MATSEC SEC Media Literacy Education key terms

A category of media text sharing recognisable conventions, such as news bulletins, sitcoms or horror films. Audiences and producers use genre labels to predict content and set expectations.

A recurring, expected feature of a genre, such as a cliffhanger in soap opera or a headline in news. Conventions let audiences recognise a text type quickly and notice when it is broken.

A system of signs used to build meaning in a media text, such as camera framing, colour, music or typography. Codes may be technical, symbolic or written and are interpreted using shared cultural knowledge.

The study of signs and how meaning is made. In media analysis it examines how images, words and sounds work as signs whose meanings depend on culture and context.

Denotation is the literal, obvious meaning of a sign; connotation is the associated or implied meaning. A red rose denotes a flower but may connote romance, passion or danger.

Words or sounds that fix the meaning of an ambiguous image, such as a caption under a photograph. Anchorage guides the audience towards one preferred reading rather than many possible ones.

The way a media text speaks to its audience, for example direct or indirect, formal or informal, friendly or authoritative. Mode of address signals who the text assumes the audience to be.

The meaning a media producer most wants audiences to take from a text. It is built through codes and anchorage but may be resisted or negotiated by different audiences.

Audience responses that differ from the preferred reading. A negotiated reading accepts part of the intended meaning while adapting it; an oppositional reading rejects the intended meaning and reads the text against its grain.

The study of how real audiences interpret and respond to media, shaped by age, class, gender, culture and viewing context. It challenges the idea that meaning is fixed by the producer alone.

A theory that audiences actively choose media to meet needs such as information, entertainment, personal identity, social interaction or escape. It treats the audience as active rather than passive.

Theories about how exposure to media may influence audience beliefs, attitudes or behaviour. Effects are usually understood as conditional, depending on context, audience and content rather than direct and uniform.

A simplified, generalised and often evaluative image of a group, repeated across media. Stereotypes reduce complexity and can reinforce prejudice when used as the only representation of a group.

The process by which media construct images and accounts of people, places and events. Representation is selective and never neutral, because choices of what to show and omit shape how groups are understood.

A set of shared beliefs and values that appear natural or obvious within a society. Media texts often carry ideological assumptions about family, work, gender or success without stating them openly.

The way dominant groups maintain power by making their values seem normal and common-sense, often through media. Consent is won culturally rather than by force alone.

Including a small number of people from an under-represented group mainly to appear inclusive. Token characters are often underdeveloped and carry the burden of representing a whole group.

An organisation that produces or distributes media, such as a broadcaster, newspaper group or streaming platform. Institutions are shaped by ownership, funding, regulation and their commercial or public-service goals.

Who controls media organisations and how concentrated that control is. High concentration can reduce the range of voices available and raise concerns about influence over public opinion.

The existence of a wide range of independent media voices and viewpoints in a market. Pluralism is seen as essential for informed citizenship and is supported by ownership rules and public-service media.

Broadcasting funded and mandated to serve the whole public rather than shareholders, with duties such as impartial news, education and cultural programming. It aims to provide universal access regardless of ability to pay.

An official body that oversees media and communications against legal or code-based standards, such as broadcasting or data-protection authorities. Regulators can investigate complaints and impose sanctions.

The process by which editors and platforms decide which stories, sources and voices reach the public. Gatekeeping shapes what counts as news and what is left out.

Criteria journalists use to judge whether an event is newsworthy, such as recency, proximity, prominence, conflict, novelty and human interest. News values explain why some events dominate coverage and others are ignored.

The idea that media coverage influences which issues the public regards as important, even if it does not dictate what people think about them. Repeated prominence raises an issue's perceived significance.

Selecting certain aspects of an issue and making them salient so that a particular interpretation is encouraged. Word choice, images and emphasis in a report all contribute to its frame.

Presenting issues fairly, without favouring a side and with a range of relevant views. In news it requires accuracy, separating fact from comment and giving context rather than false balance.

Misinformation is false content shared without intent to deceive; disinformation is false content created or spread deliberately to mislead. Both differ from opinion and from honest error.

Checking whether a claim, image or source is accurate before believing or sharing it. Techniques include reverse image search, checking original sources, cross-referencing reports and inspecting metadata.

Judging the credibility of where information comes from by examining authorship, expertise, purpose, date and corroboration. Lateral reading, comparing across independent sources, is a core skill.

A set of rules a computer follows to sort, rank or recommend content. Platform algorithms shape what users see by predicting engagement, and their criteria are often opaque to users.

A state in which personalisation shows users mainly content matching their existing interests and views. It can narrow exposure to differing perspectives and make shared public information harder to sustain.

A setting where users encounter mostly opinions like their own, which are then repeated and amplified. Claims can seem widely accepted simply because they circulate unchallenged within the group.

Information that can identify or be linked to a person, such as names, locations, browsing histories or device identifiers. Its collection and use are governed by data-protection law.

Advertising delivered to people selected using data about their behaviour, demographics or interests. Targeting aims to increase relevance and response but raises questions about profiling and privacy.

Methods used in advertising and propaganda to influence attitudes, such as appeals to emotion, authority, scarcity, social proof or fear. Recognising them helps audiences evaluate claims critically.

Paid promotional content designed to resemble the editorial style of the platform carrying it. It blurs the line between advertising and independent content unless clearly labelled.

Featuring a branded product within entertainment content in exchange for payment or other benefit. It works through subtle association rather than a direct sales pitch.

Copyright gives creators exclusive rights over their work; exceptions such as fair use or fair dealing permit limited reuse for purposes like criticism, review, news or education. Both matter for media production.

Publishing a false statement that damages a person's reputation. Defences may include truth, honest opinion or public interest, and the rules differ between civil and criminal law.

Professional standards governing accuracy, privacy, fairness, correction of errors and avoidance of harm in journalism. Codes of conduct guide decisions where law alone does not settle the issue.

Freely given, informed agreement to something such as being filmed, having data collected or receiving marketing. Valid consent requires understanding, genuine choice and the ability to withdraw.

Intense public concern about a group or behaviour presented as a threat to social values, often amplified by media coverage. The reaction can exceed the scale of the original problem.

The specific group a media product is designed to reach, defined by factors such as age, interests, location or spending power. Producers shape content, style and scheduling around it.