genre com- business, large ad companies that are posed from personal observation and formed through the merger of smaller experience. A memoir differs from ad agencies autobiography chiefly in the degree of interpretation of the events in megabyte unit of computer memory one’s life. Memoirs tend to be more equal to one million b y t e s interpretive than factual. A diary is an example of a memoir. megaplex large movie theater complex, often with the same movie memory stick small flash drive playing on several screens in the device that can store data for use complex in electronic devices such as computers, digital cameras, and Méliès, Georges (1861–1938) one of mobile phones the first filmmakers who introduced the basic camera techniques of slow merchandising creation of brand motion, dissolve, and fade-out. He nonmedia products, such as food was also the first to create film fiction and toys, which are designed to take narratives, from 1899 to 1912, pro- advantage of the success of a media ducing more than 400 films, which event or product, such as a block- combined pantomime and fantasy, buster movie including Le voyage dans la lune (1902; A Trip to the Moon). mesmerism [term coined after Franz Mesmer (1734–1815), Austrian melodrama narrative work (of- physician] power to captivate and ten in serial form) characterized enthrall someone. Mesmer thought by emotional conflicts among the that he could cure patients by having characters. The melodrama traces them put their feet in magnetized its origins to Greek theater, becom- water while holding cables. Mesmer ing popular in the West only in the believed that people possessed a eighteenth century. Also known as mysterious quality that allowed them “tearjerkers,” melodramas today in- to have a powerful, “magnetic” influ- clude romantic comedies and televi- ence over others. Mesmer created a sion soap operas. sensation in his day, but the medical profession saw him as a fraud. The meme [term coined by Richard term mesmerism is sometimes used in Dawkins (1941–)] any idea, fash- reference to the ways in which media ion, musical tune, etc., that spreads influence people. through society, which inherits it unwittingly in the same way that message 1. any form of communica- individuals get their personality auto- tion (information, feelings, ideas) matically through genetic inheritance passed on or transmitted in some

195 messageboard way; 2. meaning or lesson built into a nature of language itself or of some text, spectacle, or performance aspect of language; grammatical statements and categories (nouns, messageboard Web page or group of verbs, etc.) are part of the grammar- Web pages on the Internet that allows ian’s metalanguage visitors to read and respond to messages posted there metalingual function in Ro m a n Ja k o b s o n ’s communication model, messaging sending short instant any language about language: for messages by mobile phone or some example, A verb is a word expressing instant messaging device some action; Is green a descriptive or demonstrative adjective? metacommunication 1. abstract principles of communication in all its metamessage the “real” message forms; 2. level of analysis designed to implicit (or hidden) in a communica- examine the nature of communication tion, often delivered through the tone of voice or something similar, that metadata information contained on might be different from the apparent a Web page (publication date, author, content of the message keywords, title) that can be used by search engines to find relevantW eb metanarrative [often used as a syn- sites through hyperlinks onym for metafiction] narrative that examines or explores the narrative metafictionfiction that explores the form itself, or else includes other nar- nature of fiction itself, especially its ratives within it traditional forms, genres, and styles metaphor word or phrase used to metal music [synonym for heavy designate something by association metal] type of rock music charac- or implication. In the professor is a terized by highly amplified electric snake, the word snake is used meta- guitars, a hard beat, a thumping bass, phorically to imply, not the reptile and often dark lyrics. It came onto known as a snake, but the qualities of the scene in the late 1960s and 1970s “danger,” “slipperiness,” etc., that it with bands such as Steppenwolf, Led represents. These qualities are then Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, projected onto the professor by asso- AC/DC, and Aerosmith. In the 1980s, ciation. Metaphor was first identified metal was revived by bands such as by Ar i s t o t l e , who saw it as a way Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Mötley for people to understand abstract con- Crüe, Black Sabbath, and Van Halen. cepts (such as human personality). However, Aristotle later claimed that metalanguage theory or statement the primary function of metaphor was about language, concerning the figurative or symbolic, rather than

196 micropayment cognitive. Today, Aristotle’s original symbol of Hollywood’s golden age. conception of metaphor as a cogni- Web site: www.mgm.com tive strategy is the definition accepted by most linguists. Metz, Christian (1931–1993) French cinema analyst who argued metatext theory or statement about essentially that a movie can be stud- texts, whose purpose it is to exam- ied in the ways that a linguist studies ine the nature, function, and overall language, hence introducing the structure of texts themselves concept of “film language” into the field. His best-known work is Essais metatheory theory or statement sur la signification au cinema (1968; about theories, whose purpose it is to Film Language: A Semiotics of the examine the nature, form, and func- Cinema, 1974). tion of theories themselves microcassette small audiotape methodology system of procedures cassette that fits into a pocket- used in any field, such as media sized tape recorder or dictation analysis, for conducting research, or machine for gathering data microcomputer [also called per metonymy figure of speech standing sonal computer] small computer for something of which it is a part: that uses a m i c r o p r o c e s s o r to for example, the press for journalists process information and newspapers; wheels for automobile. In the world of shopping and microfichetiny sheet of m i c r o f i l m , commerce, certain brands become on which images are arranged in a metonyms: for example, the Scotch grid pattern. A single microfiche may brand of adhesive tape is used com- contain images of up to 400 regular monly to name all brands of adhesive paper pages. tape; the Kleenex brand of facial tissue is commonly used to refer to microfilmphotographic film on all brands of facial tissue; and so on. which reduced images are recorded. Generally, this happens when a brand Microfilm can store large amounts of name is either the first to reach the information in a small space. People marketplace or else is a dominant read microfilm with a reader that en- brand within it. larges the images and projects them onto a built-in screen. Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer [abbreviated as MGM] major Hollywood stu- micropayment small charge to Inter- dio founded in 1924, which became net users for downloading something, a leading film production enterprise usually on Web sites that have no in the 1930s and 1940s and thus a sponsors

197 microphone microphone device that changes including pleasure and gratification, sound into electrical current, which in terms of their utility value instantly travels over wires or through the air to a loudspeaker or some Milton’s paradox often-cited para- other device that changes it back dox, which states that theory and into sound. The first microphone was practice may not correspond, as exem- the telephone transmitter, invented plified by seventeenth-centuryE nglish by Al e x a n d e r Gr a h a m Be l l in poet John Milton’s own work as a cen- 1876. Today, microphones are used in sor during Oliver Cromwell’s reign, public-address systems and in radio despite the fact that he paradoxically and television broadcasting. They are supported freedom of the press also used in recording the sound for motion pictures, in making compact mime 1. play (usually comical in na- discs, and in webcasting. ture) in which people are impersonated and events mimicked (originating microphotography process of mak- in Greek and Roman comedy); 2. ing m i c r o f i l m acronym for multipurpose Internet mail extension, a system used to microprocessor device that does the handle attachments in e-mails and actual work in a computer. A micro- newsgroup postings processor consists of transistors and other parts built into a chip (usually mimesis imitation or simulation of made of silicon). sensible reality in art and literature

Microsoft large software corporation, mimetic theory of art theory elabo- based in Washington State, founded rated by Ar i s t o t l e , which claims in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul G. that art is basically an imitation of the Allen, by simply adapting BASIC for real world use on personal computers. Microsoft became a publicly owned corporation mimicry art of imitating other in 1986, after having issued the first people’s voices, gestures, and appear- version of Microsoft Word, a popular ance, often for comical effect word-processing program, in 1983, and Microsoft Windows, a g r a p h i - minimal effects model any model c a l u s e r i n t e r fa c e , in 1985. claiming that the media have limited effects on audiences, reinforc- Mill’s principle of utility often-cited ing existing attitudes, values, and principle enunciated by nineteenth- worldview rather than influencing or century British philosopher and econ- changing them omist John Stuart Mill, who claimed that there exists a universal tendency minimalism arts movement originat- in human beings to assess everything, ing in the 1960s, in which only the

198 mixing simplest forms are used, often over or image for commercial purposes, and over again. The musical works without the person’s permission of American composer Philip Glass are examples of minimalist style, mise-en-abyme technique consisting emphasizing simple classic melodic of bottomless reduplication, as when and harmonic forms that are repeated an image contains a smaller version over and over in a specific piece: of itself, which in turn contains an for example, Einstein on the Beach even smaller version within itself, (1976), Satyagraha (1980), Akhnaten and so on ad infinitum (1984), The Voyage (1992), and La Belle et la Bête (1994). The term mise-en-scène 1. actual positioning also applies to the field of art. For of scenery, actors, etc., on a stage or example, American painter Ellsworth movie set for a particular scene or Kelly typically uses a single color sequence; 2. overall look of a filmed and very linear drawing techniques to scene emphasize simplicity and its beauty. misinformed society view that miniseries serialized television society is not better informed, drama, usually broadcast on consecu- despite globally accessible systems tive nights or weeks. One of the most of information, because these often popular miniseries in the history of disseminate false or inaccurate American television was Roots, an information eight-part 1970s drama tracing the history of an African American fam- misprint error in the printed or pub- ily from slavery to freedom in early lished version of a text America. mixdown process of putting together Miramax major Hollywood studio various audio feeds that have been re- founded by brothers Bob and Harvey corded previously to create a finished Weinstein in 1979, producing such recording highly touted and popular films as Pulp Fiction (1994), The Talented Mr. mixed media 1. use of different Ripley (1999), and Sin City (2005). artistic media to create a single com- Web site: www.miramax.com position or work; 2. in advertising, use of different media (print, radio, mirror site copy of a Web site main- television, Internet) in tandem for an tained on a different file server in ad campaign order to spread the distribution load or to provide data backup mixing putting together different excerpts of audio, such as vocal com- misappropriation invasion of priva- mentary and music, to create a final cy by appropriating someone’s name piece for broadcasting

199 mms

MMS [see multimedia messaging forms of social organization, without service] guidance from religious or political leaders. Societies that are modern, mobile phone portable phone that therefore, also tend to value freedom operates by means of a series of lo- of speech and of association, demo- cally based cellular radio networks cratic forms of government, knowledge, and diversity. mobilization ability of the media to stir up people to take action modulation system designed to increase the frequency of signals. moblogging use of a mobile phone, The two main types of modulation or other handheld device, to post text are called amplitude modulation in a w e b l o g (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). mode of address way that a media text “speaks” to its audience and, in mogul an important or powerful so doing, helps to shape how it will owner of media be interpreted monochrome painting, drawing, or modem [abbreviation of modulator- print in a single color or shades of a demodulator] device that enables single color computers to transmit and receive information over a telephone network. monologue 1. dramatic speech made Modems can send and receive not by a single speaker, such as a stage only text information, but also sound, actor; 2. jokes or funny stories deliv- video, and other types of data. ered by a comedian on stage modernism 1. early twentieth- monopoly exclusive control of a century architectural style, also commodity or service known as the Bauhaus School, emphasizing simplicity and conformity monster movie movie in which the in design (as used in the building of main character is a monster or in early skyscrapers); 2. artistic trends which monsters play a primary role. that ran roughly from the 1920s to Many early monster movies were the 1970s and that generally empha- based on the “Frankenstein myth.” sized formal elements rather than the Frankenstein was originally a horror naturalistic depiction of subjects novel written by the English author Mary Shelley in 1818, which tells the modernity type of society in which story of Victor Frankenstein, a scien- individuals are deemed to be fun- tist who tries to create a living being damentally rational and therefore for the good of humanity but instead capable of determining their own produces a monster.

200 motion picture montage 1. composite visual image morphing in filmic language, made by bringing together different changing something or someone pictures or parts of pictures and into something or someone else in superimposing them on each other, one continuous movement, achieved so that they form a blended whole mainly by computer software. One of while remaining distinct; 2. in the first uses of morphing can be seen cinema, rapid succession of scenes in the shape-changing Terminator or images to create some effect character in Terminator 2 (1991). (such as a dream sequence or a flashback) Morse code system for representing letters, numerals, and punctuation moral panic 1. media-induced fear marks by a sequence of dots, dashes, that an aspect of modern culture is and spaces transmitted as electrical leading people—especially children pulses. The original system was in- and youth—astray, into deviance, vented by Samuel F.B. Morse in 1838 delinquency, or criminality; 2. sudden for his telegraph. The International increase in public anxiety over a me- Morse Code, a simpler version, was dia product or event that is perceived devised in 1851. The Morse code has as encouraging violence, sexism, or been rendered obsolete by modern racism. The term was introduced by technologies. Stanley Cohen in his book Folk Dev- ils and Moral Panics (1972). motion picture [synonym for movie or f i l m ] a series of still photographs mores traditional rules and customs on film, projected in rapid succession of a group of people or a society onto a screen, giving the impression about what is acceptable social of continuous motion. The principal behavior inventors of motion picture machines were Th o m a s Al v a Ed i s o n in the Morley, David (1949–) well-known United States and the Lu m i è r e analyst of media audiences and critic b r o t h e r s in France. Motion picture of cultural imperialism. His best- production was centered in France in known work is Home Territories: the first two decades of the twenti- Media, Mobility and Identity (2000). eth century. By 1920, movie studios expanded in the United States, morpheme minimal form in lan- reaching their pinnacle in the 1930s guage that has meaning. The word and 1940s, making the United States impossible, for instance, contains two the center of filmmaking worldwide. morphemes: the prefix im-, which The 1950s and 1960s brought a conveys the meaning “opposite of,” new internationalism to filmmak- and possible, also called the lexical ing. The same period also saw the morpheme (or morpheme with lexi- rise of the independent filmmaker cal meaning). (the i n d i e ). Today, movies remain

201 mpaa highly popular as forms of art and Motown [contraction of Motor entertainment, and the American film Town, in reference to Detroit’s auto- industry (based in Hollywood), with motive industry] recording company its immense resources, continues to founded in Detroit in 1957 by song- dominate the world film market. writer Berry Gordy, Jr., becoming known nationwide shortly thereafter Motion Picture Association of with the two hits Shop Around (1960) America [abbreviated as MPAA] by the Miracles and Please Mr. American trade association founded Postman (1961) by the Marvelettes. in 1922, responsible for protecting The “Motown sound,” which fea- the interests of the major Hollywood tured lyrical ballads sung to a catchy studios. It is also responsible for rhythmic accompaniment, was made the movie rating system in use famous by the Temptations, the Four in the United States. Web site: Tops, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, www.mpaa.org the Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Jackson 5, and Stevie Motion Picture Experts Group Wonder. Gordy moved the company Audio Layer 3 [abbreviated as MP3] headquarters to Los Angeles in 1971, format for compressing music (and eventually selling the label to MCA other) files into very small computer in 1988. Motown is considered to be files, while losing virtually no quality one of the most successful black- in the process. For example, sound owned businesses and one of the data from a compact disc can be most influential independent record compressed to one-twelfth the origi- companies in American pop music nal size without sacrificing sound history. quality. The MP3 format is very popular for transmitting music files mouse hand-controlled device for over the Internet. interacting with a digital computer that has a graphical user interface. It motivated shot camera shot that fol- is called mouse because its shape is lows a particular action or sequence similar to that of the common rodent of actions that is prompted by an with the same name. The mouse can event in the action or sequence be moved to control the movement of a cursor on the computer screen. motivational research investigation It can also be used to select text, acti- of the psychological reasons why vate programs, or move items around individuals buy specific types of mer- the screen. chandise, why they respond to certain advertising appeals, why they watch mouseover feature on a Web page, particular kinds of television pro- such as a pop-up menu, that is acti- grams, or why they listen to certain vated when a user moves the cursor radio stations over a contact point on the page. This

202 multimedia feature is designed to get the user to programming such as the animated select it. Beavis and Butthead show and the reality series Real World, separate movie ratings system of classify- international networks (MTV Europe, ing movies indicating for whom the MTV Latin America, and MTV movie is suitable, according to age Russia), and the MTV Video Music Awards. G (General Audience): “All Ages Admitted” muckraking journalism that aims to PG (Parental Guidance Sug- uncover crime, corruption, or scandal gested): “Some Material May Not Be Suitable for MUD [see Multi User Dungeon] Children” PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cau- multi-actuality existence of many tioned): “Some Material meanings, some of which may even May Be Inappropriate for be contradictory, attached to a given Children Under 13” sign or symbol R (Restricted): “Under 17 Re- quires Accompanying Parent multiculturalism 1. sociopolitical or Adult Guardian” philosophy that promotes cultural NC-17: “No One 17 and Under Ad- diversity, supported by many educa- mitted” tors in the United States who favor the teaching of different cultures for movie trailers brief films showing a the purpose of understanding and few scenes from an upcoming movie appreciating them; 2. society that in- or television program in order to tegrates other cultural systems within advertise it itself movies [see motion picture] multimedia computer system that allows the user to manipulate and use MP3 [see Motion Picture Experts different types of media, such as text, Group Audio Layer 3] sound, video, graphics, and animation. The most common multimedia MTV [abbreviation of music televi- system consists of a personal com- sion] 24-hour cable music video puter with a sound card, modem, channel that debuted in 1981 with digital speaker unit, CD-ROM, and Video Killed the Radio Star, by the portals for various devices. Com- Buggles. MTV quickly won a wide mercial interactive multimedia following among pop music fans systems include: cable television worldwide, greatly influencing the services with computer interfaces pop music business. The network that allow viewers to interact with later expanded to include original TV programs, high-speed interactive

203 mms audiovisual systems, such as video Multi User Dungeon [abbreviated as game consoles, and virtual reality MUD] text-based game that can be systems that create artificial sensory played by multiple users across the environments. Internet multimedia messaging service Murdoch effect [after Ru p e r t Mu r - [abbreviated as MMS] system that al- d o c h ] idea that journalism is becom- lows for the transmission of audio, im- ing more and more obsessed with ages, and animation in text messages corporate gain multimodality 1. use of several chan- Murdoch, Rupert (1931–) Aus- nels to access the same information; tralian-born publisher who owns for example, accessing cinema listings many media outlets in Australia, the through the press, by phone, and on United Kingdom, the United States, the Internet; 2. the mixing of media and other countries. His ownership forms; for example, the mixing of of print businesses ranges from The sound, image and graphics on televi- Times of London to the New York sion news programs or on Web sites Post. Murdoch is known especially for making financially struggling multiplex large cinema complex with media operations profitable. many screens Murray, Janet (1946–) media multiplexing method of transmitting analyst, whose book Hamlet on the multiple signals simultaneously over Holodeck: The Future of Narrative a single wire or channel, in order in Cyberspace (1998), has become to squeeze as much capacity into a a reference point for discussing the network as possible metamorphosis of traditional genres as they are increasingly transferred multistep flow theorytheory assert- to cyberspace ing that media impacts are indirect and are mediated by group leaders. Murrow, Edward R. (1908–1965) The theory maintains that people prominent American broadcaster who within different social classes have foreshadowed e m b e d d e d j o u r n a l i s m very different interpretations of media when he broadcast eyewitness reports products, thus forming interpretive of World War II events such as the communities, which coincide with real German occupation of Austria. In the communities such as families, unions, 1950s he was an influential force for neighborhoods, and churches. the free dissemination of information, producing a notable exposé of the multitrack device or system capable tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy of using different tracks in sound that contributed to the demise of recording or reproduction McCarthyism, the fanatical move-

204 MySpace ment investigating various govern- Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard ment departments and questioning Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein witnesses about their suspected turned the musical into a form with communist affiliations. In 1954 broad appeal. The genre flourished in Murrow used footage of McCarthy’s the 1950s with works by composers own press conferences on his CBS such as Leonard Bernstein. In the late See It Now documentary program to 1960s, musicals began diversifying, expose the excesses of McCarthy’s incorporating elements from rock anticommunist campaign. The Senate music and other styles. Perhaps the subsequently reprimanded McCarthy. most famous of all contemporary composers of the genre is Andrew music hall popular form of entertain- Lloyd Webber, whose musicals Cats ment emerging in the late nineteenth (1981), The Phantom of the Opera century that featured acts by singers, (1986), and Evita (1996) continue to comedians, dancers, and actors. Con- be popular. sidered to cater primarily to vulgar tastes, music halls evolved in the must-carry rules regulations estab- early twentieth century into larger, lished by the FCC (Federal Com- more respectable variety theaters, munications Commission) requiring which combined music, comedy acts, all cable operators to carry local and one-act plays. broadcasts on their systems, thereby ensuring that local media outlets and music television [see MTV] public television channels can benefit from cable technology music video short film showcasing a particular song or artist. It is MySpace online social networking claimed by many pop music analysts site founded in 2003 where personal that some artists, such as Madonna, profiles can be posted. MySpace Michael Jackson, and the Euryth- is one of various Web sites where mics, owe much of their success to people can post p r o f i l e s and b l o g s , the popularity of their videos. leave messages, or connect with friends. It also features an internal musical theatrical production that search engine and e-mail system. It revolves around the music com- is headquartered in Santa Monica, posed for it. Its roots can be traced to California, but its parent company is eighteenth- and nineteenth-century headquartered in New York City. As genres such as opéra comique. The of 2006, MySpace posted over 100 Black Crook (1866), considered to million profiles, with several hundred be the first musical comedy, attracted thousand new members every day. lovers of both opera and burlesque MySpace prohibits the posting of any shows. In the 1920s and 1930s com- potentially dangerous information, posers such as Jerome Kern, George such as phone numbers and ad-

205 mystery ingredient technique dresses. MySpace (and other online the modern imagination—Superman networking sites) now allows for comes from another planet, the an- the posting of other kinds of items, cient hero from the heavens; Super- including profiles for companies man’s weakness (or tragic flaw) is and various artists (e.g., musicians, exposure to kryptonite (a substance filmmakers), who upload songs, short from his original planet), while the films, and other work directly onto ancient hero may have a weak heel their profiles.W eb site: www (Achilles) or other flaw. The Super- .MySpace.com man story is not a real myth, serving the important cognitive functions that mystery ingredient technique ad- myths served in the ancient world; vertising technique whereby a mys- it is a recasting of myth to serve mod- tery ingredient in a drink, detergent, ern psychic needs. or other product is claimed to be the source behind the product’s appeal or mythology 1. group of m y t h s con- quality nected to each other in some way; 2. the study of myths. There are four myth 1. ancient story about gods, main types of myths found through- heroes, and supernatural events; 2. out the world: cosmogonic myths aim by extension, any story that aims to to explain how the world came into explain something in nonliteral or being; eschatological myths foretell nonscientific ways the end of the world; birth and re- birth myths indicate how life can be mythologie [French for mythology] renewed or tell about the coming of as defined by Ro l a n d Ba rt h e s , any an ideal world or savior; and culture modern-day spectacle or text that hero myths tell about heroes who has mythic structure built into it. For have changed the course of history. example, superhero comics or movies are examples of mythologies, since mythos [in contrast to lógos] the they recast the mythic hero concept form of thinking that generates in modern form. For instance, Super- m y t h s and many symbols to help man comes from another world, has explain the world. For example, the a fatal weakness, brings about justice ancient Greeks symbolized the sun in human affairs, and so on, as did as the god Helios driving a flaming many ancient mythic heroes. The chariot across the sky. The Egyptians, difference is that Superman’s persona on the other hand, represented the and story have been updated to reflect sun as a boat.

206 last item naming identifying a were applied to the person person (in relation to a kin- who actually practiced the ship group or a particular occupation, who may have society), a brand product, belonged to a family with or some other thing to N which the occupation was which people wish to refer associated, or who was in human terms by analogy (hur- perceived as looking or behaving ricanes, pets). In Anglo-American like someone practicing the occupa- culture, given (or first) names can tion. Naming trends are remarkably stand for such things as a month or stable in most societies because object (May, June, Ruby, Daisy), names link people to families and pop culture icons (Elvis, Marilyn), or cultural traditions. However, in some classical mythic personages (Diana, modern cultures, fashion trends Jason), among many others. Tradi- sometimes influence name-giving. tionally, the names of ancestors or Nevertheless, according to the U.S. religious personages (Mary, John) Social Security Administration, one- are used everywhere in the world. fourth of the top twenty names given Until the late Middle Ages, the given in 2004 were the same as those given name was generally sufficient. Dupli- in 1880. cations, however, led to the coinage of surnames (literally, “names on top nanotechnology technology permit- of names”), indicating such things ting the manipulation of atoms and as the individual’s place of origin or molecules to form larger structures. parentage, personality, occupation, In the computer world, nanotechnol- or some other recognizable trait. For ogy refers to any technology that al- example, a person living near a brook lows for compression of data so that would have been called by that name it can be stored and used by increas- Brook. Surnames such as Woods, ingly smaller devices. Moore, Church, or Hill were also coined in this way. Surnames such as Napster trade name for software that Black, Short, Long, etc., were coined allows users to share files over the instead to highlight traits perceived in Internet. Napster is the first to have individuals. Descendant surnames— had legal challenges to its operations, for example, those created with Mac- with resulting legal measures being or Mc- in Scottish or Irish surnames taken. Its name now is associated (MacAdam, “son or daughter of more with its legal battles than with Adam”) or -son in English surnames its original technology. (Johnson, “son of John”) were used to specify the family to which some- narcotizing dysfunction accord- one belonged. Surnames describing to one theory, the overloading of ing an occupation—Smith, Farmer, audiences with mediated information, Carpenter, Tailor, Weaver, etc.— which results in apathy

207 narrative narrative any account (story, myth, tendency to tell stories and to under- tale, fable, etc.) that connects a se- stand the world in terms of narrative quence of events involving characters structures and forms in certain situations that are usually resolved by the end. The narrative narratology formal study of n a r r a - may be fact-based, as in a TV docu- t i v e s and n a r r at i v e c o d e s mentary, or fictional, as in a novel or movie. Narratives are constructed narrowcasting broadcasting di- (normally) with four basic elements: rected at a limited target audience. In the plot, which is what the narrative broadcasting theory, most audiences is all about; characters, the partici- are divisible into segments defined pants in the plot; the setting, which by specific demographic and lifestyle is where the plot takes place and the characteristics. The contemporary time frame within which it occurs; specialty radio stations and TV chan- and the narrator, who is the teller of nels, for example, are aimed at audi- the story (a character of the narrative, ences with specific kinds of interests the author, or some other person). tied to age, gender, class, and other Fictional narratives became popular kinds of social variables. worldwide after the Italian Giovanni Boccaccio wrote the Decameron National Broadcasting Com- (1351–1353), a collection of 100 pany [abbreviated as NBC] major fictional tales set against the back- American commercial broadcast- ground of the Black Death in Flor- ing company founded in 1926 by ence. The Decameron is the first true RCA Corporation, General Electric work of fiction in the modern sense Company, and Westinghouse as the of the word—the telling of stories first company to operate a broadcast simply for the sake of the telling. network. Directed by RCA’s president David Sarnoff, it became wholly narrative code recurring element owned by RCA in 1930. In the 1990s within a narrative (prototypical NBC expanded its cable television characters such as heroes and vil- programming, creating MSNBC (an lains, themes such as the journey into alliance with Microsoft) and CNBC an unknown territory, and so on). (an alliance with Dow Jones). Web The serious study of narrative codes site: www.nbc.com was initiated by the Russian literary scholar Vl a d i m i r Pr o pp , who also national media media outlets and/ argued persuasively in 1928 that or- or products that receive nationwide dinary discourse was built upon this distribution and attention very kind of code. national newspaper newspaper that narrative paradigm theory that achieves national popularity and is defines humans in terms of their available in every part of a country.

208 needs theory

The most well-known national news- NC-17 rating censorship classifica- paper in the United States is The New tion in the United States indicating York Times, established in 1851. that a film cannot be seen by anyone under the age of 17 because of National Public Radio [abbreviated its adult-directed content (such as as NPR] public (noncommercial) sexuality, excessive violence, foul radio network established in 1967 language, nudity) in the United States by Congress to provide an alternative public radio needle time agreed-upon maximum system. Public radio stations are amount of time that a radio station financed in much the same way as can spend playing recorded music public television stations, through public and private donations and gov- needs theory in advertising, the theo- ernment support. NPR offers a wider ry that advertising should be based variety of news, documentary, educa- on linking a product to basic human tional, and information programming needs and how it helps to fulfill them than commercial radio stations. Web in some way. The most commonly site: www.npr.org identified needs are: naturalism 1. method of filmmaking Achievement: the need to achieve whereby characters and locations are meaningful objectives shot as they actually are, as opposed in life or to fulfill to creating artificial ones; 2. more personal dreams generally, any form of representation Popularity: the need to win the that attempts to reproduce real-world attention of others features as accurately as possible or to be accepted by peer groups naturalistic illusion of television the Dominance: the need to exert in- impression that people receive from fluence in relations or certain kinds of television programs to get the upper hand that what they are watching is a rep- in them resentation of real life when, in fact, Diversion: the need to enjoy it is not oneself and to attain pleasure in life navigation activity of going from Understanding: the need to learn and Web site to Web site on the Internet, instruct either to search for something spe- Nurturing: the need to care for cific or else simply to find out what is others and to be cared on the Internet for by others Sexuality: the need to express NBC [see National Broadcasting sexual feelings and Company] urges

209 negative

Security: the need to be free as the use of so as an emphatic form from harm and threat in expressions such as That’s so Independence: the need to be self- yesterday reliant Recognition: the need to be recog- neomania [term coined by Ro l a n d nized or acclaimed in Ba rt h e s ] the maniacal craving for some way new things, whether they are needed Stimulation: the need to be excited or not, prompted by consumerism or aroused and supportive media spectacles and Novelty: the need to have new advertising things Affiliation: the need to win neo-Marxist theory any media acceptance theory that espouses basic Support: the need to receive Marxist ideas, but coming after emotional support the mainstream form of Marxist Consistency: the need to achieve criticism known as the Fr a n k f u rt order through consis- Sc h o o l tency in lifestyle neorealism Italian literary and cine- negative in older photographic tech- matic movement that flourished after nology, type of film copy in which World War II, focusing on social re- the tones are the opposite of those in alities as they are in actual everyday the original existence. Neorealist writers included Italo Calvino, Alberto Moravia, and negotiated reading interpretation of Cesare Pavese. Neorealism in film a text that is a compromise reached embraced a documentary-like objec- between the maker’s preferred read- tivity in style. The actors were often ing of it and the reader’s own reading amateurs, and the action revolved around everyday situations. Two Negroponte, Nicholas (1943–) in- notable examples of neorealist films fluential author on digital media and, are Roberto Rossellini’s Open City especially, on how convergence (1945) and Vittorio De Sica’s The unfolds in cyberspace. His book Be- Bicycle Thief (1948). ing Digital (1995) has been widely cited in the media and communica- Net [see Internet] tions literature. net audience total number of people neologism 1. newly coined word reached by an advertising campaign. or phrase that has not been gener- An individual is counted once in this ally accepted yet, such as digiform method, regardless of whether she or (a blend of digital and form); 2. use he has seen the campaign more than of a word with a new meaning, such once.

210 networking

Net imperative the idea that it is network 1. chain of radio or televi- crucial for organizations to use the sion stations linked technologically; Internet if they are to gain success in 2. company that produces program- today’s digital universe ming for such stations; 3. in computer science, system of computers netiquette informal set of rules regard- interconnected to each other ing use of the Internet, including the type of language that is appropriate network era period of television programming, from the early 1950s netlingo [also called netspeak] forms to the 1990s, when the big three net- of language used in chat rooms, text works (CBS, NBC, and ABC) were messages, social networking sites, the dominant broadcasters, with little and the like. Netlingo is marked by or no competition from other sources. efficiency of structure, which mani- The era went into decline with the fests itself in such phenomena as ab- advent of cable technology and breviations, acronyms, and the use of Internet-based or Internet-connected numbers, all of which are designed to broadcasting make the delivery of linguistic messages rapid and highly economical. Network News Transfer Protocol Some of these are listed below. [abbreviated as NNTP] protocol for transferring newsgroup data across b4 = before the Internet bf/gf = boyfriend/girlfriend f2f = face-to-face network programming scheduling gr8 = great television programs over an entire h2cus = hope to see you soon network, in order to take into account idk = I don’t know time and regional differences j4f = just for fun lol = laughing out loud network society increasing tendency cm = call me of society to use global computer 2dA = today networks for the purposes of commu- wan2 = want to nication, work, shopping, and most ruok = Are you OK? of the other things that previously 2moro = tomorrow were done in person in the so-called g2g = gotta go offline world netphone phone that makes connec- networking 1. building up an infor- tions via the Internet mal group of people to contact as a way to learn about job opportunities, netspeak [see netlingo] especially by means of Internet communications; 2. inexpensive way of netsurfing[ see navigation] sending information quickly among

211 new economy computers connected together in a site. The early years of television single room or building offered little news coverage. In 1956 the NBC network introduced The new economy information-based Huntley-Brinkley Report, a half-hour (digital) economic systems, in national telecast presented in the contrast to the traditional industrial early evening and featuring filmed economic systems reports of the day’s events. The other networks soon followed with similar new journalism type of journal- news programming formats. In media ism similar to g o n z o j o u r n a l i s m , studies, news is now seen as a media in which the emotional content of a genre, with as much entertainment story is emphasized over its informa- value as any other genre. tion value news agency [also called news new wave 1. group of individual- service or wire service] organization istic French filmmakers who called that compiles, writes, and distributes for films to give more leeway to the news to media outlets. The largest director’s own personal vision; news agencies are United Press Inter- 2. type of punk rock style popular in national, Associated Press, Reuters, the mid- and late 1970s, which began and Agence France-Presse. partly as a backlash against the perceived superficial disco style; news anchor radio or television an- 3. style of science-fiction writing, nouncer who leads a news broadcast, which emerged in the 1960s, charac- usually by commenting and introduc- terized by a pessimistic view of the ing reports from correspondents in world and revolving around antihe- several different cities, countries, or roes, rather than superheroes other areas newbie an inexperienced user of the news blackout withholding of a Internet particular news broadcast, for some specific social, political, or other kind Newcomb’s ABX model of com- of reason munication early (1953), but still often-cited, tripartite communication news flashshort news report that model consisting of the sender (A), interrupts scheduled programming the receiver (B), and the social situ- because it is deemed to be worthy of ation in which the communication instant broadcasting to the viewing or takes place (X) listening audience news report of a current happen- news magazine 1. print magazine ing or happenings in a newspaper, published regularly, containing com- on television, on radio, or on a Web mentary on the news, investigative

212 newspaper reporting features, and the like; 2. by sion newscast began in 1948 with extension, any radio, television, or 15-minute programs that resembled online program formatted like a print movie newsreels. news magazine. News magazines have gained wide popularity because newsgroup a news discussion group they summarize and analyze the big- on the Internet. Newsgroups are gest news stories of the moment. organized into “interest categories” (for example, automobiles). A person news peg aspect of a story that starts a discussion by posting (up- makes it newsworthy, important, or loading) an article and the follow-up interesting replies form the discussion. Most newsgroups are connected via news server computer system that Usenet, a worldwide network that collects and distributes newsgroup uses the Ne t w o r k Ne w s Tr a n s f e r postings Pr o t o c o l . news service [see news agency] newspaper print publication issued daily, weekly, or at regular times that news television channel that broad- provides news, features, informa- casts only news and documentaries. tion of interest to the public, and The most widely known of these is advertising. In 1690 Benjamin Harris CNN (The Cable News Network) of Boston founded Publick Occur- founded by Ted Turner in 1980 to rences Both Forreign and Domestick, present 24-hour live news broadcasts, the first newspaper in the American using satellites to transmit reports Colonies. The colonial government from news bureaus around the world. ordered it stopped after just one issue. In 1704 John Campbell put out news values criteria applied by The Boston News-Letter, the first journalists to evaluating which news regularly published newspaper in stories are worthy of printing or America. Newspapers developed broadcasting, and in which order of rapidly in the 1800s, owing to wider importance they should appear literacy rates and advances in print technology. Newspaper publishing newsbreak short news bulletin expanded greatly in the twentieth inserted in a radio or television century. Today, newspapers undergo program because it is deemed to be consolidation driven by media con- worthy of immediate attention glomerates or through the acquisition of smaller papers by larger ones. newscast broadcast of the news. In 1980 The Columbus Dispatch Newscasting began on radio in the became the first electronic newspaper mid-1930s and increased significant- in the United States. In addition to ly during World War II. The televi- printing a regular paper edition, the

213 newspeak

Dispatch started transmitting some niche marketing marketing to small, of its content to computers in homes, but potentially lucrative, specialized businesses, and libraries. Today, most markets papers offer online versions. nickelodeon type of movie theater newspeak imaginary form of speech popular around 1905, which opened in George Orwell’s novel 1984 mostly in commercial areas and in (1949) employed by people living in poorer neighborhoods. Because admis- a bleak totalitarian society. In new- sion was only 5 cents, the nickelodeons speak, words are twisted to mean the attracted large audiences for movies, opposite of their real meaning so that laying the foundations for the expan- they can be used ideologically by so- sion of the fledgling movie industry. ciety’s rulers. Language is simplified to impede original thinking and to Nielsen ratings national ratings of make revolutionary thoughts impos- the popularity of television shows, sible to express. developed by AC Nielsen in 1950. The method now samples televi- newsreader software that allows us- sion viewing in homes, by attaching ers to participate in newsgroups a meter to television sets, which records the channels being watched newsreel news report shown on film and sends the data to a computer in a movie theater, often before the center for statistical analysis. Televi- main feature, popular from the 1920s sion networks use the ratings to set to the 1950s advertising rates for each program as well as to determine which programs newsweekly newspaper or magazine to produce and which ones to cancel. that is published weekly. The most Web site: www.nielsenmedia.com/ famous of these is Time, founded in ratings101.htm 1923 by Henry R. Luce and Briton Hadden. nihilism philosophy rejecting any belief system claiming that life has a newsworthy stories that are be- purpose. The term was first used to lieved to be interesting enough to be describe Christian heretics during the reported in the media Middle Ages. It reemerged in Russia in the 1850s and 1860s in reference N-Gen [abbreviation of Net Genera- to young intellectuals who repudi- tion] people who have grown up with ated Christianity, considered Russian the Internet from an early age society backward, or advocated revolutionary change. The best-known niche audience small target audience fictional nihilist is Bazarov in Ivan that is predisposed toward some par- Turgenev’s 1862 novel Ottsy i deti ticular type of broadcasting or product (Fathers and Sons).

214 nostalgia

Nipkow, Paul (1860–1940) German munication through grooming habits, inventor who, as early as 1884, had hair and clothing styles, and such developed a scanning device that sent practices as tattooing and body pierc- pictures over short distances. His sys- ing. Nonverbal communication plays tem worked mechanically, rather than an essential role in social interaction. electronically, but is still considered The scientific study of nonverbal to be a forerunner of television. communication is called k i n e s i c s , which was established as a separate NNTP [see Network News Transfer field of inquiry and research by the Protocol] twentieth-century American anthropologist Ray L. Birdwhistell, who noise in communication theory, recorded and analyzed body move- anything that interferes with the ments, facial expressions, gestures, transmission or reception of signals. In and the like during social interaction. electronic transmissions, noise is static. Birdwhistell claimed that it is pos- By extension, in human communica- sible to write a “kinesic grammar” in tion, noise refers to any physical noise the same way that linguists wrote a (sneezing, chatter, etc.) or to lapses of verbal grammar by analyzing words memory (psychological noise). and sentences. The main areas of nominalism view of some medieval nonverbal communication study are: philosophers that reality is constructed • eye contact (looking patterns) by humans through their words and • facial expressions thus cannot exist apart from them. • posture, body orientation, sitting Nominalism was a reaction to realism, patterns according to which reality has an in- • gesture dependent existence prior to and apart • interpersonal zones (zones people from human knowledge of it. The maintain between each other) most widely cited nominalist is the • sensory signals fourteenth-century English Scholastic • hair and hairstyle philosopher William of Ockham, from • clothing whose name we derive the concept of • food Ockham’s (or Occam’s) razor, which • spaces and buildings asserts that the simplest of two or • architecture and cities more theories is to be preferred and that it should explain what is unknown Northcliffe revolution shift in the in terms of what is known. economic basis of newspaper publishing in the late nineteenth century nonverbal communication com- when newspapers became dependent munication by means of facial upon advertising revenues expressions, gestures, postures, and other wordless signals. The term also nostalgia yearning for anything includes indirect or implicit com- removed in space or time

215 nostalgia technique nostalgia technique advertising novella brief prose story, considered technique that uses images from to be the precursor of the short story previous times when, purportedly, and the n o v e l . The first and still life was more serene, less dangerous, most widely read compilation of and idyllic novellas is Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron (1348–1353), consisting novel fictional prose narrative, longer of 100 stories, told by a group of than a n o v e l l a . Literary critic friends who had escaped the plague Edmund Gosse traced the novel as in Florence in order to entertain far back as Aristides’s sixth-century each another over a period of ten b.c.e. story about Miletus, called the days. Milesiaka. Unlike modern fiction, the story had many historically ac- NPR [see National Public Radio] curate elements, and thus often reads as history rather than as fiction. In nudity the exposure of parts of the eleventh century Japan, the Baroness body that are considered unaccept- Murasaki Shikibu wrote what many able to expose in a public spectacle, regard as the first fictional novel, The performance, and the like. The Tale of Genji. The modern concept criteria for such exposure will vary of fiction starts with thefa b l i a u widely from place to place, and from in the medieval period, culminat- age to age. The ancient Greek and ing in the fourteenth century with Roman nude statues, Michelangelo’s Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron sculpture David (1501–1504), and (1348–1353). Miguel de Cervantes’s Rodin’s The Thinker (c. 1886) are Don Quixote de la Mancha (Part I, considered works of art, rather than 1605; Part II, 1615) is considered erotic or obscene representations; to be the first novel of true artistic on the other hand, nude poses such merit, setting the stage for the novel as those found in contemporary as an important literary genre. Novels magazines are interpreted in vastly became dominant in the eighteenth different ways. In sum, nudity has and nineteenth centuries. They meaning; it is perceived to have continue to be extremely popular, cultural (moral, aesthetic, etc.) although they have been competing value, rather than just biological for dominance with movies through- meaning. out the twentieth and early twenty- first centuries. Many novels have nursery rhyme poem written in formed the basis of movie scripts; catchy rhyme for children. An today some movies are produced first example is London bridge is falling and the novels written afterward. down, derived probably from an old The movie is, essentially, a “visual dance tune. Collections of nursery novel,” with the camera taking over rhymes in print started appearing in the role of the narrator. the eighteenth century.

216 last item

O&O’s [full form: owned obsolescence view that and operated by net- things should be constantly works] television stations replaced by new things that are owned and operated by networks O OCR [see optical character recognition] object 1. in grammar, a noun or noun off the record comments made phrase that directly or indirectly re- spontaneously and not intended to be ceives the action of a verb, or follows published or broadcast a preposition; 2. in philosophy, anything that is knowable, as opposed to off-air events or dialogue taking subject (any knower); 3. in semiotics, place in a broadcasting studio but not whatever a sign stands for put on the air object language meanings and sym- off-camera actions that are taking bolic values attached to objects place out of the range of a movie or television camera objective journalism journalism that aims to present the news without offline1. a computer that is not con- opinion or bias nected to the Internet; 2. by extension, anything that exists outside of objective theory of art theory argu- cyberspace (traditional media are ing that art is a projection of reality now called offline media, in contrast as seen by the artist. This contrasts to those media that are online) with m i m e t i c t h e o ry o f a r t , which sees art as a mirror of reality. offline newsreadersoftware that allows users to read newsgroup articles obscenity any act, writing, depic- without being online at the same time tion, or representation that is deemed to be deeply offensive or to violate off-network syndication process community standards of morality whereby older television programs and decency. The Supreme Court that no longer run on prime time are of the United States has ruled that made available to local stations, cable materials are obscene if they appeal operators, online services, or foreign predominantly to a prurient interest markets for reruns in sexual conduct, depict or describe sexual conduct in a patently offensive Ogden, C.K. (1889–1957) Brit- way, and lack serious literary, artistic, ish psychologist who is often cited political, or scientific value. Material in media studies for his works on deemed obscene under this definition meaning, especially the book he is not protected by the free speech coauthored with I.A. Richards, titled guarantee of the Fi r s t Am e n d m e n t . The Meaning of Meaning (1923).

217 oligopoly oligopoly situation whereby a media online database [also called online industry is monopolized by a small resources] database stored on a com- number of producers puter at a different location. Users gain access to these databases using omnibus radio or television program a modem or other device that enables that combines all the episodes of a them to communicate with each other serial or soap opera that have already over a network. Databases can usu- been broadcast ally be downloaded. omnimax system of film projec- online medium any medium (print, tion that surrounds the audience in a radio, television) that is delivered semicircle, thus engaging a viewer’s online instead of through more tradi- entire field of vision tional transmission systems on-camera actions taking place online service provider [abbreviated within the range of a movie or televi- as OSP] any provider of access to sion camera the Internet, such as America Online (AOL) and CompuServe on demand any cable or satellite service that allows the customer to select onomatopoeia use or creation of the start time of a particular program words imitating the sounds to which (rather than viewing or listening to it they refer: for example, buzz, swoosh, at regularly scheduled times) drip, bang on the record any comment made op art art style characterized by geo- that may be published or broadcast metric shapes and luminous colors, freely often to create optical illusions online a computer that is connected op ed article expressing a personal to the Internet. Online services pro- view, published opposite an editorial, vide e-mail and access to the World that is, on the facing page to that on Wide Web. which the editorial appears online advertising advertising that is open source creed policy of making created for viewing on Web sites technology, information, or data freely available without charging any fees online auction consumer online service at which sellers present items for open text [term coined by Um b e r t o examination by Web users who bid Ec o ] any text that is interpreted as against one another for the right to having a limitless range of meanings. purchase them. The largest and most The open text requires the reader popular online auction site is eBay. to have a certain erudition, whereas

218 opposition

cal styles of the late Renaissance. Jacopo Peri composed Camerata’s first opera, Dafne, in 1597.

operating system software program designed to control the hardware of a computer so that users can employ it easily

opinion leader someone who influences the values, beliefs, and opinions of others in t w o -s t e p f l o w t h e o ry , emphasizing the fact that a few people dictate lifestyle, fashion, and opinion, while most others are generally content to imitate and fol- Opera singer low them

opinion piece article in which a jour- c l o s e d t e x t does not. For instance, nalist expresses an opinion on a topic, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot rather than simply reporting the facts (1952), which is an open text, requires readers who can make up their opinion poll survey designed to iden- own minds as to what it means; on tify the attitudes, beliefs, opinions, the other hand, a typical detective or or views of people. The target group crime scene story does not. may include millions of individuals. However, only a small number open-source software noncommer- of them are actually polled (called a cial software developed and shared sample) because, if they have been freely on the Internet properly chosen, their opinions are considered to usually reflect those of opera theatrical play with all or most the entire group. of its text, known as the libretto, set to music and choreographed in some opposition feature of forms (words, way. Opera was created in Italy in the texts, etc.) that keeps them differenti- late sixteenth and early seventeenth ated and distinct. The two words sip centuries by a group of musicians and zip show a sound opposition that who called themselves the Camerata is sufficient to differentiate them for (Italian for “salon”). The Camerata a speaker of English. The theory of had two chief goals: to revive the opposition has been extended to in- ancient Greek melodrama and to de- clude cultural ideas such as good vs. velop an alternative to the rigid musi- evil, male vs. female, etc., which are

219 oppositional reading purported to reveal an unconscious orality use of the spoken word as the mode of keeping things distinct and primary means to transmit informa- meaningful. Such oppositions are tion, in contrast to l i t e r a c y characteristically binary and hierarchical, involving a pair of concepts organizational communication in which one member of the pair is system of communications set up assumed to be primary or fundamen- among organizations (banks, govern- tal, the other secondary or derivative. ment agencies, and the like) that is In deconstruction , the idea is to not (generally) open to the public displace the opposition by showing that neither concept is primary. orientalism in cultural theory, the misrepresentation of non-Western oppositional reading interpretation cultures and peoples by the media. of a text that is in opposition to what The term originated in the widely the maker of the text had intended, acclaimed book Orientalism (1978) which is known as the p r e f e r r e d by Palestinian-born American liter- r e a d i n g ary critic Edward Said, in which he examined Western stereotypes of the optical character recognition Islamic world, arguing that oriental- [abbreviated as OCR] device that can ist scholarship itself was based on recognize text characters and save Western ideological thinking. them as a text document Orkut online social networking site optimization in advertising parlance, run by Google and founded in 2004 computer package that automatically that allows people to communicate devises a media schedule for an ad and form interest groups. Web site: campaign www.orkut.com oral culture culture in which in- orthography 1. any system of spell- formation and traditions are passed ing; 2. the art and study of spelling on from one generation to the next by storytellers. The forms of oral Oscar common name for an Ac a d - culture include poetry, folktales, and e m y o f Mo t i o n Pi c t u r e Ar t s proverbs as well as magical spells, a n d Sc i e n c e s award recognizing religious incantations, and stories excellence in acting, directing, of the past. The prevalence of radio, screenwriting, and other activities television, and newspapers in West- related to film production. The term ern culture has led to the decline of is derived from the name given to oral traditions, though some survive, the golden statuette that is handed especially during childhood, when out at the awards. rhymes, stories, and songs are recounted orally. OSP [see online service provider]

220 oxymoron

otherness [synonym of alterity] view emphasizing diversity in representational practices. This concept became widely known after Mi c h e l Fo u c a u lt ’s accusation in the 1980s that the “Other”—any person or group of different race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation—had been traditionally excluded from Western society’s representational activities.

output hardware computer hardware that transfers information to the user, such as video displays and printers

outtake scene or sequence that is removed from the final edit of a movie or radio or television program

oxymoron figure of speech that com- The Oscar statue, 80th Annual Academy Awards, Hollywood, bines contradictory ideas: for example, February 24, 2008 deafening silence, pleasing pain, etc.

221 first item

P2P [see peer-to-peer page impression mea- networking] sure indicating how many times a Web page has been package 1. audio text ready displayed to a visitor of a for broadcasting; 2. series P Web site of interview clips put together by an announcer or reporter page reader device that converts written text to a form that a computer package unit system system of can process Hollywood film production, initiated in the 1950s, in which each movie page requests [also called page is treated as a separate project with views] measure of the number of different actors and production team; times a Web page has been visited it replaced the older studio system, daily, thus providing an indication of allowing independent filmmakers its popularity easier access to the industry pager small, portable electronic packaging 1. creating a polished device that can receive and send image for a media product through messages through various wireless advertising; 2. designing the pack- networks age, box, wrapping, or container of a product in order to enhance its look pagination sequence of numbers and appeal given to pages in a document (such as a book) Packard, Vance social critic, whose books The Hidden Persuaders painting 1. picture drawn or (1957) and The Waste Makers (1960) made using paint (or some other brought to light the persuasive tech- substance) on a two-dimensional niques used by advertisers to increase surface; 2. art of creating pictures or the use of products drawings. Painting dates back to pre- historic images found on the walls packet unit of data sent over the of caves, such as those at Lascaux Internet in France. Early societies controlled the subject matter of painting and Packet Internet Groper [abbrevi- determined its function (ritualistic, ated as PING] message that tests the devotional, decorative). Painters connection between computers were considered artisans rather than artists; eventually, in East Asia and Page, Larry (1973–) American Renaissance Europe, the “painter-as- cofounder of Go o g l e , along with artist” emerged as a distinct indi- Russian-born American Se r g e y vidual. In the early twentieth century Br i n painters began to experiment with

222 pamphlet

Petroglyphs on a rock in Canyonlands National Park, Utah (circa 1150 c.e.)

art in which formal qualities such as PalmPilot a p e r s o n a l d i g i ta l a s - line, color, and form were explored s i s ta n t (PDA) manufactured origi- rather than subject matter. In the late nally by Palm Computing in 1996. part of the century some critics fore- The first two generations of PDAs cast the “death of painting” in the from Palm were called PalmPilots. face of new media such as video and The term quickly entered the ver- computer art, yet artists continue to nacular as a general word for PDAs, paint and fill the galleries with new regardless of the brand. works. Many of these use words and images, combining them in Palme d’Or highest honor awarded surprising ways, forcing the viewer at the Cannes Film Festival, for best to search for possible meanings and film of the year connections among the painting’s visual elements. pamphlet folded booklet that is often produced to promote a social cause or palindrome a word, phrase, sen- political issue. Pamphlets were widely tence, or numeral that reads the same used in sixteenth-century England, in either direction (front to back, France, and Germany for religious back to front): for example, pop; race or political causes. Foremost among car; Madam I’m Adam the American writers of political

223 pan and scan pamphlets was Thomas Paine, whose pantomime 1. in ancient Rome, an 55-page pamphlet Common Sense actor who used gestures and body (1776) became widely known for language rather than words; 2. any advocating independence. With more play or skit based on gestures and than 500,000 copies sold, the pamphlet body language (without speech). is considered to be a factor in strength- Pantomime began in ancient theater, ening the early American colonists’ re- but was developed as part of spoken solve to gain autonomy from England. theater by the c o m m e d i a d e l l ’a r t e , By the twentieth century, pamphlets an improvised comedy style that was came to be used more for information popular in sixteenth- and seven- than for polemical reasons, retaining teenth-century Italy. Actors in silent this function to the present day. motion pictures necessarily relied on pantomime. pan and scan technique for projecting widescreen movies on standard paparazzi freelance photographers television screens who pursue celebrities aggres- sively and persistently in order to panel 1. brief text separated from the take candid photos of them. The body of the main text by lines above term comes from Federico Fellini’s and below, usually highlighting some movie La dolce vita (1960), which aspect of the main text; 2. poster includes a group of roving reporters for advertising purposes; 3. group who stalk famous people, seeking to of individuals selected to perform a get a sensational story about them. service, such as an investigation, or Fellini called one of the journalists to discuss a topic Paparazzo. panopticism idea proposed by Mi c h e l Fo u c a u lt that surveil- Paper Tiger TV alternative media lance methods are used by those organization founded in 1981 and in power to maintain control. The based in New York, devoted to pro- term comes from Jeremy Bentham’s moting free access and distribution eighteenth-century design of prisons for independent producers. Web site: in which a large number of prison- www.papertiger.org ers are kept under surveillance by a small number of guards located in a paperback book with a soft flex- central viewing tower. Panopticism ible cover. Paperback books became often refers to the modern-day use popular in Europe and the United of video surveillance as an attempt States during the 1800s, after the to control human interaction. German publisher Tauchnitz began to issue paperback editions of classic panorama shot in film or television, literary works in 1841. By 1885, one- a camera shot that provides a wide third of the books published in the view of a scene or action sequence United States were paperback, called

224 parallel broadcast d i m e n o v e l s because they originally time, deductive logic was seen as the cost 10 cents. ideal form of logic for gaining truth about the world. Zeno challenged this papyrus paper-like material made with a series of clever arguments, from a pith of reeds, formed into a which came to be known as para- continuous strip and rolled around doxes (meaning literally, “conflict- a stick, associated primarily with ing with expectation”). In one of his ancient Egyptian writing. Given the paradoxes, Zeno argued cleverly that greater availability and affordability a runner would never be able to reach of papyrus, compared to the previous a race’s finish line if deductive logic use of tablets, literacy came to be val- were used. He argued as follows. ued highly among common people. The runner must first reach half the distance to the finish line. Then (and parable 1. in ancient Greece, a logically) from the mid-position, the literary illustration; 2. in the New runner would face a new, but simi- Testament, a story used by Jesus to lar, task—he must cover half of the illustrate a spiritual truth remaining distance between himself and the finish line. But after doing paradigm 1. set of assumptions, so, the runner would face a new, but principles, or practices that are char- again similar, task—he must once acteristic of a science or philosophi- more cover half of the new remain- cal system; 2. in s e m i o t i c s , feature ing distance between himself and or pattern that keeps signs distinct the finish line. Although the succes- and differentiated. In pairs such as sive half-distances between himself cat-rat and sip-zip, the first consonant and the finish line would become is the paradigmatic feature that keeps increasingly (indeed infinitesimally) the words distinct and differentiated. small, Zeno concluded that the runner would come very close to the paradox 1. statement or event that finish line, but would never cross it. appears to be contradictory, but Clearly, by experience we know that that somehow may actually be true; the runner will cross the finish line; 2. any circular statement (Which but by logical argument, we have just came first, the chicken or the egg?). shown that he can never do so— Paradoxes constitute their own genre, hence the term paradox. having become famous for how they have provided insights into the nature paralanguage any aspect of lan- of logic and mathematics. The most guage, such as tone of voice, that is famous paradoxes are those of the used along with words fifth centuryb .c.e. Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea, who is the likely parallel broadcast broadcast that is inventor of the paradox as a distinct transmitted by radio and/or television form of language and logic. In Zeno’s and/or the Internet at the same time

225 parallelism parallelism any statement made up of work) in an indirect fashion. Typi- parts that parallel or mirror each other cally, a parody distorts the theme and semantically: for example, I am the characters of a work or style. Geof- president, the country’s leader am I frey Chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” (from The Canterbury Tales), Paramount major Hollywood film for example, is a parody of the studio founded in 1914. In 1966 solemn language and style of ancient Paramount was acquired by Gulf & myth, since the clamor caused by Western, and the new company later Master Reynard the fox is suggestive changed its name to Paramount Com- of the fall of Troy. Sitcoms such as munications. In 1994 it was acquired Family Guy and The Simpsons are by Viacom, which in 2000 merged examples of parodies of American with CBS. Web site: www society. .paramount.com parole [see also langue] as de- paraphrase any rewording or sum- fined by Fe r d i n a n d d e Sa u s s u r e , mary of something, usually to explain speech, or the use of language for it: for example, going on a wild purposes such as communication goose chase can be paraphrased as pursuing something foolish participant observation in anthropology, research method whereby the parasocial interaction 1. imagi- researcher becomes a trusted member nary relationship that often develops of the culture that she or he is study- between a viewer and an on-screen ing, in order to observe the culture character; 2. social relationship at a firsthand and thus to gain an inside distance. encouraged by the media perspective parchment ancient durable writ- partisan press press associated with ing material made from the skins of a political party or ideology, gener- sheep, goats, or calves. Parchment ally showing a bias or allegiance to scrolls have survived from as far back that party or ideology as 1500 b.c.e. passivity theory view that a typical parent brand [also called master audience accepts media representa- brand] main brand in a brand family; tions passively and unreflectively for example, the Coca-Cola soft drink is the parent brand of all the other pastiche 1. media product that is brands of soft drinks manufactured created in imitation of another similar by the Coca-Cola Company one; 2. text that is constructed with cluttered or mixed forms, associated parody work making fun of someone primarily with p ostmodernism , or something (especially a famous which stresses collective or shared

226 PDA expression through a blend of bor- cultural theories, in which males are rowed styles said to be conditioned by the culture in which they are reared. patent governmental grant to an inventor of the exclusive right to make, pattern advertising campaign that is use, or sell an invention or media designed to have a broad appeal product. The first recorded patent for an industrial invention was granted in pay services [see pay-per-view] 1421 in Florence to the artist Filippo Brunelleschi. Generally, in the United pay-for-play interactive game Web States a patent term of twenty years site that charges a fee for usage is given from the date an application is filed. pay-per-view service provided by cable and satellite operators that al- pathetic fallacy the attribution of hu- lows viewers to select and purchase man feelings to inanimate things: for movies or special programming on a example, the angry skies, a stubborn per-feature basis computer, etc. Payne Fund Studies series of studies pathos a quality in a literary or artis- of controversial media effects, con- tic work or a media text that evokes ducted between 1929 and 1933, pub- sympathy or pity lished subsequently in eight volumes, that purported to show a link between patriarchy social system in which movies and such social aberrations as familial, social, economic, religious, crime and violence and political authority is wielded by men. In f e m i n i s t t h e o r i e s of media, payola characterization of the bribes the term is often used to refer to the that were given to popular radio DJs, ways in which some societies are especially during the 1950s, who structured to favor male domination were in a position to influence public over women. In this usage, patri- tastes, by record companies or artists. archy implies that the men control The term is used today more gener- the material and symbolic resources ally to refer to any type of bribery of a society and that these are often designed to promote artists and used to oppress women. Explana- works in some medium. tions for the emergence of this form of oppression vary from evolutionary PBS [see public broadcasting theories, in which males are said to service] be the more “aggressive” and thus “dominant” of the two sexes because PC [see personal computer] of evolutionary processes that have conditioned males to be this way, to PDA [see personal digital assistant]

227 P2P peer-to-peer networking [abbrevi- ers adopted masculine pen names ated as P2P] system that intercon- because of sexual discrimination. The nects users of the Internet to each British novelist Mary Ann Evans, for other. The P2P architecture allows example, concealed her femininity individual users to share files among with the pen name George Eliot. Two themselves without recourse to a famous pen names are Lewis Carroll, central server. adopted by the English writer and mathematician Charles Dodgson; and Peirce, Charles Sanders Mark Twain, adopted by the Ameri- (1839–1914) American philosopher can author Samuel Clemens. who, along with Fe r d i n a n d d e Sa u s s u r e , is considered a founder People meter device invented by of modern-day s e m i o t i c s . Peirce the AC Ni e l s e n Media Research characterized semiotics as the “doc- Company that is installed in a remote trine” of signs, meaning a “system control unit to electronically record of principles.” Contrary to Saussure, the selection of television channels. Peirce saw the relation between signs The device is thus used to determine and sign users not as an arbitrary television viewing behavior. one, but rather as an interpretive one; essentially, every time a sign (such perception discernment of objects as a word) is used, it is subject to or qualities of objects by means variant interpretations according to of the senses. According to classic context and other external factors. psychological theory, most percepts Peirce is also known as a founder (= units of perception) result from the of philosophical pragmatism, which association of sensory cues with past maintains that the value of a theory experience. lies mainly in its applications. performance 1. formal exhibition or penetrated market market in which presentation before an audience of a more of a company’s products are play, a musical program, and the like; sold, compared to all potential 2. representation and communication markets of a text, put on display for an audience; 3. in linguistics, the actual use penetration strategy in advertising, of language in concrete situations a plan for promoting a company’s products in a particular part of the performative in discourse theory potential market and pragmatic linguistics a word or phrase that indicates the performance pen name [also called pseudonym] of something, or at least the will to fictitious name used by an author do something. When someone says instead of his or her real name. Dur- “I am cutting grass,” that person is ing the 1800s, some women writ- performing what the utterance says

228 perspective he is doing. The term comes from John Austin’s 1962 book, How to Do Things with Words. performing rights permission to perform a piece of music to which the performer does not hold copyright periodical publication that is issued at regular intervals, including newspapers, magazines, journals, and the like persona 1. character in a work, especially in theater parlance; 2. in psychoanalysis, the role one plays in social contexts, as sepa- Typical PDA rate from the inner self. In ancient Greece, the word persona signified a “mask” worn by an actor on stage. personal digital assistant [abbrevi- Subsequently, it came to have the ated as PDA] handheld or pocket- meaning of “the character of the sized computer, offering a wide range mask-wearer.” This meaning can still of features, including calculation, be found in the theater term dramatis time-keeping, computer games, personae, or “cast of characters.” access to the Internet, e-mail service, Eventually, the word came to be re- radio, video, etc. fashioned as person in English, with its present meaning, perhaps indicat- personificationportrayal or char- ing the historical importance of the acterization of inanimate objects, theater as a medium of portraying animals, or ideas as if they were human character. people or possessed human characteristics: for example, My computer personal computer [abbreviated as is sick today PC] microcomputer so named because it is smaller than a mainframe perspective technique of represent- computer. Early mainframes and their ing images (of people, objects) as peripheral devices often took up the they would appear to visual percep- floor space of a house, making them tion in reality. Although there is evi- impracticable for personal use. The dence that the ancient Greeks already PC, which was developed in the early knew how to create an illusion of 1970s, fits on an individual user’s depth or length in two-dimensional desk. surface drawings, the Italian Renais-

229 persuasion techniques

• Endorsements of products by celebrities make them appear reliable. • Appeals to parents induce parents to believe that giving their children certain products will secure for them a better life and future. • Implicit appeals that are designed Cube to convince parents that they should get their children some product. sance artist Filippo Brunelleschi • Scare copy techniques are designed rediscovered and then entrenched this to promote such goods and services technique in painting. For example, as insurance, fire alarms, cosmetics, the figure above is perceived as a and vitamin capsules by evoking three-dimensional box, rather than a the fear of poverty, sickness, loss of two-dimensional drawing, because of social standing, and/or impending the principles of perspective, which disaster. trick the eye into seeing depth. persuasion techniques in advertis- PG rating [full form: parental guiding, techniques designed to persuade ance] film classification indicating consumers to buy or endorse a prod- that a movie may be seen by any- uct. These include the following: one, but that parents should exercise discretion regarding its suitability for • Repetition is the technique whereby their children the content of radio and television commercials is reiterated in the PG-13 rating [full form: parental print media (newspapers, maga- guidance–under thirteen] film clas- zines, posters, displays) in order sification indicating that a movie may to capture the attention of a large be seen by anyone, but that parents segment of potential customers. should exercise discretion regarding • The something-for-nothing lure its suitability for their own children if is designed to grab the attention they are under the age of 13 of potential consumers: Buy one and get a second one free; Send phallocentrism in f e m i n i s t t h e o ry , for free sample; Trial offer at half the idea that the male perspective price; Finish this sentence and win is the dominant one in a patriarchal $1,000,000 in cash, an automobile, society, such as traditional Western or a trip to Florida for two; No society, and thus is expressed in rep- money down; etc. resentations and media • Humorously contrived ads and commercials convey friendliness phatic function as defined by Ro- and thus help to portray a product m a n Ja k o b s o n , the social purpose as agreeable. of certain forms of discourse, for-

230 photographic truth mulaic forms of speech that are used troduced a system of precise notation for social contact rather than for the for writing down speech sounds. communication of ideas: for example, Hey, how are you? What’s up? phonograph [also called record player] device for reproduc- phenomenology twentieth-century ing sounds. A phonograph record movement in philosophy and the produces sound when a stylus is arts emphasizing the role of sensory placed on its rotating surface. Its stimulation and the emotions. The invention is generally credited to founder was the German philosopher Th o m a s Al v a Ed i s o n . Before radio Edmund Husserl. German philoso- and motion pictures, the phonograph pher Ma r t i n He i d e g g e r claimed reigned for several decades as the that phenomenology was particularly great modern innovation in pop cul- useful for explaining the structure of ture and entertainment. everyday experience. phonology study of the sounds in phish in n e t l i n g o , to trick someone a language and how they are used into providing personal details by in the formation of words and other sending an e-mail that presents itself structures fraudulently as emanating from a bank or Internet provider photo opportunity occasion when celebrities, politicians, or other public phone-in radio or television program figures pose for photographers, usu- that receives phone calls from audi- ally to get exposure or for some form ence members, who are encouraged to of publicity ask the host or guest questions, make comments, or take part in a discussion photocopy copy of a document or image, printed directly on paper by phoneme sound unit in language that the action of light in a machine built signals differences in meaning. For for this purpose example, the /p/ can replace other consonants, such as /w/ and /b/, to photodigital memory computer make English words—pin vs. win memory system that employs a laser vs. bin. It is thus a phoneme in that to transfer data to a piece of film, language, because it has the ability to which can be read again many times signal differences in the meaning of these words. photograph image recorded by a camera and reproduced on a photo- phonetics study and classification sensitive surface of speech sounds. Modern phonetics began with Alexander Melville Bell, photographic truth former belief whose book Visible Speech (1867) in- that photographs do not lie. With

231 photography the advent of digital technology this example. The growth and popularity belief is no longer held, given that of the realistic novel led to its decline. images can now be easily and readily manipulated. pictography use of pictures or visual symbols for writing purposes. photography art, craft, or science Pictographs are drawn to stand for an of taking and developing p h o t o - object or idea directly. The “smiley” g r a p h s . Photography originated in (J), for example, is a modern-day the early nineteenth century when the pictograph. A pictograph that stands combined discoveries of Frenchmen for an idea rather than something Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and Louis concrete is called an i d e o g r a m Jacques Mandé Daguerre led to the (such as the Nike “swoosh” logo, invention of the first commercially representing speed). successful photographic process, called the daguerreotype (1839). In pictorial newspaper or magazine that the 1860s the Englishman Henry has many visual images, often more Peach Robinson pioneered a method than it has written text of creating one print from several different negatives. At the turn of the picture library photography store, twenty-first century, photographers device, or Web site from which pho- started using digital technology, tographs may be borrowed or repro- expanding the uses of photography duced for use in books, magazines, or considerably and to a large extent other print materials replacing previous photographic technologies. picture messaging sending images and photographs from one mobile photojournalism news reporting phone to another in which photography plays a more important role than the accompany- pilot radio or television program made ing text as an experiment or trial so as to glean the audience’s reaction to it as the first photomontage art of combining episode in a potential new series different photographic images to compose a single image pilot study preliminary study intended to identify the suitability of picaresque novel novel revolving conducting a full study around the episodic adventures of a rogue or adventurer who is portrayed PING [see Packet Internet Groper] as drifting from place to place in order to survive. The genre originated in piracy unauthorized duplication, Spain with Mateo Alemán’s Guzmán distribution, or broadcasting of copy- de Alfarache (1599) being an early righted material for profit

232 podcasting pirate radio radio station that broad- play theory of mass communication casts illegally without a license, often idea that the mass media do not pro- attracting large numbers of listeners duce harmful effects because people use them, by and large, for entertain- plain-folks pitch advertising strategy ment, rather than for information whereby a product is associated with common people using it for practical playlist list of musical recordings purposes that are scheduled to be aired by a radio station planned obsolescence claim by some social critics that certain manu- pleasure principle [see also id] facturers design their products to last desire for the fulfillment of natural a short time so that customers will be urges, such as sexual ones, regard- forced to buy them over and over less of social or moral sanctions. Its operation is unconscious in adults, planted news propaganda disguised playing an especially important role as news in modes of expression that have a nonrational motivation, such as the plasma screen flat display screen for making of art. computers and television sets, which gives clearer images than other forms plot 1. events that take place in a nar- of screen technology rative; 2. main action in a story Plato (c. 428–347 b.c.e.) ancient Greek philosopher who coined the plug-in tiny add-on program to a term philosophy (“love of knowl- browser that allows a user to play edge”). His Doctrine of Forms, by animations, videos, or sound files which he proposed that objects resemble the perfect forms with which pluralism 1. notion that all cultural all humans are born, is the basis (or and value systems are equal and stimulus) of several modern-day should be allowed to coexist in the ideas, including that of the a r c h e - same social situation or system; 2. t y p e . His writings include the Re- view that the media should reflect public, the Apology (which portrays social diversity Socrates’ self-defense of the charges against him), Phaedo (which portrays POD [abbreviation of Print on the death of Socrates and in which he Demand] discusses the Doctrine of Forms), and the Symposium. podcasting activity of providing immediate audio and/or video files play story acted out on a stage (or over the Internet to subscribers, for some other place or through another playback on mobile devices and/or medium); a dramatization personal computers

233 POem

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1886) by Georges Seurat poem piece of writing, usually in pointillism painting style in verse form, that is more songlike, us- which color “points” are used to ing more emotionally suggestive lan- cover a ground (background and/or guage than ordinary speech or prose. foreground), appearing to blend to- The oldest surviving Greek poems, gether when viewed from a distance, and still the most referenced ones in producing a glowing effect. The all kinds of texts, are the great epics works of Georges Seurat and the Iliad and the Odyssey, which are his followers in late nineteenth- attributed to Homer and were prob- century France best exemplify this ably written during the eighth century style. b.c.e. They were composed from excerpts of Greek oral poetry, such political advertising advertising as folktales and songs. After Homer’s used for political purposes, such as time, people recited the two works, political campaigning often from memory, before audiences at festivals. political correctness language or conduct that deliberately avoids point of presence [abbreviated as giving offense, especially regard- POP] phone number that a computer ing sensitive topics such as gender, dials via the modem religion, and race

234 pop language

pop culture [full form: popular culture] culture that can be defined as the “culture of the marketplace,” and thus produced by the people, rather than commissioned and sponsored by an aristocrat, institution, or the like (as in the past). Pop culture is thus subject to the same economic laws connected to the making and consumption of material goods. Pop culture includes television programs, advertising, comic books, popular music (rock ’n’ roll, hip-hop), fashion, sports, shopping, etc. It rejects Andy Warhol’s silkscreen painting both the supremacy of the “high cul- Orange Marilyn (1964) ture” of the past and the pretensions of avant-garde intellectual trends of the present. It is highly appealing for polysemy 1. multiple meanings that this very reason. It bestows on com- some words have; for example, the mon people the assurance that “cul- word play means “drama” and “to ture” is mass consumption, not just take part in a game”; 2. by extension, for an elite class of cognoscenti. It the different ways in which media is thus populist, popular, and public. texts are interpreted by different The spread of pop culture as a kind of audiences mainstream culture has been brought about by developments in technol- POP [see point of presence] ogy. The rise of music as a mass art, for instance, was made possible by pop art [full form: popular art], art the advent of recording and radio movement surfacing in the late 1940s broadcasting technologies at the start that emphasized the representation of the twentieth century. Records and and/or incorporation of the objects radio made music available to large of mass culture. The movement was audiences, converting it from an art initially a reaction against abstract for the elite to a commodity for one expressionism, with brand products, and all. The spread and appeal of pop comic strips, and the like forming culture throughout the globe today is the subject matter of the artists in the due to the advent of satellite technol- movement. Perhaps the best-known ogy and the Internet. pop artist was Andy Warhol, who produced paintings and silk-screen pop language term coined by writer prints of commonplace objects and Leslie Savan in her 2005 book titled celebrities. Slam Dunks and No-Brainers: Lan-

235 pop music guage in Your Life, the Media, Busi- becoming a symbol of a trend or ness, Politics, and, Like, Whatever, lifestyle referring to language used in media but picked up by the population at populism political philosophy that large: That is so last year; I hate it champions the common person, when that happens; Don’t go there; combining elements of the political Get a life; and so on. Savan compares left and right, opposing large busi- Disney’s 1953 cartoon Peter Pan ness and financial interests, but also with the 2002 sequel Return to Never frequently showing an open hostility Land. The former was free of pack- to established labor organizations aged phrases and slang. The sequel, on the other hand, is scripted on the pop-under ad Internet ad that ap- basis of pop language, including such pears in a separate browser window phrases as: In your dreams, Hook; Put a cork in it; Tell me about it; pop-up ad advertisement that is You’ve got that right; and Don’t even activated, popping up on the screen, think about it. when a user visits a particular Web site pop music [full form: popular music] music intended to be appre- pornography depiction of erotic ciated by ordinary people, usually behavior intended to cause sexual intended to provide entertainment and excitement, primarily in movies. The pleasure, and including such genres word originally signified any work as jazz, swing, rhythm and blues, depicting the life of prostitutes. The rock, and rap. Pop music surfaced development of photography and at the start of the twentieth century, motion pictures in the nineteenth spreading in the 1920s with the rise and twentieth centuries contributed of jazz music. In 1923 the Broadway greatly to the proliferation of por- musical Running Wild helped turn the nography, as has the advent of the Charleston into what most historians Internet in the late twentieth century. of pop culture consider to be the first During the twentieth century, restric- dance craze. By the late 1920s, the tions on pornography were relaxed cheapness and availability of mass- throughout much of Europe and produced records entrenched pop mu- North America, though regulations sic as mainstream music. In the 1950s remained strict in Asia, the Middle rock music came onto the scene as East, and Africa. Child pornography mainstream pop music. Many styles is universally prohibited. According have emerged since, from punk and to some media analysts, pornography disco to rap and metal. is central to understanding pop culture. When the pornographic movie pop star individual in media who has Deep Throat premiered in 1972, it become an icon in his or her field, was perceived not just as a new form

236 post-broadcast media of blatant sexual depiction, but was perfume is positioned in magazines also described by some critics as a dealing with women’s issues or in serious threat to the political and so- fashion magazines; men’s deodor- cial order. Pornography continues to ants, on the other hand, are typically be a form of social criticism against positioned in corresponding maga- authoritarianism, albeit much less so zines for men. today since it has become virtually mainstream. Some media analysts positive appeal advertising intended distinguish between the erotic and to demonstrate why a product is at- the pornographic. The former term is tractive or important to possess used to describe the sexual activities that have been represented in the art positivism philosophical system that of most cultures since antiquity. In confines itself to empirical facts, Greek pottery and Indian temples, for emphasizing the achievements of example, sex in its different forms science appears as just one feature among many. It is only in modern secular post 1. to send a message to a news- cultures that a distinction has come group or bulletin board on Internet; to be made between the two sup- 2. to update a database; 3. to show posedly different kinds of sexual text online at a Web site representation. Postal Act of 1879 legislation that portal entry point to the Internet, allowed magazines to be mailed at such as a search engine low cost, leading to the growth of the magazine industry portrait 1. painting, photograph, or drawing of a person, focusing on the post-broadcast media the shift that face, extended to mean the depiction has occurred in the way that me- of someone’s personality in some dia texts are delivered, due to the way; 2. by extension, any penetrating advent of the Internet and digital depiction of someone or something. technologies: Portraits can be traced as far back as 3100 b.c.e. in Egypt. They serve Broadcast Post-broadcast various social functions, ranging public private from the exaltation of rulers and passive active important cultural figures to sketches of common people. analogue digital one-to-many many-to-many positioning advertising products mass interactive in appropriate market segments through appropriate media. For television computer example, advertising for women’s standardized customized

237 postcolonialism postcolonialism the period after a post-Fordism [in contrast to Ford- colonizing country has departed from ism] trend of moving away from the area it once controlled traditional industries toward service and technology-based work involving poster appealing print announce- digital media ment or advertisement that is displayed publicly to promote a post-humanism secular philosophy product, event, or idea. Posters were that aims to reassign humanity to its popular in the nineteenth century, place among natural species, bringing following the invention of lithogra- it down from its privileged position. phy, which allowed color to be used According to this claim, humans have in the making of posters. Henri de no inherent right to destroy nature Toulouse-Lautrec was noted for his or set themselves above it. Post‑ poster art, which was often used humanism has also been enlisted to to advertise cabaret shows. The suggest that human bodies can be ame- early twentieth century gave rise to liorated through technological inter- advertising posters for every convention such as genetic engineering. ceivable product; the poster remains a primary advertising tool to this posting message sent to a newsgroup day. Postman, Neil (1931–2003) well- post-feminism approach to culture known critic of media technologies, and media that still holds to basic entertainments, and their effects on feminist criticism, expanding the people and cultures. Among his best- original paradigm in order to reevalu- known works are Amusing Ourselves ate some of the original assumptions to Death (1985) and The End of of feminism, especially the role of Education (1995). sexual representations of women in the media. Post-feminism emerged as postmodernism movement in phi- a backlash to Eurocentric and elitist losophy and art rejecting traditional strands of feminism, and especially narrative and aesthetic structures. The ideas such as those put forward by term was coined by architects in the radical anti-male feminists such as early 1970s to designate a building Andrea Dworkin, arguing that it is a style that was adopted at the time delicate balance to differentiate be- to contrast with modernist Bauhaus tween sexual explicitness and sexual style (characterized by boxlike exploitation and sexism. Perhaps skyscrapers and tall apartment build- inspired by artists such as Madonna ings). Postmodern architects empha- in the 1980s, post-feminism cel- sized eclecticism and eccentricity in ebrates previously taboo areas among design, putting, for example, a trian- feminists such as sexual attractive- gular roof structure on skyscrapers. ness and fashion. The term caught on more broadly,

238 PRESS becoming the moniker for a more latter is typical of the language used general trend in art and philosophy. among friends. postmodernity generally a synonym pragmatism philosophical move- for p ostmodernism , but sometimes ment developed by Ch a r l e s S. used to refer to the state of the world, Pe i r c e and William James, claiming rather than to the artistic or philo- that the validity of anything (an idea, sophical aspects of the postmodern a theory, etc.) lies in its practical uses movement or effects post-production final stage in the precision journalism type of jour- making of a recording, film, or televi- nalism that attempts to make news sion program, involving editing, dub- reporting a scientific enterprise with bing, and other special effects rigorous methods such as surveys and questionnaires poststructuralism movement in s e m i o t i c s that challenges basic preferred reading interpretation of structuralist theories, such as that of a media text that is the one intended b i n a ry o pp o s i t i o n , initiated by the by its maker or that is shaped by the psychoanalyst Ja c q u e s La c a n and ideology of the society in which it is the philosopher Ja c q u e s De r r i d a . made In structuralism, signs are implicitly assumed to be the bearers of mean- prejudice unfair opinion formed ings, independently of their users; by an individual or group, who may in poststructuralism, signs bear no twist or even ignore facts that conflict meaning, apart from the meanings we with that opinion give them in specific situations. pre-production work to be done post-testing evaluation of an adver- before the filming or recording stage tising campaign in order to determine of a text or program, such as script its effectiveness reading and budgeting

PR [see public relations] prequel story set at a time before the action of an existing work, especially pragmatics study of how language one that has achieved success is used in social contexts. Pragmatics deals with who says what to whom press 1. those involved in journalism; in specific situations. For example, 2. company that publishes books. The saying good-bye can unfold with the term was originally applied to print expression Good-bye or with the ex- journalism, specifically newspaper pression I’m outta here. The former journalism, but in the late twentieth is used in formal situations and the century it started being applied to

239 PRESS CONFERENCE electronic forms of journalism as primacy effect theory notion that well. the information most likely to be remembered is the one that occurs first press conference meeting where the in a text, film, or program press and other media reporters are invited to hear announcements of an primary text media text created be- important nature fore it is transmitted or made known press gallery location in a courtroom prime time period in a radio or tele- or legislature where the press can sit vision schedule when the potential and take notes or record the ongoing audience is the largest, generally proceedings weekday evenings from around 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. press kit package of background material for a product or campaign priming process of organizing news distributed to the press by an agency items in order of their perceived or publicity department importance press release announcement, usually in a print form, providing facts to the print 1. medium of communication media so that they can be reported or utilizing written text, rather than broadcast visual or audio images; 2. edition of a book, newspaper, or magazine, made pressure group group of people at a specific time; 3. photograph who work together in order to make produced from a negative or by a their common concerns known to the digital process. The invention of the media or government in the hope of p r i n t i n g p r e s s is widely thought to influencing them be the origin point of mass communications. Some historians suggest that prestige advertising advertising in print was instrumental in bringing high-quality magazines or media about all the major shifts in science, programs, with the aim of enhancing religion, politics, and the modes of the company’s reputation thought that are associated with modern societies. pre-testing the testing of an advertisement or ad campaign before it is Print on Demand [abbreviated as launched POD] printing technology by which books and other print materials are preview text (poster, short film, printed only after they have been etc.) describing or showcasing an requested. Such technology has been upcoming media event (a movie, TV made possible because of the advent program, etc.) of digital printing. POD is used, for

240 PROGRAM instance, by presses to reprint older product placement marketing strat- titles for which there is a moderate egy whereby a brand product is fea- demand. tured in a prominent venue or event, such as a film or television program. printing press machine used for This strategy goes back to the 1950s printing materials from movable when TV programs such as Texaco metallic characters, perfected by Theater, General Electric Theater, Johannes Gutenberg during the mid- and Kraft Theater became associated 1400s exclusively with one sponsor continuing a previous radio tradition. In 1982 privacy 1. right to be let alone, to be the extraterrestrial creature in Stephen free from surveillance by the state, Spielberg’s E.T. was seen snacking on official institutions, or one’s fellow Reese’s Pieces—increasing sales for citizens; 2. right to control the disclo- the product enormously. That event sure of personal information started a trend in Hollywood. In 1983 Tom Cruise donned a pair of Wayfar- privatization process of transfer- ers (Rayburn sunglasses) in Risky ring ownership of a media outlet or Business, and sales for that product institution from the public sector to shot up. The placement of brands in the private one the scripts of TV programs and movies is now so common that it goes process model theoretical model of largely unnoticed. Its main objective communication in which the mean- is to amalgamate brand identity with ing of a message is assumed to be the pop culture. one intended by the sender, with no input on the part of the receiver production work of putting together a media text (a film, a television producer member of a film team, program) a television program, or radio show profilein n e t l i n g o , the pages that responsible for general supervision users of a Web site set up to share and financing information, including photos, residence address, interests in music, product character fictional person movies, TV, books, etc. A typical or cartoon animal used in adver- profile has the name of the user, tisements over a long period. The sometimes written with mismatched character becomes highly familiar letters (for example, JohNnY), a list to people and thus provides endur- of personal details (sex, age, marital ing identification with a company’s status, zodiac sign), interests (music, products. Well-known product char- sports), and commentaries. acters include Tony the Tiger, Betty Crocker, Mr. Clean, and Ronald program 1. any radio or television McDonald. text or spectacle; 2. set of commands

241 PROGRAM DIRECTOR that allow users to operate a com- ent in all kinds of stories, including puter the hero (or anti-hero), the villain, the object of the quest, the hero’s helper program director person responsible or companion, etc. for the selection and scheduling of programs for broadcasting or pod- props small objects on a movie or casting television set that are used as part of a scene or a sequence progressive rock rock music style that emerged in the late 1960s, prose ordinary language (as opposed emphasizing creative freedom, often to poetry); for example, novels, es- drawing on blues and jazz styles in says, reviews, critiques, and the like combination are all written in prose; on the other hand, cards (such as those given on projection television television sys- Valentine’s Day) are typically written tem in which an amplified picture is in poetic style projected onto a screen prosody 1. poetic versification; promo advertisement for another 2. tones, pitches, and stress patterns program or movie that accompany the pronunciation of words, phrases, and sentences propaganda materials, strategies, etc. (overt or covert), used to spread protocol software that controls con- particular ideologies or opinions in nections between computers on the order to convince or persuade people Internet of their validity prototype theory psychological propaganda model media and mass theory claiming that the concept communication model, associated that most people generate in their primarily with No a m Ch o m s k y , minds when a word is used is the which claims that those who control most common, basic, or prototypical the funding and ownership of the me- exemplar of a category. For example, dia determine how the media select when the word cat is used, people and present their news and events, typically generate an image of the making the media nothing more than common cat. They do not normally a propaganda arm of governments think of a cat as a feline, as is a lion and business institutions or a tiger. If asked what kind of cat, people might refer to it as a Siamese Propp, Vladimir (1895–1970) Rus- cat, a Persian cat, and the like. The sian literary critic who developed a word feline reflects a superordinate list of basic character roles and plot concept (a concept with a general settings that, he claimed, were pres- classificatory function); cat a basic

242 PBS or prototypical concept; and Siamese delic poetry, etc. The term is from a subordinate concept. Aldous Huxley’s book on mescaline, The Doors of Perception (1954). proverb traditional saying that expresses an intrinsic truth or else psychoanalysis psychological meth- gives practical advice: for example, od, developed by Si g m u n d Fr e u d , Don’t count your chickens before based in part on the assumption that they’re hatched (= exercise caution). unconscious instinctual drives (the Every culture has proverbs; they are libido) are primary motivators of part of what anthropologists call folk behavior. Freud introduced the tech- wisdom. niques of free association and dream interpretation to explore unconscious proxemics study of the kind of zones drives and anxieties. Freud’s tripartite that people maintain while interact- model of personality—including the ing, introduced into anthropology id, the e g o , and the s u p e r e g o —has by Edward T. Hall, who measured been used by various media and ad- such zones, finding that they varied vertising analysts to explain how we from culture to culture (allowing for relate to texts unconsciously. predictable statistical variation). In North American culture, for instance, psychographics study of the psycho- Hall found that a zone of 6 inches logical profiles of different people for was perceived as an intimate one; advertising and marketing purposes. while one from 1.5 to 4 feet was ex- Psychographics differs from d e m o - perienced as a safe zone. A stranger g r a p h i c s , which studies lifestyle intruding upon the limits set by patterns and other social characteris- such boundaries causes discomfort tics of subjects. and anxiety. If the safe distance is breached by an acquaintance, on the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 other hand, it would be felt to signal U.S. legislative act that established a sexual or aggressive advance. the Corporation for Public Broad- casting, which oversees the Public pseudoevent a staged event for the Broadcasting Service (PBS) and media, planned for the sole purpose National Public Radio (NPR) of playing to huge audiences Public Broadcasting Service pseudonym [see pen name] [abbreviated as PBS] nonprofit organization that oversees public psychedelic hallucinogenic drug radio and television programming in that distorts perception. The term the United States, made possible by was used in various phrases in the the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. counterculture era of the 1960s: for PBS stations operate on contribu- example, psychedelic rock, psyche- tions from viewers, corporate gifts,

243 PUBLIC DOMAIN foundation grants, and support from 2. in advertising, an ad that borders the Corporation for Public Broadcast- on exaggeration ing. Similar services exist in other countries. Web site: www.pbs.org Pulitzer Prize set of prizes awarded by Columbia University for outstand- public domain realm of works that ing public service and achievement are free from copyright or patent and in American journalism, letters, and that can be used or released without music, named after editor and jour- the payment of royalties nalist Joseph Pulitzer public relations [abbreviated as PR] activities and techniques used pulp fictionmagazines and novels by organizations and individuals (originally produced on cheap paper) to establish favorable attitudes and that deal with popular and titillat- responses by the general public or ing themes, such as crime, sex, and special groups horror public service announcement an- pun play on the different senses of nouncement carried free by a media the same word or else on the senses outlet promoting a program or project or sounds of different words: for (usually sponsored by a government example, Dee Light is a delight; The or educational institution) that is analyst is called Anna List deemed to be of interest to the general public punk rock aggressive style of rock music starting in the mid-1970s, publicity any favorable information developed from counterculture rock about something or someone in order of artists such as the Velvet Un- to stimulate public interest or to raise derground and Iggy (Pop) and the awareness Stooges and represented by American rockers such as Patti Smith and the publisher company that produces Ramones. The style soon took root books, journals, or other print in London—where distinctly “punk” materials fashions, including spiked hair and publishing trade, profession, or ripped clothing, were adopted by activity of producing material in print punk bands such as the Sex Pistols or electronic form for distribution to and the Clash. The fashion items the public introduced into pop culture by the punk movement include: chains, dog puff piece 1. an article that gives un- collars, army boots, and “Mohawk” critical support for a person or cause; hairdos.

244 last item

Q & A [full form: ques- questionnaire method of tions and answers] style of conducting research on me- radio or television reporting dia and advertising based in which an announcer asks on the use of specifically a correspondent questions Q designed questions. These about a story can be of two general types: closed and open. The former asks quadraphonic four-channel (four- respondents to select their answers speaker) sound system from various choices; the latter asks them to give their opinions in their qualified privilegelegal right allow- own words. ing reporters and journalists to report judicial or legislative proceedings quiz show [also called game show] even though statements made in the radio or television show designed proceedings may be libelous to test the knowledge, luck, or skill of contestants or experts. Two of qualitative research method of the most popular quiz shows on media and advertising research that American television are the Wheel of is based on observational techniques Fortune and Jeopardy. such as in-depth interviews and focus groups quiz show scandals the fraudulent practices by quiz shows of the mid- quantitative research method of me- 1950s, when some producers began dia and advertising research that em- feeding answers to contestants who phasizes the measurement of trends had been chosen to win. Government and their statistical implications investigations led to a demise of the big-money quiz shows. These re- queer theory in culture studies, gained popularity only in the 1970s. idea that sexuality cannot be defined rigidly, and that non-heterosexual quota restriction on the amount of forms of representation (in the me- time a particular media product may dia) are as legitimate as heterosexual be given airtime ones quotation piece of writing or oral quest in a n a r r at i v e , the journey speech used, for example, in a book that a protagonist undertakes in and enlisted for some purpose (to order to achieve or find something support an idea, to embellish a pre- important sentation)

245 first item

R rating film classification radio broadcasting broad- in the United States indicat- casting through radio tech- ing that a movie cannot be nology. Evidence of a plan viewed by anyone under the for radio broadcasting to the age of 17 unless accompa- R general public is found in a nied by a parent or guardian 1916 memorandum written by David Sarnoff, an employee racism any action or practice based of American Marconi, which would on the erroneous belief that some eventually become the Radio Cor- group(s) of humans is (are) superior poration of America (RCA). Sarnoff or inferior to others recommended that radio be made into a “household utility.” The memo radical reading one of three was given little if any consideration supposed readings or interpretations at first. AfterW orld War I ended in applied to a media text (the other 1918, however, several companies two being d o m i n a n t and s u b took up Sarnoff’s idea for the mass o r d i n at e ), in which the audience marketing of home radio receivers rejects the meanings, values, and very seriously. In an effort to boost viewpoints built into the text by radio sales, the Westinghouse Electric its makers Corporation of Pittsburgh established what many historians consider to be radio transmission of sounds con- the first commercially owned radio verted into electromagnetic waves station to offer a schedule of pro- directly through space to a receiving gramming to the general public. It device, which converts them back was called KDKA, after it received into sounds its license from the Department of Commerce (which held regulatory Radio Act of 1912 first radio legisla- power following the end of the war) tion passed by the U.S. Congress, in October 1920. KDKA aired mainly which addressed the problem of entertainment programs, including amateur radio operators jamming the recorded music, using a phonograph airwaves by regulating the licensing placed within the range of a micro- of transmitters phone. The station did not charge user fees, nor did it carry advertise- Radio Act of 1927 radio legislation ments. Westinghouse used KDKA passed by the U.S. Congress creating simply as an enticement for people a Federal Radio Commission, stating to purchase home radio receivers. that radio operators could own their Radio broadcasting reached the pin- channels if they operated them to nacle of its popularity and influence serve the public interest, defining the during World War II, when American broadcast band, and standardizing commentator Ed wa r d R. Mu r r o w frequency designations changed the nature of news report-

246 Radway, Janice ing permanently with his eyewitness to vaudeville to garner and adapt descriptions of street scenes dur- material for its comedy-variety ing the German bombing raids of programming. And it modeled its London, delivered from the rooftop news coverage on the format of daily of the CBS news bureau there. U.S. newspapers—announcers would, in president Franklin D. Roosevelt fact, often simply read articles from was among the first politicians to the local newspaper over the air. understand the power of radio as a Because of its capacity to reach large propaganda tool. He used the radio numbers of people, from the 1920s to bypass the press and directly ad- to the early 1950s radio broadcast- dress the American people with his ing evolved into society’s primary so-called fireside chats during the medium of information, arts ap- Great Depression. Roosevelt clearly preciation, and entertainment. Only understood that the emotional power after the advent of television in the of the voice would be much more late 1940s did radio’s hegemony in persuasive than would any logical this domain begin to erode, as its argument he might put into print. audiences split into smaller, distinct The chats continue to this day as segments. Today, radio is primarily a part and parcel of the American medium for specialized purposes (for presidency. example, automobile and office use). People listen to it in their cars as they Radio Corporation of America drive from location to location, or in [abbreviated as RCA] company their offices (or other places) as they established during World War I to do something else. Aware of this, pool radio patents, giving the United radio stations typically present traffic States control over the new mass information in a regular interspersed medium of radio broadcasting. Web fashion throughout their broadcasts, site: www.rca.com or else present uninterrupted stretch- es of music during certain periods of radio frequency spectrum portion the working day. Radio stations are, of the electromagnetic spectrum that typically, specialized according to is used for all radio, wireless commu- music genre (classical music station, nication, and television channels country music station) or service (all day news station, religious station, radio genres programming genres etc.). associated with radio broadcasting, either currently or in the past. At Radway, Janice (1949–) leader of first, radio simply adapted various p o s t -f e m i n i s t thought, who has genres of traditional stage drama, studied women’s representational transforming them into radio dramas, and social issues and the power of action serials, situation comedies, women-centered texts. Her most and so-called soap operas. It looked influential work is Reading the

247 ragtime

Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and used interchangeably. But the former, Popular Literature (1991). which derives from Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight (1979), refers to the ragtime popular music of the late musical style itself, whereas the latter nineteenth and early twentieth cen- refers to the attendant lifestyle that turies characterized by syncopated those who listen to rap tend to adopt. rhythms—the term, in fact, probably Rap’s lyric themes can be broadly derives from “ragged time,” allud- categorized under three headings: ing to its basis in syncopation. The those that are blatantly sexual, those most celebrated ragtime composer that chronicle and often embrace the of the early period was Scott Joplin. so-called gangsta lifestyle of youths Ragtime is considered an important who live in inner cities, and those influence on the development of pop that address contemporary political music. and philosophical issues related to the black experience and its history. random probability testing tech- By the mid-1990s, rap developed nique of carrying out a survey on a into a more eclectic musical form, representative test group, without as rap artists borrowed from folk any restrictions as to type of person music, jazz, and other music styles. surveyed Consequently, it became more me- lodious and traditional in its use of random sample sample taken from instrumentation. any given population, in which each person maintains equal chances of rapport talk style of speech aimed being selected at establishing harmony among individuals rap musical style in which lyrics are rapped (chanted) to rhythmic musi- rating point one percentage of all cal accompaniment, associated in its TV households who are viewing a origin with African American youth. particular station at a given time, or The first rap records were made in one percentage of all listeners who the late 1970s by small, independent are listening to a particular radio record companies. Although rap- station at a given time per groups such as Sugarhill Gang had national hits during that period, ratings estimated size of a radio or the musical style did not enter the TV audience for a program, broad- pop culture mainstream until 1986, cast, series, etc. Ratings are used when rappers Run-D.M.C. and the to help broadcasters determine the hard-rock band Aerosmith collabo- popularity of a radio or TV program rated on the song Walk This Way, and to allow sponsors to determine creating a broader audience for rap. how many people they are reaching The terms rap and h i p -h o p are often with their advertising. This system

248 REALISm has no use on broadcasting Web sites, author of a work intended. In recent where visitors to the sites can simply critical approaches, however, the be tracked and recorded. meaning of a work is described as a system of meanings to which a rational appeal technique of design- reader responds, according to his ing advertising to appeal to custom- or her personal experiences and the ers by using logical arguments that particular context (social, historical, demonstrate how the product might psychological) in which the reading fulfill some need occurs. rationalism philosophy stress- reader response theory [see ing the role of reason in obtaining reception theory] knowledge. Rationalism has its roots in ancient Greek philosophy, espe- reading in media studies, a wide cially in the works of Ar i s t o t l e , range of processes such as reception, but it has come to be associated with interpretation, and understanding of seventeenth-century French phi- texts losopher and mathematician René Descartes, who expressed the essence Read-Only Memory (abbreviated of his view with the widely known as ROM) form of computer memory expression Cogito ergo sum (“I think, that remains, keeping its content even therefore I am”). when the power supply is cut off; the content cannot be altered once it is rave venue for electronic dance manufactured. music, also called techno, that first appeared in the United States in the realism 1. view positing that uni- 1980s. Raves took place primarily in versals in human cognition and/ the form of all-night dance parties, or culture exist and can be identi- often involving use of the hallucino- fied with logical analysis; 2. view genic drug ecstasy. that objects exist independently of human perception and identifica- RCA [see Radio Corporation of tion; 3. in media theory, the degree America] to which a text accurately reflects things as they really are, and not as reach estimated number of individu- we wish them to be. In literature it als who are tuned into a radio station refers to works that depict everyday or a television program life. Realist writers include French writers Gustave Flaubert and Guy de reader person decoding or inter- Maupassant, Russian author Anton preting a text. Traditional literary Chekhov, English novelist George analysis has focused on how a Eliot, and American writers Mark reader tries to figure out what the Twain and Henry James.

249 reality television reality television [also called real-time 1. any event that is trans- reality show] genre of television mitted or broadcast as it is occurring; programming that presents purport- 2. any film, program, etc., whose plot edly unscripted situations, featuring lasts the same period of time that it ordinary people instead of profes- would take if it occurred in the sional actors. Reality television real world; an example is the TV covers a wide range of programming, series 24 from q u i z s h o w s to those showing a group of people trying to survive recall test [see recognition test] (in a particular situation, such as on a faraway island) and those in which receiver 1. person or device capable people compete for a prize by having of receiving particular kinds of to go through a difficult trial or test. signals; 2. entity or device to which/ The television show Candid Camera whom a message is directed was one of the first reality shows on television, debuting in 1948. An actor reception theory any media theory pulled pranks on ordinary people and attempting to explain how audiences the “candid camera” showed their re- interpret texts. Reception theory actions. Another early prototype was was at its most influential during the the 1973 PBS series An American 1970s and early 1980s, especially Family, which dealt with a modern through the work of St u a rt Ha l l , family going through a divorce. Real- one of its main proponents. The ity television as it is currently under- approach focuses on the kinds of “ne- stood can be traced directly to several gotiation” or “opposition” strategies television shows that began in the late employed by the audience. Recep- 1980s, such as: ABC’s Cops, which tion research has found that audience started in 1989, showing police of- readings of texts are based on cultural ficers on real duty apprehending real background and life experiences. In criminals; MTV’s The Real World, essence, the meaning of a text is not which began in 1992, putting strang- present within the text itself, but is ers together for an extended period created in the dynamic between the of time and recording the situations text and its reader. that ensued; and Temptation Island (2001), which achieved notoriety by recital 1. repeating or reading some- placing several couples on an island thing out loud; 2. musical or dance surrounded by unmarried people in performance order to test the couples’ commitment to each other. Today there are recognition test [also called recall reality shows in all kinds of genres, test] research tool designed to from talk shows, such as The Jerry check how well someone can recall Springer Show, to shows in which an advertisement, with or without people compete for a job. prompting

250 REGGAE record 1. an account or history; referential code c o d e guiding the 2. disc, cylinder, or other device that interpretation of references found in contains sounds that can be played a narrative, especially scientific and with the appropriate equipment specialized ones recording permanent copy of music referential framework narrative on a disc, CD, DVD, or other device technique of portraying a story as representing real life, by relating reductionism view that complex it to the lives and experiences of structures or concepts are reducible audiences to simple physical or psychological principles referential function as defined by Ro m a n Ja k o b s o n , any utterance redundancy any feature that counter- that is designed, simply, to refer to acts n o i s e . In language, for example, something real: “Main Street is two redundancy can be seen in the high blocks away.” This utterance has the predictability of certain words in par- specific referential function of indi- ticular utterances and the repetition cating where a street can be found. It of elements. conveys, in other words, information about some real phenomenon. reference 1. note directing a reader’s attention to a source of information; reflection theoryview that language 2. source of information quoted in a mirrors the things it represents in text; 3. process of pointing out or iden- some way (through imitation of its tifying something. Reference is to be sound properties, through allusion to distinguished from sense. For example, its appearance, etc.) the words rabbit and hare make reference to the same kind of animal. But reflexivityway in which modern so- the sense of each term is different— cieties constantly examine their own hare is the more appropriate term for cultural practices critically, resulting describing the mammal if it is larger, in their alteration has longer ears and legs, and does not burrow; rabbit is the animal that people reformer in advertising jargon, would normally think of as a “pet.” person who wants products that will improve the quality of his or her life, reference work dictionary, ency- rather than products that appeal to a clopedia, atlas, or other written or sense of lifestyle electronic work containing specialized information reggae type of popular music combining elements of calypso, rock, referent the thing or idea that a word and soul. Reggae originated in the or a symbol stands for mid-1960s in Jamaica, as a means

251 reGISTER of expressing social discontent. It remote control device that operates was popularized by the movie The a system from a distance. Remote Harder They Come (1972), starring controlled systems include television the singer Jimmy Cliff, and by Bob sets, garage door openers, robots, Marley, its greatest and best-known and spacecraft. The first machines exponent. operated by remote control were motorboats. The German navy register type of language that fits developed them during World War I into a particular social situation: (1914–1918). Automatic garage door Would you be so kind as to tell me openers were introduced in the late where you live? (= high/formal regis- 1940s and TV remote controls in the ter); Hey, where do you live? (= low/ mid-1950s. Today, using applications informal register) on the World Wide Web, people can control such devices as robots and regulation activity of controlling cameras remotely. what occurs in media repertoire list of works that a com- reification1. rendering an idea real pany, an actor, a musician, and the by expressing or representing it in like can perform at any time some way; 2. in Marxist theory, the tendency of people to associate with repetition and difference combi- the commodities they produce nation of expected and unexpected elements in a media text that are de- reinforcement effect theory that signed to create interest in audiences exposure to specific kinds of acts in the media, especially violent ones, repetition in advertising technique may reinforce tendencies in some consisting of the use of different people (toward violence) that they media to repeat the same message, may already have adapting it to the properties of the different media relativism 1. theory that culture shapes an individual’s worldview; replay an event or occurrence re- 2. philosophical view that there is no corded (on tape, video) and played moral system that applies to all people again (as in a sports program) to highlight the event (such as a goal remake new version of an old film or that was scored) program replicability view in the social sci- reminder advertising technique ences that research findings based on designed to make consumers recall the testing of sample populations are an advertisement they have already valid if they can be obtained again by viewed different researchers at different times

252 RERELEASE report account of news presented others depict it as a dysfunctional one by a journalist in print, broadcast, or (as was evident in All in the Family in Internet form the 1970s and Married with Children in the 1990s). reportage 1. use of a medium (print, broadcast, Internet) to present the representation and reality view that news; 2. corpus of news; 3. a style of the ways in which media represent reporting news events, situations, and people are construed to either mirror or con- reporter someone who presents the struct reality. Research has shown news in print, broadcast, or Internet that events that are showcased on TV form or on Internet are felt as being more significant and historically meaning- report-talk speech style in which the ful to society than those that are not. exchange of information and content Events such as the John Kennedy of a message are emphasized over and Lee Harvey Oswald assassina- any emotional factor tions, the Vietnam War, the Watergate hearings, the Rodney King beating, repositioning marketing strategy of the O.J. Simpson trial, the death of changing a product’s image either by Lady Diana, and the 9/11 attack are shifting its p o s i t i o n i n g (the target perceived as portentous and pro- audience to whom advertisements of phetic historical events through the the product are aimed), by changing filter of media coverage. The horrific its design, or by changing the style of images of the Vietnam War that were advertising used to promote it transmitted into people’s homes daily in the late 1960s and early 1970s are representation way in which considered to have brought about an someone or something is portrayed end to the war by mobilizing social or depicted in media. For example, protest. Significantly, an MTV flag in news reporting, a specific crime was hoisted by East German youths event can be represented either as a over the Berlin Wall as they tore it common everyday occurrence or else down in 1989. The images of the two as something much more sinister, planes smashing into the World Trade such as a symptom of society’s loose Center buildings on September 11, moral standards. Representations 2001, brought about an international generally possess an underlying reaction, whose consequences are view. For example, some television still being felt. sitcoms depict (or have depicted) the family as an ideal social structure rerelease music recording, movie, for resolving emotional problems (as or other media product that has been was evident in the 1950s American released again to the public in order sitcom Father Knows Best), while to gain a new audience

253 RERUN rerun repeat broadcast of recorded individuals, involving the use of a entertainment, especially a television smaller vocabulary, simpler grammar, series and the like resistive reading act of reading a retention preservation of brand media text by consciously opposing loyalty by means of appropriate ad its apparent meaning or function campaigns and marketing strategies resolution optical quality of images reterritorialization any media strat- on a screen (television, computer) or egy of reclaiming cultural “territory” photograph by representing cultural meanings and artifacts in new ways resonance positive reaction that a viewer has to a television broad- retrospective article or program that cast or other media event because looks back at an earlier occurrence, it corresponds closely to his or her such as a news event or a musical experiences or expectations, thus trend reinforcing them Reuters trade name for a London response function measure of the news agency, founded in 1851 by effect that a particular amount of German journalist Paul Reuter, that advertising has on a person provides international news. Web site: www.reuters.com response mechanism method of showing people’s responses to Inter- review critical assessment of a net advertising by measuring the way movie, television series, book, or that people respond to it through such other media product in a newspaper, means as direct clicking and “fax- in a magazine, on a radio or televi- back” sheets sion program, or on a blog responsive chord theory concept put rhetoric 1. effective speaking or forward by sound archivist Anthony writing; 2. discipline studying how Schwartz, which holds that media language is used effectively in vari- activates ideas that are already present ous domains (from poetry to adver- in people, Media do not transport tising). Rhetorical analysis explains information to audiences. Rather, they how figures of speech create power- strike a responsive chord with infor- ful meanings. The use of rhetorical mation that people already possess. language is particularly evident in advertising. restricted codes discourse patterns that are thought to be characteris- rhetoric of the image in media tic of less-educated working-class theory, the way in which images are

254 RITUAL used in advertising and filmmaking metaphor is about), the vehicle (what so as to persuade the viewer to accept is used to characterize the tenor), and a message or to reinforce it the ground (the meaning of the metaphor). For instance, in My grandson rhetorical question a question asked is a sly fox: My grandson is the tenor, for effect, in order to emphasize fox the vehicle, and the ground is something, rather than to obtain an something like “My grandson is a answer shrewd, crafty person.” rhyme feature of verse in which riddle linguistic puzzle playing on words that have corresponding word meanings. The oldest riddle sounds and word stress are used, par- known is the so-called Riddle of the ticularly in various linguistic genres Sphinx: What is it that has four feet (especially poetry), especially at the in the morning, two at noon, and ends of lines: for example, some and three at night? The answer is human come; win and sin beings, who crawl on four limbs as infants (in the morning of life), then rhythm regular recurrence of similar walk upright (at the noon hour of beats in language forms (such as life), and finally walk with the aid of poetry) and music, in alternation with a cane in old age (at the twilight of each other and combined into some life). As this riddle shows, there is a pattern play on the metaphorical meanings of the words standing for the times rhythm and blues style of music of day. developed by African American blues musicians, after they left the right of reply the right of an individ- rural South and moved to Chicago ual or group represented in the media and other northern cities in the late to answer back if dissatisfied with the 1940s. There, they developed a style representation of music combining elements of both blues and jazz. risk society any group or community that is preoccupied with the risks rich e-mail e-mail that has a voice posed by modernization message attached to it ritual any meaningful activity Richards, I.A. (1893–1979) English intended to symbolize an event; for literary critic who emphasized the example, the use of ritual dances role of m e ta p h o r in literature and to exorcise spirits. By extension, ordinary language. In The Philosophy the term is now used to refer to any of Rhetoric (1936), he provided a still symbolic activity that is performed widely used terminology for describ- recurrently or systematically—for ex- ing metaphor—the tenor (what the ample, ritual media interaction such

255 road blocking as ritual TV watching, ritual Web navigating, etc. road blocking [see repetition in advertising] road movie film genre that depicts the adventures of an individual and/or group who leave their residence and travel from place to place, often to escape from their current lives roadshow live open-air radio or television broadcast that travels from Elvis Presley (1935–1977) during his place to place and usually centers on second appearance on the Ed Sullivan a theme (for example, life across the Show, October 28, 1956 American Midwest, life in the city) Clock in 1955, the music genre was rock [abbreviation of rock and roll appropriated by the teenagers of the or rock ’n’ roll] musical style that era. Throughout the 1960s, 1970s, arose in the mid-1950s, becoming a 1980s, and 1990s, rock developed dominant form of popular music until various genres, from disco and punk the 1990s. The first rock songs reflect to grunge and techno. Rock musi- a blend of the blues, gospel, doo cians and bands that have became wop, boogie woogie, and honky tonk. icons include Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee They were recorded and released by Lewis, Little Richard, the Beatles, small, independent record companies the Rolling Stones, Madonna, and and promoted by controversial radio Nirvana, among many others. In disc jockeys such as Alan Freed, who 1995 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame helped spread the term rock and roll, opened in Cleveland, Ohio. Also in first used by the Boswell Sisters in the 1990s, several major television 1934 in their song titled Rock and documentaries were produced on the Roll, although their term referred to history of rock and roll, and histori- the back-and-forth movement of a cal box-set recordings were reissued rocking chair, not to the meanings de- featuring rock artists from the past. veloped later. By the time Elvis Pres- ley recorded Good Rockin’ Tonight in rockabilly musical style emerging 1954 (a remake of Wynonie Harris’s in the 1950s in Memphis, Tennessee, 1948 rendition of the song), rock had which combined elements of coun- established itself as a new trend in try music with r o c k a n d r o l l and pop culture. After Bill Haley and the r h y t h m a n d b l u e s . Elvis Presley, Comets recorded Rock Around the Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and

256 rule of thirds

Johnny Cash began their careers as Romanticism literary, artistic, musi- rockabilly performers. Some country cal, and philosophical movement that performers of the 1990s, includ- began in Europe in the eighteenth ing the Mavericks and Mark Collie, century and lasted until the end of revived the rockabilly style. the nineteenth century. Romanticism emphasized subjective and emotional rockumentary filmed or televised art forms, as well as exotic, occult, documentary about rock music or a and monstrous themes. In literature, rock musician or band the Romantic hero was often a rebel or outlaw. Romantic composers, such role character or part played by an as Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schu- actor or performer in a movie, televi- mann, wrote highly emotional works sion series, etc. that broke with existing traditions. In the visual arts, Romantic painters role fulfillment[also called role depicted faraway exotic subjects and reversal] in a narrative, the way in dramatic scenes of nature, suggesting which characters subvert the expecta- a mysterious, otherworldly quality tions that people attach to the tradi- that went beyond nature itself. tional roles they typically play, such as a hero playing the role of villain, rotary press press that prints on and the effect this role reversal has on paper passing between a supporting audiences cylinder and a cylinder that contains the printing plates. It is used mainly ROM (abbreviation of Read-Only today in high-speed, Web-fed opera- Memory) tions in which the press takes paper romance 1. originally, a medieval from a roll. narrative (in verse or prose), written in a Romance language (a language rough cut 1. first stage of editing derived from Latin), revolving a movie or program in which all around the amorous exploits of parts are put in order; 2. preliminary knights and other chivalric person- version of a movie, with only basic ages; 2. by extension, any media editing performed on it text (novel, movie) revolving around love and romance. In Reading the royalties 1. fees paid for the right to Romance (1991), Ja n i c e Ra d way play commercially produced mu- argues that romances are popular sic on radio; 2. money payable to a among women because they provide writer or artist, according to copy- an escape from domestic life. right for sales of his or her material (book, recording, etc.) romantic comedy humorous comedy genre involving a love story that usu- rule of thirds technique of dividing ally ends happily a scene or frame into three sections

257 run of network

(horizontally and vertically), in order run on text that continues on the next to create a balanced composition line or column run of network banner advertising running head heading printed on that runs across a network of Web every page, or every other page, of a sites book, indicating its title or a chapter or section title run of site banner advertising that running story news story that is runs on a specificW eb site followed in a series of articles over different editions of the same news- run of station television advertising paper or program to which no particular time slot has been assigned Russian formalism school of s e m i o t i c s and literary criticism, run of week advertising space prominent from 1916 to around 1930, bought at the basic rate, but not which stressed the role of figurative assigned to any specific media language in all kinds of representa- outlet tions and discourses, not just poetry

258 last item safe harbor broadcast salutation displays cues, times, usually from 10 p.m. such as gestures and facial to 6 a.m., when children are expressions, which betray if not likely to be a listening someone is inclined or not or viewing audience and s to enter into a conversation thus when adult programming can be safely aired sample 1. representative group of people chosen for research; saga 1. narrative genre dealing with 2. music snippets taken from an prominent figures and events of the existing recording and used as a part heroic age in Norway and Iceland, of a new recording. Early rap is the that is, during the late twelfth and best-known pop music genre to use thirteenth centuries; 2. by extension, samples from prerecorded material. any narrative about heroic figures or events sample survey statistical survey targeting a specific group of individu- Said, Edward (1935–2003) impor- als, aiming to collect information on tant commentator on the cultural particular subjects, such as buying politics of the Middle East and the habits and program preferences originator of the theory of o r i e n - t a l i s m , which claims that Western Sapir-Whorf Linguistic Relativity representations of Middle Eastern Hypothesis [also called Whorfian peoples and cultures have been con- Hypothesis] theory, associated pri- structed in accordance with Western marily with linguists Edward Sapir views and are thus often inaccurate and Be n j a m i n Le e Wh o r f , which or misleading maintains that the categories of a specific language tend to condition the sales house company that sells ways in which its speakers think advertising space in the media sarcasm mocking or satirical lan- sales literature leaflets, brochures, guage: for example, How slim you and other printed information about look these days! (uttered to someone a product that can be used by sales- who has put on weight) people to promote it satellite [full form: communica- salience meanings in a text that are tions satellite] earth-orbiting system relevant to specific audiences, but capable of receiving a signal and not to others. For example, the relaying it back to the ground. Satel- Star Trek series of television series lites have played a significant role in and movies has great salience for the development and use of com- “trekkies” (fans) but not necessarily munications technologies since the for others. 1970s

259 satellite dish satellite dish dish-shaped aerial sur le système primitif des voyelles capable of receiving broadcast sig- dans les langues indo-européennes nals via satellite (Memoir on the Original Vowel System in the Indo-European Lan- satellite footprint surface area guages, 1879), on the vowel system covered by a satellite signal of Proto-Indo-European. Although he never published another book, after satellite phone wireless phone that his death, two of his assistants com- connects callers via satellite piled notes from his lectures into the seminal work Cours de linguistique satellite radio radio stations, such générale (1916; Course in General as Sirius and XM, that broadcast Linguistics). The book became the via satellite and usually operate on a basis for both semiotic and linguistic pay-per-service basis theories and methods. satellite television television scenario 1. plot summary of a broadcasting received via satellite dramatic or literary work; 2. actual that offers a large number of chan- screenplay for a movie nels to its subscribers. Millions of homes in many countries receive scene 1. subdivision of a play, a signals from d i r e c t b r o a d c a s t movie, or other work; 2. particular b y s at e l l i t e (DBS). Most DBS situation in a play, a movie, or other programming is provided by the work (for example, a love scene); 3. same services that supply programs motion picture or television episode to cable television. or sequence; 4. main picture or view in a painting satire literary, dramatic, or cinematic work that ridicules someone or some- scenery set or decorations providing thing, for example, the TV sitcom the background for a play, movie, or The Simpsons is considered a satire other work of American culture. scenography art of making and/or saturation advertising strategy of using s c e n e ry flooding the various media outlets (print, television, etc.) with the same schedule order of programs on a ads or ad campaign so as to garner a broadcasting system (channel, sta- broad audience tion) for a day, week, month, or year, devised in such a way as to reach Saussure, Ferdinand de (1857– target audiences 1913) Swiss founder of modern linguistics and semiotics, born in Ge- schedule evaluation assessment of neva. As a student he wrote Mémoire how a particular media plan or strat-

260 science fiction egy has performed with respect to its studies because of its simplicity and target audience applicability to all types of media. schema 1. any diagram that repre- sci-fi[ see science fiction] sents something in outline form; 2. pattern representing something in science fiction[abbreviated as its essential features sci-fi] literary and cinematic genre in which the science of the future is Schramm, Wilbur (1907–1987) portrayed as having impacts of vari- leading researcher on the effects of ous kinds (psychological, social) on mass communications on people and human beings. The predecessors of society. His most famous work is the genre are Lucian of Samosata’s Process and Effects of Mass Com- True History (160 c.e.), in which he munication (as editor, with Donald describes an imaginary trip to the F. Roberts, 1954). Schramm’s model moon; Utopia (1516), by Thomas of communication expanded on the More, which depicts a futuristic b u l l ’s-e y e m o d e l . Schramm broke world; and Micromegas (1752) by down the communication process French satirist Voltaire, in which he into four major components: a source tells of visitors from other planets. (S) of the communication; a message As we understand the genre today, (M); a channel (C) for transmitting however, science fiction originates it from one place to another; and a with the novel Frankenstein (1818) receiver (R) at whom the message by Mary Shelley. The first writer is aimed. It is also known as the to specialize in the new genre was Source-Message-Channel-Receiver Jules Verne. His hugely popular (SMCR) model. Schramm also works include Journey to the Center refined the notions of feedback and of the Earth (1864) and Around the noise, viewing the former as any World in Eighty Days (1873). H.G. mechanism between the source and Wells followed Verne with Time the receiver that regulates the flow Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. of the communication, and the latter Moreau (1896), and The War of the as any distortion or errors that are Worlds (1898). Mass-distribution introduced in an exchange. Schramm magazines, called p u l p fiction, completed his model a little later also published many science fiction with two other components: the stories, including those of Edgar encoder, which converts the message Rice Burroughs, beginning in the into a form that can be transmitted 1890s. (The first pulp fiction maga- through an appropriate channel; and a zine is thought to be Frank Mun- decoder, which reverses the encod- sey’s revamped Argosy Magazine of ing process so that the message can 1896.) In the twentieth century the be received successfully. The SMCR popularity of science fiction grew has been used extensively in media with the publication of Brave New

261 scoop

World by Aldous Huxley in 1932 screen 1. flat surface on which im- and 1984 by George Orwell in 1949. ages are projected; 2. general term In the 1950s and 1960s a New Wave for the film industry, known more subgenre emerged, which focused specifically as the silver screen on the loss of human values in a world of increasing technology. New screen test audition for a film or Wave science fiction writers include television role in which various ac- Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Ray tors are asked to play the role briefly Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, and Ursu- in order to assess which one is best la K. Le Guin. In the 1980s another suited for it subgenre, called c y b e r p u n k , began to focus on the dangers of computer screen violence general fear that technologies; an example is Neuro- exposure of children to violence on mancer (1984) by William Gibson. the screen (movie, television, video Numerous science fiction television game, Internet) will produce a nega- shows have become part of pop tive effect. But research has rarely culture lore, including The Twilight found any correlation between expo- Zone, Lost in Space, Star Trek, and sure to screen violence and nega- The X-Files, among others. tive effects such as a propensity to commit violent acts. Me d i a e f f e c t s scoop story appearing initially in m o d e l s , on the other hand, have al- only one newspaper, on only one ra- ways sustained a correlation between dio or television news program, or on the two. But such models have been only one blog. A scoop is, essentially, criticized for: a story published by one media outlet ahead of the competition. • focusing on the mass media rather than on the perpetrators of violence scopophilia (from a Greek word themselves meaning “pleasure of looking”) in • viewing children as passive mallea- Freudian psychology, the desire ble creatures, incapable of making in people to see the unseeable. In distinctions between fantasy and f e m i n i s t t h e o ry it refers to the male reality gaze as it seeks pleasure in looking at • being motivated by political con- women on the screen. servative ideologies • defining their study focus inad- score music composed expressly for equately, often selecting media a movie, play, or other work samples in order to verify biases in the models themselves scrambler electronic device that • portraying mass audiences as garbles telecommunications or broad- intellectually inferior and thus cast signals, so that they can only be incapable of making up their own unscrambled by a special device minds

262 secondary viewing screenplay script and shooting direc- a substance (clay, stone, etc.) into a tions for a movie figure. Sculpture has been found in virtually every culture throughout screenwriter [also called script history. Early sculpture was primarily writer] person who writes the representational, but in the twentieth s c r e e n p l ay for a movie century sculpture became largely abstract or conceptual in nature, screwball comedy genre of com- often incorporating found objects and edy, originating in the cinema of the nontraditional materials. For ex- 1930s, featuring the humorous ad- ample, Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party ventures of appealing characters and (1974–1979) integrates traditional showcasing a world of sophisticated women’s crafts such as weaving and glamour and audacity embroidery with ceramics on a large triangular table, paying tribute to the scribes persons in the medieval era, key role of women in social history. mainly monks and nuns, who copied manuscripts so that they could be search directory Web site that or- distributed. Scribes made important ganizes links to information sources contributions to the development of alphabetically and thematically the modern book, separating words with spaces, using capital and small search engine computer system that letters, and establishing a system of allows users to enter key words or punctuation to make reading easier. queries in order to locate sites on the World Wide Web. Search engines script written text of a play, screen- consist of three components: a pro- play, or broadcast, used in production gram (or programs), called a spider, or performance crawler, or bot, which “crawls” through the Internet gathering infor- script doctor writer who is asked to mation; a database, which stores the improve a script written by someone gathered information; and a search else, to make it conform to produc- tool, which users employ to search tion expectations through the database by typing in keywords describing the information script theory language theory desired. positing that conversations are often structured in a scriptlike manner, season package or set of episodes of unfolding in terms of so-called a television program, scripted to form vocabulary frames that are adapted a coherent sequence by speakers to fit a situation secondary viewing act of watching sculpture a three-dimensional work television while doing something else, of art, often executed by modeling such as reading or doing housework

263 second-generation second-generation digital wireless segmentation 1. the division of technology, as opposed to earlier television schedules in terms of genre technology or channel; 2. division of audiences according to demographics for adver- secretive statement technique ad- tising purposes vertising technique designed to create the effect that a secret is being com- seditious libel act of defaming a municated, thus capturing people’s public official or other individual attention by stimulating curiosity: in print Don’t tell your friends about . . . ; Do you know what she’s wearing? selective attention tendency to avoid messages, texts, and representations Section 315 section of the Commu- that conflict with our beliefs and nications Act of 1934 that stipulates values the “equal time” rule in election campaigns, whereby the broadcast selective exposure tendency of audi- media must make equal air time ences to view media products that available to all qualified candidates; correspond to their preexisting beliefs if one candidate is accorded free air and values time, opposing candidates must be accorded equivalent free air time selective perception refers to the initial reading of a media text and what secularism philosophy that is based the audience or individual gets from on indifference to, or rejection of, the information religion or religious ideas. One of the most famous of all early secularists selective retention tendency of was the Florentine politician Niccolò people to select from media texts Machiavelli, who argued in favor only those meanings that reinforce of separating the political sphere of their preexisting beliefs and values. society from religion. His ideas were Anti-pornography individuals who pursued further by English philoso- watch a TV debate on freedom of pher Thomas Hobbes. expression have been shown to take away from the debate only the views secure server Internet server that that are consistent with their particu- allows for encryption and is therefore lar beliefs; libertarian individuals, appropriate for e-commerce on the other hand, tend to take away from it a sense of triumph by virtue secure Web site Web site that en- of the fact that the debate occurred in crypts messages to prevent the unau- the first place (thus legitimizing the thorized retrieval of information that topic). This view suggests that media was utilized or exchanged between may have limited impacts on most previous visitors and the Web site individuals, and that the communities

264 sender in which they are reared have more of noying thing for the Japanese, who an influence on their worldview than rate it typically at the ends of the do the media. scales, whereas it is a fairly neutral concept for Americans, who rate self-censorship act on the part of it typically in the mid-range of the journalists to censor themselves be- scales. cause they are under pressure not to raise sensitive questions from either semantics study of meaning in lan- governments or the institutions that guage in all its dimensions, includ- employ them ing word meaning, phrase meaning, sentence meaning, utterance mean- self-regulation practice of some ing, etc. industries to set up their own regulatory agencies semiology [term coined by Fe r d i - n a n d d e Sa u s s u r e ] the study of semantic code one of five codes s i g n s . Although still used, s e m i o t i c s (the others being a c t i o n , e n i g m a , has become the more common referential , s y m b o l i c ) used in term. the interpretation of texts, whereby the interpreter focuses on the mean- semiosphere sphere of life gov- ings conveyed by “human voice” erned by s i g n s and their meanings, and the semantic features of the including words, texts, and codes text itself (sign systems) that humans have created to understand the world semantic differential technique developed by C.E. Osgood, G.J. semiotic power ability of an audi- Suci, and P.H. Tannenbaum in The ence to assign meanings to media Measurement of Meaning (1957) representations, even if these were for assessing the social and/or not intended emotional meanings associated with certain words or concepts. The technique consists of posing ques- semiotics the study of s i g n s and tions about things or concepts—Is their uses in human life. Semiot- it good or bad? Weak or strong?— ics has become an important part of to subjects, who respond by using media analysis, used especially to seven-point scales. The answers are decode the meanings of ads, pro- then analyzed statistically. Research grams, and the like. The first defini- has shown that people’s assess- tion of sign as a physical symptom ments form culture-specific pat- came from Hippocrates. terns. In other words, meanings are constrained by culture; for example, sender person or device who/which noise turns out to be a highly an- initiates and transmits a message

265 sensationalism sensationalism lurid, superficial sensorium as defined by Ma r s h a l l coverage of news, events, celebrities, McLu h a n , the environment in which or public figures in any medium the senses are stimulated. In media studies, it refers to the total sensory sense [in contrast to r e f e r e n c e ] any experience that is evoked by a text. accrued meaning that a word or text takes on in cultural context. The r e f - sequel film, series, or novel that e r e n t is the object named, whereas continues a story started in a previous the sense is a mode of understanding film, series, or novel it. So, the word cat has a mammal referent, but it has various senses sequelitis [colloquial] the tendency attached to it that have accrued over of some authors and/or filmmakers to time (a pet, an animal with supersti- write or produce a story in anticipa- tious effects if its color is black, and tion of producing sequels so on). sequence section of a movie show- sense ratio according to Ma r s h a l l ing a single incident or set of related McLu h a n , the degree to which incidents each of the physical senses are used in communication and in under serial 1. novel, popular in the 1830s tanding. The sense ratios are equally and 1840s, that was divided into calibrated at birth, but depending on a number of consecutive episodes culture, one or the other will become that were published in installments; dominant. In an oral culture, the 2. movie presented in a series of auditory sense ratio dominates; in episodes over several days, weeks, an alphabetic one, the visual sense or months. The first widely popular ratio dominates. Sense ratios are not serial movie, called The Perils of preclusive. The raising or lowering Pauline (1914), was followed by The of the ratios depends on the type of Hazards of Helen, which ran for 119 information being processed. episodes from 1914 to 1917. A serial episode typically had a “cliff-hanger” sensitization as used in media ending, enticing viewers to anticipate studies, way or ways in which media its resolution in the subsequent epi- coverage can influenceaudiences sode. Serials remained popular with to react to the events covered movie audiences, especially children, (sympathetically, empathically, etc.). well into the 1940s. A revival of the An example of a television program serial concept can be found in the designed to sensitize audiences is one 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark that deals with social issues such as and its sequels. poverty or abuse, presenting them in a way that emphasizes “human series popular form of broadcast suffering.” drama unfolding in episodes; for

266 Shannon, Claude example, TV police dramas, private- from cable providers, satellites, or the eye series, Westerns, science-fiction Internet. An STB can be a separate series, and series that follow the ex- device from the television set or can ploits of lawyers, doctors, or families be built into it. server storage system that controls sets in use [abbreviated as SIUs] network services available on other number of television sets that are computers. On the World Wide Web, tuned into a particular broadcast dur- for example, a server is a computer ing a specific period of time that uses the HTTP protocol to send Web pages to someone’s computer setting place and conditions in which when the user requests them. Essen- a narrative, play, or poem takes place tially, servers are host centers run by universities, corporations, govern- seventy-eights [also called 78 rpm ment agencies, and other organiza- records] previous record type made tions, all of which are connected to of shellac that played sound on a the Internet. turntable at 78 revolutions per minute (rpm). Seventy-eights were the only service area geographical area over kinds of records produced until the which a broadcasting station can 1950s, when technological advances transmit signals made the production of other types possible. service provider company that provides people with access to the sex symbol any celebrity who is Internet, usually charging a regular known primarily for his or her sexu- fee. Service providers may also offer ality and attractive appearance browsers, e-mail accounts, and a personal Web page. sexism 1. practice of some media products of emphasizing purported set location (along with appropriate sexual differences in a stereotypical scenery) where a film or television fashion; 2. generally, any unequal show is being shot treatment of the sexes set designer person responsible for sexploitation [blend of sex and designing scenery and props for a exploitation] deliberate use of sexual movie set, television program, or material or themes to make a product, stage production such as an advertisement or a movie, commercially successful set top box [abbreviated as STB, also called converter] device that Shannon, Claude (1916–2001) provides an interface between a American engineer who was a pio- television set and incoming signals neer in communications, information

267 Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication science, and artificial intelligence (a share-of-audience [abbreviated as branch of computer science that aims share] percentage of people who are to design computer systems capable tuned to a particular program at a giv- of processing information in a man- en time; for example, the number of ner that resembles human cognition). people watching television between During the 1950s and 1960s, Shan- the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. non developed early computers that played chess against human oppo- shareware software that can be nents. downloaded from the Internet and used free of charge for a trial period Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication one of the first sheet music print publication of models of communication (1949) musical compositions. The publica- put forward by Cl a u d e Sh a n n o n tion of nonreligious music in the and Warren Weaver, also known as United States started in the 1790s in the b u l l ’s-e y e m o d e l . The model New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and depicts information transfer between Baltimore, where the major music two humans as a process dependent publishers were located. These pub- on probability factors, that is, on lishers produced sheet music, mostly the degree to which a message is to for solo voice with piano accompa- be expected or not in a given situ- niment, of popular melodies. Many ation. The model also introduced historians trace the origins of pop several key terms into the general culture to the rise of the sheet music study of communication: channel, industry, because it was among the noise, redundancy, and feedback. first industries to make music avail- The channel is the physical system able to large audiences. carrying the transmitted signal. Noise refers to an interfering ele- shield law legislation that protects a ment (physical or psychological) in journalist from having to reveal his or the channel that distorts or partially her sources of information for a story. effaces a message. Redundancy In the United States, shield laws are features are built into communica- enacted at the state level; more than tion systems for counteracting noise. 30 states have passed some form of These allow for a message to be such legislation. decoded even if noise is present. Finally, feedback refers to the fact shock jock any disc jockey or radio that senders have the capacity to host who uses vulgar language or monitor the messages they transmit expresses extreme views, in order to and to modify them to enhance their provoke, offend, or shock listeners decodability. shock site Web site designed to share [see share-of-audience] shock or offend viewers

268 sidebar shooting actual filming of a movie; short subject [see short] may also refer to television programs and to still photography shortfall signal gesture or facial expression that conveys insincerity or shopping channel television channel suggests some hidden emotion offering items for sale, usually with several presenters who demonstrate short-wave radio radio that trans- and talk about them. Products can be mits waves that have lengths shorter purchased by dialing a phone number than those of waves used in ampli- or visiting a Web site shown on the tude modulation (AM) transmissions. screen. Short waves carry frequency modulation (FM) radio broadcasts and short film running for a short television signals. period of time, usually 30 minutes or less shoshkeles [also called floating ads] online advertising technique in which short message service [abbreviated animated objects, such as a car, are as SMS] communications protocol projected across the screen for t e x t m e s s a g e s , sent in real time among computer or cellular phone shot 1. actual piece of film; 2. single users photographic exposure; 3. single sequence of a movie or television short ordering network practice of program captured by a camera with- ordering only a couple of episodes of out interruption a new television series show public performance of a media short story short prose fiction. Early text (a play, a musical, a movie, a short stories include such diverse concert) works as tales told in ancient Egypt, the fables of the Greek slave Aesop show business the entertainment (sixth century b.c.e.), the stories of world, including movies, radio, tele- Ovid (43 b.c.e.–17 c.e.) and Lucius vision, and records Apuleius (second century c.e.), the Indian Panchatantra (fourth century show reel compilation of a movie c.e.), and many others. Such nar- director’s work, usually intended to ratives became popular in Europe bring out his or her particular skills after Giovanni Boccaccio published the Decameron (1348–1353). The showtime time when a performance modern short story traces its roots to or show is scheduled to take place nineteenth-century writers such as Edgar Allan Poe and Anton sidebar short accompanying piece Chekhov. for a larger story, often with a human

269 sign interest angle, usually separated from the letter V, the sign for victory, the the main text in some way symbol for peace, and so on. sign anything that stands for some- signifierphysical structure of a sign. thing other than itself in some capac- For example, the sounds t-r-e-e are ity, such as a word standing for an not perceived to be random physical object, or a visual sign such as the sounds, but sounds that are structured cross standing for Christianity. The to refer to something in particular. In physical structure of a sign is called Fe r d i n a n d d e Sa u s s u r e ’s original the signifier or representamen; the theory, the connection between the “something other than itself” for which signifier and the signified, once it stands is known as its referent, signi- established, is binary—that is, one fied, or object. Its overall meaning is implies the other. For example, called signification or interpretation. the word tree is a word signifier in English because it has a recognizable signal emission or movement that phonetic structure that generates a naturally or conventionally triggers mental concept of something else (an a reaction on the part of a receiver arboreal plant): signature in electronic communication, a piece of text that is pasted signified automatically onto an e-mail or signifier tree newsgroup posting signature tune [also called theme Today, the signifier is interpreted song] musical theme used to intro- more broadly as any recurrent verbal duce a television program, radio or nonverbal structure that produces show, or serial a mental image of something other than itself. significant symbolizersign that is used in communal settings; for silence not speaking, which conveys example, clapping the hands, along something in communicative settings with other audience members, to indicate praise silent filmearly film made without sound. In most large theaters, silent signification1. overall meaning or films were accompanied by music, use of a s i g n ; 2. actual concept that recorded or played separately, often is evoked when a sign and a r e f e r - prepared specifically for the film. e n t are linked Most silent films had subtitles. The 1927 film The Jazz Singer brought signifiedwhat a sign refers to. The about the end of the silent film era. signified of the visual V-sign can be: Although the movie was silent for

270 situation comedy much of its length, the American in the United States and Canada, entertainer Al Jolson sang and spoke providing music, sports, news, enter- in four of its scenes. The film was not tainment, and other types of program- the first talking motion picture, but ming. Sirius was previously known it was the first to succeed at the box as CD Radio, changing its name in office. 1999. It is distinguished from most other radio systems by the fact that silver screen movies or the cinema it hires or involves celebrities in its industry in general programming, making it highly attractive to listeners. Web site: www simile comparing ideas using the .sirius.com words like or as: for example, She smells like a rose; He is as strong as sitcom [see situation comedy] an ox situated audience view that audienc- simulacrum theory [adopted from es tend to perceive media representa- Je a n Ba u d r i l l a r d ] view claiming tions in terms of their own everyday that the media simulate reality and in situations so doing impart the sense that they are indistinguishable from reality. In situation analysis gathering and effect, audiences end up not being evaluation of information to identify able to distinguish between reality the target group and strategic direc- and media simulations (called simu- tion of an advertising campaign lacra). situation comedy [abbreviated as simulation 1. process by which a sitcom] genre based on social situa- sign represents something by resem- tions with which audiences can easily blance or imitation: for example, identify, broadcast on a recurring ba- the word drop simulates the audio sis. The sitcom has proven to be the properties perceived when something most durable and popular of Ameri- falls to the ground; 2. creation of can broadcasting genres. It uses stock electronic representations of objects characters and recurring situations to or ideas that respond to changing fac- explore life in the home, the work- tors on a computer place, and other common locations in a funny, often satirical way. I Love simulcast simultaneous broadcast of Lucy (1951–1957), which starred a program by radio and television, Lucille Ball, was the first hit sitcom. or by any of these together with an The longest-running sitcom is The Internet site Simpsons, an animated series created by Matt Groening, an American Sirius Satellite Radio satellite pay- cartoonist. It originated in 1987 as a per-service radio system operating short feature on the weekly Tracey

271 sius

Ullman television show, premiering slapstick comedy revolving around as a continuing series in 1990. crude practical jokes. The word is traced to a slapping device used in SIUs [see sets in use] vaudeville shows, made of two flat pieces of wood fastened at one end, sketch comedy comedic skit with a and used for slapping onstage. va u d e v i l l e structure, that is, with segments consisting of singing, sleeper effect response to a message acrobatic acts, and other types of contained in a media text that is not performance immediately apparent, but which surfaces later skin flickcolloquial name for pornographic movie slogan catchy expression used in advertising and publicity: for skit 1. short comic sketch; 2. comic example, I’m lovin’ it! (McDon- work that satirizes something or ald’s slogan); You’re in good hands someone with Allstate! Slogans help create a favorable image of a company, skyscraper in n e t l i n g o , online a brand product, a politician, or a billboard placed down the side of a cause. Web page slow motion method of filming slander any untrue or misleading scenes or sequences so that they statement that damages someone’s appear slower than normal on the reputation screen, for a desired effect slang 1. any language used by smart card small plastic card that certain groups (such as adolescents) has a built-in microprocessor to store for purposes of group identity; 2. and process data and records informal speech in general. In the twentieth century, the mass media SMCR model [abbreviation of have been instrumental in spread- Source-Message-Channel-Receiver ing slang broadly. The Internet has model; see Schramm, Wilbur] recently brought a great deal of slang created and used by computer users SMS [see short message service] into common usage: snail mail (letters delivered by the postal service), snail mail in n e t l i n g o , mail sent hacker (an expert computer program- through the postal service, as distinct mer often involved in illegal activi- from e-mail ties), flaming (a hostile response from a user), and spamming (unsolicited sneak preview public screening of a messages). film before its general release

272 soft-core snob-appeal technique advertis- experience of others living in their ing technique that aims to convince own social context. The theory consumers that using a product will has been applied to explain the elevate their social status ways in which people read media texts. soap opera serial drama genre, aimed originally at a female radio social responsibility model view audience. Soap operas began in that journalists should monitor what the early 1930s as 15-minute radio they are reporting to make sure that it episodes and continued on television is ethical, fair, principled, and just, so from the early 1950s as 30-minute that people can make wise decisions and later hour-long episodes. The regarding social and political issues genre was named soap opera because the original sponsors were detergent socialism political philosophy in companies. Soap operas typically which private property and income are revolve around romance, infidelity, deemed to be subject to social control. loyalty, and intrigue. The term was first used to describe the doctrines of Charles Fourier and other social cognitive theory view that Romantic social theorists who saw people learn through observation. spiritual and physical benefits ema- The theory has been used to support nating from socialist communities. m e d i a e f f e c t s m o d e l s . Marxists see socialism as a transi- tional stage between capitalism and social constructivism [also called communism. social constructionism] 1. belief that identity is not inherent in an indi- sociometrics study of social rela- vidual or group but, rather, is a result tions and power structures among the of cultural, political, and historical members of small groups forces; 2. view that cultures construct realities through signs and symbols Socrates (c. 470–399 b.c.e.) Greek and thus that people come to view the philosopher who believed that knowl- world through them edge is gained primarily through oral discussion. He emphasized reason in social controls ideas, beliefs, values, the quest for knowledge. and mores that people pick up from the societies in which they are reared Socratic irony feigning ignorance of and that condition how they behave something in order to make a point and communicate more forcefully social learning theory a theory that soft-core any representation that is attempts to explain how people learn sexually suggestive or provocative, through experience and through the but not explicit

273 soft news soft news news reported in an infor- soul music style of popular music mal, often chatty, style emerging in the 1960s, sung and performed primarily by African Ameri- soft sell method of advertising can musicians such as James Brown, products and services that uses subtle Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and Aretha forms of persuasion, rather than Franklin, having its roots in gospel blatant ones and rhythm and blues software detailed instructions used sound bite short extract from an in- to operate a computer for a specific terview or a speech used to support a purpose. The term was coined around statement or viewpoint in a broadcast 1960 to differentiate the programs or a print publication that run on the computer from the equipment, or hardware, that makes sound card expansion card that can up the machine. Most early software convert analog sound (as from a was developed to meet a specific microphone or audio tape) to digital need. Often, it was included with form, or convert digitized audio sig- a computer manufacturer’s hard- nals (as from an audio file) to analog ware. Later, it was sold separately. signals that can be played on Software is divided into a number a computer’s speakers of categories: operating or system software, which allows the computer sound effects imitations of natural to operate commands; application and other kinds of sounds to accom- software, which allows people to use pany the action and to suggest real- computers in specific ways; network ism in a movie, play, or program software, which links computers to the Internet; and language software, sound image any sound that is per- which provides the tools for writing ceived or interpreted in the same way programs. as a picture soliloquy monologue presenting a soundtrack 1. narrow band recorded series of reflections. Soliloquy allows on the side of the film image; 2. gen- stage characters to confide in the eral term for the dialogue, music and audience. sound effects in a film or video something-for-nothing lure adver- source person, organization, book, tising technique that offers a potential or document that a journalist uses for buyer a “something-for-nothing” information or evidence deal: for example, Buy one and get the second one free! Finish this sen- spaghetti Western film genre in the tence and win a trip to the Caribbean style of Hollywood Westerns, but for two! actually filmed in Italy during the

274 spin doctor

1960s and 1970s. The most famous animals paraded in front of the audi- of all spaghetti Western directors was ence. The circus spectacle generally Sergio Leone, who won a wide audi- ended with a long mount, in which ence with A Fistful of Dollars (1964), some elephants rested their front legs the first Italian-made spaghettiW est- on the backs of the elephants directly ern, starring Clint Eastwood, who in front of them. also acted in Leone’s equally popular For a Few Dollars More (1965) and speech the use of language in face- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly to-face conversations, in writing, (1966). These films initially received etc. By extension, it is used in media poor critical reviews, but Leone was studies to refer to any special kind eventually recognized for his sense of of language (newspaper speech, Web historical accuracy and his realistic speech, etc.). use of scenery. speech act utterance intended to bring spam unsolicited e-mails sent to a about an actual physical act or desire large number of electronic addresses for some action; for example, Stop! Go! special television program that is not speech therapy [also called speech- part of the normal schedule language pathology] the science of speech disorders. Speech therapists special effects artificial effects work with people whose speech introduced into a movie or television interferes with communication, calls show. The earliest special effects attention to itself, and frustrates both were created with special camera speaker and listener. lenses. The growing use of computer animation and imagery has made speech-recognition technology it possible to create elaborate and hardware and software that enable a highly realistic effects. Some ani- computer to recognize spoken words mated movies are now made solely and convert them into commands, with computer animation, which has thus eliminating the need to input moved special effects artistry to a information manually new level. spin the presentation of news or ideas spectacle any performance that according to a particular point of has enormous appeal because of its view (usually political) “extravaganza” style. The term was used originally to describe the lavish spin doctor person working in public productions of circus performances. relations whose job is to put a s p i n Typically, a spectacle unfolded as the on an item of news in order to protect band played, the ringmaster sang, and someone’s public image or reputation performers in elaborate costumes and (usually that of a politician)

275 spiral of silence spiral of silence theory developed spread story or advertisement in a by Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann, print publication or on a Web page that which holds that people who have occupies more than a column or page views that they think are not widely held (whether true or not) tend to spy genre literary and cinematic acquiesce, while those who believe genre that deals with espionage, that their views are widespread tend mystery, or intrigue revolving around to express them strongly, leading an intelligence agent or spy, who is to a spiral in which some views are the hero of the narrative. The best- expressed and others are not known are the James Bond movies, originally cinematic adaptations of splash page Web page that is dis- novels by British writer Ian Fleming, played to visitors before they reach including Dr. No (1962), From Russia the home page with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), and Casino Roy- split run 1. printing of the same issue ale (1967), all featuring James Bond, of a newspaper or magazine at sepa- the high-living secret agent 007, one rate times so that different ads may of the most successful characters of be included in the different printings, twentieth-century cinema. allowing the effects of the ads to be assessed and compared; 2. special spyware software that can secretly versions of a given print publication gain access to a computer user’s hard with different content to suit specific drive through an Internet connection, demographic and regional groups capable of extracting information from the hard drive without the user’s spoiler print publication (newspaper knowledge or magazine) that is released at the same time as a rival publication in stage 1. the theater or plays in order to divert interest from it general; 2. actual appearance of a play as created by lighting, scenery, sponsor company that pays for radio costumes, and sound effects or television programming by purchasing advertising time stand-in any actor replacing another actor in a film or program, usually sportscast radio or television broad- when the action is dangerous and cast of a sports event or of news the stand-in is trained specifically to related to sports participate in it spot announcements commercial star [synonym for celebrity] person or public service announcements who is in the public eye because of that are placed on television or radio his or her achievements in cinema, programs sports, or some other field

276 story star system publicity strategy de- stereoscopy process of making pho- veloped by Hollywood in its heyday, tographs appear to have three dimen- emphasizing movie stars, rather than sions, using a special camera with the movies themselves, as a way to two lenses set a small distance apart attract audiences to movie theaters. A movie starring John Wayne, for stereotype biased assessment of example, would be promoted in such a person, group, or idea. The term a way to attract the many fans of the is applied typically to describe the star, rather than to focus attention on expectations that people have of the movie itself. others according to their age, gender, physical appearance, ethnic group, station [full form: radio station] race, or occupation. Stereotypes are place from which a radio broadcast oversimplified assessments applied as originates. There are two main types generalizations, constituting a form of radio stations: commercial and of biased prejudgment. public. The former are owned by private companies, making profits from still static photograph, usually of ac- advertisements; the latter are funded tors or scenes in a motion picture for by the government. Some countries publicity or documentary purposes also have nonprofit stations, operated mainly by educational institutions. stimulation model a model of media Although the term station is often violence, which claims that exposure applied to the place where television to media violence can increase ag- broadcasting originates, the more ac- gressive behavior in viewers curate term in this case is s t u d i o . stimulus-response model a model station break interruption of a radio describing the relation between an or television program, often to pro- advertisement and the particular vide information on the program it- type of audience reaction it tends self or on the sponsor of the program to receive. The model is based on the school of psychology called status conferral gaining social status behaviorism, which dominated the simply by being portrayed in the field from 1913 to around 1970. The media stimulus-response model investigated complex forms of behavior by mea- STB [see set top box] suring and analyzing the responses of human subjects to various stimuli. stereo [full form: stereophonic] any electronic audio playback system that story 1. fictional narrative shorter is capable of reproducing high-quality than a novel; 2. general term used to sound that comes from various direc- describe any news report or docu- tions (usually through speakers) mentary program

277 storyboard storyboard 1. blueprint for a film Fe r d i n a n d d e S a u s s u r e . Both lin- sequence or TV commercial, which is guistics and semiotics are sometimes drawn to portray copy, dialogue, and called structuralist sciences. action, with caption notes regarding filming, audio components, and studio 1. place from which a televi- script; 2. in advertising, roughly sion broadcast originates; 2. commer- drawn version of a proposed adver- cial film production company tisement studio system the Hollywood studios strategic marketing method that that dominated film production from assesses a specific market and then the 1930s to the 1950s, an era when provides input on how to design independent filmmakers had few advertising for that market opportunities to break into the movie market. The studios controlled all stream of consciousness literary those who worked for them by con- device in which the reader is exposed tract, including actors and directors. to the thoughts and feelings of a character as they unfold. The term was stunt double person who takes the coined by William James in his book place of a screen actor in scenes that The Principles of Psychology (1890). involve danger or require special Notable exponents of this genre are physical skills James Joyce, William Faulkner, and Virginia Woolf. style 1. patterned variation in language, according to its social streaming in n e t l i n g o , broadcast- functions; 2. the specialized use of ing material (audio, video) via Inter- language in works of literature; net in real time. Streaming is made 3. type of clothing that is in fashion; possible by browsers with “player” 4. particular mode of representing software, which allows a user to play or performing something (adventure audio or video files as they are being style, jazz style, Hitchcock style, downloaded. Seinfeld style) stripping the showing of programs subbrand secondary brand that five days a week that are either reruns builds on the associations of a or programs made for syndication m a s t e r b r a n d structuralism mode of inquiry based subconscious [alternative of on the notion that signs and texts beget unconscious] in psychology, mental their meanings through o pp o s i t i o n s . processes that occur without people For example, left is understood in being aware of them. These were first opposition to right, night to day, and studied scientifically by the French so on. Structuralism originated with neurologist Jean Martin Charcot in

278 suggestion the 1800s by means of hypnosis. applied to a media text (the other Soon after, doctors realized that two being d o m i n a n t and r a d i c a l ), many mentally ill people, such as whereby the audience accepts, by those with hysteria, were influenced and large, the meanings, values, and by unconscious thoughts and feel- worldview built into the text by its ings. It was, however, Si g m u n d makers Fr e u d who developed the first theory of the unconscious, which claimed, subplot plot that is subordinate to essentially, that unconscious thoughts the main plot of a work; for example, seek expression in various forms and the subplot can be introduced to hide modes, such as in dreams and routine the resolution (in a mystery story), to conversations. provide comic relief (in a tragedy), or to shed light on the actions or person- subculture any variation within a ality of a character specific form of culture, developed by a group in order to set itself apart subscription money paid to a media from the larger society. Subcultures outlet (newspaper, magazine, Web may develop in ethnic groups, occu- site, satellite television service) to re- pational groups, age groups (espe- ceive its media products on a regular cially adolescents), and other groups basis within a larger culture. Subcultures differentiate themselves typically subtext text (and its message) through language (slang), clothing, implicit within the main text; for musical preferences, and the like, example, a mythic story embedded providing members with a sense of into an ad by means of suggestive being a single collectivity. images (snake figures, dark tones, etc.) subject 1. topic or main theme of a work; 2. what a sentence or proposi- subtitle 1. dialogue appearing be- tion is about tween the scenes of a silent motion picture; 2. dialogue appearing as a subliminal advertising technique translation at the bottom of the screen based on hiding a meaning or form in in a motion picture or television show an ad. The theory is that the uncon- in a foreign language scious mind will pick up the image, which will create a need for the prod- succeeder in advertising parlance, uct. However, no evidence has ever person who wants products that will emerged to show the effectiveness of enhance his or her quality of life or such advertising. social position subordinate reading one of three suggestion in advertising, process by supposed readings or interpretations which someone’s views are influ-

279 Sundance Film Festival enced by the message or s u b t e x t in embody lofty human ideals for all an ad to admire—truth, honesty, justice, fairness, moral strength, and so on. Sundance Film Festival an- Modern-day audiences feel this nual motion picture festival of intuitively, as did the ancient Greek independent filmmaking, founded audiences who watched stage perfor- in 1976, giving awards in various mances of Aeschylus’s Prometheus categories, from best film to best Bound, Prometheus Unbound, and sound effects. Web site: www.festival Prometheus the Fire-Bringer. Rather .sundance.org than being sent by the gods from the spiritual world to help human- superego in psychoanalysis, one of ity (something that would hardly be the three basic constituents of hu- appropriate in a secular society), Su- man character, the others being the perman came to Earth instead from e g o and the id. The superego con- a planet in another galaxy; he leads trols behavior and develops through a “double life,” as superhero and parental and social conditioning. as Clarke Kent, a “mild-mannered” reporter for a daily newspaper; he is superhero fictional character who adored by Lois Lane, a reporter for has the characteristics of the ancient the same newspaper who suspects mythic heroes. For example, the (from time to time) that Clark Kent comic book figure of Superman, may be Superman. who was introduced in 1938 by Ac- tion Comics, and published separate- superstation local independent ly a little later in Superman Comic television station whose signals Books, represents a fictional super- are distributed nationally via hero, who, like the ancient heroes, is satellite to cable and other indestructible, morally upright, and television systems devoted to saving humanity from itself. Moreover, like some mythic superstitial animated ad that pops heroes, he has a “tragic flaw”: ex- up between Web page views on the posure to “kryptonite,” a substance Internet that is found on the planet where he was born, renders him devoid of his awesome powers. In mythology and support advertising promotion legend, a hero is an individual, often designed to back up a campaign of divine ancestry, who is endowed (political, social) with great courage and strength, celebrated for his or her bold exploits, surfingto go on the Internet in and sent by the gods to Earth to search of various Web sites, for infor- play a crucial role in human af- mation, recreation, or some fairs. Heroes are character roles that other motive

280 synesthesia

Surrealism twentieth-century symbol something that stands for movement in literature and the arts something else in a conventional founded by André Breton in Paris way. A flag, for example, stands for a in 1924, revolving around dream country. White is a symbol of mourn- images and other fantastic imagery. ing for Chinese people, while black Members of the movement include is the color of mourning in Western Max Ernst, René Magritte, and Sal- societies. Almost anything can be a vador Dalí. symbol. For example, the alphabet character A can stand for the best surround sound [also called am- (such as a grade in school) or the bisonics] recording and playback musical scale or key that has A as its system that uses three or more chan- keynote. nels or speakers in order to create the effect of sound surrounding the symbolic code one of the five codes listener used in the construction of media texts, based on the interpretation of surveillance society view that texts with high symbolic content and people today can be easily tracked how they generate meaning through down and spied upon because of the use of symbols. The other sophisticated satellite and other codes are called a c t i o n , e n i g m a , technologies referential , and s e m a n t i c . survey study that measures attitudes, synchrony use, meaning, and/or beliefs, and views by asking people function of signs, codes, and texts at directly about them. Surveys are a specific point in time (usually the used often in audience studies present) because they provide valuable information that can be assessed syndicated program television to identify trends, among other or radio program that is distributed things. in more than one market by an organization other than a suspension of disbelief acceptance network of unlikely situations in a plot so that the story can be enjoyed synecdoche rhetorical technique whereby a part is used to represent swashbuckler story about a swords- the whole, or vice versa: for man or adventurer: for example, The example, Scotch tape for adhesives; Three Musketeers (1844) by Alexan- the White House for the American dre Dumas, père government sweeps survey of television ratings synergy strategy of actively forging used to determine advertising prices linkages between related areas of

281 synesthesia entertainment. For example, merg- syntagm pattern resulting from a ers, such as that of Time Warner with combination of elements; for example, AOL, allow for content developed in word construction, the order of in one medium, say television, to be sounds is subject to rules of combina- reused and recycled in other media tion (pfingis not a legitimate word in (movies, Internet). English because pf cannot be used at the beginning of words) synesthesia fusion of sensory reactions to words and texts created by syntax 1. organization of words juxtaposition: for example, hot pink to form sentences; 2. study of how (= feeling + sight); smooth melody words are combined to create larger (= touch + hearing) structures

282 last item tabloid small format of a movie that makes a newspaper that is roughly commentary or captures half the size of a standard attention newspaper, usually containing sensational coverage T take 1. in filmic language, of crime, scandal, gossip, repetition of the same violence, or news about celebrities. shot because the previous one was Tabloids also typically include lurid not satisfactory; 2. single session in photographs, cartoons, and other which a piece of music is recorded in graphic features. a recording studio tabloid TV television news pro- talk show genre of radio or televi- gram that is styled after newspaper sion program in which people discuss ta b l o i d s aspects of their lives or current issues with a host. Late-night talk shows tachistoscope testing in advertis- emphasize entertainment; others may ing research, the measurement of a focus on politics, controversial social person’s recognition and perception issues, or sensational topics. Some of various elements within an ad by talk shows allow listeners or viewers using the different lighting and ex- to take part in the program by tele- posure techniques of a tachistoscope, phoning the station to ask questions a device that projects an image at a or give their opinions. fraction of a second talkie movie with a soundtrack. The tag 1. piece of data that can be used term was coined in 1927 to character- to facilitate retrieval of text; 2. the ize the new technology that allowed h t m l codes that create hypertext soundtracks to be integrated with pictures in films. tag question a word or phrase added to the end of a sentence or utterance talking head shot of a person on that is intended to seek confirmation, television that focuses on his or her agreement, or some similar response, head and shoulders as he or she is rather than information: for example, seen talking You like this a lot, don’t you? This is a good movie, isn’t it? tango sensual ballroom dance style originating in Argentina, made popu- tagline 1. slogan or phrase that lar in the United States by Vernon conveys the most important attribute and Irene Castle, a famous ballroom or benefit that an advertiser wishes to dancing team. By 1915 it was being convey about a product (for example, danced throughout Europe, becoming Taco Bell’s Think outside the bun!); a craze after Rudolph Valentino and 2. short phrase attached to the title his partner featured the tango in the

283 tap dance motion picture Four Horsemen of the t-commerce business conducted Apocalypse (1921). The dance form by means of interactive television communicates passion through alter- technology nate long slow steps and short quick ones, with sudden turns and sexually TCP/IP [see Transmission Control suggestive poses. Protocol/Internet Protocol] tap dance a style of dance using teaser 1. preview of a broadcast or precise rhythmical foot movements publication intended to elicit inter- and audible foot tapping. The form is est; 2. advertisement that gives little derived from the traditional jigs and information about a product, thus reels of Ireland and Scotland. It was a making consumers curious to know popular staple of nineteenth-century more minstrel shows. By 1925 the dance had become popular in variety shows technical director member of a and early musicals. film or television crew responsible for overseeing technical operations, tape plastic thin layer used for such as camera equipment and sound recording and playing back sound. equipment Tape recording was, until recently, widely used by the recording industry Technicolor process for making and in radio and television broadcast- motion pictures in color, developed ing. Though it still has many uses, it in the early 1900s, resulting in color is being replaced by DVD and other reproduction of high quality. The first technologies. full-length film made in Technicolor was The Gulf Between, appearing in target audience group at whom a theaters in 1917. Many Technicolor specific media product or advertis- films were made in the 1930s and ing strategy is directed. Advertis- 1940s. Today, Technicolor has largely ers gather data on people (through been replaced by simpler and less discussions, interviews, etc.) to find expensive color film processes. out all they can about them—for example, age, class, gender, lifestyle techno music [also called elec- preferences—and then use the infor- tronica] dance music that first mation to determine the best way to appeared in the 1980s and became advertise to them. globally popular in the 1990s, using synthesizer melodies with rapid target market group of individuals electronic rhythms. Techno was who are the intended audience of adopted by the ravers, young people an advertiser’s message and prospec- who organized all-night dance parties tive purchasers of its products or that often featured the hallucinogenic services drug ecstasy.

284 telegram technological determinism idea the same time to a wave of media that technology shapes the course of consolidation. The act also requires human evolution. Many historians of broadcasters to add captions to an science argue that technology has not increasing number of programs. only become an essential condition Under the act, all programs must be of advanced, industrial civilization, captioned in English by 2008 and in but also that the rate of techno- Spanish by 2012. logical change has developed its own momentum. Innovations appear at telecommuting work performed a rate that increases geometrically, at home by means of telecommu- unhindered by geographical limits nication networks, rather than at a or social systems. These innovations conventional place of work such as tend to transform traditional cultural an office systems, frequently with unexpected social consequences. Some social teleculture concept suggesting that critics therefore define technology television is a dominant influence as both a creative and a destructive in society, helping both mirror and process. shape cultural institutions, replacing books, families, and educators technophobia fear of technology. as primary influences in cultural Technophobia is usually associated transmission with fear of rapid innovations in science, such as genetic teledemocracy view that democracy engineering, Internet technology, will spread because of telecommu- and the like. nications, which help disseminate information freely across the globe, telecast short for “television broad- thus encouraging large groups of cast” people to make up their own minds about issues and thus develop a sense telecommunications general term of democracy for all electronic communications and transmission at a distance, over teledrama drama filmed expressly cables, wireless radio relay systems, for television audiences or via satellite links. Modern telecommunication systems can transmit telefilmfilm made expressly for large volumes of information over television audiences long distances. telegenic the quality of appearing Telecommunications Act of 1996 attractive on television legislative act that opened up the United States telecommunications telegram printed message sent by industry to competition, leading at t e l e g r a p h y

285 telegraphy telegraphy electrical system that can telematics technology that allows send and receive electrical signals for the exchange of computer data over long-distance wires. The first through a telephone line commercial telegraph systems were developed in Great Britain in the early telenovela melodramatic genre nineteenth century. In the 1840s the of s o a p o p e r a popular in South American inventor Samuel F.B. Morse America developed a code that came to be adopted internationally. The code— telephone device designed for simul- known as the Mo r s e Co d e —utilized taneous transmission and reception of “on” and “off” signals to represent the human voice. In 1876 the Scottish- individual letters of the alphabet. born American inventor Al e x a n d e r The telegrapher at one end of the line Gr a h a m Be l l patented the first would tap on an electrical key, and telephone. Bell believed his invention the telegrapher at the other end would would be used to transmit musical decode the tapping as it came in, write concerts, lectures, and sermons. But down the message, and send it to the after founding his own company, he recipient by messenger. Telegraph quickly discovered that the appeal of cable was laid under the Atlantic the phone lay much more in allowing Ocean in 1858, and regular transat- ordinary people to talk to each other. lantic service began in 1866. It was So, in 1878 the Bell Telephone Com- the first interconnected global company established the first telephone munications system. Telegraphy was exchange—a switchboard connecting gradually replaced by telex systems any member of a group of subscrib- in the early twentieth century. These ers to any other member. By 1894, gradually eliminated the need to use roughly 260,000 Bell telephones were a code. Users could type in a mes- in use in the United States, about one sage, and the identical message would for every 250 people. By the 1960s appear at the recipient’s end, carried the telephone had become an es- over telegraph and telephone lines to sential service. Near the end of the telex machines anywhere in the world. twentieth century, the telephone was As early as the 1930s these lines were used to provide access to the Internet also used to transmit pictures, an by means of devices called modems event that introduced Wirephoto ser- (modulator-demodulators). Advances vice in international communications. in electronics have introduced a num- Today, telegraphy has been largely ber of “smart” features in telephone abandoned, being replaced by e-mail manufacturing, such as automatic and other digital technologies. redialing, caller identification, call waiting, and call forwarding. telemarketing use of the telephone as a medium to sell, promote, or teleplay play written expressly for solicit goods and services television audiences

286 test screening teletext service providing television United States. Television programs viewers with written text containing opened up Web sites in the 1990s to news stories, stock market listings, complement their mode of delivering and other kinds of information programming. telethon lengthy television program television culture view that since produced to collect money for a char- the 1950s, the history of television ity or cause has become the history of Western society. TV has showcased racial teletype instrument that was used protests, riots, and other significant for much of the twentieth century to social events, thus influencing social transmit and receive printed mes- change. Some critics claim that with- sages via telephone cables or radio out television, there would have been relay systems. Today teletype has no civil rights legislation, no Viet- given way to e-mail and fax commu- nam War protests, and diminished or nications. different public reactions to politics after Watergate. Moreover, many TV televangelism evangelism carried out programs have been pivotal in bring- primarily via television, featuring a ing about a change in social mindset charismatic preacher, a large audi- and mirroring changes in mores. ence, and emotional sermons, often For example, in 1977 the miniseries accompanied by healing events Roots was the first to deal forcefully with the enduring problem of racism; television [abbreviated as TV] in 1968 Star Trek featured the first broadcasting by means of electroni- interracial kiss in an episode titled cally transmitted visual signals. In Plato’s Stepchildren; in 1991 the first 1884 engineer Pa u l Ni p k o w built a scene of women kissing each other scanning disc that created television was aired on an episode of L.A. Law. images. In 1926 John Logie Baird, With the advent of satellite technolo- perfected Nipkow’s device, and in gies, television has also become a 1931 Vladimir Zworykin built the source of influence across the globe. prototype of the TV camera. The first home television set was put on test market smaller market that is display in Schenectady, New York, thought to be representative of a in 1928, by Ernst F.W. Alexander- larger one and on which an advertis- son. By the late 1930s, television ing strategy is tried out in order to service had begun in several Western determine its effectiveness, before countries. The Radio Corporation of introducing it to the larger market America (RCA) showcased television sets at the 1939 New York World’s test screening showing of a provi- Fair. Right after World War II, sional version of a movie to assess network broadcasting started in the an audience’s reaction to it

287 testimonial technique testimonial technique advertising and presentationally. Discursive texts method that incorporates statements have “detachment,” which simply from famous people or satisfied means that their constituent elements customers, who endorse a product. can be considered separately—for Under U.S. government regulations, example, one can focus on a digit in endorsers must use the advertised a number or on a single word in a product if they claim they do so. novel, detaching it from its location in the text, without impairing the text anything constructed to express, overall understanding of the text. In represent, or communicate some- contrast, the elements in presenta- thing—speeches, poems, television tional texts cannot be detached from programs, scientific theories, musical them without impairing the overall compositions. Work on texts in recent meaning—for example, one can- years has produced a convenient not detach a note or phrase from a typology. A paratext, for example, is melody without destroying the sense defined as the physical and conven- of the melody. The relation between tional characteristics associated with the structure of a text and its inter- certain kinds of texts; paratextual pretation has become a primary area features include such things as titles, of research within media studies. Es- headings, footnotes, dust jackets, and pecially interesting is the “location” so on; an architext is the prototype of a text’s meaning. Does it lie in the from which other texts are derived intentions of the makers of texts? (for example, the Iliad is the architext And, consequently, is successful on which many stories are based); a interpretation of the text on the part metatext is a text that makes an ex- of the reader a straightforward matter plicit or implicit critical commentary of trying to determine the maker’s on another text; a hypotext is a text intentions? Or does the meaning of based on another text that it alters in the text reside instead in the reader, some way; a hypertext is a text within regardless of the maker’s intentions? a main text that is linked to it in some Both the nature of the text itself and way. the author’s intentions constrain the range of interpretations. When a text message short written message given interpretation goes beyond this sent from one mobile phone or device range, people tend to evaluate it as to another erroneous, extreme, far-fetched, or implausible. text theory any theory aiming to explain how we create and interpret textuality style and pattern of tech- texts. The twentieth-century Ameri- niques used to create texts can philosopher Su s a n n e La n g e r claimed that there were two ways theater 1. building or outdoor area for in which we read texts, discursively dramatic performances or other forms

288 theater testing of entertainment; 2. dramatic or co- locale. In the Romantic nineteenth medic literature performed by actors century, theater took another turn, for an audience. Scholars trace the concentrating on a search for the spiri- origin of theater to ancient ceremonial tual nature of humankind. One of the practices. In ancient Greece the first best examples of Romantic drama is dramas revolved around myth and leg- Faust (Part I, 1808; Part II, 1832), by end. The actors wore masks, a practice the German playwright Johann Wolf- that also had a ritualistic source. gang von Goethe. Based on the classic Comedy was developed in ancient legend of a man who sells his soul Greece alongside tragedy for criticiz- to the devil, the play depicts human- ing and satirizing both individuals kind’s attempt to master knowledge and society in general. After the fall and power. As plays attracted larger of the Roman Empire in 476 c.e., the and larger audiences, playwrights Christian church discouraged comedy became more and more involved in for more than 500 years, promoting writing about everyday life, focusing instead a liturgical form of theater on psychological realism and social based on biblical stories. By the fif- problems. This new realistic trend in teenth century, the latter had evolved theater led to the notion of the director into the morality play, performed by as the one who interprets the text, de- professional actors, which dealt with termines acting style, suggests scenery religious themes. Interest in comedic and costumes, and gives the produc- theater was revived by the movement tion its overall quality—a tradition known as the c o m m e d i a d e l l ’a r t e . that continues on to this day. By the Commedia actors developed comic first decades of the twentieth century, routines, called iazzi, which they a reaction against realism erupted could execute on demand, especially in the world of theater. Paralleling when it was felt that a sudden laugh contemporaneous radical visual art was needed. For instance, a performer and musical movements, a movement might pretend to trip and tumble into a known as absurdist theater emerged. pail of water during the exit sequence. The emphasis of this new form of Many of the routines and ideas of the theater was on the absurdity of the commedia live on in contemporary human condition. The subtext in all forms such as vaudeville, burlesque, absurdist drama is that of humanity as and even television sitcoms. By the lost in an unknown and unknowable mid-sixteenth century, a new, dynamic world, where all human actions are secular theater had developed. The senseless. Absurdism reached its peak most important concept in its design in the 1950s, but continues to influ- was verisimilitude—the appearance ence drama to this day. of truth. Characters were common individuals. The plays had a single theater testing in advertising, a plot, which took place within a 24- method used to test viewer responses hour period, and occurred only in one to an ad in a theater-like setting

289 third generation third generation latest version of by anonymous composers working telecommunications devices or sys- for low wages. Tin Pan Alley songs tems (such as mobile phones) were important elements in the sheet-music and popular-recording third person effect personal belief industries of the day, as well as in that one is not influenced by media radio, vaudeville, and film. Tin Pan messages, but that others are Alley is most closely associated with popular ballads, show tunes, and love thirty-threes [full form: 33 1/3 rpm songs. Notable Tin Pan Alley com- record, also called LP for long play- posers include Irving Berlin, Hoagy ing record] vinyl record popular in Carmichael, Dorothy Fields, Johnny the 1950s through 1970s that allowed Mercer, Cole Porter, Richard Rod- recorded sound to run for many more gers, and Jerome Kern. minutes than s e v e n t y -e i g h t s title 1. name given to a book, movie, three-dimensional [abbreviated as or program, usually by its author; 2. 3-D] any medium or text (such as a heading, including credits, that ap- movie or a computer game) that cre- pears at the beginning and/or end of a ates the illusion of experiencing it in film or television program three-dimensional space title role main part or leading role in thriller genre of novel or movie a film, play, or television program designed to hold audience interest by the use of intrigue, adventure, and/or title track song in a multi-song suspense recording whose name is used as the title of the recording tie-in product that accompanies and helps publicize a major film release, TiVo digital box attached to a televi- such as, for example, a novel based sion set allowing viewers to control on the movie script incoming broadcasts. The device automatically records broadcasts time-lapse photography technique according to the viewer’s preferences of shooting something so that, when and also allows viewers to control projected, a slow action (such as programs in the same manner that the opening of a flower bud) can be they can control videotapes (pause, shown in a sped-up fashion rewind).

Tin Pan Alley name given to West Tomlinson, John (1949–) well- 28th Street between Broadway and known critic of globalization and the Sixth Avenue in Manhattan where, evolution of media in new techno- from the 1880s to the 1950s, most logical forms. Among his best-known popular music was composed, often works are Media and Modernity

290 tracking study

(1995) and Globalization and Culture total audience package advertising (1999). strategy of scheduling advertisements across time segments on radio and tonality 1. organization of music television, so as to reach a wide range around a t o n e ; 2. in painting, the of listeners or viewers relationship and effect of the colors and/or shades of light and dark totemism belief in an animal, plant, or natural object as the emblem of tone 1. in music, sound made by the a clan or family, often revered as its vibration of a musical instrument or founder, ancestor, or guardian of the human voice; 2. in language, variation in the pitch of the voice touch mode of communication with while speaking, usually signaling the hands. In most cultures, a basic a meaning difference; for example, form of greeting involves handshak- in Mandarin Chinese the word man ing, which may have started as a may mean either “trick” or “slow,” way to show that neither person depending on its pitch; 3. in painting, was holding a weapon. Other forms any variation in color or shades of include patting someone on the arm, light and dark shoulder, or back to indicate agreement or to compliment; linking arms Top 10 the best 10 in any pop culture to indicate companionship; putting sector: “top 10 records,” “top 10 one’s arm around the shoulder to singers,” etc. indicate friendship or intimacy; holding hands with family members or a Top 40 radio format that plays the lover to express intimacy; hugging to most popular single recordings—the convey happiness at seeing a friend top 40 on record sales charts. This or a family member; and so on. was a dominant radio format from the 1950s to the 1970s, uniting musi- touchscreen a computer screen that cal tastes across audiences, promot- responds to touch so that it can be op- ing mainly r o c k a n d r o l l . By the erated without a keyboard or mouse 1980s, audiences became highly fragmented, leading to a reduction in town meeting on television, a pro- the importance of Top 40 radio in the gram in which people from a region promotion of recordings. or walk of life debate a certain issue moderated by a host Toronto International Film Festival prestigious film festival, founded track [see soundtrack] in 1976, held annually in Toronto in September. Many consider it to tracking study type of research study be second only to the Ca n n e s f i l m that follows the same group of sub- f e s t i va l in importance. jects over an extended period of time

291 trade advertising trade advertising promotions that transaction journalism in cyberad- are directed at dealers and profes- vertising, the direct linkage of edito- sionals through appropriate trade rial content to sales publications and media transactional analysis study of the trademark legally protected sign motives behind the discourse used (name, design, picture, sound) that during interpersonal communication distinguishes the products of one company from those of another. Most transborder data flowtransmis- trademarks appear on the product, sion of information across national on its container, or in advertisements borders so that it can be received, for it. stored, or used outside the originating jurisdiction traditional transmission passing on information by means of language transcription recording of a broad- from one generation to another cast or other event to be shown or reviewed at a later time trafficin n e t l i n g o , number of visitors to a Web site transformational appeal advertising technique designed to link the product tragedy [see theater] traditional to meaningful emotional experiences (love, understanding, etc.) t h e at e r genre, dating to ancient Greece, typically with an unhappy or transgressivity in f e m i n i s t t h e o ry , disastrous ending brought on by fate defiance of social norms. This notion or a flaw in the main character has been used to explain the power of such forms of representation as tragicomedy genre combining ele- p o r n o g r a p h y and cross-dressing. ments of tragedy and comedy. The third-century b.c.e. Roman play- transient advertisement promo- wright Plautus coined the word to tion that is placed in specific locales, denote a play in which gods and mor- such as in movie theaters before the tals or masters and slaves reversed feature is shown their traditional roles. Today, the term suggests a text in which laughter transistor small device that can is seen as the only response left to amplify, control, and generate electri- characters faced with an empty or cal signals, invented by Bell Labs in problematic life. 1947, displacing the vacuum tube. Single transistors were superseded trailer [also called preview] brief in the 1960s by integrated circuits. film showing snatches from an up- Today, transistors have different coming motion picture so as to entice functions in every type of electronic people to see the movie equipment.

292 two-step flow theory transmission sending messages to a tunesmith composer of popular songs receiver turnover number of times something Transmission Control Protocol/ is sold during a particular period Internet Protocol [abbreviated as TCP/IP] set of rules that define how turntable [also called record player computers on the Internet (and on or phonograph] instrument that other computer networks) transmit rotates a phonograph record; a stylus and exchange information is placed on the record and sound is reproduced through loudspeakers. transmissional perspective view Turntables were largely replaced by that media transmit information for cassette tape recorders and compact the purpose of controlling cultural disc systems in the 1980s. and social trends TV [see television] transparency realistic mode of constructing media representations, TV newsmagazine television news making their construction undetect- program format, pioneered by CBS’s able to readers or viewers 60 Minutes in the 1960s, that features interviews and investigative report- trial by media term used figuratively ing, with a general focus on contro- in reference to the belief that media versial issues coverage often provides and/or influences judgments about a public figure Twentieth Century Fox major Hol- by creating a widespread perception lywood film studio founded in 1935, of guilt regardless of any verdict in known especially for its blockbuster an actual trial. films, including the Star Wars anthology of films.W eb site: www.foxmov- tribalism 1. early form of human ies.com group life marked by individual allegiance to and identification with two-step flow theorymodel of the a tribe; 2. in the contemporary era, mass media claiming that media loyalty shown by individuals to products are shaped and modified by specific groups (teen tribalism, gang interactions with social groups, espe- tribalism) cially opinion leaders. The theory asserts that media impacts are indirect trope figure of speech. Since the and are mediated by opinion leaders 1980s the term m e ta p h o r has been and thus that audiences tend to view used increasingly in place of trope. media products as interpretive communities. The name of the theory tune 1. a melody; 2. a catchy popular derives from the fact that its primary song proponents, Pa u l La z a r s f e l d and

293 typification schemes

El i h u Ka t z , viewed the reception of typification schemesin cultural a mass media message as a two-step theory, meanings that people assign flow, in contrast to the h y p o d e r m i c typically to certain texts, which, in n e e d l e theory, which saw it as a turn, are incorporated by media and one-step flow that reaches an audi- advertising to bring about a p r e - ence directly. In two-step flow theory, f e r r e d r e a d i n g the first step is through an opinion leader(s) of a group, who takes in typography art, practice, or process media content, interprets it, and then of printing with type. Typography passes it on to group members, who originated after the invention of have less frequent contact with the movable type in the mid-fifteenth media. century.

294 last item

UHF [see ultrahigh contains three elements: frequency] the type of protocol used to access the file (for example, ultrahigh frequency HTTP for a Web page), the [abbreviated as UHF] type U domain name of the server of short radio wave widely where the file resides, and, used in television broadcasting. UHF optionally, the pathname to the file waves also are used in aircraft and (description of the file’s location). ship navigation, in emergency com- For example, the URL www munications systems, and cellular .utoronto.ca/libraries instructs the telephone networks. browser to use the HTTP protocol, go to the www.utoronto.ca Web server, umbrella advertising promotion of and access the file named libraries. an organization rather than of a single product United Press International [abbreviated as UPI] international unbalanced flowthe unequal flow of news agency founded in 1907, pro- news reportage between countries viding news in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Web site: www.upi.com uncensored any publication, movie, or program that has been released or Universal Copyright Convention broadcast without prior censorship agreement among the member states of UNESCO, first adopted in 1952, unconscious [see subconscious] revised in 1971, “to provide for the adequate and effective protection uncut [see uncensored] of the rights of authors and other copyright proprietors in literary, underground a movement or group scientific and artistic works, includ- that has separated itself from the ing writings, musical, dramatic and prevailing social environment, often cinematographic works, and paint- exerting a subversive or transgressive ings, engravings and sculpture.” Web influence on that environment site: www.unesco.org/culture/laws/ copyright underground press any publishing organization that is anti- Universal Pictures major Hollywood establishment and thus likely to film studio, founded in 1912, pro- attract controversy and/or censorship. ducing blockbuster movies such as The term surfaced in the 1960s. Spartacus (1960) and E.T. (1982) uniform resource locator [abbrevi- unmetered Internet service that is ated as URL] Internet address of available at a flat rate, rather than by a resource or service. The address connection time

295 upi

UPI [see United Press template for subsequent texts International] usage-based segmentation in advertising, classification of consumers uploading [opposite of download- according to how much they consume ing] copying files from a computer to a certain product another on the Internet Usenet [abbreviation of Users Net- urban legend story often thought to work; also called network news] be factual by those who circulate it, internationally distributed b u l l e t i n generally through the Internet, but b o a r d system on the Internet. Usenet which turns out to be not exactly as predates the World Wide Web, consti- recounted. It may be entirely un- tuting the original discussion forum true or, in some cases, partly true. covering thousands of topics. Often, the events it describes may be explained in different ways. A uses and gratifications theoryview, story may be started by someone in a associated primarily with El i h u chatroom, through e-mails, based on Ka t z in the 1970s, that audiences use events that the originator had actually the mass media for their own purpos- witnessed. When it starts to circulate es, especially to fulfill needs such as and is retold by different people, gaining information or being enter- the story gathers momentum and a tained. According to this theory, the logic of its own, becoming an urban audience views the media in a self- legend. confirmatory way. Thus, certain items in a representation are selected either urban music pop music genres that because they provide entertainment appeal to an urban audience, including or because they satisfy some need. rhythm and blues and hip-hop. Urban The theory maintains that media do is one of radio’s more popular formats. not do things to people but rather that people do things with media. URL [see uniform resource locator] utterance word or words (written or Ur-text original text that becomes a spoken) used in a specific social communicative situation

296 last item validity effect theory that vaudeville principal form people tend to accept an of popular entertainment in idea, statement, or opin- North America before the ion as valid or true if it is advent of cinema in the late repeated enough times in V nineteenth and early twen- the media tieth centuries. Vaudeville was also called burlesque, variety, VALS [see values and lifestyles or music hall. It consisted of a series research] of unrelated acts (singer, juggler, magician, dancer, dog act) presented value 1. as defined by Fe r d i n a n d d e in a theater (the vaudeville house or Sa u s s u r e , what something means venue) to a paying audience. With the in practical terms; for example, the advent of film, radio, and television, value of a letter such as A assigned vaudeville effectively died as a form to an essay in university is perceived of entertainment, although its main as different from that of a B; 2. in features were incorporated into the cultural theory, any assumption that Hollywood musical and the radio or something is important and crucial; 3. television variety show. in the visual arts, the degree of light- ness or darkness of a hue or shade V-chip electronic chip in a television set that allows parents to block out values and lifestyles research programming with sexual and violent [abbreviated as VALS] advertising content. It is often assumed that the V research method based on grouping stands for “violence,” when in fact it consumers according to their values stands for “viewer choice.” and lifestyles. VALS measures psychological factors, such as how con- VCR [see video cassette recorder] sumers feel about products and how they represent lifestyle aspirations. vehicle specific channel or publication for carrying an advertising Van Dijk, Jan [see Dijk, Jan message to a target audience. For ex- A.G.M. van] ample, in the medium of magazines, a vehicle would be Time magazine. vanity press a publisher that prints books for authors who pay all or Venice Film Festival annual film most of the costs of publication and festival, founded in 1932, held in distribution Venice every year in late August– early September; one of three major variety show live or televised show European film festivals (the other two made up of various kinds of perfor- are the Cannes and Berlin festivals). mances: musical, comedic, acrobatic, Web site: www.labiennale.org/en/ magical cinema

297 verbal communication verbal communication exchange of is a message designed to refer to the information by means of language. code being used. Among the various models of verbal communication, the model devised vernacular everyday form of lan- by the linguist and semiotician Ro- guage, in contrast to official, reli- m a n Ja k o b s o n is one of the most gious, or bureaucratic forms widely used in media and communication studies. Jakobson posited vertical integration acquisition of six constituents undergirding all the different sectors involved in the instances of verbal communication: production of media; for example, an addresser who initiates a com- vertical integration occurs when a munication; a message that she or he single newspaper company acquires recognizes must refer to something the printing company that produces other than itself; an addressee who is its newspapers or the agency that the intended receiver of the message; distributes them a context that permits the addressee to recognize that the message is refer- very high frequency [abbreviated as ring to something other than itself; a VHF] electromagnetic waves that the mode of contact by which a message Federal Communications Commis- is delivered (the physical channel) sion has assigned to television and and the primary social and psycho- frequency modulation (FM) radio sta- logical connections that exist or are tions and to amateur radio operators established between the addresser and addressee; and a code provid- VHF [see very high frequency] ing the signs and structural patterns for constructing and deciphering VHS most common type of video- messages. Jakobson then pointed tape used in home video recorders, out that each of these constituents being replaced by DVD and other determines a different communicative advanced technologies function: emotive is the influence of the addresser’s emotions, attitudes, vicarious reinforcement in cultural and social status in the making of theory, the view that the observation the message; conative is the effect— of something in the media operates as physical, psychological, social—that if it were actual reinforcement. This the message has or is expected to framework is used to explain why have on the addressee; referential an individual does not expect actual is a message constructed to convey rewards or punishments from observ- information unambiguously; poetic ing something, but anticipates them is a message constructed to deliver to happen. meanings effectively, like poetry; phatic is a message designed to video 1. general term for anything establish social contact; metalingual recorded on a visual device (a video-

298 videodisc tape, a DVD); 2. a videotape, video game [also called electronic DVD, or other image-carrying game] game played by an electronic device device and displayed on a television screen or other monitor. Most video blog b l o g that uses video video games are controlled by a tiny material as its primary means of computer. Video games deal with a communication range of subjects, such as war, space, adventure, horror, mystery, sports, video cassette flat rectangular plastic playing cards, backgammon, chess, box that contains videotape and so on. Some are educational, helping players learn to spell or video cassette recorder [abbrevi- count. Overall, video games are now ated as VCR] device that records and seen to constitute texts within the plays images and sound back on a larger pop culture environment. TV set. The first commercial VCRs were marketed by Sony Corpora- video insert prerecorded film footage tion in 1969. The first commercially played at an appropriate point in a successful VCR for home use was the TV show Sony Betamax, launched in 1975. It was joined in the marketplace by the video jockey person who plays videos, incompatible VHS format, launched especially music videos, on television by JVC in 1976, which grew to dominate the market. The heyday of the video nasty a video containing VCR was the 1980s. Its market share explicitly violent or pornographic has dwindled in the face of competi- material tion from digital recorders and the DVD player. video news release [abbreviated as VNR] video segments released to video clip short video sequence, gen- accompany a news story erally created to promote something such as a new song video on demand [abbreviated as VOD] p a y -p e r -v i e w cable service, video conference conference in allowing viewers to instantly order which participants are located in dif- programming to be delivered digi- ferent places but are linked by audio tally to their television sets and video technology video vérité use of video to create video feed recorded video sent from documentaries of people and events one location to another videodisc general term for a disc that video frequency frequency used to contains both video and audio. It can carry television broadcast signals be played on a machine attached to

299 videography a conventional television receiver. vignette 1. brief scene from a movie; The most common type of videodisc 2. in the visual arts, a drawing with- today is the DVD. out a border that gradually fades at the edges videography making of movies or television programs with video cameras villain [opposite of hero] in a narrative, a character who represents the videophile someone who enjoys “bad” person whom the hero has to watching video texts and making defeat video recordings viral advertising promotion that videophone device that can transmit attempts to capture consumers’ atten- and receive audio and video, composed tion by encouraging them to “pass it of a camera, receiver, and screen on” (like a virus) to others videotape magnetic tape on which viral marketing technique whereby audio and video can be recorded and communicative networks are used played back to spread messages, such as affiliate programs, co-branding, e-mails, videotext [also written as videotex] word-of-mouth techniques, and so on obsolete type of delivery of textual information via telephone networks. virtual community group of people Videotext was used mainly by librar- who interact on the Internet, for ies to offer various services in homes. example in chatrooms, because they share interests or business viewer person who watches television virtual reality [abbreviated as VR] viewfinder 1. device on a camera technology that lets people engage showing the area that will be includ- in three-dimensional (3-D) environ- ed in the photograph; 2. miniature ments created by computers. VR television screen with a magnifying devices enable users to manipulate lens mounted on a video camera, virtual objects as if they were real. which allows the user to select a The user wears a head-mounted scene to record by viewing it through display (HMD) with screens for each the eyepiece on the lens eye. viewing act of watching television and virus computer program designed to the psychological processes this entails copy itself into other programs, with the intention of altering or damag- viewscreen screen on a digital cam- ing them. The corrupted programs era showing the image that has just may continue to operate according to been recorded their intended functions while also

300 vr executing the virus’s instructions, voicemail oral message left on a thus further propagating it. The virus phone’s answering machine or re- may transfer itself to other comput- cording system ers through storage devices, computer networks, and online systems. voiceover technique of using the Antivirus software is used to detect voice of an unseen speaker in films and remove viruses from a computer, but it must be updated frequently for Voice-over-Internet-Protocol protection against new viruses. [abbreviated as VoIP] technology that allows voice messages to be sent visual culture culture that gets a via the Internet large part of its information through visual electronic media such as tele- voice-pitch analysis advertising vision and the Internet technique in which a subject’s voice is analyzed during his or her respons- vlog b l o g that incorporates a large es, in order to assess the subject’s amount of visual material emotional reaction to an ad

VNR [see video news release] VoIP [see Voice-over-Internet- Protocol] VOA [see Voice of America] volumetrics study of the influence vocable word constructed with no of the relation between the overall apparent meaning: for example, number of people exposed to an krunt, jint advertising campaign and the number of those who buy the product VOD [see video on demand] vortal Web portal that enables voice 1. sound made by human vocal e-commerce transactions among cords; 2. characterization of the right various businesses to express oneself as an individual or as part of a group: for example, vox pop the replies given to a re- women’s voices, the voices of porter’s questions by people on the African Americans, etc. street

Voice of America [abbreviated as voyeurism obtaining gratification VOA] U.S. government-funded from secretly viewing sexual acts. broadcasting system, launched in As a cinematic technique, it has been 1942, that provides radio, televi- used effectively in movies such as sion, and Internet services, especially Eyes Wide Shut (1999). news, in over 40 languages. Web site: www.voanews.com VR [see virtual reality]

301 first item

W3 [see World Wide Web] novel about interplanetary invasion, delivered in the W3C consortium of experts style of an actual news in various areas seeking to broadcast, causing many to guide the development of W believe that the reports the World Wide Web were real walk-on actor who has a small part Warhol, Andy (1928–1987) Ameri- in a play, movie, or program can pop artist who is considered one of the initiators of the postmodern era walkie-talkie two-way radio en- in the visual arts. Many of his works abling voice communication over depict commonplace objects, such as short distances. Unlike many other soup cans, and include photographs two-way communication devices, of celebrities. In 1994 the Andy a walkie-talkie cannot transmit and Warhol Museum was established in receive signals at the same time. Pittsburgh. walled garden in n e t l i n g o , a Warner Brothers major Hollywood controlled-access area that attempts film studio, founded in 1918, re- to keep users within its confines; for sponsible for producing such highly example, AOL is a walled garden in popular features as the Looney Tunes that it attempts to provide users with cartoon series and the Superman and everything they may need within its Harry Potter films own services watchdog individual or organization WAN [see wide area network] on the lookout for unacceptable or offensive practices by the media want ad classified advertisement in a newspaper, magazine, or Web site weather forecast radio or television requesting or offering something for broadcast of weather conditions acquisition

WAP [see Wireless Application web [see World Wide Web] Protocol] Web browser computer program war filmcinematic genre dealing allowing users to gain access to pages with war, usually featuring a mili- on the World Wide Web tary hero; for example, the series of Rambo movies Web hosting business providing server space for storage on a Web site War of the Worlds radio broadcast 1938 radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s Web marketing online marketing

302 webcast

Typical Web page

Web page a computer file displayed Web site [also written as website] as a “page” on a computer screen, interconnected set of We b pa g e s accessible through the World Wide Web by means of a We b b r o w s e r . Web TV [full form: web television] Web pages are multimedial, contain- high-definition television programming ing some or all of text, graphics, delivered to homes via the Internet files, sound, video, and hyperlinks. The firstW eb page, created by Tim Webby annual international award Be r n e r s -Le e , went online in 1991. made by the International Academy of Digital Arts for an outstanding Web phone service allows users to Web site make phone calls over the Internet with other software users webcam digital camera connected to the Internet, capable of transmitting Web portal We b pa g e on a particu- images live lar topic that provides links to other Web pages webcast 1. video filmed with a webcam that can be viewed on the Web radio radio programming Internet or downloaded from the In- delivered to homes equipped with a ternet; 2. any broadcast on the World special receiver via the Internet Wide Web

303 webcrawler webcrawler computer program that weekly newspaper or magazine pub- allows users to search through Web lished once a week pages for documents containing a specific word, phrase, or sequence of Western literary and cinematic genre symbols set in the American West, during 1850–1900, involving cowboys, fea- web-enabled any mobile phone or turing lawlessness and gun violence. handheld device capable of accessing Owen Wister’s The Virginian (1902) the World Wide Web is regarded as the founding novel of the genre, whose popularity peaked webform electronic document simi- in the middle decades of the twen- lar to a printed form that is used to tieth century, declining thereafter. collect information from a visitor to a Movie versions of the Western played Web site an important role in establishing a plot formula—the conflict between webhead frequent visitor of the outlaws and the defenders of law World Wide Web and order. One of the first important movies, The Great Train Robbery webisode episode, trailer, television (1903), was a Western. From the program, or music video on a Web site 1920s through the 1950s, hundreds of Westerns made celebrities of cow- weblish form of English used online, boy actors Gene Autry, Tom Mix, characterized by abbreviated words, Roy Rogers, Gary Cooper, and John lack of appropriate punctuation, and Wayne. In the 1990s some films por- various ungrammatical forms trayed cowboys in less heroic terms, as in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven weblog [see blog] (1992); the film Dances with Wolves (1990) revisited the role of Native webmaster person responsible for Americans (called “Indians” in previ- creating, organizing, and updating a ous Westerns) in the history of the Web site West, restoring dignity to that role. Network television contributed to the webzine [full form: web magazine] popularity of Westerns in the 1950s magazine that publishes on the World and 1960s with long-running series Wide Web such as Gunsmoke (1955–1975), Maverick (1957–1962), Have Gun Wedom and Theydom characteriza- Will Travel (1957–1963), Wagon tion of the tendency of some media Train (1957–1965), and Bonanza of representing the world in terms (1959–1973). of “us” and “them” in order to make a news report more forceful and Western culture general designa- attention-grabbing tion of the cultures originating with

304 Williams, Raymond people of European origin. The term wider than it is tall; 2. a television set is often used in opposition to o r i - whose screen is larger than tradi- e n ta l i s m , often understood as “any tional screens culture” other than the Western one on an “east-west” geographic plane. Wiener, Norbert (1894–1964) math- It is opposed to “southern cultures” ematician who pioneered cybernetics. on a “north-south” geographic plane. His ideas contributed to the building These are, however, artificial dichoto- of modern-day computers. mies, since they assume homogeneity in culture and inevitable opposition Wi-Fi [see wireless fidelity] among cultures. wiki name given to a We b s i t e that Westerstähl and Johansson’s model allows the visitors themselves to edit of news factors model devised and change its content, sometimes by Jorgen Westerstähl and Folke without the need for registration. Johansson in 1994, which claims that The first software to be called a wiki proximity to the ideological mindset was WikiWikiWeb, so named by its of the country reporting a news item maker Ward Cunningham, a comput- and the perceived importance of that er programmer who took it from the country in an international context name of a Hawaiian airport shuttle. are keys to how it is perceived in other countries Wikipedia the most popular of the Internet wikis, Wikipedia is a whistleblower person who divulges multilingual online free encyclo- information to the media about a pedia launched on March 1, 2002. secret event, a scandal, or an issue The name is a blend of the words that is of interest to the public wiki and encyclopedia. It is written collaboratively by volunteers. Most white noise radio noise spread over a of its articles can be edited by almost wide range of frequencies anyone with access to the Web site, and for this reason there is controver- Whorf, Benjamin Lee (1897–1941) sy over Wikipedia’s accuracy, being American linguist who kindled perceived as susceptible to vandal- widespread interest in the view that ism and trendiness. Web site: www language affects worldview .wikipedia,org wide area network [abbreviated as WAN] computer network covering Williams, Raymond (1921–1988) a broad geographical region or area, British media critic who drew atten- the largest being the Internet tion to the various forms of culture involved in a mediated society. He widescreen 1. type of movie projec- distinguished between residual, tion whereby the picture shown is dominant and emerging cultural

305 wipo forms: residual forms are those that WLAN [see wireless local area have historical significance and thus network] are still around; dominant forms are those that have current salience; and women’s liberation movement emerging forms are those that are social movement seeking equal fomenting and that will soon become rights for women, dating back to dominant. the Enlightenment . The first important expression of the move- WIPO [see World Intellectual ment was Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Property Organization] Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). American women gained wire service news story sent by com- the right to vote in 1919, but their puter from a national or international participation in the larger social news agency system outside the home remained limited. Landmarks in the rise of Wireless Application Protocol [ab- modern feminism include Simone breviated as WAP] protocol for trans- de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex mitting data between mobile phones (1949), Betty Friedan’s The Feminine and other such devices Mystique (1963), and the founding of the National Organization for wireless fidelity[abbreviated as Women (1966). Efforts in the 1970s Wi-Fi] marketing term for wireless to pass the Equal Rights Amendment networking technologies based on failed, but its aims had been largely the Institute of Electrical and Elec- achieved by other means by the end tronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b of the twentieth century. and 802.11a specifications.W i-Fi networks are used to wirelessly con- word magic belief that words evoke nect computers to each other, or to magical events or can cause things connect computers to the Internet or to happen by simply uttering them. other networks, including Ethernet Word magic is a common theme in networks. literature. A well-known example is the “Open Sesame” phrase used by wireless Internet capacity to access Ali Baba in the Arabian Nights to the Internet without having to con- open the door of a cave. Another is nect to a phone line abracadabra, which is made from the letters in an inverted pyramid wireless local area network [ab- design of an amulet that was popular breviated as WLAN] local area several centuries ago. Each letter network that allows laptops with ap- was supposed to vanish until only propriate technology to connect with the A remained. As the letters disap- other computers without the need for peared, so did the problems of its cables wearer.

306 www word painting technique used in each other by means of h y p e rt e x t the radio broadcast industry that or h y p e r l i n k s . Users may access uses highly descriptive words during any page by typing in the appropriate dramatizations to evoke images in address on a search engine. reading material as an attempt to place the listener into the scene worm in Internet parlance, self- replicating computer program World Intellectual Property Or- capable of sending copies of itself ganization [abbreviated as WIPO] without any user intervention. Unlike specialized agency of the United a v i r u s , it does not need to attach Nations, established in 1970, which itself to an existing program. Worms administers and develops policy on harm the network, whereas viruses intellectual property. Web site: www corrupt files on a targeted computer. .wipo.org. The name derives from a science fiction novel, The Shockwave Rider World Wide Web [abbreviated as (1975), by John Brunner. John F. W3 or WWW] system of computer Shoch and John A. Hupp used the files linked together on the Internet, term in a technical paper they pub- created in 1989 by Tim Be r n e r s - lished in 1982. Le e and his colleagues at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche writing 1. speech executed on some Nucléaire), a nuclear physics labora- surface with symbols and signs; tory near Geneva in Switzerland. The 2. literature in general. Web provides access to a vast array of documents that are connected to WWW [see World Wide Web]

307 first item xerography copy-making ration, a satellite service process that is the basis of in the United States and the most widely used doc- Canada providing pay-for- ument-copying machines, service radio programming, or photocopiers. Xerog- X with music, news, sports, raphy was invented in the talk, entertainment, and 1930s by American physicist Chester weather channels. Most of the chan- F. Carlson and was developed in nels are available via the Internet. the 1940s and 1950s by the Haloid XM also offers music downloads. Corporation, later renamed Xerox. Web site: www.xmradio.com The first commercially successful xerographic copier was introduced in X-rated previous movie classifica- 1959. tion, replaced by NC-17, indicating that a film should not be viewed by XM satellite radio founded in 1992 anyone under the age of 17 because as American Mobile Radio Corpo- of its adult content

308 last item

Yahoo! American Internet youth culture various service providing a full forms of music, cloth- range of Web services, ing, language, and general founded by Jerry Yang and lifestyle that are adopted by David Filo in 1994. It was Y young people. These forms originally called “Jerry’s have become powerful Guide to the World Wide Web,” but forces in modern-day urban society was renamed “Yahoo!” The term where a dividing line between youth was derived from Jonathan Swift’s and adult forms of culture are no Gulliver’s Travels, where it was longer clear-cut. Indeed, trends in the defined as someone “rude, unsophis- adolescent world quickly become the ticated, uncouth.” Web site: www cultural norm, dictating look, taste in .yahoo.com music, and fashion for many. Before the 1950s, there were few media yellow journalism use of lurid and outlets aiming their products (mov- sensationalized reporting to attract ies, radio programs) at young audi- readers and increase circulation. ences. By the mid-1950s, however, The term was coined in the 1890s the courtship of such audiences by to describe the rivalry between two the media and various entertainment New York papers, the World and industries (especially the music and the Journal. Some of the techniques movie ones) began in earnest. Songs used by the two newspapers and movies became progressively have actually become permanent juvenilized in content. By the 1960s, features of journalistic presentation, youth culture came to constitute a including banner headlines, true community in the ethnographic colored comics, and numerous il- sense, a self-contained system within lustrations. the larger societal framework.

309 first item zapping 1. flicking be- utterances unambiguously tween television channels and with least effort. Zipf with a remote control; 2. in demonstrated that there postmodern theory, the view exists an intrinsic inter- that by offering so much Z dependence between the programming today, televi- length of a specific word sion has led to zero consciousness, (in number of sounds or letters) and the art of watching nothing its rank order in the language (its position in order of its frequency of zeugma figure of speech in which occurrence in texts of all kinds). The a single word, especially a verb or higher the rank order of a word (the an adjective, is applied to two or more frequent it is in actual usage), more nouns, even though its sense is the more it tends to be “shorter” actually appropriate to only one of (made up with fewer phonemes). For them, or to both in different ways: for example, articles (a, the), conjunc- example, The room was not light, but tions (and, or), and other function his fingers were words (to, it), which have a high rank order in English (and in any zine [abbreviation of magazine] other language for that matter), are self-published magazine, especially typically monosyllabic, consisting of on the Internet, released at irregular one to three phonemes. What is even intervals and, generally, with charac- more intriguing is that this “minia- teristic content turization” force does not stop at the level of function words, as Zipf and Zipf’s Law [also called Principle others subsequently found. It can be of Least Effort] principle defined seen to manifest itself, above all else, in the 1930s by the Harvard linguist in the tendency for phrases that come George Kingsley Zipf, who found into popular use to become abbrevi- that many phenomena in language ated (FYO, UNESCO, Hi, Bye, ad, could be explained as the result photo, Mr., Mrs., Dr., 24/7, etc.) or of an inborn tendency in the hu- changed into acronyms (aka, VCR, man species to make the most of its DNA, laser, GNP, IQ, VIP, etc.). communicative resources with the It can also be seen in the creation least expenditure of effort (physical, of tables, technical and scientific cognitive, and social). This tendency notation systems, indexes, footnotes, was independent of individual and bibliographic traditions, and so on culture. It explains, Zipf claimed, and so forth. In effect, the general why speakers minimize articulatory version of Zipf’s Law proclaims effort by shortening the length of that the more frequent or necessary words and utterances. At the same a form for communicative purposes, time, people want to be able to the more likely it is to be rendered interpret the meaning of words and “compressed” or “economical” in

310 Zworlastykin , itVelamdimir physical structure. And the reason for control zombie programs remotely. this seems to be an inherent tendency These have become a significant part in the human species to expend the of the Internet. least effort possible in representation and communication. zooming filmic technique of making something appear larger or closer to zone culturally specific space that the camera than it is people keep between themselves when interacting zoosemiotics study of communication in animals zombie in Internet parlance, any w o r m transmitted from one infected Zworykin, Vladimir (1889–1982) computer to another. Networks of Russian-born American electronic such computers are often referred to engineer who invented the icono- as botnets and are very commonly scope (a TV transmission tube) used by spammers for sending junk in 1923 and the kinescope (a TV e-mail or to cloak their Web site’s receiver) in 1924, which together address. A botnet’s originator can constituted the first true TV system

311

chronology

Chronology

The following timelines include selected events that indicate only some of the major “signposts” in the development of the major media.

Books and Magazines

2400 b.c.e. Papyrus made from plant reeds found along the Nile River is used for writing. 350 c.e. The codex is produced by the Romans with parchment pages bound together. 600 Illuminated manuscripts featuring decorative designs on each page are created by scribes (primarily monks and nuns). 700 Arab traders introduce paper to the West. 1000 Movable clay typesetting invented in China. 1234 Movable metal typesetting invented in Korea. 1453 Johannes Gutenberg turns a wine press into a printing press that uses movable type for the mass production of books. 1455 The Gutenberg Bible is one of the first books published with the new print technology. 1602 The first lending library, the Bodlian is established. 1640 The first book published in the American colonies, The Bay Psalm Book, is printed in Boston. 1731 one of the first magazines, The Gentleman’s Magazine, is published in England. 1732 Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin is published. 1741 Colonial magazines appear in Boston and Philadelphia. 1751 The first encyclopedia is produced by French scholars.

313 chronology

1790 first U.S. copyright law passed. Publishing houses start proliferating. 1821 The Saturday Evening Post is launched, becoming the first magazine to appeal directly to women. 1830 Sarah Josepha Hales becomes the first editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, creating the first modern women’s magazine. 1846 The rotary press is invented in the United States. Harper’s Weekly begins publication. 1860s The dime novel (pulp fiction) becomes a mass culture device. 1879 The Postal Act of 1879 lowers the postal rate for magazines, allowing magazine distribution to thrive. 1880s Linotype and offset lithography lower the cost of book production. 1900 Magazine muckraking reporting becomes highly popular. 1909 The Copyright Act of 1909 is passed. 1922 Reader’s Digest is launched. 1923 Time magazine, founded by Henry Luce, starts publication. 1936 Life magazine starts publication. 1939 robert de Graaf introduces Pocket Books, America’s first paperbacks. 1953 TV Guide is launched, indicating that various media were starting to converge. 1954 Sports Illustrated begins publication. 1960s Computer-based composition (typesetting) begins. 1967 rock and roll gets its own magazine with the launching of Rolling Stone. 1969 The Saturday Evening Post succumbs to specialized competition. 1971 Borders opens its first store in Ann Arbor. Chain bookstores and superstores start springing up across America shortly thereafter. 1974 People magazine starts publication. 1980s desktop publishing gets under way. 1995 Amazon.com is established, but it will only turn its first profit in 2002. 1998 The Digital Millennium Copyright Term Extension Act is passed. 2000s Microsoft and Adobe start making online books (e-books) available. E-zines, e-toons, and other magazine genres also start proliferating in online versions.

Newspapers

1600s Corantos, the first newssheets, are published in northern Europe. 1640s diurnals, the first daily newspapers, are published in England.

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1644 english poet John Milton calls for freedom of speech in his pamphlet titled Areopagitica. 1690 Boston printer Benjamin Harris publishes the first American newspaper, Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick. 1721 The New England Courant begins publication. 1735 freedom of the press is defended as a legitimate mode of expression after a jury rules in favor printer Peter John Zenger, who had criticized the government in print and who had been charged with libel. 1776 American Declaration of Independence disseminated throughout the nation by newspapers. 1783 The first daily, the Pennsylvania Evening Post and Daily Advertiser, published in America. 1789 freedom of the press is enshrined in the American Constitution by enactment of the First Amendment. 1790 The Copyright Act is passed. 1798–1800 The Alien and Sedition Acts attempt to curtail press criticism of the government. 1827 The first African American newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, makes its appearance. 1828 The first Native American newspaper, The Cherokee, makes its debut. 1833 The penny press era is ushered in after the New York Sun is published, costing only one cent and thus starting the trend of making newspapers affordable. 1848 Six newspapers form the Associated Press, relaying news stories around the country via telegraphy. 1860 New York Morning reaches a circulation of 80,000, highlighting the fact that newspapers have become an integral part of mass communications. 1878 Joseph Pulitzer starts the new journalism movement. The movement had great appeal with afternoon editions, and featuring entertainment, crime and scandal, and devoted more space to advertising and illustrations. 1883 Pulitzer buys the New York World, ushering in the era of yellow journalism. 1895 william Randolph Hearst enters newspaper publishing with sensationalistic techniques, further promoting yellow journalism. 1896 Adolph Ochs buys the New York Times, making achievement of the goals of responsible journalism its primary objective. 1914 first Spanish-language paper in the United States, El Diario– La Prensa, is founded in New York.

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1917 The Pulitzer Prize is established at Columbia University, rewarding achievement in journalism and other areas. 1920s Newspaper chains spring up, marking a decline in the number of daily metropolitan newspapers. 1930–1934 Hundreds of syndicated columns start up between 1930 and 1934. 1955 The Village Voice is launched as the first underground newspaper in Greenwich Village. 1972 watergate scandal stimulates a new era of investigative journalism. 1980 ohio’s Columbus Dispatch is the first newspaper to go online. 1982 USA Today is launched, the first paper modeled after television. 1998 The Dallas Morning News is the first newspaper to break a major story on its Web site instead of its front page. Increasing use of the Internet leads to the development of blogs, discussion groups, and the like, which take on many functions of traditional newspapers. 2000s By 2003, thousands of newspapers offer some kind of online news service.

Advertising

1625 The first true ad appears in an English newspaper. 1735 Benjamin Franklin sells ad space in the Pennsylvania Gazette. 1792 The first propaganda ministry is established in France. 1804 The first classified ads in Colonial America run in the Boston News-Letter, featuring land deals and ship cargoes. 1830s The penny press becomes the first advertising-supported media outlet. 1841 The first ad agency is established in Boston by Volney Palmer to represent newspaper publishers. 1860s Advertising is incorporated into magazines. 1869 The first true modern ad agency working for advertisers and companies is established by N.W. Ayer in Philadelphia. 1871 P.T. Barnum establishes his Greatest Show on earth, creating a wave of publicity stunts, posters, etc., which bring the advertising age into being. 1880s Brands (products with names) appear. 1887 Ladies Home Journal is designed to be a medium for consumer advertising. 1914 The Federal Trade Commission is established to help monitor advertising practices.

316 chronology

1920s Newspapers and magazines start depending heavily on advertising revenues for their survival. 1922 Newspaper columnist Walter Lippmann publishes a controversial book, Public Opinion, in which he illustrates how slogans and other such devices shape public perception. The first radio commercial is aired. 1942 The systematic study of propaganda and advertising effects is begun by the U.S. military. 1950s–1960s 30-second and 60-second TV commercials become routine. 1957 Vance Packard’s The Hidden Persuaders is published, warning people of the dangers of persuasive advertising. 1971 Tobacco ads are banned from television. 1984 Apple’s Macintosh commercial at halftime of the Super Bowl changes the nature of advertising. mid-1980s Brand placement and a general partnership between advertising and pop culture solidifies. 1994 Internet banner advertising begins. 1995 The Internet advertising agency DoubleClick is founded. 1998 Tobacco ads are banned from billboards. 2000s The Internet and the World Wide Web become increasingly attractive as sites for advertising. New forms of advertising, such as pop-ups, appear online.

Radio and Sound Recording

1877 The wax cylinder phonograph is invented by Thomas Edison, which allows for sound to be recorded and played back. 1887–1888 emile Berliner develops the gramophone, which can play the music on mass-produced discs. 1896 Guglielmo Marconi develops the first radio transmitter. 1906–1907 Lee De Forest invents the vacuum tube, called the Audion tube, improving radio reception, and Reginald Fessenden makes the first radio broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 1910 Congress passes the Wireless Ship Act requiring ships to be equipped with wireless radio. 1912 Congress passes the Radio Act, constituting the first piece of government regulation for licensing radio transmitters. 1916 david Sarnoff, the commercial manager of American Marconi, writes his famous “Radio Box Memo,” in which he proposes to his boss to make radio a “household utility.” 1916–1920 frank Conrad founds KDKA in Pittsburgh as the first

317 chronology

experimental radio station in 1916. The station’s broadcast of the 1920 presidential election results on November 2, 1920, is generally considered the beginning of professional broadcasting. 1922 The first uses of radio for commercial purposes begin with the airing of the first advertisements by AT&T on stationWE AF. This causes an uproar, as people challenge the right of the public airwaves to be used for commercial messages. 1926 The first radio broadcasting network, NBC, is created by RCA. AT&T abandons radio broadcasting. 1927 Congress’s new Radio Act creates the Federal Radio Commission. 1933 fM radio is developed. 1934 Congress passes the Federal Communications Act, creating the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and allowing commercial interests to control the airwaves. AM stations are allocated. 1938 Mercury Theater of the Air broadcasts War of the Worlds, demonstrating how quickly a mass medium can cause public panic. 1941 Chain broadcasting rules are developed. 1948 radio starts to lose audiences to television. Magnetic audiotape is developed by 3M. Wynonie Harris records Good Rockin’ Tonight, the first true rock and roll song. 1948 33 1/3 records are introduced by Columbia Records and 45-rpm records are introduced by RCA Victor. The DJ radio era takes off. 1949 Red Hot ’n Blue becomes one of the first radio rock and roll shows. 1955 Top 40 radio becomes the most popular type of radio format, indicating that radio is becoming more and more a marketing arm of the recording industry. Rock and roll enters the scene in the mid-1950s, dominating pop music radio and the recording industry until the early 1990s. 1956 Stereo recordings are introduced. 1962 Cassette tapes are introduced. 1960s rock music is linked with social protest, spearheading the counterculture movement. 1967 The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the first true concept album. 1970s fM radio stations gain popularity, transforming radio into a more specialized medium. 1971 National Public Radio starts broadcasting with All Things Considered.

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1979 Sony engineer Akio Morita invents the portable Walkman. 1979–1980 rap emerges out of hip-hop clubs in New York City. 1981 Music Television (MTV) is born, becoming a new arm of the recording industry. 1982 Compact discs are introduced. Rock fragments into many genres, from disco to punk, grunge, and techno. Rap and hip-hop start dominating pop music recordings until the early 2000s. 1987 wfAN is launched as the first all-sports radio station. 1990s Talk radio becomes popular. Old and new musical genres, from country to gospel and opera, become popular with target audiences, creating niche recording and radio markets. 1996 Congress passes the Telecommunications Act of 1996, allowing for consolidation in radio ownership across the United States. 1997 dVDs make their debut, offering more storage space than CDs and making music videos popular. 1998 Music download sites proliferate on the Internet. 2000 MP3 technology shakes up the music industry, as Internet users share music files on Napster. Napster is eventually ordered to stop unauthorized file sharing. 2000s Satellite and Web-based radio programs emerge in 2002. File- sharing, online radio programs, etc., become highly popular. Rap and hip-hop remain popular, but lose their market domination. 2001 Peer-to-peer Internet services make music file sharing popular. 2003 Apple Computer’s iTunes music store makes its debut, making it possible to buy music on the Internet.

Film and Video

1877 eadweard Muybridge captures motion on film for the first time. 1888 Thomas Edison develops the first motion picture camera. 1889 Hannibal Goodwin develops film technology that allows movies to be created. 1894 Thomas Edison opens up the first kinetoscope parlors with coin- operated projectors. 1895 The Lumière brothers show the first short films in Paris. 1896 Thomas Edison invents the Vitascope, which is capable of large- screen projection. 1903 edwin S. Porter’s The Great Train Robbery, an early Western, gains popularity, indicating that the era of cinema is just around the corner. The movie is the first violent film story. 1907 Storefront movie parlors, called nickelodeons, with a five-cent admission, begin to flourish.

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1910s Silent films become popular. The first movie celebrities emerge in the late 1910s and early 1920s. 1914 Movie palaces start opening up in New York City. 1915 The first racist film, D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, is also the first true feature film, gaining commercial success. 1920s The Big Five studios (Paramount, MGM, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, RKO) and the Little Three studios (Columbia, Universal, United Artists) are established in the late 1920s. 1922 The American movie industry institutes voluntary censorship. 1927 Soundtrack technology turns silent films into talkies. The first talkie is The Jazz Singer (1927) starring Al Jolson. 1930s The era of the “golden age” of cinema. 1946 Cinema becomes a major influence in society, as over 90 million attend movies weekly. 1947 The House Un-American Activities Committee starts holding hearings on communism in Hollywood. 1957 In Roth v. United States, the Supreme Court sets community standards as the criteria for defining obscenity. 1968 Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) movie ratings introduced. 1976 VCRs are introduced, creating a new movie rental and purchase industry. 1977 Star Wars initiates a new era of big-budget blockbusters. 1990s Independent films become popular and successful, becoming also a source for identifying new talent. 1995 The first megaplex movie theater is built in Dallas, leading to a wave of megaplexes. Toy Story is the first completely computer- generated movie, starting a new trend in movie production. 1997 dVDs come onto the scene in 1997, displacing videotapes. 2000s Movies integrate with the Internet, where trailers are shown and even full features can be seen.

Television

Late 1800s The invention of the cathode ray tube makes television technology possible. 1884 Paul Nipkow patents the electrical telescope in Germany, which becomes the basis for TV technology. 1927 Philo T. Farnsworth (barely 21 years of age) transmits the first TV picture electronically. Farnsworth applies for a TV patent. 1935 farnsworth conducts the first public demonstration of television in Philadelphia.

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1936 first television service debuts in Britain. 1939 NBC starts regular television broadcasts from New York City. 1941 The FCC sets standards for television broadcasting. 1948 Milton Berle and Ed Sullivan go on the air with the first TV variety shows, ushering in the “golden age” of television. The first community antenna television (CATV) is established. 1950 The AC Nielsen Market Research Company starts tracking TV audience behaviors. The first swear words are heard on the Arthur Godfrey Show. 1950s Television becomes a dominant medium, with previous radio genres and radio personalities moving to TV. Sitcoms like I Love Lucy (starting in 1951), the Today and Tonight Shows (1952), and later The Beverly Hillbillies (1964) establish the standards for TV broadcasting, bringing out the entertainment function of television to the viewing public. 1954 Color television technology is introduced, but does not become a marketable technology until the 1970s. The U.S. Senate begins hearings on the purported effects of television violence on juvenile delinquency. 1960 The first satellite system, called Telstar, is established. The Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates reveal the power of television to influence public opinion, as Kennedy, the underdog, appeals to viewers as a young, handsome, dynamic candidate. 1961 A second round of Senate hearings begins on television violence. The first exposure of a navel occurs on the Dr. Kildare series. 1966 Prime time programs are broadcast in color. 1967 Congress creates the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, leading to the establishment of public television. 1968 60 Minutes starts broadcasting, showing the power of television to influence public opinion. The National Commission on the Causes of Violence concludes that TV violence encourages violent behavior. The first interracial kiss is seen on a Star Trek episode. 1971 All in the Family changes the character of sitcoms, introducing controversial social issues into the content of prime time programming. 1972 fCC makes cable available to cities. The U.S. Surgeon General releases a research report on the relation between television and social behavior. 1975 HBO (Home Box Office) begins broadcasting via satellite. VCRs are introduced. Under FCC pressure, broadcasters adopt a

321 chronology

“family hour” format to provide wholesome early evening family programming. 1976 Cable comes onto the scene, with Ted Turner’s WTBS in Atlanta, which uplinks to satellite technology, becoming the first true “superstation.” 1977 The eight-part miniseries Roots sets new standards for television broadcasting with its probe of the African American experience. The miniseries also shows the first bare female breasts on television. 1980s The popularity of programs such as M*A*S*H (1983) and the Cosby Show (1985) prompt some media critics to define this decade as the “era of the sitcom.” 1980 CNN premieres as a 24-hour cable news network, owned originally by Ted Turner, revolutionizing newscasting and television formats. 1981 Cable also brings MTV onto the scene in 1981. 1987 rupert Murdoch’s Fox television makes its debut. mid- 1980s–1990s New channels and networks open up, such as UPN (United Paramount Network) and WB (Warner Brothers). Specialty cable channels emerge, from A&E and Discovery to the Movie Channel and the Disney Channel. Programs such as The X-Files and other such series become staples of prime time, as they co-opt themes in pop culture so as to appeal to a large audience. Quiz shows such as The Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire rate highly as well. 1990 The Children’s Television Act mandates children’s programming. 1991 The first homosexual kiss on American television is seen on an episode of L.A. Law. 1994 The direct broadcast satellite (DBS) industry debuts. 1996 The Telecommunications Act abolishes most TV ownership restrictions. 1997 Parental advisories are mandated for TV programs. 1998 The V-chip is introduced. HDTV broadcastings start. 2000s Narrowcasting becomes a reality, with all the specialty channels available along with network programming: TBS, Spike, ESPN, Discovery Channel, Weather Channel, A&E, TLC, USA Network, etc. Television and the Internet merge to create a co- broadcasting system, whereby television channels and Internet Web sites deliver the same or complementary content. Sitcoms such as Everybody Loves Raymond (2000) and Will & Grace (2000) continue to be popular.

322 chronology

2002 The FCC rules to end antenna-based broadcasting by 2009, transforming the TV medium gradually into a digital one. 2003 VOD (video on demand) is introduced.

The Internet, World Wide Web, and Data Transmission

1822 Charles Babbage develops a computer prototype. 1830s The introduction of telegraphy constitutes a data network forerunner. 1866 Transoceanic telegraph service begins. 1876 The telephone is introduced. 1915 The first transcontinental phone call is made. 1939 John Vincent Atanasoff of Iowa State University is credited with designing the first modern computer. 1945 eNIAC, the first general-purpose computer, is invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, mainly for military purposes. 1951 eckert and Mauchly introduce UNIVAC as the first civilian computer. 1962 The first communications satellite, the first digital phone networks, and the first pagers are introduced. 1964 The first local area network (LAN) is put into service to support nuclear weapons research. 1965 A highly usable computer language, BASIC, is developed. 1969 Arpanet is the first communication network established by the U.S. Department of Defense. 1971 Microprocessors are developed, leading shortly thereafter to PC technology. 1972 The first video game, Pong, is introduced. Urban cable is allowed to proliferate. E-mail is developed for communications on Arpanet. 1975 The first personal computer, Altair, is introduced. 1977 first fiber optic network is created. 1978 Cellular phone service begins. Nicholas Negroponte of MIT introduces the term convergence to describe the intersection of media. 1980s fiber-optic cable is developed in the 1980s, making it possible to transmit digital messages. Hypertext is developed in the mid- 1980s, leading eventually to the creation of the World Wide Web. 1982 The National Science Foundation sponsors a high-speed com munications network, leading to the establishment of the Internet. 1983 Arpanet starts using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), essentially launching the Internet.

323 chronology

1984 Apple Macintosh is the first PC with graphics. 1989 Tim Berners-Lee develops concepts and techniques that a few years later are converted into the World Wide Web. A new company called AOL (America Online) is formed, later becoming the first successful Internet service provider. 1990 The first Internet search engine, Archie, is developed. 1991 The Internet opens to commercial uses, HTML is developed, and the World Wide Web is finally launched by Berners-Lee. 1993 The first point-and-clickW eb browser, Mosaic, is introduced. 1994 The first Internet cafés open. Jeff Bezos launches Amazon.com. 1995 digital cellular phones are introduced to the market. The first online auction house, eBay, is launched. 1996 The Telecommunications Act and the Communications Decency Act are passed. Google is launched. 2000 Cookies technology allows for information profiles to be created, enabling data-mining practices to burgeon. 2001 Instant messaging services appear. 2002 Broadband technology is developed by South Korea. mid– late 2000s The Internet converges with previous media (radio, television, etc.) to produce online versions of previous broadcasting. It also becomes a source of new forms of communication, with Web sites such as MySpace and YouTube.

324 bibliography

Bibliography

General Works

Baran, Stanley J. Introduction to Mass Communication, Media Literacy, and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Berger, Arthur A. Manufacturing Desire: Media, Popular Culture, and Everyday Life. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1996. ————. Making Sense of Media: Key Texts in Media and Cultural Studies. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Biagi, Shirley. Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning, 2001. Branston, Gill, and Roy Stafford. The Media Student’s Book. London: Routledge, 1999. Briggs, Asa, and Peter Burke. A Social History of the Media. London: Polity, 2002. Briggs, Asa, and Paul Cobley, eds. The Media: An Introduction. Essex: Addison Wesley Longman, 1998. Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina G. Fabos. Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. Carey, James W. Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1989. Danesi, Marcel. Understanding Media Semiotics. London: Arnold, 2002. Dizard, Wilson P. Old Media, New Media. New York: Longman, 1997. Genosko, Gary. McLuhan and Baudrillard. London: Routledge, 1999. Hanson, Ralph E. Mass Communication: Living in a Media World. New York: McGraw- Hill, 2005. Newbold, Chris, Oliver Boyd-Barrett, and Hilde Van Den Bulck, eds. The Media Book. London: Arnold, 2002. O’Sullivan, Tim, Brian Dutton, and Philip Rayner. Studying the Media. London: Arnold, 2003. Straubhaar, Joseph, and Robert LaRose. Media Now: Communications Media in the In- formation Age. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2002.

325 bibliography

Media Effects

Berger, Arthur A. Media and Communication Research Methods. London: Sage, 2000. Gunter, B. Media Research Methods. London: Sage, 2000. Liebert, Robert M., and Joyce N. Sprafkin. The Early Window: Effects of Television on Children and Youth. New York: Pergamon, 1988. McQuail, Denis. Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. London: Sage, 2000. Staiger, Janet. Media Reception Studies. New York: New York University Press, 2005. Van Zoonen, Liesbet. Feminist Media Studies. London: Sage, 1994.

Print (Books, Newspapers, Magazines)

Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. The Printing Press as an Agent of Change: Communications and Cultural Transformations in Early-Modern Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. Epstein, Jason. Book Business: Publishing Past, Present, and Future. New York: Norton, 2001. GoughYates, Anna. Understanding Women’s Magazines. London: Routledge, 2003. Harris, Michael, and Tom O’Malley. Studies in Newspaper and Periodical History. West- port, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. Innis, Harold A. Empire and Communication. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972. Janello, Amy, and Brennon Jones. The American Magazine. New York: Abrams, 1991. Winship, Janice. Inside Women’s Magazines. London: Pandora, 1987. Wright, Bradford W. Comic Book Nation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.

Radio, Sound Recordings, Television

Abercrombie, Nicholas. Television and Society. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1996. Dovey, Jon. Freakshow: First Person Media and Factual Television. London: Pluto, 2000. Fiske, John. Television Culture. London: Methuen, 1987. Holland, Patricia. The Television Handbook. London: Routledge, 2000. Kubey, Robert, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Television and the Quality of Life. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1990. McQueen, David. Television: A Media Student’s Guide. London: Arnold, 1998. Miller, Mark Crispin. Boxed In: The Culture of TV. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1988. Neer, Richard. FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio. New York: Villard, 2001. Newcomb, H. Television: The Critical View. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Film and Video

Abrams, Nathan, Ian Bell, and Jan Udris. Studying Film. London: Arnold, 2001. Balio, Tino. The American Film Industry. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1979.

326 bibliography

Ellis, John. Visible Fictions: Cinema, Television, Video. London: Routledge, 1992. Sklar, Robert. Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies. New York: Vintage, 1994.

Internet and the World Wide Web

Hafner, Katie, and Matthew Lyon. Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Herman, Andrew, and Thomas Swiss, eds. The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory. London: Routledge, 2000. Slevin, James. The Internet and Society. London: Polity, 2000. Van Dijk, Jan. The Network Society. London: Sage, 1999. Wise, Richard. Multimedia: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2000.

Advertising

Berger, Arthur A. Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture: Advertising’s Impact on American Character and Society. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. Danesi, Marcel. Brands. London: Routledge, 2006. Goldman, Robert, and Stephen Papson. Sign Wars: The Cluttered Landscape of Advertis- ing. New York: Guilford, 1996. Key, Wilson B. Subliminal Seduction. New York: Signet, 1972. ————. The Age of Manipulation. New York: Holt, 1989. Kilbourne, Jean. Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way I Feel. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. Leiss, William, Stephen Kline, Sut Jhally, and Jackie Botterill. Social Communication in Advertising: Consumption in the Mediated Marketplace. London: Routledge, 2005. Twitchell, James B. Twenty Ads That Shook the World. New York: Crown, 2000. Williamson, Judith. Consuming Passions. London: Marion Boyars, 1985.

327 328 Resources on the World Wide Web

Resources on the World Wide Web

General Action Coalition for Media Education: www.acmecoalition.org Broadcasting & Cable News: www.broadcastingcable.com Corporation for Public Broadcasting: www.cpb.org Images (Journal of Media Criticism): www.imagesjournal.com Media Education Foundation: www.mediaed.org Media History Project: www.mediahistory.umn.edu National Public Radio: www.npr.org Paper Tiger TV: www.papertiger.org Public Radio Information: www.pri.org Web Journal of Mass Communication Research: www.scripps.ohiou.edu/wjmcc/

Advertising Ad Council: www.adcouncil.org Ad Forum: www.adforum.com Adbusters: www.adbusters.org Advertising Age: www.adage.com/datacenter.cms Advertising World: www.advertising.utexas.edu/world Adweek: www.adweek.com American Association of Advertising Agencies: www.aaaa.org Cannes International Advertising Festival: www.canneslions.com Clio Awards: www.clioawards.com

Cultural Aspects Alt Culture: www.altculture.com Critical Communication Theory: www.theory.org.uk

329 Resources on the World Wide Web

Marshall McLuhan Studies: www.mcluhan.utoronto.ca Pop Culture: www.popcultures.com Urban Dictionary: www.urbandictionary.com

Film and Video

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: www.oscars.org Cannes Film Festival: www.festival-cannes.fr DreamWorks SKG: www.dreamworks.com Hollywood Movies: www.hollywood.com Internet Movie Database: www.us.imdb.com Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: www.mgm.com Motion Picture Association of America: www.mpaa.org Movieweb: www.movieweb.com New Line Cinema: www.newline.com Sony Pictures: www.sonypictures.com Sundance Film Festival: www.sundance.org Toronto International Film Festival: www.e.bell.ca/filmfest Touchstone Pictures: http://touchstone.movies.go.com 20th Century Fox: www.foxmovies.com Universal Studios: www.universalstudios.com Walt Disney Pictures: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures Warner Bros.: www.warnerbros.com

Internet and the World Wide Web

Center for Democracy and Technology: www.cdt.org Internet2: www.internet2.edu Internet History: www.isoc/internet/history.org Internet Information: www.netvalley.com Internet News: www.zdnet.com Internet Society: www.isoc.org/internet/ Netlore: www.urbanlegends.about.com

Media Law, Watchdogs, Regulatory Agencies, and Media Expression

Center for Media and Democracy: www.prwatch.org Electronic Frontier Foundation: www.eff.org Federal Communications Commission: www.fcc.gov Freedom Forum: www.freedomforum.org Mediawatch: www.mediawatch.org World Intellectual Property Organization: www.wipo.int World Press Freedom Committee: www.wpfc.org

330 Resources on the World Wide Web

Print Media, Press Organizations, and News Agencies

All Headline News: www.allheadlinenews.com Associated Press: www.ap.org Bookwire: www.bookwire.com E-Reads: www.ereads.com Gutenberg Bible: www.gutenberg.de/english/bibel.htm International Federation of Journalists: www.ifj.org Magazine Publishers of America: www.magazine.org New York Times: www.nytimes.com Newseum: www.newseum.org Online Newspaper: www.onlinenewspapers.com Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.net Reporters Sans Frontières: www.rsg.org Reuters: www.reuters.com United Press International: www.upi.com USA Today: www.usatoday.com Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com World Association of Newspapers: www.wan-press.org

Radio and Sound Recordings

All Music Guide: www.allmusic.com Billboard Magazine: www.billboard.com Freenet: www.freenetproject.org Internet Radio: www.radio-locator.com Radio History: www.radiohistory.org Recording Industry Association of America: www.riaa.com Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: www.rockhall.com Web Radio: www.radio-directory.com

Television

ABC: www.abc.com CBS: www.cbs.com Classic Television: www.classic-tv.com CNN: www.cnn.com Fox: www.fox.com MTV: www.mtv.com NBC: www.nbc.com TiVo: www.tivo.com Ultimate TV: www.ultimatetv.com

331 Resources on the World Wide Web

332 foreword

About the Author

Marcel Danesi is Professor of Semiotics and Anthropology at the University of Toronto. He has published extensively in the fields of media and popular culture. Among his recent publications are Brands (2006), Popular Culture: In- troductory Perspectives (2007), and The Quest for Meaning: A Guide to Semiot- ic Theory and Practice (2007). He is currently the editor-in-chief of Semiotica. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

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