Media studies is based on seven key concepts: media, ideology, genre, representation, audience, institution, and narrative. These concepts are the building blocks of media and can be remembered by the acronym "MIGRAIN". Media forms and language refers to the different types of communication platforms like film, radio, magazines, and newspapers. Each platform has its own style that must be analyzed. Ideology is a set of beliefs that shape a society's culture through the information media provides. Genre describes common features and styles that audiences recognize and expect in a type of media text. Representation is how media portrays groups from a particular perspective. Audience and institutions are important factors, with institutions owning media companies and audiences consuming media texts.

1. MEDIA STUDIES
Key Concepts

2. KEY CONCEPTS
Media studies is based on seven basic concepts. As I believe these concepts can be taken as the building
blocks of media. They are:
 Media
 Ideology
 Genre
 Representative
 Audience
 Institution
 Narrative
The most widely used acronym for which is ‘MIGRAIN’.

3. MEDIA FORMS & LANGUAGE
Media forms and language basically refers to the form of communication humans
express themselves in. It also refers to the exact kind of display that is to be chosen to
communicate. There are many different types of platforms that can be used, for
example, film, radio, music, magazines, newspaper (newspaper was the first ever
media text) etc.. Each type has its own style which has to be carefully analysed ad
applied.

4. IDEOLOGY
An ideology is a set of opinions or beliefs of an individual or a group. Media has a
crucial role in shaping the cultural sphere of a society. Its role is based on the
information that it provides which stimulates political ideas, social actions, public
policies and priorities. This information produces values in cultural spheres that
drives the world today.

5. GENRE
The word “genre” comes from the French word meaning ‘type’ or ‘class’. A genre can be
recognized by its common set of distinguished features. These features associated with a
genres style and content may be, for example, a particular setting, character type,
technical codes (lighting or music). Audiences recognize these features and therefore
expect certain things. For example, at the end of a romantic comedy film, the audience
expects the two lead characters to fall in love.

6. REPRESENTATION
Representation is the way in which media portrays particular groups, communities,
experiences, ideas or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. For
example, in western movies Indians are mostly shown in ‘sari’s’ , while Muslim men
are always shown with a long beard. Disney corporation represents stories and fairy-
tales for children primarily in terms of White Western middle class-values.

7. AUDIENCE
This is a very important factor throughout media. All media texts are made with an
audience in mind i.e., a group of people who will receive it and make some sort of
sense out of it.

8. INSTITUTION
It is basically a company or organization that is accountable for media texts. Usually
it is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises
such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures etc.. Some of the institutions in
media are Warner brothers and Pixar, both of which works towards making films.

9. NARRATIVE
It is the media term for story-telling. It is the way different elements in a story are
organized to make a meaningful story. These elements can be facts in a documentary
or characters or actions as in a drama. All media texts have a narrative, whether they
are a six hour T.V miniseries or a single-paragraph newspaper story or a glossy
magazine photograph.