Received Pronunciation (RP)
Record player See gramophone.
Redundancy In communication terms, redun-
dancy refers to that which is conventional or
predictable in any message. Its opposite is
entropy, that which is unexpected and surprising,
of low predictability. John Fiske in Introduction
to Communication Studies (Methuen, 1982; see
3rd edition, Routledge, 2010) says ‘the English
language is about 50 redundant. Th is means we
can delete about 50 of any utterance and still
have a usable language capable of transmitting
understandable messages’.
Redundancy is established through frequent
use until it becomes a convention – both techni-
cal, in terms of correctness, and social, in terms
of general acceptability. It is essential if the
meaning of messages is to have wide currency
and be ‘on wave-length’ with the codes and refer-
ence tables of the receiver.
Th e entropic challenges these codes and refer-
ence tables with novelty – new expression, new
thought, overturning predictability and prob-
ability. Th e art of the avant-garde is entropic; at
least in its initial phase, it speaks in a language
the general public fi nd diffi cult to understand,
and it is often provocative. Of course the shock
of the new passes: yesterday’s outrage is today’s
fashion; yesterday’s entropy is today’s redun-
dancy.
A scan of the popular arts reveals their reli-
ance on the conventional forms and practices
that make up redundancy – the predictable
rhymes and metres of pop songs, for example, or
the repetitive refrains of folk songs. Fiske writes,
‘Redundancy is generally a force for the status
quo and against change. Entropy is less comfort-
able, more stimulating, more shocking perhaps,
but harder to communicate effectively.’ See
phatic language; shannon and weaver’s
model of communication, 1949.
Referent Th e actual object, entity in the external
world to which a sign or linguistic expression
refers. The referent of the word ‘table’ is the
object, ‘table’.
Referential code See codes of narrative.
Refl exivity Self-monitoring in terms of cogni-
tive practice; but more significantly for the
analysis of the individual’s self-positioning
within a fast-changing society in which norms,
values and practices are rendered less certain,
less distinct. Reflexivity is central to the
construction of identity. It operates intuitively
and aesthetically as well as cognitively, and
mass communication is seen to be an agency in
the control or liberation of self-interpretation
in relation to the reading of and reaction toproducers and editors about who will appear and
how they will appear’’ See effects of the mass
media. See also topic guides on media issues
& debates; media: power, effects, influ-
ence; media: values & ideology.
▶Richard Kilborn, Staging the Real: Factual TV
Programming in the Age of Big Brother (University of
Manchester Press, 2003); Mark Andrejevic, Reality
TV: Th e Work of Being Watched (Rowan & Littlefi eld,
2004); Annette Hill, Restyling Factual TV: Audiences
and News, Documentary and Reality Genres (Rout-
ledge, 2007).
Received Pronunciation (RP) That mode
of pronunciation in English which is free of
regional accent and aspires to a generally
accepted standard; derives from the speech of
the court and of public schools; traditionally the
‘vocal sign’ of the educated person, adopted as
the norm for BBC broadcasters, and eventually
being termed ‘BBC English’. RP no longer has the
prestigious status or the dominance it once had.
Regional accents have been ‘in’ since the 1960s,
though RP has retained a substantial foothold in
national broadcasting.
Receiver See sender/receiver.
Recency effect See first impressions;
primacy, law of.
Reception studies In recent years, particular
research emphasis has been placed upon
the ways in which audiences receive media
messages; how they react to their reading, listen-
ing and viewing; and what audiences do with
that experience, what meanings they make of
it. Such reception studies have, as far as televi-
sion is concerned, shifted from a prime focus on
audience response to news and current aff airs
to the investigation of audience reception of
popular genres, such as reality tv and soap
operas. Of particular interest is the way online
activity links with TV viewing experience: does
one detract from the other, or does a process of
synergy take place? See audience measure-
ment. See also topic guide under audiences:
consumption & reception of media.
▶Tony Wilson, Watching Television: Hermeneutics,
Reception and Popular Culture (Polity Press, 1995);
Sonia Livingstone, Making Sense of Television: Th e
Psychology of Audience Interpretation (Routledge
paperback, 1998); Pertii Alasuutari, ed., Rethinking
the Media Audience (Sage, 1999); Nick Couldry,
Inside Culture: Reimagining the Method of Cultural
Studies (Sage, 2000); Nick Couldry, Sonia Living-
stone and Tim Markham, Media Consumption and
Public Engagement (Palgrave, 2007).
Reconfiguration; remediation See media-
tion.