Critical Media Studies, Week 1

 SUPERSTRUCTURE – according to Marx, the term superstructure denotes all the ideologies conceived in a certain era (politics, religion, laws...) Superstructure is determined by social structures, labor force, raw materials, and generally everything that goes into the production of the necessities of life.

SPECTACLE – a strategy used by media in order to sensationalize certain situations, which as a result brings in more publicity and profit.

SYNERGY – represents cooperative interaction between two or more entities in order to produce a better product. Media use synergy as a strategy to combine and utilize their products in order to extract profit.

OBJECTIVITY – impartial view on things free from emotions or personal prejudice. Lippmann was a key figure in the proliferation of objectivity in journalism following World War I. In my opinion, objectivity is necessary, in journalism as well as in most aspects in life.

BIAS, both INFORMATION and POLITICAL, is any kind of varying from the truth, be it altering particulars for certain political purposes or making a systematic error in information.