4. D
POSITIONING
media texts attempt to
place the audience in a
position whereby they
hold a point of view, or
feel a particular emotion
(in other words, we’re
talking about
manipulation)
6. g
RESISTANT/
ABERRANTAn aberrant reading
takes place when the
audience is resistant to
the dominant values
of society and instead
negotiates* or resists
the intended meaning
*see reception theory
7. QNARRATIVEThe media trains us to see the
world in terms of narrative:
beginning (equilibrium), middle
(disruption and conflict), & end
(new equilibrium). All media
texts have a narrative structure
8. O
GENRE
a category of texts with
common conventions of
style, narrative, and
structure
11. MISE-EN-SCÈNE
whatever appears
within the frame –
setting, lighting,
characters, props
“The director uses the mise-
en-scène to create a sense of
loneliness by framing the
character against an
enormous, empty landscape.”
12. C
REGULATION
Laws, rules, guidelines which define and
restrict the parameters within which the
media work.
Self-regulation – within the industry (e.g.
press complaints commission)
Government regulation: often operated by
QANGOs! (Quasi-Autonomous Non-
Governmental Organisations - like
OFCOM)
14. NEWSVALUES
criteria applied to
determine what is
newsworthy.
“News values determine the
prominence given to news
stories, their order, and
whether they are included or
excluded from the news
agenda.”
18. HYPODERMIC
the media is powerful
and influential, able to
inject ideas &
behaviours directly
into the audience —
which must be
protected from its
power.
20. RECEPTION
Theory of audience that
emphasises the range
of ways in which
audiences receive and
respond to media texts
– including resistant or
negotiated readings