Media Studies key terms

A business model in which users pay an initial price for an app or game and can also make purchases within it.

The vocal features that accompany speech, such as tone, pitch, volume and pace, rather than the words themselves.

A largely one-sided sense of personal connection that an audience member develops with a media figure who does not know them personally.

Settings that allow adults to manage children’s access to features such as communication and spending.

Bias in favour of a particular group, individual or argument rather than an impartial treatment.

Media through which users can contribute, respond and share content rather than only receive it.

An audience assumed to receive and accept media messages with little critical interpretation or resistance.

A system in which men hold dominant power and authority.

A restriction requiring users to pay before accessing some or all of a website’s content.

Pan European Game Information: a system that classifies video games by age suitability and provides information about their content and interactive risks.

A music video form that shows an artist singing, rapping, dancing or playing instruments.

A music video centred on an artist or band performing the song, rather than primarily telling a separate story.

The public image or personality that someone presents to an audience.

A recognisable public identity built around a person through recurring images, messages and values.

The audience need to explore, affirm or develop a sense of who they are through media.

The people who contribute to making or promoting a media product, including performers and those working behind the scenes.

Radio broadcasting without the required authorisation or licence.

A company that supplies a service which hosts and presents media material, often created by others, such as YouTube.

An audio programme made available online for streaming or downloading, often as part of a series.

A shot that shows what a character appears to be looking at, aligning the viewer with that character’s viewpoint.

A drama that focuses on the work and methods of police officers as they investigate crimes.

Favouring a political viewpoint through choices such as which stories, words, images and quotations are included or excluded.

The influence of government, regulation, political debate and struggles over power and representation on a media product.

The capacity of a media product or sign to communicate more than one meaning.

The interpretation of a media product that its producer encourages the audience to accept.

A prejudgement about a person or group, often involving unfair assumptions rather than consideration of individual evidence.

People already likely to watch a new product because they recognise and value its creator, stars or established brand.