1. Barthes:
   “a founding father of Media Studies”
   Created the 5 narrative codes
2. Pierce:
   Was big in semiotics
   Categorized signs into 3 distinct categories – iconic, indexical and symbolic
3. Saussure:
   Creator of symbolic interactionism
   
4. Semiotics:
   The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation
5. Sign: Anything that can convey meaning
6. Signifier:
   The thing, item, or code that we ‘read’ – so, a drawing, a word, a photo
7. Signified: The idea or meaning being expressed by a signifier
8. Icon:
   A medium for an outlying entity
9. Index:
   An indicator or measure of something
10. Symbol:
    A mark, sign or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship
11. Code: Systems of signs, which create meaning
12. Dominant Signifier: The thing we read first on a drawing, word, photo etc
13. Anchorage: Fixes meaning between pictures and text
14. Ideologies:
    Codes that reinforce or are congruent with structures of power. Ideology works largely by creating forms of “common sense,” of the taken-for-granted in everyday life
15. Paradigm: A class of objects or concepts which are all members of a defining category but markedly different in themselves
16. Syntagm: A chain of signs, that is, an element which follows another in a particular sequence
17. Signifcation:
    The representation or conveying of meaning
18. Denotation:
    The most basic or literal meaning of a sign
19. Connotation:
    The secondary, cultural meanings of signs; or “signifying signs,” signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning
20. Myth:
    A combination of paradigms and syntagms that make up an oft-told story with elaborate cultural associations
21. Radical Text: Text that challenges the dominant ideology
22. Reactionary Text: Text that supports the dominant ideology

WHAT IS MEDIA? – The tools used to store and deliver information or data.

WHAT IS MEDIA STUDIES? – A discipline that deals with the content, history and effect of various media; especially mass media.

WHATS THE POINT OF MEDIA STUDIES? – To help others understand the particular forms and techniques used in mass media today.

My question is “HOW DOES ONE DEFINE WHAT IS AND WHAT ISN’T MEDIA/NEWS”