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Semiotic democracy is a concept in media studies^[1] and communication that was first introduced by John Fiske in 1987. It is a theory that allows viewers to assign their personal interpretations to television^[2] shows, giving them a degree of control over the content they consume. This idea has been embraced by the legal community, particularly in discussions around cultural reworkings. However, concerns have been raised over copyright^[3] laws potentially constraining the creation of derivative works. Scholars like Professor Terry Fisher have expanded the discussion of semiotic democracy into the realm of entertainment crisis. The concept is closely related to theories such as détournement, textual poachers, reader-response criticism, and the encoding/decoding model of communication.

Terms definitions

1. ↑ media studies. Media Studies is a multidisciplinary field of study that examines the systems, content, history, and effects of various media. This field includes the analysis of both traditional mass media like television and print, as well as new forms of digital and social media. The pioneers of this field include John Culkin, Marshall McLuhan, and Harold Innis, who laid the foundational theories and principles. Culkin was instrumental in introducing media studies into educational programs, while McLuhan proposed seminal concepts such as "the medium is the message". Innis, on the other hand, connected media technologies with the rise and fall of civilizations. Media studies also encompasses various perspectives, theories, and contributions from different countries and scholars. These include the cultural emphasis in the UK, social media focus in the US, and notable German scholars such as Hans-Theis Lehmann. Globally, many universities offer programs in media studies, reflecting its importance and relevance in understanding contemporary society and culture.

2. ↑ television. Television is a technology that transmits visual and audio images. The term comes from Ancient Greek and Latin, meaning 'far sight.' First used in 1900 by Constantin Perskyi, it was known as 'telephote' and 'televista' in early proposals. Television evolved from the mechanical scanning of images, with the Nipkow disk, patented in 1884, playing a crucial role. Initially, TV signals were transmitted through terrestrial broadcasting, but now include coaxial cable, optical fiber, satellite systems, and the internet. Television sets have internal electronic circuits, including a tuner for receiving signals. Without a tuner, it's a video monitor. Color broadcasting was introduced in the mid-1960s, and now, there are smart TVs with internet connectivity. Today, 79% of households worldwide own a television, with major manufacturers producing smart TVs.

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Glossary

Semiotic democracy (Wikipedia)

Semiotic democracy is a phrase first coined by John Fiske, a media studies professor, in his seminal media studies book Television Culture (1987). Fiske defined the term as the "delegation of the production of meanings and pleasures to [television's] viewers." Fiske discussed how rather than being passive couch potatoes that absorbed information in an unmediated way, viewers actually gave their own meanings to the shows they watched that often differed substantially from the meaning intended by the show's producer.

Subsequently, this term was appropriated by the technical and legal community in the context of any re-working of cultural imagery by someone who is not the original author. Examples include fan fiction and slash fiction.

Legal scholars are concerned that just as technology eases the process of cheaply making and distributing derivative works imbued with new cultural meanings available to wide public, copyright and right-to-publicity law is clamping down on and limiting these works, thus reducing their promulgation, and limiting semiotic democracy.

Prof. Terry Fisher of Harvard Law School has written about semiotic democracy in the context of the crisis facing the entertainment industry and in terms of the ability of people to use the Internet in creative new ways.

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