General Media Vocabulary
Breaking news – Information about events currently occurring or developing
Broadsheet – A newspaper printed on larger paper and is viewed as more serious and trustworthy than tabloids
Biased – Unfairly favouring or opposing something or someone
Censorship – The suppression of any books/films/news etc that are deemed threatening, obscene, or politically unacceptable
Credibility – How reliable, trustworthy, or believable something is
Free press – Media outlets are allowed to report on stories with little or no interference from governments.
Editorial – An article written by the editor that gives a view on a topical issue
Fake news/Disinformation – Untrue information/news intended to mislead
Frontpage news – The most important story that appears on the front page
Headline – The title at the top of a news article
Journalism – The act of investigating news
Journalists – People that investigate or report on the news for media outlets
Mainstream media/Mass media – Media that can reach large numbers of people in a short time. Designed for mass consumption. For example, the BBC, CNN, the New York Times etc.
Obituaries – The section of the newspaper that reports on deaths/ A short written passage about someone who has died
Paparazzi – Freelance photographers who follow celebrities in order to take photos
Press conference – An interview involving a person of interest who answers questions or provides information to the press
Print media – Media that is printed on paper. For example, newspapers and magazines
Propaganda – Biased or misleading information used to promote a particular cause
Tabloid – A smaller sized newspaper that is typically filled with sensational popular stories. Often regarded as unserious and sensationalist.
Internet/Online Media Vocabulary
To block – To prevent someone from using or seeing a particular account or service online
Blog – A regularly updated page or website that is usually managed by one person or a small group
Alternative media – Media content that is generally independent and non-mainstream
To browse – To view different webpages on the internet
Clickbait – Internet content where the main intention is to draw attention and persuade users to click on a link to a particular webpage
Crowdfunding – Funding projects by using lots of small donations from internet users
Ecommerce – Businesses and transactions operating on the internet
To follow – To subscribe to the page of a person or organisation on a social media platform
Hacker – A person who gains unauthorised access to information/accounts online
Influencer – A person who influences consumers online by promoting or discussing products/services
Internet/Online safety –The process of staying safe from fraud, exploitation, or other malicious acts online
Livestream – To broadcast content live on the internet
Phishing – Sending fraudulent emails to entice people into providing personal information or money
Premium content – Internet content that must be subscribed to and paid for
Trending – Something that has become extremely popular online
Troll – A person who deliberately offends or upsets other people online
Sensationalism – Exaggerated news that is designed to get people’s attention by shocking them
Tweet(v) – To make a post on the social media site Twitter
Viral – A story or post that has become extremely popular online
Media, Phrasal Verbs, Idioms and Collocations
Behind closed doors – In private
Blow over – Something that will gradually disappear
Cover up – To hide illegal or illicit activity from the public
Hit the headlines – To become news or gather a lot of publicity for something
Hot of the press – Very recent news
Keep up with – To stay informed about certain events/news
Leaked to the press – The unauthorised release of information to the media
Pull the wool over someone’s eyes – To deceive someone,usually by giving false information
Take by storm – To become popular or successful extremely quickly
Tone down – To make something less intense, harsh, or extreme
Turn a blind eye – To willingly pretend not to notice something, usually an illicit activity or rule-breaking
Whistle-blower – A person who leaks information to the press
General Social Media Vocabulary
Blog – A regularly updated page or website that is usually managed by one person or a small group
Clickbait – Internet content where the main intention is to draw attention and persuade users to click on a link to a particular webpage
Crowdfunding – Funding projects by using lots of small donations from internet users
Cyberbullying – Using the internet to send threatening or intimidating messages
Data Privacy – How private your user data is kept
Ecommerce – Businesses and transactions operating on the internet
Hacker – A person who gains unauthorised access to information/accounts online
Influencer – A person who influences consumers online by promoting or discussing products/services
Meme – An illustration/photo or text that is intended to spread jokes/amusing ideas
Phishing – Sending fraudulent emails to entice people into providing personal information or money
Premium Content – Internet content that must be subscribed to and paid for
Sensationalism – Exaggerated news that is designed to get people’s attention by shocking them
Streaming – The live continuous transmission of video/audio content
To block – To prevent someone from using or seeing a particular account or service online
To browse – To view different web pages on the internet
To follow – To subscribe to the page of a person or organisation on a social media platform
To scroll – To move up and down on a screen
To swipe – To move from left to right on a screen
Trending – Something that has become extremely popular online
Troll – A person who deliberately offends or upsets other people online
Tweet(v) – To make a post on the social media site Twitter / (n) A Twitter post
Viral – A story or post that has become extremely popular online
Social Media Idioms, Phrasal Verbs, and Collocations
Add a friend – To give access to your profile to a person a Facebook and gain access to their profile
Alternative media – Media content that is generally independent and non-mainstream
Come across – To find something by accident
Get hooked on – To become addicted to something
Internet/Online safety – The process of staying safe from fraud, exploitation, or other malicious acts online
Jump on the bandwagon – To like something because it is popular with other people
Killing time – To engage in an activity aimed at wasting or passing time
Log on/Log in – To go through the process of entering a computer system/program/website
See eye to eye – To agree or have similar attitudes or views
Send an attachment – To send a file/document/photo with an email
Spread the word – To communicate information/messages to lots of people
Take by storm – To become highly successful very quickly
Take off – To become successful
To crash – To suddenly stop working
Unfriend – To remove the access someone has to your Facebook and delete your access to their profile
Update your status – Post new information about your current state/situation on a social media site
Virtual friends – Friends that have only met online and not in-person
Vocabulary
Viral: if a post/ video is viral or “has gone viral,” that means it is spreading very rapidly across the internet,
Troll: used as a verb and a noun. A troll is a person who purposely creates offensive or provocative posts or comments to arouse anger in other social media users.
Hater: a person who posts negative or critical comments about others
Vlogger: a person who regularly creates short videos to be posted online
Meme: a humorous image or text that is easily sent to others over the internet
Anonymity: The state of being anonymous, of people not knowing your identity
DM: direct message
Emoji: a small digital image used in social media/ emails/ text to display an emotion, object or idea
Badger: to bother someone repeatedly
Derogatory: offensive, hurtful, disrespectful
Censor: to keep certain images. Texts, etc from being displayed or published because it is offensive or immoral
Follow: to subscribe to the page of a person or business on social media
Harass: to create a hostile situation through written or verbal communication
Catfishing: the act of creating a false internet profile in order to deceive or scam someone
Grooming: preparing someone (often a minor) over the internet in order to eventually commit a sexual offense
Influencer: a person who promotes a product online to his/her followers so that they may purchase it
Photoshop: software that allows users to digitally alter their images
Filters: preset photo enhancements that users can select to apply to their images or videos
Block: stopping or banning someone from interacting with you on social media or viewing your posts/ profile
Scam: a dishonest attempt to trick or cheat you