Communications: The Media

The transmission of televised images to viewers by means of coaxial cables. Cable systems receive the television signal, which is sent out over cables to individual subscribers, by a common antenna (CATV) or satellite dish.

Global public computer network that provides the communication infrastructure for applications such as e-mail, the World Wide Web, and FTP. The Internet is not one individual network, but an interconnected system of smaller networks using common protocols to pass packets of information from one computer to another.

Transmission or reception of electromagnetic radiation in the radio frequency range. The term is commonly applied also to the equipment used, especially to the radio receiver.

Short for web log, an online, regularly updated journal or newsletter that is readily accessible to the general public by virtue of being posted on a website. Blogs typically report and comment on topics of interest to the author, and are usually written and posted using software specifically designed to facilitate blogging; they include hyperlinks to other website and, often, photos, video clips, and the like.

Social media is a broad term incorporating blogs, wikis, Internet communities and online discussions. Community sites such as Facebook and Myspace are immensely popular with young people and business-oriented alternatives such as LinkedIn and ecademy are widely used in networking.

The basic function of Facebook is to facilitate information sharing between individuals who have indicated that they are mutual friends.

The transmission of sound and vision programmes by radio and television.

Infotainment, formally defined by Merriam-Webster's dictionary as “a television program that presents information (as news) in a manner intended to be entertaining,” is a neologism that refers to the blurring between information and entertainment in news and current affairs programming, whether it be in the selection of news stories (e.g., more emphasis on celebrity gossip, crime stories, and human interest pieces) or in their presentation (flashy graphics, sound effects, and sensationalism).

From Key Concepts in Public Relations
In practical terms this refers to the key audience or audiences an organisation is trying to communicate with as part of the PR campaign.

From Encyclopedia of American Studies
Documentarists, unlike fiction filmmakers, feel obligated to justify their work not simply as entertainment but also often as amelioration. American documentary film has not followed Hollywood in dominating global entertainment. Like its European counterpart, American documentary's origins lay in science, still photography, photojournalism, anthropology, and a desire to render historical reality.

From Key Concepts in Radio StudiesTalk radio is a radio format and an almost exclusively American phenomenon that owes its remarkable success to the specific conditions in the US radio industry. Between 1987 and 2003 the number of talk radio stations in the USA grew from 125 to 1785, often broadcast on AM radio.

From Key Concepts in Radio Studies
The creation of MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3) technology at the turn of the century made it possible for people to download and transfer sound files from the Internet, often for no charge. The initial impact of this new technology was in its direct threat to the music industry.