exhibits, games, rides, and shows; 2.
feasting and merrymaking just before Lent. The idea of carnival has been used to explain the appeal of pop cul-ture spectacles, which allow people to temporarily ignore the restrictions by which they normally abide.
carrier company that delivers tele-communications messages
cartel large group of businesses that agree to operate as a monopoly, especially to regulate prices and production
cartoon drawing that caricatures an event or personage. There are three main types of cartoons: editorial cartoons, which caricature current events in magazines and newspapers;
gag cartoons, which usually carica-ture groups rather than individuals, in magazines and on greeting cards;
and illustrative cartoons, which are used to illuminate aspects of a new product or educational topic in a humorous way. The term is also used to refer to strips of drawings (comic strips) and to animated humorous
Caricature of Charles Dickens (1868) by André Gill
Looney Tunes characters Sylvester and Tweety, introduced in the 1940s.
CASCAdING STYLe SHeeT films intended primarily for children
(also called toons).
cascading style sheet technique for storing font, spacing, and color in-formation in a style sheet that can be applied to any text on a web page case study analysis based on exhaus-tive compilation of data regarding an individual or group
case-study method method of media research that makes use of a group of case studies from which to draw general conclusions and principles cassette sealed plastic device con-taining audiotape or videotape cassette recorder device for recording and playing audiotape or videotape cast actors and other performers who play the parts in a play, dance, movie, etc.
Castells, manuel (1942–) Marxist theorist known for his critical studies of media. His key works include The Urban Question: A Marxist Approach (1977) and City, Class and Power (1978).
casting agency agency that audi-tions and hires actors for a particular production
Casting society of america [abbre-viated as Csa] American association of film, television, and theater casting directors, founded in 1982
castoff estimate of how much space a piece of text will occupy when it is printed
casualization the trend in the media industry of full-time jobs becoming increasingly reorganized into part-time or project-based employment catachresis vague, improper or ambiguous use of language for ef-fect: for example, the misuse of the suffix -ish to mean “bad qualities” as clownish, childish, etc.
catalog album in record retailing, any album that is more than three years old
catalyst effect the support the media can garner for an issue simply by showcasing it, leading to an increased interest in the issue, to financial commitment to it on the part of audi-ences, etc.
catchline word or phrase at the top of a script that identifies an item on a program
catchword first word or phrase on a page of printed text, designed to draw attention to it
catharsis the “purification” or
“emotional release” that the theatri-cal representation of tragic events has on an audience (as coined by aris
-totle). Through the tragic drama, the audience’s pent-up emotions are sublimated and thus cleansed. This term is now used in media studies to
CeNSorSHIP refer to the purported purging effect
of some media representations.
catharsis hypothesis claim that the representation of sexuality and violence in media has a preventive effect. The claim posits that engaging in fantasy sex or violence releases potentially negative impulses that otherwise might be acted out in real life.
cathode-ray tube outmoded vacuum tube used on older television sets for creating images and text on a screen CaTV [see community antenna television]
CBC [see Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]
CBs [see Columbia Broadcasting system]
CD [see compact disc]
CD-rom [see compact disc read-only memory]
CD-rw [see compact disc rewritable]
cease-and-desist order directive issued by a regulatory agency, such as the federal Trade Commission, re-quiring an advertiser to stop running a deceptive or unfair advertisement, campaign, or claim
celebrity person who is widely known primarily because of media
exposure. A celebrity is usually an actor, a television personality, a pop musician, etc.
cellular phone [also called cell phone] wireless telephone that transmits and receives messages via radio signals. It enables people to communicate over a wide area by using a network of radio antennas and transmitters arranged in small geographical areas called cells. The first commercial cellular system went into operation in 1983 in the United States. Cellular service is now avail-able throughout most of the world.
cellular radio radio that receives fre-quencies that operate in cells accord-ing to position. This reception allows car radios to be swapped to the right frequency as the car travels from cell area to cell area.
celluloid 1. photographic film used in making movies; 2. by extension, the cinema as an art form
censorship the control of what people may say, hear, write, or read.
In most cases, this kind of control comes from a government agency or from various types of private groups. Censorship can be directed at books, newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, radio and television programs, and speeches. It also may influence music, painting, sculpture, and other arts. In the United States, the Bill of rights and the Supreme Court serve as checks on unlimited censorship.
CeNSorwAre censorware term used to describe
web content-filtering software central processing unit [abbrevi-ated as CPu] microprocessor chip that translates commands and runs programs. The CPU coordinates computer functions, retrieves tions from memory, executes instruc-tions, and stores results in memory locations.
centralized organizational struc-ture a method of organizing inter-national advertisingcamPaigns
whereby decision making occurs through a company’s central office Certeau, michel de (1925–1986) french scholar who wrote influential books critiquing pop culture and mass media, including L’invention du quotidien (1980; published in english as The Practice of Everyday Life, 1984) and Heterologies: Discourse on the Other (1986).
chain break pause for station iden-tification and commercials during a network telecast
channel 1. physical system used in