in its broadest sense, everything that has ever been

writ-ten, including comic books and pamphlets, as well as the novels of fyodor dostoyevsky and the plays of william Shakespeare; 2. in a narrow-er sense, writing considnarrow-ered to have

worth and aesthetic qualities. Litera-ture has two main forms: fiction and nonfiction. The former is imaginary writing, even though authors may include facts about real persons or events; the latter is factual writing about real-life situations, including such genres as history, biography, autobiography, and the diary.

litotes rhetorical technique of under-statement, especially by employing a negation of the contrary: for example, I received not a few e-mails on that issue; This is no insignificant problem Little Three studios [in contrast to the Big five] Columbia, United Artists, and Universal motion pic-ture production studios, which had smaller production operations than the Big five

live broadcasting of an event as it unfolds

live shot filmed event that is broadcast live without a presenter at the scene live voiceover commentary for a pre-recorded video, often used in news reporting

LiveJournal web site that allows us-ers to create and modify their social network sites and web pages lobbying action taken by a group of supporters and representatives of a particular cause or organization to gain the support of a political party, a media organization, or an individual

LoCAL ACCeSS ProGrAMMING local access programming

televi-sion programming selected and/or produced within communities and aired on channels provided to the community by the cable television operator

local area network [abbreviated as Lan] network connecting two or more computers, usually within the same building. Local area networks now exist for the home, monitoring control of heat, water, and vari-ous appliances, as well as security systems.

local media media outlets and orga-nizations serving a small area of a country (for example, neighborhood newspapers, local radio stations) localization method of making na-tional or internana-tional media products more suitable or appropriate for a smaller local media market localized advertising strategy ad campaign aimed specifically at a particular region (country, state, province, or city)

location filming filming that takes place in specific real-life locations, away from the studio or set

log file record of how many users have visited a web site and how they navigated through it

logging (on and off) to register or terminate an action or activity with a computer as an authorized operator

logo [abbreviation of logotype]

distinctive design or trademark used by an organization or a com-pany for itself or for its products so that they can be easily recognized.

Logos are the pictorial counterparts of brand names. well-known logos in the United States include ralph Lauren’s polo horseman, Lacoste’s alligator, the “good hands” of the Allstate Insurance Company, the

“rock” of the Prudential Insurance Company, the Mcdonald’s “golden arches,” the Macintosh “apple,” and the “stagecoach” of the wells fargo Company. Logos are often designed to evoke historical or cultural themes or symbolism. for instance, the logo of the apple suggests the biblical story of Adam and eve, even though the original fruit was named simply a “forbidden fruit”—

it was depicted as an apple by the early religious painters. Its bibli-cal symbolism is encoded into the Macintosh logo.

logocentrism belief that language shapes worldview

McDonald’s Golden Arches logo

LUMIère BroTHerS logograph symbol for a word

with-out any cues as to its pronunciation:

1 = one in english, uno in Italian; &

= and in english, e in Italian.

lógos [in contrast to mythos] 1. in philosophy, reasoning about reality or the power of reasoning itself; 2. in Christianity, the word of God, made incarnate in Jesus Christ

longitudinal studies in marketing research, studies that are conducted over long periods of time

long-playing record record format introduced by Columbia records in 1948 that could reproduce over 20 minutes of high-fidelity sound on each of two sides of the record look and feel the appeal of a web site’s design, layout, and user-friendliness lookism the claim that good-looking people achieve greater success in life because others are influenced posi-tively by their looks

Lotman, Jurij m. (1922–1993) estonian semiotician well-known for his study of the relation between bi-ology and culture. His major contri-bution to culture study is the idea that culture is a system of signs, called the semiosphere, that provides the re-sources for cognitive survival, in the same way that the biosphere provides the resources for physical survival.

His most important work in english is Universe of the Mind: A Semiotic Theory of Culture (1990).

loudspeaker device for making sounds louder, especially in a radio, record player, or public-address system

low culture [see high culture vs.

low culture]

low-budget films films that are produced very cheaply, with minor actors and simple production tech-niques, usually dealing with horror, crime, or prurient themes

low-involvement hierarchy the idea that indifferent customers respond to an ad’s appeal only through repeated exposure

Lull, James (1950–) American communications scholar whose work on audiences is widely quoted (his work is found mainly in journals and periodicals). His method of audience analysis stresses ethnographic analy-sis, rather than statistical analysis of audience behaviors and reactions to media stimuli.

Lumière brothers two french broth-ers, Auguste (1862–1954) and Louis Jean (1864–1948), who are identified as having invented the technology behind motion pictures. The brothers held a public screening of projected motion pictures on december 28, 1895, in a Paris café. Thomas edison, adapting a projector developed previ-ously, presented the first public exhi-bition of projected motion pictures in the United States on April 23, 1896, in a New York City music hall.

LUrKING lurking act of reading newsgroup

postings or chatroom conversations without participating

Lyotard, Jean-françois (1924–1998) well-known and often-cited theorist of postmodernism. His most important work is La condition postmoderne:

Rapport sur le savoir (1979; The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, 1984).

lyric 1. type of song-like poetry that