Media is the main means of mass communication that can be used to deliver information, data and news and includes, broadcasting, publishing and the internet.

Why is media important?

Media is important to society as it is one of the fastest and most efficient ways of receiving information of various subjects.

What would you like to learn?

I would like to learn more about journalism and the impacts that media can have on society.

Barthes : Founding farther of media studies

Pierce : Creator of the three signs in media

Saussure : He was interested in the connection between

Semiotics : The studies of signs and symbols

Sign : Anything that can convey meaning

Signifier : A thing or object

Signified : The meaning

Icon : An image that is defined by the way it is used

Indexical sign : a sign that has a link to its object

Symbol : A mark, sign or word

Code : Systems of signs that create meaning

Dominant Signifier : The main sign in a piece of media

Anchorage : Changing the meaning of an image to fit

Ideology : A view shared shared by a wide group of people

Paradigm : A distinct set of concepts or thoughts

Syntagm : Signs occur in sequence to create meaning

Signification : the action of signifying a sign or object

Denotation : The first things visible on a page. Very literal

Connotation : Somethings suggested meaning from cultural association

Myth : A false version of a truth

Radical Text : Challenges the dominant ideology

Reactionary Text : Supports the dominant ideology

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

1. Barthes – (Roland Barthes) is one of the leading theorists of semiotics
2. Pierce – founder of semiotic theories
3. Saussure – the study of signs
4. Semiotics – study signs
5. Sign – a gesture
6. Signifier – a message
7. Signified – meaning/gesture
8. Icon – something represented as a symbol
9. Index – a sign of something
10. Symbol – a sign that associated with something
11. Code – a system of words/symbols
12. Dominant Signifier – a strong message
13. Anchorage –
14. Ideology
15. Paradigm – pattern
16. Syntagm
17. Signifcation – exact meaning
18. Denotation – meaning of something
19. Connotation – a feeling a word gives
20. Myth – a false belief or idea
21. radical text – challenges the dominant ideology
22. reactionary – dominants/supports common sense

My intentions with my front cover magazine for gamers was to give my audience an insight on what upcoming games to look forward to playing in the future. The ideas I came up with was to add some of the most promising games to come out later in the year, by doing this I added in a few images of the games that are most likely to be most popular to play I also added in some already released games such as Fortnite which I believe will still be popular. My target audience ranges from ages three to eighteen and older, this is because it relates to the age policies certain games have for example games such as FIFA twenty is aged at the age of three years old and older, whereas games like Modern Warfare are aged at the ages of eighteen and older. I also added in a top five list on my front cover in this list I covered the top ten most entertaining games to look forward to in the future. The reason why I decided to make a front cover magazine on future games instead of games which are already out is because, I myself play games however I have stopped recently as I have become bored of the games that are out at the moment. I am waiting for new games to be released so I can start playing again this is how I came up with the idea of future games. Some of the games that are featured by having their own images are personal favourites of mine that I am looking forward to play and a few other of the games that are mentioned I researched on google and found some top twenty lists and got some games of those lists to put on my front cover, I chose carefully with these games as I didn’t want all the games on my list to be similar I wanted to keep it unique so it has various choice for my audience. Another idea I came up with was to add in some more text about some fun facts of the games that are featured on the magazine front cover, by doing this it could increase the knowledge of the games to my audience and it will also give them more of a reason to purchase one of these games that have been featured. In conclusion, I believe my intentions on portraying a front cover magazine for games to look forward to in the future was a good idea as it is accessible to all ages so that they can be intrigued and willing to read more. I also believe, I balanced the amount of text I used out with the images I used. By doing this it doesn’t make it to boring for the younger audience but it also includes reasonable facts for the older audience this means that the magazine balances out for my target audience not just heavily influenced on one.

• Icon:
• Looks like a footballer
• Looks like a man with a backpack
• Looks like a neon light
• Looks like a man
• Indexical:
• Clothes
• Red color font
• Symbolic:
• Game headlines
• Nba Logo

1. Barthes = he created the 5 narrative codes and is known as the “Father of Media Studies”
2. Pierce = he was the discoverer of Semiotics and established that signs can be split into 3 categories: Iconic, Indexual and Symbolic.
3. Saussure = he was a was a Swiss linguist and semiotician (person who studies semiotics)
4. Semiotics = This is the scientific study of sign and symbols
5. Sign =A mark, sign or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. For example, a love heart could be a sign of being in love.
6. Signifier = This is the thing, item, or code that we ‘read’ on a source of media, this can include images, drawings, text, image captions.
7. Signified = This is the idea or meaning being expressed by a signifier. For example, with the Mario photo as the cover image on my magazine, it is signified the edition is all about Mario.
8. Icon =  This is an image defined by the way in which it is used; any image deemed “icon” is understood as a medium for an outlying entity. For example, gaming consoles are icons of gaming magazines.
9. Index = It is also called the ‘efficiency indicator’. Index describes the degree to which a target audience matches to the entire population of an analysed platform.
10. Symbol = This is a mark,a meaning or a word.
11. Code = These are loads of signs that create a meaning of something. Media codes include the use of camera, acting, setting, mise en scene, editing, lighting, sound, special effects, typography, colour, visual composition, text and graphics to develop a TV advert.
12. Dominant Signifier = The most important thing we see on a piece of media. It also provides anchorage (signs with a fixed meaning)
13. Anchorage = Anchorage is when a piece of media uses another piece of media to lower the amount off connotations in the first piece of media, therefore allowing the audience to interpret it much more easily. For instance, in a newspaper, pictures are accompanied by a caption that allows us to understand what the picture is showing us
14. Ideology = A view shared shared by a wide group of people
15. Paradigm = a group of signs
16. Syntagm = These are signs but if one sign is removed, nothing will make sense. Thus, for example, the letters in a word have syntagmatic relationship with one another, as do the words in a sentence or the objects in a picture.
17. Signifcation =this is what we think something is
18. Denotation = this is usually the first level of analysis: what the person can visually see on a source of media (ie magazines and TV adverts)
19. Connotation = Connotation is when you expand on your denotation and is a second level of analysis because you identify what the denotation represents.
20. Myth = these are false beliefs and stories which aren’t proved true by science. In media terms, Barthes discovered things in the news (ie articles) that aren’t true but people choose to believe is true is also a myth. In today’s terms, this can be known as “fake news”.
21. A radical text = A text that challenges myths and the dominant ideology
22. A reactionary text = this supports the dominant ideology

An Iconic sign:

1. the human (man)
2. the gun
3. coat

An indexical sign:

1. The word “battle field” links to the game relating to a battle field, linking to the sound of a battle.
2. The gun links to a gun shot.
3. The orange beam of light behind the man, links to the sun, as the color orange replicates a sunset.
4. The word “space” links to non-human planet.

A symbolic Sign:

1. The word “indie” could arguably link to country India.
2. The font color of game is dark (black), which links to coldness and gives off an eerie atmosphere.
3. The letters/words
4. The heading

Iconic Signs:

• Nintendo Logo
• Red font (Nintendo branding)
• Super Mario logo
• Barcode = shows it is a magazine
• Mario image = looks exactly like Mario
• Mario power-ups in the background relate to the Super Mario games.

Indexical Signs:

• Super Mario
• Red font colouring
• Mario coins in the background
• Mario power-ups in the background
• Super Mario colours (rainbow used in the Super Mario logo)
• The font used for the font saying “Super Mario Strikes Again” is similar to the famous Super Mario Logo used in all the games within the Super Mario franchise.
• Price on my magazine cover
• Mario jumping = associated with the game as Mario jumps to collect the coins
• Pop up for Super Smash Brothers in the bottom right hand corner as Mario is a playable character in the Super Smash Brothers Game.

Symbolic Signs:

• Pop up for Super Smash Brothers in the bottom right hand corner as Mario is a playable character in the Super Smash Brothers Game.
• Super Mario colours
• Red font colouring
• Mario coins in the background
• Mario power-ups in the background
• White background (colour of Mario’s gloves)
• The font used for the “June 2019 Edition”