NCEA Level 3 Media Studies key terms

Any finished media product, such as a film, advertisement, news article, or social media post, that can be analysed for its meanings, codes, and intended audience.

A system of signs or conventions shared by a culture that allows meaning to be created and read, such as lighting, costume, camera angle, or the layout of a magazine cover.

A widely accepted, expected way of doing something within a media form or genre, such as a jump scare in horror or a headline plus byline in news.

The smallest unit of meaning in a media text, made up of a form (the sound, image, or word) and a concept it stands for.

The physical or perceptible part of a sign: the actual image, sound, word, or gesture that a reader sees or hears.

The mental concept or meaning that a reader attaches to a signifier; the idea rather than the physical form.

The literal, obvious, dictionary-level meaning of a sign, such as a picture of an apple simply showing an apple.

The additional cultural or emotional meanings a sign carries beyond its literal meaning, such as an apple suggesting health, temptation, or a technology brand.

A category of media text sharing recognisable conventions, such as horror, documentary, or current-affairs journalism, which shapes audience expectations.

The mixing of two or more genres or forms within one text, producing something new, such as a comedy-documentary or a news-entertainment programme.

A text that imitates the style of another text, genre, or period in an affectionate or playful way rather than to mock it.

An imitation of a text or style that deliberately exaggerates its features for comic or critical effect.

The way one media text refers to, borrows from, or echoes another, so that meaning depends partly on the audience recognising the connection.

How a media text constructs and presents people, groups, places, or ideas, including which details are selected, emphasised, or left out.

A simplified, generalised, and often repeated image of a group that reduces its members to a few assumed characteristics.

The set of beliefs, values, and assumptions about how the world works that a media text expresses or takes for granted.

The process by which dominant groups' values come to be accepted as normal or common sense across society, often through media rather than force.

The people who receive and interpret a media text, ranging from a mass audience to a small niche group.

The specific group a media producer intentionally designs a text for, defined by factors such as age, gender, income, interests, or location.

A small, specialised group with particular interests that a media text or outlet deliberately serves rather than trying to reach everyone.

How actual audiences interpret and respond to a text, which may differ from what the producer intended.

An interpretation in which the audience accepts the preferred meaning a text is built to encourage.

An interpretation in which the audience partly accepts and partly questions the preferred meaning, adapting it to their own experience.

An interpretation in which the audience rejects the preferred meaning and reads the text against its intended message.

A theory holding that audiences actively choose media to meet needs such as information, entertainment, personal identity, social interaction, or escape.

Who controls a media organisation, which shapes what content is produced, whose interests it serves, and how independent it can be.

The trend of fewer owners controlling increasing shares of media outlets, reducing the diversity of voices in a market.

Broadcasting funded to serve the public interest, with duties such as accuracy, balance, and universal access rather than profit alone.

The rules, laws, and codes that govern what media organisations may publish or broadcast and how they must behave.

When an industry sets and enforces its own standards, such as a press council or broadcasting code, instead of relying on government control.

The removal or relaxation of government rules controlling media ownership or content, often increasing competition and concentration.

Producing and distributing content for a narrowly defined audience segment rather than a broad mass audience.

The merging of previously separate media forms, technologies, and industries, such as news, video, and social platforms operating through one device.

A media environment in which audiences do not just consume but also create, remix, share, and comment on content.

A media user who both produces and consumes content, blurring the line between professional maker and audience member.

Material such as posts, videos, reviews, or images created by ordinary users rather than professional media producers.

The process by which editors, platforms, or algorithms decide which information reaches an audience and which is filtered out.

The idea that media influence what issues audiences think are important by choosing which topics to feature and how prominently.

Selecting and emphasising certain aspects of an issue so that audiences interpret it in a particular way.