Media and Information Literacy Glossary

Media and Information Literacy Glossary

A working glossary of key terms in media and information literacy, freedom of expression, platform governance, critical thinking, and related fields. Compiled by ALT-TEXT, maintained here.

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Term	Definition	Themes
Agenda-setting theory	proposes that mass media decide what gets covered in the news and thereby what is discussed in politics and public affairs. For example, countries that are more powerful or topics that are more entertaining, easier to understand or more sensational may receive more media coverage. Where media ownership is unchecked, this may mean that media owners have the power to influence the agenda of public debates. This means other important stories may go unreported to the detriment of the public's understanding of events. The assumption is that the media's attention to a story is more likely to result in the public attributing more importance to that story. This may also happen in politics, for instance in an election cycle the candidates may choose to focus on one issue even though other issues may be just as important.(See also: framing).	Journalism, Media theory, Media viability
Always-on	Can be considered in regards to present-day communications technologies such as smart phones and their instant and constant accessibility.
Attention economy	The idea that human attention is a 'scarce commodity.' The term was coined by Herbert A. Simon, "In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it. Consider in relation to "always-on" definition above.
Bechdel test	a test indicating active presence of women in works of fiction, asking whether a work of fiction: (1) features at least two women, (2) who talk to each other, (3) about something other than a man. Named after American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who first used it in her 1985 comic Dykes. For a list of movies that meet or not these criteria, see https://bechdeltest.com/
Branded content/sponsored content	a marketing technique where content that is connected to a commercial brand is published as editorial. If it is not clearly signposted as advertising, audiences may mistake the content for news.	Journalism, Media viability
Capture (media and regulatory)	a form of corruption that undermines the independence of media outlets and regulatory entities and enables the influence of special interests (political or commercial) over that of the public interest.	Media ethics, Media viability
Censorship and self-censorship	Censorship is of control of expression by different governing bodies. Self-censorship, on the other hand, is the act of censoring one's own expression for different (real or perceived) reasons. Self-censorship in journlaism often occurs in response to threats of violence, lawsuits or harassment.	Freedom of expression
Cognitive bias	a systematic error in thinking, arising from the individual's subjective view of the world. More examples can be found at https://yourbias.is/. Some examples include: Confirmation bias - The tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions. Backfire effect -- Although we tend to believe that people may change their minds when presented with new evidence the opposite can also be true. If someone has a core belief (a conviction) there may be a tendency to 'dig their heels in' and strengthen their belief when challenged. See the backfire effect cartoon in annex. Availability Heuristic -- is a form of bias that utilises a shortcut in thinking by using readily available information to evaluate something in the world. For example, if there are a series of recent shark attacks in the news, we begin to think shark attacks occur more often than they do simply because this information is fresh in our minds and readily available. Consider this bias in relation to news values and agenda-setting theory. Unconscious bias -- Also known as implicit biases, concerns the attitudes and stereotypes that people develop and, without being aware of it, assign them to groups of a different race, gender, sexuality, religion, class or age group.	Critical thinking, Journalism, Media theory
Communications technologies	* One-to-many: Print, radio and television where the communication comes from one source to reach multiple receivers. One-to-one: a communication between two nodes, for example a telephone. Many-to-Many: Internet enables many-to-many communication, for example chat rooms, wikis, peer2peer networks such as file sharing One-way communication: a transmission like radio, television and newspapers where the audience passively receives the communication Two-way communication: a transmission like telephone, CB radio, instant messaging, or in-person conversation in which two-parties transmit information to and from each other.
Confidentiality (journalism)	Protecting the identity of sources is a principle of journalistic ethics. It sustains trust and ensures safety. ARTICLE 19 staff can check our work on whistleblowers and protection of sources.	Journalism, Media ethics
Copyright (intellectual property)	gives the owner of a work the exclusive right to create copies of that work. Fair use (US)/fair dealing (EU) -- these are exceptions to copyright that balance with public interest and allow for certain kinds of use of copyrighted works such as education, criticism, satire/parody, news reporting, scholarship. Ancillary copyright -- in practice ancillary copyright extends publishers rights to news publishers. This means publishers could charge a fee to intermediaries such as Google to publish snippets with links pointing to the content with the idea being that Google benefits from unlicensed use of the news content. Opponents feel it threatens freedom of expression and access to information and innovation. Creative commons --Creative Commons (CC) is an organisation that has released a number of licences that creators can use to grant others copyright permissions to access their work so that it may be "copied, distributed, edited, remixed, and built upon." Note: ARTICLE 19's publications are distributed under a creative commons license.	Copyright, Freedom of expression, Journalism
Critical thinking	an intellectual process of rationally conceptualising, analysing, evaluating/synthesising information without bias. Critical thinking involves effective communication and problem-solving abilities, a willingness to self-correct, as well as a recognition that one must overcome internal biases and self-centeredness, practice empathy and learn to see the world through others eyes.	Critical thinking
De-platforming	The practice of boycotting or refusing to disseminate or broadcast certain people or viewpoints in a forum, in media or on online platforms.
Determinism (technological)	When technologies have specific impacts which directly result of their form --and so is thought to directly determine society.
Echo chamber	an environment or closed system where individuals encounter only opinions and beliefs similar to their own, and does not have to consider alternatives or face a rebuttal.	Platform governance
Ethical journalism (principles)	* Accountability -- Refers to transparent error correction and engaging with audiences' concerns. The practice of accountability may be suggested in a news organisations' code of conduct/ethics, for example, or be the realm of self-regulatory bodies such as press councils. Accuracy -- A core principle of ethical journalism, although errors can happen, journalists should strive for accuracy and truth. ARTICLE 19 staff can compare with the principles on defamation, especially principle 10 on Proof of substantial truth (https://www.article19.org/resources/defining-defamation-principles-on-freedom-of-expression-and-protection-of-reputation/) Fairness -- Fairness involves balancing different perspectives when reporting on events. Humanity --In journalism ethics, humanity focuses on the impact that reporting can have on various individuals and groups and is considerate of others. Independence - A principle of journalism that maintains distance from special interests (organisations, governments and individuals) and not acting on their behalf or being influenced by them. Transparency -- in journalism transparency is related to disclosure of certain relevant information such as conflicts of interest, the methods of newsgathering and sources of funding, for instance. Practicing transparency is an aspect of journalistic accountability and helps in the development of trust.	Freedom of expression, Journalism, Media ethics
Filter bubble	Online information is often personalised and served algorithmically to the user. A filter bubble is a concept that suggests such informational processing can leave the user in a state of ideological, cultural or intellectual isolation by only providing content that the user already agrees with or is likely to find appealing. (See also: Echo chamber)	Media viability, Platform governance
Fourth Estate	The press or news media. In Europe, the other three traditional estates were regarded as the clergy, nobility and commoners. The fourth estate is separate from other branches of government (legislative, executive and judicial) but has influence over it and should, in theory, be a check on power.	Journalism, Media theory
Framing	The production and dissemination of messages and texts highlight, emphasise or obscure some aspects of the message over others.
Gatekeeper	in communication a gatekeeper is the process of information being filtered before being communicated to the public. This includes which information is selected but also how it is presented to the public.
Hegemony	The influence of the powerful over the values, beliefs or world view of society. Associated with Marxist theory and particularly theorist, Antonio Gramsci.	Media theory
Homophily	Is a preference to be around people who are like yourself. For example, people of a similar age, class, gender, race, religion or personal interest.
Identity	Refers to how a person might define themselves in relation to various beliefs or attitudes, their personal appearance, or other attributes such as their gender, ethnicity or religion. Identity may be personal or group oriented.
Logical fallacy	use of faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument.(See also: propaganda techniques).	Critical thinking
Market failure	Is a situation arising from inefficiency in a free market. In the context of news and journalism, there is a current level of market failure due to the advertising market being dominated by Big Tech platforms and publishers can no longer compete for advertising revenues.	Journalism, Media viability, Platform governance
Mass media	Refers to media that reaches a wide audience. Technology that can communicate to many people from one source (see one-to-many) and usually in one direction (one-way communication). Mass media includes television, radio, advertising, movies, the Internet, newspapers, and other printed material.	Media viability
Media	The plural of medium. The media is the communication mechanism that sits in between the sender and receiver of information or content.
Media ownership	legal and commercial control of a communication organisation: Cross-media ownership -- when one organisation or 'mogul' owns media across more than one medium. For example, a newspaper, a radio channel, a TV channel or a movie studio. In some countries such practices are restricted to prevent monopolies. Horizontal media ownership -- when an organisation or mogul owns multiple publications in one media sector, for example television channels. Foreign ownership -- many countries have rules governing the extent to which media can be owned by foreign entities or investors State media -- owned and controlled financially and editorially by the state (authoritarian model) Public service -- state funded but operated for the public. Differing models for funding exist including licence fees, government funding and commercial sources. Public service media should normally give more attention to underrepresented groups and should be distanced from political and commercial interests. owned Community media -- provides a service to a community and is community owned and operated based on civil society principles. Normally serves smaller, local populations	Media viability
Media pluralism	is both a plurality of media sources and support (external pluralism) as well as a plurality of voices, opinions and commentary with the media system (internal pluralism)	Media viability
Net neutrality	The principle that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should treat all web traffic equally and not block, throttle or favour certain websites or services.
Network effects -- economic theory	Describes how an increased number of people using a service or utility may enhance the value of the service. Regarding social media, for example, this can entrench the dominance of the network, meaning it becomes more difficult for smaller players to enter the market as users are already locked into one system and the company has a monopoly over the data required to target users with ads.	Media theory
News deserts	Refers to a community that is no longer serviced by local newspapers.	Journalism
News revenue models	While the press is considered crucial for democracy, it is still an industry dependent on different revenue models as the business of making news costs more than audiences are willing to pay. Advertising -- The most common model for revenue in legacy media and online news. Companies needing to promote goods and services pay for a space in between the media outlet's content to reach their audience. This dynamic is reflected in the expression that "if you're not paying for it, then you're the product" (the publication or outlet is selling the audience as a product to the advertisers). Advertising may also come with certain conflict of interest and powerful advertisers may exert influence over news outlets thus threatening their independence. Philanthropic -- A small but growing form of revenue for media. This is funding that comes from foundations or Subscription -- This model generally works better for publications with specialised content, such as financial and economic news State subsidies -- To maintain a level of pluralism or diversity of content, states sometimes offer news outlets money (direct support) or tax benefits (indirect support) State advertising -- governments sometimes need to promote their actions or promote public awareness, eg. public health warnings. State advertising can be a form of support to media outlets but may also threaten their independence through favouritism. -	Civil society, Journalism, Media ethics, Media viability
News values	are the "newsworthiness" criteria with which a news outlet will highlight certain stories over others or determine whether a story is covered or not.(See also: Agenda-setting theory). Impact -- Events that affect more people. Conflict -- Disagreement results in a dramatic effect. Timeliness -- Recent, ongoing, or potential future events are considered more relevant. Negativity -- bad news like violence, tragedy, disasters generate more interest than positive stories. Unexpected -- Events that are unanticipated or surprising. Prominent -- Important, well-known people, powerful countries or organisations. Close to home -- Events that occur closer to home are considered more relatable for audiences. Human interest -- Personalisation or a link to an individual are often more relatable for audiences. Unambiguous -- stories that are simple to explain and understand.	Journalism, Media theory
Othering and the Other	concerns the way in which the mainstream is normalised and individuals outside that mainstream are subordinated or consigned to outsider status as not belonging or fitting in with socially constructed categories.
Overton window	a model for understanding how ideas change in society over time. Certain ideas can become more, or conversely less, acceptable by mainstream society. The Overton window shifts when they begin to be more observable in the media or in general discussion or otherwise more hidden or marginalised.
Paradox of tolerance	A theory that states that tolerance of intolerance leads to a society's tolerance being crushed by the forces of intolerance. The theory was coined by Austrian \_British philosopher, Karl Popper. See image in annex.	Media theory
Participatory culture	A culture where individuals are not just passive consumers of culture but active producers of it.
Propaganda and advertising techniques	communication techniques used to manipulate thought and emotion of the audience. Ad hominem - attacking someone personally without addressing their argument. Appeal to authority -- regarding the authority of the source of information (eg. teacher, scientist, political leader) as evidence for the veracity of the information. Appeal to fear or emotions - "argument from passion", manipulating the person's emotions in order to win an argument. Bandwagon effect -- tendency to adopt certain views or behaviours simply because others are doing so. Glittering generalities -- use of vague, positive messages and imagery to convince, without conveying concrete information. Testimonials -- a technique in which a person's written or spoken statement is used to advertise a product or service. Tu quoque (See also: Whataboutism) -- attacking the opponent's personal behaviour as being inconsistent with their argument, a form of ad hominem attack.	Critical thinking, Media viability
Public interest (journalism)	general welfare and wellbeing of everyone in society. Reporting in public interest is an ethical principle of journalism to cover issues that affect the safety, health and functioning of the whole society and is not to be confused with "what the public is interested in".	Journalism
Public sphere	a domain of social life where public opinion can be formed, where individuals can express different opinions, discuss societal problems and develop solutions. The term was created by German philosopher, Jürgen Habermas.	Civil society, Media theory
Read only and read-write culture	read only culture is one in which media is created by the few and consumed by the many (traditional mass media), while in read-write culture, individuals are encouraged to use and reuse existing media materials to create something new. (See also: Remix)
Regulation vs self-regulation	Regulation normally involves the imposition of rules, legal restrictions, obligations, or standards mandated by a governmental authority. Conversely, self-regulation is a "framework that relies entirely on voluntary compliance. Legislation plays no role in enforcing the relevant standards. It holds members of self-regulatory bodies accountable to the public, promoting knowledge within its membership and developing and respecting ethical standards."
Remix	taking existing works of media and altering or editing them by adding, removing or combining the text, image, video or audio with other media elements in order to produce a new creative work or product. Unlike books, physical photographs or cassette tapes, digital media can be copied endlessly without sacrificing quality. This has facilitated the rise of remix culture which can be seen everywhere on the web. TikTok is a particularly adept app for making remixes and remixes are a powerful way to make media content. See: https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/mashups-micro-djs-how-tiktok-is-revolutionizing-the-remix
Rhetoric	the art of persuasion. Students of rhetoric study the methods of persuasion that writers or speakers use on their audiences.
Satire/parody	satire is the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticise or offer commentary about the world. Parody uses same mechanisms to offer commentary about a work, while also using imitation of that work.
SLAPP suits	a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP suit) is an intimidation lawsuit intended to silence critics in order to discourage them and others from speaking out on an issue of public importance, by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense. See ARTICLE 19's Principles on Freedom of Expression and Protection of Reputation and Media Freedom Rapid Response.	Civil society, Freedom of expression
Social constructionism	A theory that suggests that our understanding of the social world is developed and interpreted in a human web rather than in individuals. Regarding technology, social constructionism argues that technology does not influence society, instead societies shape technology and how it is used in the context of that society. This may be considered in opposition to technological determinism.	Media theory
The Medium is the message	Theorist Marshall McLuhan thought that the medium (TV, radio, books, newspapers, billboards etc) is as important as, or more important than the content that is carried by the medium. That the functions of the medium contain biases that affect the way the medium presents content. For example, people who watched a debate between US presidential candidates, Kennedy and Nixon, in the 60s thought Kennedy had won the debate; however, those who had listened on the radio thought Nixon won the debate. Thus, the visual component of the television affected their perception. McLuhan also extended the theory to say that the content of a medium is another medium; speech is the content of writing, writing is the content of print, and the content of the telegraph is print. The implications for this meant that it was the medium itself, television for instance, that might affect society altering peoples' perceptions.	Media theory
The view from nowhere	a theory from journalism scholar, Jay Rosen, that neutrality can create a negative effect by suggesting that two opposing viewpoints carry equal validity.	Journalism, Media theory
Two-step flow of information	A communication theory that suggests that ideas travel first from mass media, then to influential people (politicians or thought leaders), and from them to the audience and general population. This is contrasted with the hypodermic needle model which suggests mass media is "injected" into passively receiving mass audiences.	Media theory

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