media glossary - M

m
Abbreviation for 1,000, should be capitalized as it stands for the Roman numeral. 15M is 15 thousand.

mag tape
See magnetic tape.

magenta
One of the four process color, Magenta has a red/pink appearance.

magnetic tape
Magnetic coated tape used primarily to record signals for computer backup storage, installing programs, and exchanging data files.

mail bombing
Yes, even with e-mail, there is the chance for a mail bomb. It refers to the bombardment of an e-mail address with messages sent by an angry person or group.

mail order advertiser
Clients who advertise goods and services which are sold exclusively by mail.

mail server Software/hardware on a network that manages the routing of e-mail between e-mail boxes and other networks.

mailing list
Group discussion distributed through e-mail.

mainframe
The central processing unit of a computer exclusive of peripheral and remote devices.

make good
To print an ad over at no cost because of quality problems the first time around.

make-ready
To get presses up-to-speed and color adjusted.

manifest
A shipping document for any of several forms of transport. A manifest lists origin, contents, value, destination, carrier, and other pertinent information for use at terminals or a custom house.

margin
1) The portion of a page that is toward the "outside" edge. Opposite of "gutter."
2) Financial term for the variance between sales and costs.

marketing
Activities necessary to improve the sale of goods or services through planned research, manufacturing, promotion, advertising, and distribution; business promotion devoted to getting a maximum amount of products or service purchased by the consumer.

marketing research
Gathering, recording, and analyzing facts about the movement and sales of goods or services.

masthead
A page in each magazine issue which lists the titles and names of company and staff.

match code
An abbreviation of data taken from name and address records to simplify the sequencing of records and the identification of duplicate records in a list. A reliable match code depends upon good editing rules and procedures.

match color
A standardized system for matching color from PMS swatchbooks to the ink formulas required on press. PMS colors are "true" colors, in contrast to the four process colors, (magenta, cyan, yellow, and black), which can simulate a wide range of colors. PMS colors are more pure than process colors. (See PMS, Pantone Matching System)

matchprint
Process-color proofing system that laminates color onto any suitable paper, such as the grade the magazine will actually be printed on.

matte
A dull, non-glossy finish to the surface of paper.

MB

Megabyte: One million bytes or 1000 kilobytes.

mechanical
A page ready to be shot on camera. (See Paste-up)

media buyer
The representative of an advertising agency or an advertiser who is authorized to order ad space via a purchase order or an insertion order.

media kit
A package distributed to agencies and clients which includes a rate card, editorial calendar, and other promotional material in order to help a client evaluate and plan advertising with a particular medium.

megabyte
A million bytes, or 1000 kilobytes, or 1,048,576 bytes.

megahertz

Also abbreviated MHz.  The unit of measure that describes the rate at which computers operate. A rough guide to computer performance, but not always accurate for comparing capabilities of dissimilar computers.

memory

The storage unit of a computer in which information can be stored and from which it can be retrieved.

mosaic
An early graphical Web browser.

menu
A list of functions that a particular computer program can perform or a list of reports available for printing.

merchandising credit
Credit earned by major advertisers of a magazine for spending in excess of a set dollar amount. This credit can be used for the purchasing of merchandising services from the magazines (printing of promotional brochures, promotional giveaways), or can be used to run additional advertising space within the magazine.

merge/purge
Combining two or more lists and eliminating duplicate entries at the same time.

merger
The combining of two or more businesses in order to form a single organization.

MHz
See frequency and/or megahertz.

MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension:  An electronic mail protocol which allows users to attach non-text files to e-mail.

MIPS

Millions of Instructions Per Second:  A relative measure of the speed of a computer. This is not the same as MIPS the computer brand, though it's sure that they like the associaiton.

missed issues
Number of issues not received by the subscriber either during a break in service or some type of mailing error.

mission-critical application
An operation that must not break down, such as a bank's cash-machine network and an airline's computerized reservation system. The test for client-server computing is to take over mission-critical jobs from mainframes, which were there first and still have an edge in reliability.

MNP

Microcom Networking Protocol:  A series of error control and data compression protocols used by some modems.

modem

Modulator/demodulator:  A communications device that translates analog signals to digital signals, and vice versa, over telephone lines.

modifier key
A key that can be pressed in sequence with an alphanumeric character to execute a command instead of printing the character to the screen. The standard modifier keys are Caps Lock, Command, Control, Option, and Shift.

monitor
The primary video screen for a computer. Most use a CRT (cathode ray tube).

motherboard
The main circuit board in a computer, which holds the microprocessor and related chips.

mount
To make a Macintosh disk available for use on the desktop. When a disk is mounted, its icon appears on the desktop.

mouse
A palm-sized device that is used to control movement of the cursor on a computer screen.

MPA
Magazine Publishers of America.

MPEG
Motion Picture Experts Group, develops standard approach to video compression; most recent effort is MPEG II and MPEG III are file standards recognized by a computer.

MP3

Motion Picture Expert Group Layer 3.
A type of compression uses for music. Allows for near CD quality sound with very small file sizes.

MPS

Mailing Preference Service:  A service provided by the Direct Marketing Association that enables individuals to have their names and addresses removed from mailing lists. These names are made available to both members and non-members of the association. (DMA Mail Preference Service)

MUD

Multi-User Dimension or Multi-User Dungeon: Multi-user, virtual worlds created purely out of text description. Applications range from role-playing games to academic conferences.

MultiFinder A multi-tasking operating system component that allows more than one application to be open at the same time, performing background tasks while you perform other tasks.

multimedia
Information products that include text, audio, and visual content.

multimedia network
A system that can carry several forms of communications, among them voice, data and video.

multiplexing
A method of transmitting multiple communications on the same channel. Multiplexing has long been a method for increasing the number of cable channels that a system can carry or the number of audio transmissions on a telephone line.