A&R (artist & repertoire) agents talent scouts of the music business who discover, develop, and sometimes manage performers.
access channels in cable television, a tier of nonbroadcast channels dedicated to local education, government, and the public.
account executives in advertising, client liaisons responsible for bringing in new business and managing the accounts of established clients.
account reviews in advertising, the process of evaluating or reinvigorating an ad campaign, which results in either renewing the contract with the original ad agency or hiring a new agency.
acquisitions editors in the book industry, editors who seek out and sign authors to contracts.
actual malice in libel law, a reckless disregard for the truth, such as when a reporter or an editor knows that a statement is false and prints or airs it anyway.
ad impressions how often online ads are seen.
adult contemporary (AC) one of the oldest and most popular radio music formats, typically featuring a mix of news, talk, oldies, and soft rock.
affiliate stations radio or TV stations that, though independently owned, sign a contract to be part of a network and receive money to carry the network’s programs; in exchange, the network reserves time slots, which it sells to national advertisers.
agenda-setting theory a media-research argument that says that when the mass media pay attention to particular events or issues, they determine—that is, set the agenda for—the major topics of discussion for individuals and society.
album-oriented rock (AOR) the radio music format that features album cuts from mainstream rock bands.
alternative rock nonmainstream rock music, which includes many types of experimental music.
AM (amplitude modulation) a type of radio and sound transmission that stresses the volume or height of radio waves.
analog recording a recording that is made by capturing the fluctuations of the original sound waves and storing those signals on record grooves or magnetic tape—analogous to the actual sound.
analysis the second step in the critical process, it involves discovering significant patterns that emerge from the description stage.
anthology drama a popular form of early TV programming that brought live dramatic theater to television; influenced by stage plays, anthologies offered new teleplays, casts, directors, writers, and sets from week to week.
arcade an establishment gathering multiple coin-operated games together in a single location.
ARPAnet the original Internet, designed by the U.S. Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
association principle in advertising, a persuasive technique that associates a product with some cultural value or image that has a positive connotation but may have little connection to the actual product.
astroturf lobbying phony grassroots public affairs campaigns engineered by public relations firms; coined by U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas (named after AstroTurf, the artificial grass athletic field surface).
Atari a video game development company that released Pong, the first big hit arcade game, and established the home video game market through a deal with Sears.
audience studies cultural studies research that focuses on how people use and interpret cultural content; also known as reader-response research.
audiotape lightweight magnetized strands of ribbon that make possible sound editing and multiple-track mixing; instrumentals or vocals can be recorded at one studio and later mixed onto a master recording in another studio.
authoritarian model a model for journalism and speech that tolerates little criticism of government or public dissent; it holds that the general public needs guidance from an elite and educated ruling class.
avatar an identity created by an Internet user in order to participate in a form of online entertainment, such as World of Warcraft or Second Life.
bandwagon effect an advertising strategy that incorporates exaggerated claims that everyone is using a particular product, so you should too.
barter in TV, giving a program to a local station in exchange for a split in the advertising revenue.
basic cable in cable programming, a tier of channels composed of local broadcast signals, nonbroadcast access channels (for local government, education, and general public use), a few regional PBS stations, and a variety of popular channels downlinked from communication satellites.
Big Six the six major Hollywood studios that currently rule the commercial film business: Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal, Columbia Pictures, and Disney.
block booking an early tactic of movie studios to control exhibition involving pressuring theater operators to accept marginal films with no stars in order to get access to films with the most popular stars.
block printing a printing technique developed by early Chinese printers, who hand-carved characters and illustrations into a block of wood, applied ink to the block, and then printed copies on multiple sheets of paper.
blogs sites that contain articles in chronological journal-like form, often with reader comments and links to other articles on the Web (from the term Web log).
blues originally a kind of black folk music, this music emerged as a distinct category in the early 1900s; it was influenced by African American spirituals, ballads, and work songs in the rural South, and by urban guitar and vocal solos from the 1930s and 1940s.
book challenge a formal complaint to have a book removed from a public or school library’s collection.
boutique agencies in advertising, small regional ad agencies that offer personalized services.
broadband data transmission over a fiber-optic cable — a signaling method that handles a wide range of frequencies.
broadcasting the transmission of radio waves or TV signals to a broad public audience.
browsers information-search services, such as Firefox and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, that offer detailed organizational maps to the Internet.
cathode-ray tube a key component of early television and computer screens that allowed the display of images.
CATV (community antenna television) early cable systems that originated where mountains or tall buildings blocked TV signals; because of early technical and regulatory limits, CATV contained only twelve channels.
celluloid a transparent and pliable film that can hold a coating of chemicals sensitive to light.
chapter shows in television production, situation comedies or dramatic programs whose narrative structure includes self-contained stories that feature a problem, a series of conflicts, and a resolution from week to week (for contrast, see serial programs and episodic series).
cinema verité French term for truth film, a documentary style that records fragments of everyday life unobtrusively; it often features a rough, grainy look and shaky, handheld camera work.
citizen journalism a grassroots movement wherein activist amateurs and concerned citizens, not professional journalists, use Internet tools like blogs to disseminate news and information.
click through how often users land briefly on a Web site before clicking through to the next site.
codex an early type of book in which paperlike sheets were cut and sewed together along the edge, then bound with thin pieces of wood and covered with leather.
collective intelligence video game tips and cheats shared by players of the games, usually online.
commercial speech any print or broadcast expression for which a fee is charged to the organization or individual buying time or space in the mass media.
common carrier a communication or transportation business, such as a phone company or a taxi service, that is required by law to offer service on a first-come, first-served basis to whoever can pay the rate; such companies do not get involved in content.
compact discs (CDs) playback-only storage discs for music that incorporate pure and very precise digital techniques, thus eliminating noise during recording and playback.
conflict of interest considered unethical, a compromising situation in which a journalist stands to benefit personally from the news report he or she produces.
conflict-oriented journalism found in metropolitan areas, newspapers that define news primarily as events, issues, or experiences that deviate from social norms; journalists see their role as observers who monitor their city’s institutions and problems.
consensus narrative cultural products that become popular and command wide attention, providing shared cultural experiences.
consensus-oriented journalism found in small communities, newspapers that promote social and economic harmony by providing community calendars and meeting notices and carrying articles on local schools, social events, town government, property crimes, and zoning issues.
console a device used specifically to play video games.
contemporary hit radio (CHR) originally called Top 40 radio, this radio format encompasses everything from hip-hop to children’s songs; it remains the most popular format in radio for people ages eighteen to twenty-four.
content analysis in social science research, a method for systematically studying and coding media texts and programs.
cookies information profiles about a user that are usually automatically accepted by the Web browser and stored on the user’s own computer hard drive.
copy editors the people in magazine, newspaper, and book publishing who attend to specific problems in writing such as style, content, and length.
copyright the legal right of authors and producers to own and control the use of their published or unpublished writing, music, and lyrics; TV programs and movies; or graphic art designs.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to funnel federal funds to nonprofit radio and public television.
correlation an observed association between two variables.
country claiming the largest number of radio stations in the United States, this radio format includes such subdivisions as old-time, progressive, country-rock, western swing, and country-gospel.
cover music songs recorded or performed by musicians who did not originally write or perform the music; in the 1950s, cover music was an attempt by white producers and artists to capitalize on popular songs by blacks.
critical process the process whereby a media-literate person or student studying mass communication employs the techniques of description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement.
cultivation effect theory in media research, the idea that heavy television viewing leads individuals to perceive reality in ways that are consistent with the portrayals they see on television.
cultural imperialism the phenomenon of American culture (e.g., media, fashion, and food) dominating the global market and shaping the cultures and identities of other nations.
cultural studies in media research, the approaches that try to understand how the media and culture are tied to the actual patterns of communication used in daily life; these studies focus on how people make meanings, apprehend reality, and order experience through the use of stories and symbols.
deadheading the practice in the early twentieth century of giving reporters free rail passes as bribes for favorable stories.
deficit financing in television, the process whereby a TV production company leases its programs to a network for a license fee that is actually less than the cost of production; the company hopes to recoup this loss later in rerun syndication.
demographic editions national magazines whose advertising is tailored to subscribers and readers according to occupation, class, and zip-code address.
demographics in market research, the gathering and analysis of audience members’ age, gender, income, ethnicity, and education characteristics to better target messages to particular audiences.
description the first step in the critical process, it involves paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the cultural product to be studied.
design managers publishing industry personnel who work on the look of a book, making decisions about type style, paper, cover design, and layout.
desktop publishing a computer technology that enables an aspiring publisher/editor to inexpensively write, design, lay out, and even print a small newsletter or magazine.
developmental editors in book publishing, the editors who provide authors with feedback, make suggestions for improvements, and obtain advice from knowledgeable members of the academic community.
development budget the money spent designing, coding, scoring, and testing a video game.
digital communication images, texts, and sounds that use pulses of electric current or flashes of laser lights and are converted (or encoded) into electronic signals represented as varied combinations of binary numbers, usually ones and zeros; these signals are then reassembled (decoded) as a precise reproduction of a TV picture, a magazine article, or a telephone voice.
digital divide the socioeconomic disparity between those who do and those who do not have access to digital technology and media, such as the Internet.
digital recording music recorded and played back by laser beam rather than by needle or magnetic tape.
digital video the production format that is replacing celluloid film and revolutionizing filmmaking because the cameras are more portable and production costs are much less expensive.
digital video recorder (DVR) a device that enables users to find and record specific television shows (and movies) and store them in a computer memory to be played back at a later time or recorded onto a DVD.
digitization the translation of information in analog form into binary code.
dime novels sometimes identified as pulp fiction, these cheaply produced and low-priced novels were popular in the United States beginning in the 1860s.
direct broadcast satellites (DBS) satellite-based services that for a monthly fee downlink hundreds of satellite channels and services; they began distributing video programming directly to households in 1994.
directories review and cataloguing services that group Web sites under particular categories (e.g., Arts & Humanities, News & Media, Entertainment).
direct payment in media economics, the payment of money, primarily by consumers, for a book, a music CD, a movie, an online computer service, or a cable TV subscription.
documentary a movie or TV news genre that documents reality by recording actual characters and settings.
e-book a digital book read on a computer or electronic reading device.
e-commerce electronic commerce, or commercial activity, on the Web.
economies of scale the economic process of increasing production levels so as to reduce the overall cost per unit.
electromagnetic waves invisible electronic impulses similar to visible light; electricity, magnetism, light, broadcast signals, and heat are part of such waves, which radiate in space at the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second.
electronic publisher a communication business, such as a broadcaster or a cable TV company, that is entitled to choose what channels or content to carry.
e-mail electronic mail messages sent by the Internet; developed by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson in 1971.
engagement the fifth step in the critical process, it involves actively working to create a media world that best serves democracy.
Entertainment Software Rating Board the video game industry’s self-regulating system, designed to inform parents of sexual and violent content that might not be suitable for younger players.
episodic series a narrative form well suited to television because main characters appear every week, sets and locales remain the same, and technical crews stay with the program; episodic series feature new adventures each week, but a handful of characters emerge with whom viewers can regularly identify (see also chapter shows and serial programs).
ethnocentrism an underlying value held by many U.S. journalists and citizens, it involves judging other countries and cultures according to how they live up to or imitate American practices and ideals.
evaluation the fourth step in the critical process, it involves arriving at a judgment about whether a cultural product is good, bad, or mediocre; this requires subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical assessment resulting from the first three stages (description, analysis, and interpretation).
evergreens in TV syndication, popular, lucrative, and enduring network reruns, such as the Andy Griffith Show or I Love Lucy.
evergreen subscriptions magazine subscriptions that automatically renew on subscribers’ credit cards.
experiments in regard to the mass media, research that isolates some aspect of content, suggests a hypothesis, and manipulates variables to discover a particular text’s or medium’s impact on attitudes, emotions, or behavior.
Fairness Doctrine repealed in 1987, this FCC rule required broadcast stations to both air and engage in controversial-issue programs that affected their communities and, when offering such programming, to provide competing points of view.
famous-person testimonial an advertising strategy that associates a product with the endorsement of a well-known person.
feature syndicates commercial outlets or brokers, such as United Features and King Features, that contract with newspapers to provide work from well-known political writers, editorial cartoonists, comic-strip artists, and self-help columnists.
Federal Communications Act of 1934 the far-reaching act that established the FCC and the federal regulatory structure for U.S. broadcasting.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) an independent U.S. government agency charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable.
Federal Radio Commission (FRC) established in 1927 to oversee radio licenses and negotiate channel problems.
feedback responses from receivers to the senders of messages.
fiber-optic cable thin glass bundles of fiber capable of transmitting thousands of messages converted to shooting pulses of light along cable wires; these bundles of fiber can carry broadcast channels, telephone signals, and all sorts of digital codes.
fin-syn (Financial Interest and Syndication Rules) FCC rules that prohibited the major networks from running their own syndication companies or from charging production companies additional fees after shows had completed their prime-time runs; most fin-syn rules were rescinded in the mid-1990s.
first-run syndication in television, the process whereby new programs are specifically produced for sale in syndication markets rather than for network television.
flipper bumper an addition to the pinball machine that transformed the game from one of chance into a challenging game of skill, touch, and timing.
FM (frequency modulation) a type of radio and sound transmission that offers static-free reception and greater fidelity and clarity than AM radio by accentuating the pitch or distance between radio waves.
focus group a common research method in psychographic analysis in which a moderator leads a small-group discussion about a product or an issue, usually with six to twelve people.
folk music music performed by untrained musicians and passed down through oral traditions; it encompasses a wide range of music, from Appalachian fiddle tunes to the accordion-led zydeco of Louisiana.
format radio the concept of radio stations developing and playing specific styles (or formats) geared to listeners’ age, race, or gender; in format radio, management, rather than deejays, controls programming choices.
Fourth Estate the notion that the press operates as an unofficial branch of government, monitoring the legislative, judicial, and executive branches for abuses of power.
fringe time in broadcast television, the time slot either immediately before the evening’s prime-time schedule (called early fringe) or immediately following the local evening news or the network’s late-night talk shows (called late fringe).
gag orders legal restrictions prohibiting the press from releasing preliminary information that might prejudice jury selection.
gangster rap a style of rap music that depicts the hardships of urban life and sometimes glorifies the violent style of street gangs.
gatekeepers editors, producers, and other media managers who function as message filters, making decisions about what types of messages actually get produced for particular audiences.
general-interest magazine a type of magazine that addresses a wide variety of topics and is aimed at a broad national audience.
genre a narrative category in which conventions regarding similar characters, scenes, structures, and themes recur in combination.
grunge rock music that takes the spirit of punk and infuses it with more attention to melody.
HD radio a digital technology that enables AM and FM radio broadcasters to multicast two to three additional compressed digital signals within their traditional analog frequency.
hegemony the acceptance of the dominant values in a culture by those who are subordinate to those who hold economic and political power.
hidden-fear appeal an advertising strategy that plays on a sense of insecurity, trying to persuade consumers that only a specific product can offer relief.
high culture a symbolic expression that has come to mean “good taste”; often supported by wealthy patrons and corporate donors, it is associated with fine art (such as ballet, the symphony, painting, and classical literature), which is available primarily in theaters or museums.
high-definition the digital standard for U.S. television sets that has more than twice the resolution of the system that served as the standard from the 1940s through the 1990s.
hip-hop music that combines spoken street dialect with cuts (or samples) from older records and bears the influences of social politics, male boasting, and comic lyrics carried forward from blues, R&B, soul, and rock and roll.
Hollywood Ten the nine screenwriters and one film director subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) who were sent to prison in the late 1940s for refusing to discuss their memberships or to identify communist sympathizers.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) the written code that creates Web pages and links; a language all computers can read.
human-interest stories news accounts that focus on the trials and tribulations of the human condition, often featuring ordinary individuals facing extraordinary challenges.
hypodermic-needle model an early model in mass communication research that attempted to explain media effects by arguing that the media shoot their powerful effects directly into unsuspecting or weak audiences; sometimes called the magic bullet theory.
hypotheses in social science research, tentative general statements that predict a relationship between a dependent variable and an independent variable.
illuminated manuscripts books from the Middle Ages that featured decorative, colorful designs and illustrations on each page.
indecency the government may punish broadcasters for indecency or profanity after the fact; over the years a handful of radio stations have had their licenses suspended or denied over indecent programming.
indie rock independent-minded rock music, usually distributed by smaller labels.
indies independent music and film production houses that work outside industry oligopolies; they often produce less mainstream music and film.
indirect payment in media economics, the financial support of media products by advertisers, who pay for the quantity or quality of audience members that a particular medium attracts.
individualism an underlying value held by most U.S. journalists and citizens, it favors individual rights and responsibilities over group needs or institutional mandates.
infotainment a type of television program that packages human-interest and celebrity stories in TV news style.
instant book in the book industry, a marketing strategy that involves publishing a topical book quickly after a major event occurs.
instant messaging (IM) a Web feature that enables users to chat with buddies in real time via pop-up windows assigned to each conversation.
intellectual properties the material in video games—stories, characters, personalities, music, etc.—that requires licensing agreements.
Internet the vast central network of high-speed digital lines designed to link and carry computer information worldwide.
Internet radio online radio stations that either “stream” simulcast versions of on-air radio broadcasts over the Web or are created exclusively for the Internet.
Internet service provider (ISP) a company that provides Internet access to homes and businesses for a fee.
interpretation the third step in the critical process, it asks and answers the “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about one’s findings.
interpretive journalism a type of journalism that involves analyzing and explaining key issues or events and placing them in a broader historical or social context.
inverted-pyramid style a style of journalism in which news reports begin with the most dramatic or news-worthy information—answering who, what, where, and when (and less frequently why or how) questions at the top of the story—and then tail off with less significant details.
irritation advertising an advertising strategy that tries to create product-name recognition by being annoying or obnoxious.
jazz an improvisational and mostly instrumental musical form that absorbs and integrates a diverse body of musical styles, including African rhythms, blues, big band, and gospel.
joint operating agreement (JOA) in the newspaper industry, an economic arrangement, sanctioned by the government, that permits competing newspapers to operate separate editorial divisions while merging business and production operations.
kinescope before the days of videotape, a 1950s technique for preserving television broadcasts by using a film camera to record a live TV show off a studio monitor.
kinetograph an early movie camera developed by Thomas Edison’s assistant in the 1890s.
kinetoscope an early film projection system that served as a kind of peep show in which viewers looked through a hole and saw images moving on a tiny plate.
leased channels in cable television, channels that allow citizens to buy time for producing programs or presenting their own viewpoints.
libel in media law, the defamation of character in written or broadcast expression.
libertarian model a model for journalism and speech that encourages vigorous government criticism and supports the highest degree of freedom for individual speech and news operations.
limited competition in media economics, a market with many producers and sellers but only a few differenti-able products within a particular category; sometimes called monopolistic competition.
linotype a technology introduced in the nineteenth century that enabled printers to set type mechanically using a typewriter-style keyboard.
literary journalism the adaptation of fiction techniques, such as detailed setting descriptions or extensive dialogue, to nonfiction material and in-depth reporting.
lobbying in government public relations, the process of attempting to influence the voting of lawmakers to support a client’s or an organization’s best interests.
longitudinal studies a term used for research studies that are conducted over long periods of time and often rely on large government and academic survey databases.
low culture a symbolic expression allegedly aligned with the questionable tastes of the “masses,” who enjoy the commercial “junk” circulated by the mass media, such as soap operas, rock music, talk radio, comic books, and monster truck pulls.
low-power FM (LPFM) a class of noncommercial radio stations approved by the FCC in 2000 to give voice to local groups lacking access to the public airwaves; the 10-watt and 100-watt stations broadcast to a small, community-based area.
magalogs a combination of a glossy magazine and retail catalog that is often used to market goods or services to customers or employees.
magazine a nondaily periodical that comprises a collection of articles, stories, and ads.
manuscript culture a period during the Middle Ages when priests and monks advanced the art of bookmaking.
market research in advertising and public relations agencies, the department that uses social science techniques to assess the behaviors and attitudes of consumers toward particular products before any ads are created.
mass communication the process of designing and delivering cultural messages and stories to diverse audiences through media channels as old as the book and as new as the Internet.
mass customization the process whereby product companies and content providers customize a Web page, print ad, or other media form for an individual consumer.
massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) an online fantasy game set in a virtual world in which users develop avatars of their own design and interact with other players.
mass market paperbacks low-priced paperback books sold mostly on racks in drugstores, supermarkets, and airports, as well as in bookstores.
mass media the cultural industries—the channels of communication—that produce songs, novels, news, movies, online services, and other cultural products and distribute them to a large number of people.
mass media channel newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet.
media buyers in advertising, the individuals who choose and purchase the types of media that are best suited to carry a client’s ads and reach the targeted audience.
media convergence the process whereby old and new media are available via the integration of personal computers and high-speed digital distribution.
media effects (social scientific) research the mainstream tradition in mass communication research, it attempts to understand, explain, and predict the impact—or effects—of the mass media on individuals and society.
media literacy an understanding of the mass communication process through the development of critical-thinking tools—description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, engagement—that enable a person to become more engaged as a citizen and more discerning as a consumer of mass media products.
mega-agencies in advertising, large firms or holding companies that are formed by merging several individual agencies and that maintain worldwide regional offices; they provide both advertising and public relations services and operate in-house radio and TV production studios.
megaplexes movie theater facilities with fourteen or more screens.
messages the texts, images, and sounds transmitted from senders to receivers.
microprocessors miniature circuits that process and store electronic signals, integrating thousands of electronic components into thin strands of silicon along which binary codes travel.
minimal-effects model a mass communication research model based on tightly controlled experiments and survey findings; it argues that the mass media have limited effects on audiences, reinforcing existing behaviors and attitudes rather than changing them. Also called the limited effects model.
modern era period from the Industrial Revolution to the twentieth century that was characterized by working efficiently, celebrating individuals, believing in a rational order, and rejecting tradition and embracing progress.
monopoly in media economics, an organizational structure that occurs when a single firm dominates production and distribution in a particular industry, either nationally or locally.
Morse code a system of sending electrical impulses from a transmitter through a cable to a reception point; developed in the 1840s by the American inventor Samuel Morse.
movie palaces ornate, lavish single-screen movie theaters that emerged in the 1910s in the United States.
MP3 short for MPEG-1 Layer 3, an advanced type of audio compression that reduces file size, enabling audio to be easily distributed over the Internet.
muckraking a style of early-twentieth-century investigative journalism that referred to reporters’ willingness to crawl around in society’s muck to uncover a story.
multiple-system operators (MSOs) large corporations that own numerous cable television systems.
multiplexes contemporary movie theaters that exhibit many movies at the same time on multiple screens.
must-carry rules rules established by the FCC requiring all cable operators to assign channels to and carry all local TV broadcasts on their systems, thereby ensuring that local network affiliates, independent stations (those not carrying network programs), and public television channels would benefit from cable’s clearer reception.
narrative films movies that tell a story, with dramatic action and conflict emerging mainly from individual characters.
narrowcasting any specialized electronic programming or media channel aimed at a target audience.
National Public Radio (NPR) noncommercial radio established in 1967 by the U.S. Congress to provide an alternative to commercial radio.
network a broadcast process that links, through special phone lines or satellite transmissions, groups of radio or TV stations that share programming produced at a central location.
network era the period in television history, roughly from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, that refers to the dominance of the Big Three networks—ABC, CBS, and NBC—over programming and prime-time viewing habits; the era began eroding with a decline in viewing and with the development of VCRs, cable, and new TV networks.
news the process of gathering information and making narrative reports—edited by individuals in a news organization—that create selected frames of reference and help the public make sense of prominent people, important events, and unusual happenings in everyday life.
news and talk radio the fastest-growing radio format in the 1990s.
newshole the space left over in a newspaper for news content after all the ads are placed.
newspaper chain a large company that owns several papers throughout the country.
newsreels weekly ten-minute magazine-style compilations of filmed news events from around the world organized in a sequence of short reports; prominent in movie theaters between the 1920s and the 1950s.
newsworthiness the often unstated criteria that journalists use to determine which events and issues should become news reports, including timeliness, proximity, conflict, prominence, human interest, consequence, usefulness, novelty, and deviance.
nickelodeons the first small makeshift movie theaters, which were often converted cigar stores, pawnshops, or restaurants redecorated to mimic vaudeville theaters.
objective journalism a modern style of journalism that distinguishes factual reports from opinion columns; reporters strive to remain neutral toward the issue or event they cover, searching out competing points of view among the sources for a story.
obscenity expression that is not protected as speech if these three legal tests are all met: (1) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material as a whole appeals to prurient interest; (2) the material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; (3) the material, as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
off-network syndication in television, the process whereby older programs that no longer run during prime time are made available for reruns to local stations, cable operators, online services, and foreign markets.
offset lithography a technology that enabled books to be printed from photographic plates rather than metal casts, reducing the cost of color and illustrations and eventually permitting computers to perform typesetting.
oligopoly in media economics, an organizational structure in which a few firms control most of an industry’s production and distribution resources.
online fantasy sports games where players assemble teams of real-life athletes and use actual sports results to determine scores.
open-source software noncommercial software shared freely and developed collectively on the Internet.
opinion and fair comment a defense against libel which states that libel applies only to intentional misstatements of factual information rather than opinion, and which therefore protects said opinion.
opt-in policies regulations that require a Web site to obtain explicit permission before collecting a consumer’s browsing-history data.
Pacifica Foundation a radio broadcasting foundation established in Berkeley, California, by journalist and World War II pacifist Lewis Hill; he established KPFA, the first nonprofit community radio station, in 1949.
pack journalism a situation in which reporters stake out a house or follow a story in such large groups that the entire profession comes under attack for invading people’s privacy or exploiting their personal tragedies.
paperback books books made with less expensive paper covers, introduced in the United States in the mid-1800s.
papyrus one of the first substances to hold written language and symbols; obtained from plant reeds found along the Nile River.
Paramount decision the 1948 Supreme Court decision that ended vertical integration in the film industry by forcing the studios to divest themselves of their theaters.
parchment treated animal skin that replaced papyrus as an early pre-paper substance on which to document written language.
partisan press an early dominant style of American journalism distinguished by opinion newspapers, which generally argued one political point of view or pushed the plan of the particular party that subsidized the paper.
pass-along readership the total number of people who come into contact with a single copy of a magazine.
payola the unethical (and often illegal) practice of record promoters paying deejays or radio programmers to favor particular songs over others.
pay-per-view (PPV) a cable-television service that allows customers to select a particular movie for a fee, or to pay $25 to $40 for a special one-time event.
paywall an arrangement restricting Web site access to paid subscribers.
penny arcade an early version of the modern video arcade, with multiple coin-operated mechanical games gathered together in a single location.
penny papers (also penny press) refers to newspapers that, because of technological innovations in printing, were able to drop their price to one cent beginning in the 1830s, thereby making papers affordable to working and emerging middle classes and enabling newspapers to become a genuine mass medium.
phishing an Internet scam that begins with phony e-mail messages that pretend to be from an official site and request that customers send their credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information to update the account.
photojournalism the use of photos to document events and people’s lives.
pinball machine a mechanical game where players score points by manipulating the path of a metal ball on a playfield in a glass-covered case, and an early ancestor of today’s electronic games.
plain-folks pitch an advertising strategy that associates a product with simplicity and the common person.
podcasting enables listeners to download audio program files from the Internet for playback on computers or digital music players.
political advertising the use of ad techniques to promote a candidate’s image and persuade the public to adopt a particular viewpoint.
political economy studies an area of academic study that specifically examines interconnections among economic interests, political power, and how that power is used.
pop music popular music that appeals either to a wide cross section of the public or to sizable sub-divisions within the larger public based on age, region, or ethnic background; the word pop has also been used as a label to distinguish popular music from classical music.
populism a political idea that attempts to appeal to ordinary people by setting up a conflict between “the people” and “the elite.”
portal an entry point to the Internet, such as a search engine.
postmodern period a contemporary historical era spanning the 1960s to the present; its social values include opposing hierarchy, diversifying and recycling culture, questioning scientific reasoning, and embracing paradox.
premium channels in cable programming, a tier of channels that subscribers can order at an additional monthly fee over their basic cable service; these may include movie channels and interactive services.
press agents the earliest type of public relations practitioner, who sought to advance a client’s image through media exposure.
press releases in public relations, announcements—written in the style of a news report—that give new information about an individual, a company, or an organization and pitch a story idea to the news media.
prime time in television programming, the hours between 7 and 11 p.m. (or 7 and 10 p.m. in the Midwest), when networks have traditionally drawn their largest audiences and charged their highest advertising rates.
printing press a fifteenth-century invention whose movable metallic type technology spawned modern mass communication by creating the first method for mass production; it reduced the size and cost of books, made them the first mass medium affordable to less affluent people, and provided the impetus for the Industrial Revolution, assembly-line production, modern capitalism, and the rise of consumer culture.
prior restraint the legal definition of censorship in the United States, which prohibits courts and governments from blocking any publication or speech before it actually occurs.
product placement the advertising practice of strategically placing products in movies, TV shows, comic books, and video games so the products appear as part of a story’s set environment.
professional books technical books that target various occupational groups and are not intended for the general consumer market.
Progressive Era the period of political and social reform lasting roughly from the 1890s to the 1920s that inspired many Americans—and mass media—to break with tradition and embrace change.
propaganda in advertising and public relations, a communication strategy that tries to manipulate public opinion to gain support for a special issue, program, or policy, such as a nation’s war effort.
propaganda analysis the study of propaganda’s effectiveness in influencing and mobilizing public opinion.
pseudo-events in public relations, any circumstance or event created solely for the purpose of obtaining coverage in the media.
pseudo-polls typically call-in, online, or person-in-the-street polls that don’t use random samples and whose results thus don’t represent the population as a whole.
psychographics in market research, the study of audience or consumer attitudes, beliefs, interests, and motivations.
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 the act by the U.S. Congress that established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) the noncommercial television network established in 1967 as an alternative to commercial television.
public domain the end of the copyright period for a cultural or scientific work, at which point the public may begin to access it for free.
publicity in public relations, the positive and negative messages that spread controlled and uncontrolled information about a person, a corporation, an issue, or a policy in various media.
public journalism a type of journalism, driven by citizen forums, that goes beyond telling the news to embrace a broader mission of improving the quality of public life; also called civic journalism.
public relations the total communication strategy conducted by a person, a government, or an organization attempting to reach and persuade its audiences to adopt a point of view.
public service announcements (PSAs) reports or announcements, carried free by radio and TV stations, that promote government programs, educational projects, voluntary agencies, or social reform.
pulp fiction a term used to describe many late-nineteenth-century popular paperbacks and dime novels, which were constructed of cheap machine-made pulp material.
punk rock rock music that challenges the orthodoxy and commercialism of the recording business; it is characterized by loud, unpolished qualities, a jackhammer beat, primal vocal screams, crude aggression, and defiant or comic lyrics.
QR codes square bar codes, often seen on advertisements, that can be scanned by smartphone cameras, linking to videos and Web pages.
Radio Act of 1912 the first radio legislation passed by Congress, it addressed the problem of amateur radio operators increasingly cramming the airwaves.
Radio Act of 1927 the second radio legislation passed by Congress; in an attempt to restore order to the airwaves, it stated that licensees did not own their channels but could license them as long as they operated in order to serve the “public interest, convenience, or necessity.”
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) a company developed during World War I that was designed, with government approval, to pool radio patents; the formation of RCA gave the United States almost total control over the emerging mass medium of broadcasting.
radio waves a portion of the electromagnetic wave spectrum that was harnessed so that signals could be sent from a transmission point and obtained at a reception point.
random assignment a social science research method for assigning research subjects; it ensures that every subject has an equal chance of being placed in either the experimental group or the control group.
rating in TV audience measurement, a statistical estimate expressed as a percentage of households tuned to a program in the local or national market being sampled.
receivers the target of messages crafted by a sender.
reference books dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and other reference manuals related to particular professions or trades.
regional editions national magazines whose content is tailored to the interests of different geographic areas.
responsible capitalism an underlying value held by many U.S. journalists and citizens, it assumes that businesspeople compete with one another not primarily to maximize profits but to increase prosperity for all.
rhythm and blues (R&B) music that merged urban blues with big-band sounds.
right to privacy addresses a person’s right to be left alone, without his or her name, image, or daily activities becoming public property.
rockabilly music that mixed bluegrass and country influences with those of black folk music and early amplified blues.
rock and roll music that mixed the vocal and instrumental traditions of popular music; it merged the black influences of urban blues, gospel, and R&B with the white influences of country, folk, and pop vocals.
rotation in format radio programming, the practice of playing the most popular or best-selling songs many times throughout the day.
satellite radio pay radio services that deliver various radio formats nationally via satellite.
saturation advertising the strategy of inundating a variety of print and visual media with ads aimed at target audiences.
scientific method a widely used research method that studies phenomena in systematic stages; it includes identifying the research problem, reviewing existing research, developing working hypotheses, determining appropriate research design, collecting information, analyzing results to see if the hypotheses have been verified, and interpreting the implications of the study.
search engines computer programs that allow users to enter key words or queries to find related sites on the Internet.
Section 315 part of the 1934 Communications Act; it mandates that during elections, broadcast stations must provide equal opportunities and response time for qualified political candidates.
selective exposure the phenomenon whereby audiences seek messages and meanings that correspond to their preexisting beliefs and values.
selective retention the phenomenon whereby audiences remember or retain messages and meanings that correspond to their preexisting beliefs and values.
senders the authors, producers, agencies, and organizations that transmit messages to receivers.
serial programs radio or TV programs, such as soap operas, that feature continuing story lines from day to day or week to week (see chapter shows).
share in TV audience measurement, a statistical estimate of the percentage of homes tuned to a certain program, compared with those simply using their sets at the time of a sample.
shield laws laws protecting the confidentiality of key interview subjects and reporters’ rights not to reveal the sources of controversial information used in news stories.
situation comedy (sitcom) a type of comedy series that features a recurring cast and set as well as several narrative scenes; each episode establishes a situation, complicates it, develops increasing confusion among its characters, and then resolves the complications.
sketch comedy short television comedy skits that are usually segments of TV variety shows; sometimes known as vaudeo, the marriage of vaudeville and video.
slander in law, spoken language that defames a person’s character.
small-town pastoralism an underlying value held by many U.S. journalists and citizens, it favors the small over the large and the rural over the urban.
snob-appeal approach an advertising strategy that attempts to convince consumers that using a product will enable them to maintain or elevate their social station.
social learning theory a theory within media-effects research that suggests a link between the mass media and behavior.
social networking sites Internet Web sites that allow users to create personal profiles, upload photos, create lists of favorite things, and post messages to connect with old friends and to meet new ones.
social responsibility model a model for journalism and speech, influenced by the libertarian model, that encourages the free flow of information to citizens so they can make wise decisions regarding political and social issues.
social scientific research the mainstream tradition in mass communication research, it attempts to understand, explain, and predict the impact—or effects—of the mass media on individuals and society.
soul music that mixes gospel, blues, and urban and southern black styles with slower, more emotional, and melancholic lyrics.
sound bite in TV journalism, the equivalent of a quote in print; the part of a news report in which an expert, a celebrity, a victim, or a “person on the street” is interviewed about some aspect of an event or issue.
space brokers in the days before modern advertising, individuals who purchased space in newspapers and sold it to various merchants.
spam a computer term referring to unsolicited e-mail.
Spanish-language radio one of radio’s fastest-growing formats, concentrated mostly in large Hispanic markets such as Miami, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
spiral of silence a theory that links the mass media, social psychology, and the formation of public opinion; it proposes that people who find their views on controversial issues in the minority tend to keep these views silent.
split-run editions editions of national magazines that tailor ads to different geographic areas.
spyware software with hidden codes that enable commercial firms to “spy” on users and gain access to their computers.
state model a model for journalism and speech that places control in the hands of an enlightened government, which speaks for ordinary citizens and workers in order to serve the common goals of the state.
stereo the recording of two separate channels or tracks of sound.
storyboard in advertising, a blueprint or roughly drawn comic-strip version of a proposed advertisement.
studio system an early film production system that constituted a sort of assembly-line process for moviemaking; major film studios controlled not only actors but also directors, editors, writers, and other employees, all of whom worked under exclusive contracts.
subliminal advertising a 1950s term that refers to hidden or disguised print and visual messages that allegedly register on the subconscious, creating false needs and seducing people into buying products.
subsidiary rights in the book industry, selling the rights to a book for use in other media forms, such as a mass market paperback, a CD-ROM, or the basis for a movie screenplay.
supermarket tabloids newspapers that feature bizarre human-interest stories, gruesome murder tales, violent accident accounts, unexplained phenomena stories, and malicious celebrity gossip.
superstations local independent TV stations, such as WTBS in Atlanta or WGN in Chicago, that have uplinked their signals onto a communication satellite to make themselves available nationwide.
survey research in social science research, a method of collecting and measuring data taken from a group of respondents.
syndication leasing TV stations the exclusive right to air older TV series.
synergy in media economics, the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throughout the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate.
talkies the name given to the first motion pictures with sound following the silent film era.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 the sweeping update of telecommunications law that led to a wave of media consolidation.
telegraph invented in the 1840s, it sent electrical impulses through a cable from a transmitter to a reception point, transmitting Morse code.
textbooks books made for the el-hi (elementary and high school) and college markets.
textual analysis in media research, a method for closely and critically examining and interpreting the meanings of culture, including architecture, fashion, books, movies, and TV programs.
third-person effect theory a theory suggesting that people believe others are more affected by media messages than they are themselves.
Top 40 format the first radio format, in which stations played the forty most popular hits in a given week as measured by record sales.
trade books the most visible book industry segment, featuring hardbound and paperback books aimed at general readers and sold at bookstores and other retail outlets.
trade publications specialty magazines aimed at a narrowly defined audience.
transistor invented by Bell Laboratories in 1947, this tiny technology, which receives and amplifies radio signals, made portable radios possible.
TV newsmagazine a TV news program format, pioneered by CBS’s 60 Minutes in the late 1960s, that features multiple segments in an hour-long episode, usually ranging from a celebrity or political feature story to a hard-hitting investigative report.
underground press radical newspapers, run on shoestring budgets, that question mainstream political policies and conventional values; the term usually refers to a journalism movement of the 1960s.
university press the segment of the book industry that publishes scholarly books in specialized areas.
urban one of radio’s more popular formats, primarily targeting African American listeners in urban areas with dance, R&B, and hip-hop music.
uses and gratifications model a mass communication research model, usually employing in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires, that argues that people use the media to satisfy various emotional desires or intellectual needs.
Values and Lifestyles (VALS) a market-research strategy that divides consumers into types and measures psychological factors, including how consumers think and feel about products and how they achieve (or do not achieve) the lifestyles to which they aspire.
vellum a handmade paper made from treated animal skin, used in the Gutenberg Bibles.
vertical integration in media economics, the phenomenon of controlling a mass media industry at its three essential levels: production, distribution, and exhibition; the term is most frequently used in reference to the film industry.
videocassette recorders (VCRs) recorders that use a half-inch video format known as VHS (video home system), which enables viewers to record and play back programs from television or to watch movies rented from video stores.
video news release (VNR) in public relations, the visual counterpart to a press release; it pitches a story idea to the TV news media by mimicking the style of a broadcast news report.
video-on-demand (VOD) cable television technology that enables viewers to instantly order programming, such as movies, to be digitally delivered to their sets.
viral marketing short videos or other content which marketers hope will quickly gain widespread attention as users share it with friends online, or by word of mouth.
vitascope a large-screen movie projection system developed by Thomas Edison.
webzines magazines that publish on the Internet.
Wi-Fi a standard for short-distance wireless networking, enabling users of notebook computers and other devices to connect to the Internet in cafés, hotels, airports, and parks.
Wikis Internet Web sites that are capable of being edited by any user; the most famous of these sites is Wikipedia.
WiMax a communication technology that provides data over long distances in multiple ways, from traditional cell phone connections to services that link mobile phones to traditional mass media.
Wireless Ship Act the 1910 mandate that all major U.S. seagoing ships carrying more than fifty passengers and traveling more than two hundred miles off the coast be equipped with wireless equipment with a one-hundred-mile range.
wireless telegraphy the forerunner of radio, a form of voiceless point-to-point communication; it preceded the voice and sound transmissions of one-to-many mass communication that became known as broadcasting.
wireless telephony early experiments in wireless voice and music transmissions, which later developed into modern radio.
wire services commercial organizations, such as the Associated Press, that share news stories and information by relaying them around the country and the world, originally via telegraph and now via satellite transmission.
yellow journalism a newspaper style or era that peaked in the 1890s; it emphasized high-interest stories, sensational crime news, large headlines, and serious reports that exposed corruption, particularly in business and government.