Entry
Reader's guide
Entries A-Z
Subject index
Humor
Humor and laughter accompany us from the moment of birth throughout our lives. Humor is an integral part of every society, including its communication products. To understand the social significance of humor in general and in the media in particular, we must understand its significance on a personal level. Therefore, this entry begins with an introduction on humor and laughter. The entry then discusses the relationship between humor and personal and social needs, how humor appears in the media, and humor in repressive societies.
What Is Humor?
Humor is an integral part of every aspect of life; however, it is impossible to find one comprehensive definition for it. One theory of humor is that it is based on incongruity; that is, it is found in events that ...
- Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations
- Adbusters
- Advertising
- Advertising, History and Economics of
- Advertising, Return on Investment
- Branding
- Celebrities
- Commercial Speech
- Consumer Behavior
- Consumer Culture
- Content Marketing
- Food Advertising and Marketing
- Graphic Design
- Litigation Public Relations
- Native Advertising
- Outdoor Advertising
- Product Placement
- Public Relations
- Public Relations Society of America
- Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics
- Shopping Websites
- Storyboard
- Target Marketing
- Video News Release
- Viral Marketing
- Children and Media
- Countries
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Angola
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei Darussalam
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gambia, The
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Panama
- Pandora
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- Economics of Media
- Advertising, History and Economics of
- Advertising, Return on Investment
- Capitalism
- Concentration of Media Ownership
- Conglomerates
- Content Farms
- Corporate Media Consolidation
- Media Entrepreneurship
- Media Management
- Movie Theaters, History and Economics of
- Movies, History and Economics of
- Music Industry, History and Economics of
- Newspaper Publishing
- Newspapers, History and Economics of
- Radio, History and Economics of
- Television, History and Economics of
- Transnational Media Corporations
- Unfair Trade Practices
- Vertical Integration
- Ethics and Social Implications
- Action for Children’s Television
- Addiction
- Advocacy
- Audiences
- Body Image in Mass Media
- Class Privilege in Mass Media
- Critical Viewing
- Culture Industry
- Culture Jamming
- Cyberbullying
- Cyberculture
- Desensitization
- Diasporic Communities and Social Media
- Digital Media Ethics
- Direct Effects
- Disabilities in Media
- Disaster Coverage
- Disinhibitory and Inhibitory Effects
- Election Campaigns
- Ethics of Care
- Ethics of Justice
- Ethics of Representation
- European Union Culture Preservation Initiative
- Fake News
- Fans and Fandom
- Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
- Global Digital Divide
- Global Media Ethics
- Globalization of Mass Media
- Grassroots Campaigns
- Hacking
- Hacktivism
- Humor
- MacBride Report
- Mainstream Media
- Media Activism
- Media and Children’s Rights
- Media and Human Rights
- Media and Philanthropy
- Media and Poverty
- Media Bias
- Media Dependency
- Media Diplomacy
- Media Ethics
- Media Literacy
- Media Spectacle
- Mediated Scandal
- Moral Relativity
- National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics
- Nerd Culture
- One Laptop per Child
- Online Predators
- Online Speech, Restrictions on
- Photography
- Political Mass Media
- Pornography
- Problematic Interactive Media Use
- Propaganda
- Propaganda, Theories of
- Public Diplomacy
- Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics
- Representation
- Senior Citizens and the Internet
- Sexual Harassment Online
- Social Inclusion Through Technology
- Social Justice
- Social Network Analysis
- Terrorism, Media Depictions of
- War Coverage and Wartime Mass Media
- Whistleblowing
- Film
- African American Characters on Television and in the Movies
- Animation
- Auteur
- Blockbusters
- Bollywood
- Children’s Movies
- Documentary Media
- Female Characters on Television and in the Movies
- Film Production
- LGBTQ Characters on Television and in the Movies
- Motion Picture Association of America
- Movie Theaters, History and Economics of
- Movies, History and Economics of
- Nollywood
- Product Placement
- SAG-AFTRA
- Screenwriting, Film
- Sound Effects
- Special Effects
- Studio System
- Telefilm Canada
- Wedding Media
- History of Media
- Journalism and News
- Celebrities
- Citizen Journalism
- Data Journalism
- Environmental Communication
- Interviewing
- Journalism, History and Economics of
- Magazine Journalism
- Mainstream Media
- Media Events
- Media Spectacle
- News Agencies
- News Lab
- NewsGuild
- Newspaper Journalism
- Science Communication
- Solutions Journalism
- War Coverage and Wartime Mass Media
- Weather Forecasting
- Whistleblowing
- Worlds of Journalism Study
- Law and Policy
- New York Times v. Sullivan
- Roth v. United States
- Adelphi Charter
- Advertising Regulations
- Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984
- Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation
- Canadian Content Policy
- Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
- CAN-SPAM Act
- Censorship
- Children’s Television Act of 1990
- Communications Act of 1934
- Copyright Alert System
- Copyright Laws
- Creative Commons
- Defamation and Libel Laws
- Digital Rights Management
- European Media Lobbies and Governance
- Fairness Doctrine
- Federal Communications Commission, U.S.
- Federal Trade Commission, U.S.
- Freedom of Information Act
- Hicklin Rule
- Hutchins Commission
- Intellectual Property
- Libel Tourism
- Literary Property
- Litigation Public Relations
- Miller Test
- Obscene Publications Acts
- Prior Restraint
- Radio Act of 1927
- Self-Regulation
- Shield Laws
- Telecommunications Act of 1993, Canada
- Telecommunications Act of 1996, U.S.
- Media Channels
- Online Media
- Avatars
- Blogs and Bloggers
- Bookmarking
- Celebrities
- Comics
- Content Moderation
- Cyberbullying
- Cyberculture
- Diasporic Communities and Social Media
- Digital Media and Health
- Digital Media Ethics
- Digital Piracy
- Digital Revolution
- Humor
- Interactive Media
- Internet Security
- Internet Society
- Internet, History and Economics of
- Lurking
- Magazine Websites
- Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming
- Meme
- Mobile Media
- MOOCs
- Multimedia
- Music Videos
- Neurodiverse Websites
- Newspaper Websites
- Online News Sites
- Online Speech, Restrictions on
- Pirate Radio
- Podcasting
- Radio, Online
- Really Simple Syndication
- RSS Reader
- Second Life
- Senior Citizens and the Internet
- Sexual Harassment Online
- Shopping Websites
- Silicon Alley
- Silicon Valley
- Social Media
- Social Media Monitoring
- Social Network Analysis
- Social Networking Site
- Social News Sites
- Storyboard
- Streaming Media
- User-Generated Content
- User-Generated Media
- Video Editing
- Video Games
- Videography
- Virtual Communities
- Vlog
- Wikipedia
- Wikis
- Zines
- Print Media
- Backlist and Frontlist
- Book Publishing
- Book Publishing, History and Economics of
- Broadsheet Newspapers
- Children’s Magazines
- Comics
- Educational Radio
- Free Newspapers
- Graphic Design
- Graphic Novels
- LGBTQ Magazines
- LGBTQ Newspapers
- LGBTQ Radio Programming
- Magazine Journalism
- Magazines, History of
- Men’s Magazines
- NewsGuild
- Newspaper Journalism
- Newspaper Publishing
- Newspapers, History and Economics of
- Newspapers, Print
- Photography
- Pirate Radio
- Printing Press
- Public Affairs Radio Programming
- Radio
- Television
- Action for Children’s Television
- African American Characters on Television and in the Movies
- Blockbusters
- Cable Television
- Children’s Television Act of 1990
- Children’s Television Programming
- Daytime Television Programming
- Diaries
- Digital Television
- Educational Television
- Female Characters on Television and in the Movies
- House Band
- Internet Protocol Television
- Late-Night Television Programming
- LGBTQ Characters on Television and in the Movies
- LGBTQ Television Programming
- Music Videos
- News Themes
- Prime-Time Programming
- Public Affairs Television Programming
- Public Broadcasting Service
- Reality Television
- Religious Television Programming
- Sound Effects
- Special Effects
- Sports Television Programming
- Talk Shows, Television
- Telefilm Canada
- Television Production
- Television, History and Economics of
- Time-Shifting
- TiVo
- Video Editing
- Video News Release
- Videography
- Wedding Media
- Women’s Television Programming
- Online Media
- Media Companies and News Outlets
- Chicago Defender
- Globe and Mail, The
- Guardian, The
- Los Angeles Times
- New York Times, The
- Pravda
- Time Magazine
- Times of India, The
- Times, The and The Sunday Times
- USA Today
- Wall Street Journal, The
- Washington Post, The
- Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
- Al Jazeera
- Amazon
- Associated Press
- Australian Associated Press
- Bertelsmann
- British Broadcasting Corporation
- Business Wire
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- China Central Television
- CNN
- Discovery, Inc.
- Foursquare
- France Télévisions
- Grupo Globo
- iHeartMedia
- Klout
- Kuwait News Agency
- Māori Television
- Myspace
- Naspers
- National Public Radio
- NDTV
- Netflix
- News Corporation
- Pakistan Television Corporation
- People’s Daily
- Prasar Bharati
- Private Media Group
- RAI
- Rakuten
- Reuters
- RIA Novosti
- Rogers Communications
- RTÉ
- RTL Group
- RTP
- Scribd
- Sky News
- Sky UK
- South African Broadcasting Corporation
- Star India
- Telefe
- teleSUR
- Tencent
- Thai TV Global Network
- TNT
- United Press International
- Vatican Radio
- Voice of America
- Walt Disney Company
- WarnerMedia
- Xinhua News Agency
- Yahoo
- YouTube
- Media Research and Theories
- Agenda Setting
- Alterity
- Animal Media Studies
- Attention Span
- Attitude Change Theory
- Behaviorism and Cognitivism
- British Cultural Theory
- Class-Dominant Theory
- Cognition and Information Processing
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Cognitive Processing, Disengagement, and Empathy
- Collective Intelligence
- Communications Research
- Communitarianism
- Conceptual Metaphor Theory
- Constructivism
- Content Analysis
- Content Communities
- Critical Theory
- Cultivation Theory
- Culturalist Approach
- Deconstructionism
- Discourse Analysis
- Effects Theory
- Embodiment
- Encoding/Decoding Model
- Environmental Communication
- Ethnography
- Feedback
- Feminist Analyses of Media
- Field Theory
- Focus Groups
- Framing
- Frankfurt School
- Functionalist Theory
- Gaze Theory
- Genre Theory
- Global Village
- Grounded Theory
- Hegemony
- Hot and Cool Media Theory
- Hypodermic Needle Theory
- Ideology
- Impartiality
- Information Society
- Information Theory
- Intercultural Communication
- Intergroup Communication
- Interpersonal Communication
- Intersectionality
- Intertextuality
- Interviewing
- Island Communicative Ecology
- Labelling Theory
- Limited Effects Theory
- Linguistics
- Listening
- Marxist and Neo-Marxist Theories
- Mass Psychology
- Mass Society Theory of Media Influence
- Media Echo Chamber
- Media Ecology
- Mediated Culture
- Mediatization
- Medium
- Models of Communication
- Modernism
- Moral Relativity
- Narcotizing Dysfunction
- Nihilism
- Norms
- Objectivity
- Observational Research
- Obstinate Audience Theory
- One-Step Flow Theory
- Opinion Leaders and Followers
- Paradigm Shift
- Parasocial Interaction
- Participatory Action Research
- Perception
- Political Communication
- Political Economy of Communication
- Posthumanism
- Postmodernism
- Priming
- Propaganda
- Propaganda, Theories of
- Psychoanalytic Theory
- Psychographics
- Rhetorical Analysis
- Ritual View
- Science Communication
- Selective Exposure, Perception, and Retention
- Semiotic Theory
- Simulacrum
- SMCR Model
- Social Authority Building
- Social Cognitive Theory
- Social Construction of Reality
- Spiral of Silence
- Strategic Communication
- Structuralism
- Subjectivity
- Survey Research
- Transmission View
- Two-Step Flow Theory
- Uses and Gratifications Theory
- Music
- Organizations
- Adbusters
- Alliance for Audited Media
- American Civil Liberties Union
- American Copy Editors Society
- American Forces Network
- American Press Institute
- American Society of News Editors
- Association for Women in Communications
- Broadcast Education Association
- Center for Digital Democracy
- Center for Media and Public Affairs
- Center for the Book
- Center on Media and Child Health
- Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies
- Centre for Digital Cultures
- European Alliance of News Agencies
- Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
- Institute of Communication and Media Studies
- International Association of Business Communicators
- International Federation of Journalists
- International Women’s Media Foundation
- Internet Association
- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
- Internet Protocol Television
- Magazines Canada
- Motion Picture Association of America
- National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
- National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications
- National Association of Black Journalists
- National Endowment for the Arts
- National Film Board of Canada
- National Press Photographers Association
- National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics
- National Union of Journalists
- NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists
- Paley Center for Media
- Press Trust of India
- Public Relations Society of America
- Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics
- Recording Industry Association of America
- Reporters Without Borders
- SAG-AFTRA
- Society of Environmental Journalists
- Society of Professional Journalists
- World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
- Race and Ethnicity
- Chicago Defender
- Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
- African American Characters on Television and in the Movies
- African American Magazines
- African American Newspapers
- African American Radio Programming
- African American Television Programming
- Asian American Magazines
- Asian American Movies
- Asian American Newspapers
- Asian American Radio Programming
- Asian American Television Programming
- Hispanic Movies
- Hispanic Newspapers
- Hispanic Radio Programming
- Hispanic Television Programming
- Māori Television
- Native American Movies
- Native American Newspapers
- Native American Radio Programming
- Native American Television Programming
- Technology
- Analog and Digital Communications
- Application Programming Interface
- Apps
- Artificial Intelligence
- Audio Editing
- Autonomous Moral Agent
- Avatars
- BitTorrent
- Blu-ray Discs
- Bookmarking
- Cassette Tapes
- Compact Discs
- Computer Networks
- Computers, History and Economics of
- Cyberbullying
- Cyberculture
- Data Journalism
- Diasporic Communities and Social Media
- Digital Media and Health
- Digital Media Ethics
- Digital Piracy
- Digital Revolution
- Digital Rights Management
- Drone Journalism
- Dubbing
- DVDs
- e-Commerce
- Educational Technology
- Emergency Notification Systems
- Emoticons and Emojis
- e-Sports
- Freeware
- Global Digital Divide
- Hacking
- Hacktivism
- HTML and CSS
- Hypertext and Hypermedia
- Integrated Circuit
- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
- Internet Security
- Internet Society
- Internet, History and Economics of
- Meme
- Mobile Media
- MP3 Players
- Multimedia
- One Laptop per Child
- Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
- Peer-to-Peer Payment Systems
- Podcasting
- Really Simple Syndication
- RFID Chip
- RSS Reader
- Search Engine Optimization
- Search Engines
- Sexting
- Silicon Alley
- Silicon Valley
- SlideShare
- Social Inclusion Through Technology
- Software
- Tag Cloud
- Tape Recorders
- Technology Development, Influence on Mass Media
- Tencent
- TiVo
- Web Browsers
184313
- Loading...
