Classic FM
varying advantages depending on the particular
conditions under which the communication is
presented, including the audience’s predisposi-
tion and the type of matter being transmitted.
Similar concepts are the law of primacy (see
primacy, law of) and the law of recency.
Clipper chip A microchip, called the spy in
the computer, the ‘sleeping policeman on the
superhighway of information’. It was feared in
the mid-1990s that this would become a compul-
sory element in US-made computers, allowing
government agencies, by means of an electronic
back door, to snoop on data into and out of
computers. Such was the determination of users
of the internet and their campaign against
the clipper chip that the Clinton government
temporarily retreated from its plans.
However, in February 1996 Clinton signed a
Telecommunications Bill requiring that from
1998 all TV sets with a screen size of 13 inches
or more should be fi tted with a ‘V’ (for violence)-
chip. In the same month the European parlia-
ment voted in favour of a similar measure – the
insertion of V-chips into every new TV set sold
in Europe under the Television Without Fron-
tiers directive. See encript; privacy.
Clique A close-knit group of people within a
social system whose communication is largely
with each other. Clique analysis is used to deter-
mine communication groupings within a social
system, and its main tool is sociometrics.
Closed text See open, closed texts.
Closure Occurs in a communication situation
when one participant, usually the receiver of
information, closes down attention, and thus
defl ects the message or the messenger, or termi-
nates an encounter. Th e reasons for closure may
relate to the unacceptability of the message: it
may confl ict with the attitudes, beliefs or values
of the receiver; it may be an ‘uncomfortable
truth’ which causes in the receiver a feeling of
dissonance. Alternatively it may have some-
thing to do with the messenger rather than the
message – personal dislike of the sender on the
part of the receiver, or a simple unwillingness to
receive this kind of message from this messen-
ger; or it may simply refl ect a wish to terminate
the encounter and move on.
The means of closure will involve NVC
(Non-verbal Communication) as well as verbal
strategies. Th e term is also used in relation to
narrative, in the sense of narrative closure.
Th is does not mean bringing the narrative to a
close, but employing narrative devices to close
down alternative readings or interpretations. See
open, closed texts; preferred reading.terms, plays a vital role in the maintenance of
hegemony.
Th e term is also commonly used when what
is meant is social class. Social class member-
ship is based, primarily, upon occupation
rather than ownership or non-ownership of
the means of production. For the advertising
industry and media management, social class is
a signifi cant factor in the profi le of an audience.
Market researchers are primarily interested in
income and spending power. For those media
organizations that are dependent on advertis-
ing revenue, the social class composition of its
audience is of obvious importance. Th e inter-
relationships between the social class structure
and the communication processes of society
are complex, and research in this area is wide-
ranging; of particular concern is whether the
narrowness of social class backgrounds of those
who control and work in the media is refl ected
in its output. See topic guide under media:
values & ideologies.
Classic FM Commercial radio station broadcast-
ing nationwide in the UK since the autumn of
- Its menu of popular classics presented in
a lively and unpatronizing way, together with
a policy of winning audience loyalty through
competitions and sponsored musical events, has
proved a notable success.
‘Clean up TV’ movement Established in
Birmingham in 1963 by Mary Whitehouse and
others; later called itself the National Viewers’
and Listeners’ Association (NVLA). Over the
years the movement has succeeded in gaining
access to practically every forum in which the
issues of broadcasting are discussed; addition-
ally, the NVLA has been active as a ‘morality
watchdog’ in other arts, especially the theatre
and publishing. NVLA thinking is based on
traditional Christian ethics; the belief that the
values of chastity and the family underpin all
that’s best in Western society, and that such
values are constantly under threat and have to be
protected. Of equal concern to the NVLA is the
increase in the display, in fi lm, on TV and in the
theatre, of scenes of violence. See broadcast-
ing standards council; censorship; moral
entrepreneurs.
Climate of compliance See kuuki.
Climax order In the process of persuading others,
the order in which arguments and evidence are
placed is of considerable importance. Research
has been conducted into the climax order and
anti-climax order, that is when the best point of
an argument is reserved till last (climax) or used
at the outset (anti-climax). Th e two orders have