Investigative journalism involves researching and reporting a story that someone is trying to hide from the public. Writers often investigate and report information to create change in the world. Investigative reporters are behind many of the changes that we see today in our society due to their reporting the "truth".
This afternoon, please present the journalist(s) you chose and researched last class to our class today. As you watch the presentations, jot down brief notes about the work these journalists are known for. In particular keep track of the topics these journalists wrote about. Do you notice any patterns? What kinds of topics do investigative journalists cover? Why, in your opinion, might it be important for a society to have investigative journalists?
Well, there certainly are a lot of words out there. The discipline of Media Studies--just like all academic subjects--has its own important vocabulary. Getting to know some of these words will certainly help you understand some of the key concepts and ideas in this course. Take a gander...
Semiotics: the study of signs and symbols.
Semiology: the science of symbols, language, linguistics.
Denotation: the dictionary definition of a word (or standard, agreed upon definition of a word).
Connotation: the attached meaning or secondary meaning of a word--not part of the original dictionary definition.
Sign: the combination of a concept, sound, or visual image in a physical form.
Signifier: the physical form of the sign, as perceived or understood by our senses (touch, taste, smell, sound, or sight).
Signified: the mental concept to which the sign refers.
Symbol: a noun that represents an idea or concept.
Code: a system of signs based on culturally agreed upon rules.
Paradigm: a network of signs that are an assembled group of ideas, including attitudes, beliefs, and experiences.
Text: a signifying structure composed of signs and codes.
Open texts: a text that can have many different meanings based on time, culture, environment, gender, politics, and experiences of the reader/viewer.
Closed texts: texts that encourage a single or agreed upon definition, permitting little space for different "readings" or interpretations.
Encode: Giving an idea or concept a specific form (text). The "author" is the "sender"--the person responsible for encoding the text.
Decode: The process an audience or viewer/reader (the receiver) uses to unlock or understand the text.
Context: the social, historical, or political conditions which provide a structure within which certain actions, events, or processes have meaning.
Reading: the process of interaction when a text is analyzed or interpreted.
Intertextuality: the reading of a text in light of or with an understanding of other similar texts.
Metaphor: a fundamental mode of communicating in which the relationship between two things is suggested (also simile, analogy)
Metonomy: another fundamental mode of communicating referring to the associated relationship between two things, implying codes that allow a reader to decode the suggested meaning. Metonomy uses parts of elements of something to stand in for the whole.
Narratology: The study of narrative structures.
Narrative: the process of organizing information into recognizable patterns, such as cause-effect of events, to suggest a "story".
Mediation: the act of channeling or delivering social knowledge or cultural values through an institution to reach an audience. In mass media, the audience is the masses. Us. The 99%.
Genre: categories of media products. Books, music, videos, films, television, computer games or apps, the internet, live performance, etc.
Discourse: structured representation of events or the interpretation/analysis of social and cultural power structures. How we interpret the world, makes the world.
Hegemony: an identifiable or dominant social/cultural group.
Audience: the targeted group of a text.
Representation: how a text produces verisimilitude or "truth" of reality.
Verisimilitude: Semblance or appearance of truth or reality, usually as details or description in a text.
Stereotyping: representation used to categorize a group of people (usually in a negative light).
Marginalization: to regulate or confine a group of people to the lower or outer edge of the masses.
News: new information on a subject of interest to the targeted audience.
Synergy: how one industry expands into another to monopolize or make profit.
Mega-Conglomeration: the elite companies that control products for mass consumption.
Celebrity: a famous or celebrated person, often chosen by the masses (or corporations) to represent an aspect of society.
Our first major unit in this course will cover News Media. Before we return to the lab, please watch the following video and respond in your journals to the ideas presented here.
American News Media: Biased & Oversimplistic
LAB: please select a news article from the news bar (in the link section to the right side of your screen) and read it. In the comment section below, please post an answer to these questions:
A. What was the title and author of the article you read?
B. Summarize the main point of the article. What information did the journalist provide to us?
C. What political, religious, social, or marketing angle made this article "newsworthy"? Perhaps ask: who will benefit from you knowing this information? Is there a "slant" to the reporting? Who is the audience NOT intended for? How might this article appeal to advertisers? What are you being "sold"? Etc.
HOMEWORK: Please continue reading
Chew on This. Aim to complete the book by the end of next week. Please read the article "Fighting a Social Media Addiction" and your homework is to avoid mass media this weekend. Your goal is to abstain from the media for 8 hours in a row or sustained block. See the article for more details. Be prepared to discuss/write about your experience of avoiding the media for even 8 short hours. We'll chat and reflect about it next class.
