Media Studies key terms

The four connected areas used to study media: media language, media representations, media industries and media audiences.

Harmful expectations or behaviours associated with masculinity, such as aggression, domination and entitlement; not masculinity or men as a whole.

A game in which actions occur in turns and progress depends on solving problems through a planned sequence of moves.

Katz and Lazarsfeld’s model in which media messages reach opinion leaders, who interpret and pass them on to other people.

The appearance and arrangement of lettering, including typeface, size and weight.

The inclusion of a social group less frequently or less prominently than its presence in society would suggest.

The inclusion of a social group less frequently or less prominently than other groups in media products.

A quality presented as distinguishing a product from its competitors.

Content created by users rather than solely by professional media producers, such as shared builds, videos and playable islands.

The controls and screen information through which a user interacts with a game or other digital product.

Blumler and Katz’s theory that audiences actively select media to satisfy needs, including diversion, information, personal relationships and personal identity.

Blumler and Katz’s theory that audiences actively select and use media to satisfy needs, including entertainment, information, personal relationships and personal identity.

The strengthening of beliefs or ideas an audience member already holds through their media choices.

A change to familiar genre features or content that gives a media product freshness and difference.

Fortnite’s virtual currency, which players can use to buy eligible in-game items and content.

A word or group of words that communicates meaning in a media product, such as a headline or slogan.

The appearance of being real or believable, created through choices such as locations, performances and everyday sounds.

Ownership or control of different stages of a product’s production and distribution, such as publishing, printing and distribution.

In Propp’s theory, the character or force that obstructs the hero’s progress.

Promotion spread online as people share material with others, rather than the company paying for every onward distribution.

A visible element that communicates meaning, such as colour, costume, expression, gesture, setting or a prop.

The arrangement of elements so that differences in size, contrast and position suggest their relative importance.

Organisations and groups whose work draws on voluntary participation and support, often to serve a community or social purpose.

The 9pm boundary on UK television before which material unsuitable for children should generally not be shown.