What is Media?
Anything that shares information, stories, sounds, or images; like TV, movies, music, books, news, games, etc. Newman says media include both cultural content (like shows or songs) and the platforms/companies (like Netflix or Disney) that share them.
What is Mass Media?
An older term (used in the 1940s–1990s) for media that reach large audiences from a few sources — like TV networks, radio, or newspapers. Describes a “one-to-many” flow of information (few producers, many consumers).
What is Media Studies?
The academic field focused on understanding how media work, how they affect society, and how people use and interpret them.
What does Analytical mean in media studies?
To break something into parts and understand how those parts fit together. In media studies, this means looking closely at how media are made, used, and understood — even the small or “unimportant” things.
What does Critical mean in media studies?
Doesn’t mean negative — it means questioning and digging deeper. A critical approach looks at who benefits from media, who has power, and how media relate to issues like race, gender, class, and inequality. Newman uses “_________” to mean political awareness.
What does Cultural refer to in media?
Refers to the shared meanings, values, and practices of a community. In media, it means recognizing media as part of everyday life and as things that shape and express culture. Includes both high culture (like fine art) and popular culture (like movies, music, or memes).
What is Culture in the anthropological sense?
Everything humans create to give meaning to life — language, food, rituals, art.
What is Popular Culture?
Everyday entertainment and activities enjoyed by ordinary people — like TikToks, music, or TV shows. Often contrasted with “elite” or “high” culture, but Newman treats both as worth studying.
What is Cultural Studies?
A movement from Britain (1970s–80s) that studies culture as a site of struggle — between powerful groups that dominate and less powerful groups that resist. Sees media as connected to politics, power, and everyday life.
What is the Circuit of Culture?
A model that shows how media are connected in a circle, not a straight line. Includes: Production (how media are made), Texts (the media content itself), Representation (how people or ideas are shown), Consumption (how audiences use or interpret it), Regulation (rules or limits around media), Social World (the society it exists in). All these parts influence each other and must be studied together.
What is the Communication Model?
A simple, linear idea that a message goes from sender → medium → receiver. Newman says this is too limited — media meanings are not one-way, they are created through interaction between producers, audiences, and culture.
What is Media Culture?
The mix of all media we live with daily — shaping how we think, act, and see the world. _________________ reflects society’s values, power systems, and identities.
Who is a Media Scholar?
A person who studies and teaches about media — focusing on how it works, what it means, and its effects on people and society.
What is Media Literacy?
The ability to understand, question, and evaluate media rather than just consume it passively.
What is Critical Media Studies?
A type of media study that looks at power, inequality, and representation in media. Connects media to broader systems like capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy.
What is Representation in media?
How people, ideas, or groups are shown in media. Links to audience understanding and ideology (belief systems).
What is Ideology?
The shared beliefs and values that shape how society sees things — often reinforced by media. Media can support or challenge dominant ideologies.
Who is considered the Audience?
The people who watch, read, listen to, or use media, what they consume.
What does Industry refer to in media?
The companies, workers, and systems that create, produce, and distribute media.
What is Technology in the context of media?
The tools and systems that allow media to be created and shared (from printing presses to smartphones). Has its own politics, who controls it, who benefits, and how it shapes access.
What is Local media?
Media made for or by smaller communities. Newman links this to ideas like cultural imperialism
What is Global media?
Media that reach across countries and cultures.
What is the Humanities Approach to media?
Studies media as artistic or cultural texts, using interpretation and analysis (like literature studies).
