Term | Definition |
Agenda-setting: | The process by which media identify and structure important and meaningful issues for audiences. |
Cultivation Theory: | An approach to media research which argues that media consumption has a cumulative influence in promoting a shared worldview. |
Electronic Society: | The stage at which all forms of communication have been influenced, either directly or indirectly, by electronic media. |
Entertainment: | The form of gratification we get when media function as a form of wish fulfillment, providing satisfying images and stimulating emotions. |
Gatekeepers: | Editors, producers, webmasters, and other media managers who decide which messages will get produced. |
Gratification Function: | The active use of media to fulfill needs and desires. |
Hypodermic Needle Model: | Explains direct media effects by suggesting that a specific message can be "shot" into an unsuspecting audience. |
Information: | When discussing media gratification, the desire for knowledge based on curiosity, personal investment or need. |
Literacy: | The ability to comprehend and use written symbols. |
Mass Communication: | The creation of meaning through messages sent to a large, unseen and anonymous audience. |
Media: | The vehicles that carry messages. |
Media Literacy: | The ability to understand the language of media and critically assess the contribution of media to society. |
Media Synergy: | The use of media conglomerates of as many channels of delivery as possible for similar content. |
Oral Cultures: | Cultures in which speaking and hearing are the dominant forms of communication. |
Selective Exposure: | People choose to watch or listen to media messages that confirm existing beliefs. |
Selective Retention: | People choose to remember media messages that confirm existing beliefs. |
Social Utility: | The function media serve when they provide common topics about social relationships and models for behavior. |
Surveillance: | The function of media to keep the public informed about social and political events. |
Technological Convergence: | The union of different, specialized media to meet the individual needs of users. |
Third Person Effect: | The belief that media influence others more than ourselves. |