Key Concepts in Media Studies: From Press to Social Networks

Chapter 6: The Press

Public Sphere Theory

• Intimate sphere: Family, friends, etc.
• Private sphere: Voluntary associations.
• Public sphere: External relations.

Four Theories of the Press

• Authoritarian theory: Direct governmental control of media.
• Libertarian theory: Free expression is prioritized, but individual freedom is not guaranteed.
• Social Responsibility Theory: The powerful press must be held accountable to those who do not have access to an equal means of communication.
• Soviet theory: Press institutions are expected to follow governmental theory.

Key Concepts in Journalism

• Yellow Journalism: A sensationalist and exaggerated newspaper style meant to increase sales.
• The Muckrakers: Politically engaged, factual reporters who expose illegal activities.
• The Fourth Estate: Journalists adopting social responsibility theory, with a responsibility for the public interest and speaking truth to power.
• Agenda Setting: The news media shapes reality and influences what is perceived as important.
• Gatekeeping: The news decides which information is disseminated to the public.
• Framing: Presenting a message in a certain way to influence its perception.

Chapter 7: Recorded Media

• The Big Three Record Companies: Universal, Sony, and Warner. Independent labels often use them as distributors.
• CinemaScope: The first widescreen colour lens, used from the 1950s to the 1990s.
• Copyright: Turns ideas into property.
• Fair Dealing (Fair Use): Limited permission to use copyrighted material without asking.

Chapter 8: Broadcasting

• Ratings: Estimates of television viewers.
• Radio formatting: Country, news/talk shows, Top 40.
• Broadcast Flow: Maintaining viewer attention without interruptions.
• Public Broadcasting: Publicly owned broadcasts.
• Broadcast License: A government-granted license to use certain radio waves.
• CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission): The regulatory body of telecommunications carriers.
• Canadian Content: At least 55% of content must be Canadian. This is regulated via the MAPL system (Music, Artist, Performance, Lyrics).

Chapter 9: Digital Media

• Digitization: Conversion of information into binary code.
• Moore’s Law: The number of transistors in integrated circuits doubles every two years; computers of the same size double in power (historically true from 1975 to 2012).
• Interactivity: The perception that a medium responds to its user.
• Network Society Thesis: The shift from an industrial society toward an information-based society.
• ARPAnet: The first computer network, created by the US DARPA in 1969.
• ALOHAnet: The first wireless network, developed at the University of Hawaii.

Chapter 10: Social Media

• Dunbar’s Number: The size of primate social groups correlates with brain size (estimated at 150 for humans).
• The Internet: An infrastructure for distributing files.
• The World Wide Web (WWW): A network of linked documents accessed via the Internet.
• Web 2.0: Interactive and dynamic webpages featuring user-generated content and fewer personal webpages.
• Social Media: Digital media applications that derive value from user interactions.