Media vs. Medium — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 18, 2024
Media refers to the collective means of mass communication, such as television, newspapers, and the Internet; medium serves as the singular form of media or refers to the material or method used in artistic or communication contexts.
Difference Between Media and Medium
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Media is typically used to denote all the different forms of mass communication collectively. This includes print media (newspapers, magazines), broadcast media (TV, radio), and digital media (websites, social networks). The term encapsulates all these forms as channels through which information and entertainment are disseminated to a wide audience. Conversely, medium refers to a single form within this broader category, such as television as a medium, or it can describe the substance or technique used in the arts, like oil as a painting medium.
In the context of communication, "media" often pertains to the tools and platforms that facilitate the transmission of information on a large scale, affecting public opinion and society. In contrast, when discussing "medium" in artistic contexts, it focuses more on the particular method or material used by artists to express their creativity, such as clay, digital, or watercolor.
The usage of "media" is plural, reflecting its coverage of multiple channels and types, and is often employed in discussions about societal impacts, media studies, and journalism. "Medium," on the other hand, is singular and can be used more specifically to talk about individual channels of communication or specific types of artistic materials.
When used in a specialized context, such as science or spirituality, "medium" can also refer to a substance that facilitates a chemical reaction or a person who claims to communicate with spirits, respectively. These specific uses illustrate the versatility of "medium" compared to the more focused usage of "media" in communication fields.
Understanding the distinction between "media" and "medium" is crucial. Students and professionals in communications, journalism, and the arts must be precise in their language to avoid confusion and to effectively convey their intended messages.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Collective communication channels.
Single channel or artistic material/method.
Usage
Plural, refers to multiple forms.
Singular, refers to a single form.
Examples
Newspapers, TV, Internet.
Television as a communication medium, oil paint in art.
Focus
Broad, societal impact.
Specific, individual use or artistic technique.
Contextual Usage
Journalism, mass communication.
Arts, science, spiritualism.
Compare with Definitions
Media
Used to refer to the collective of tools and platforms in communication.
The role of media in democratic societies is often debated.
Medium
Substance or technique used in the arts.
Watercolor is a popular medium for beginner artists due to its versatility.
Media
Channels through which information is disseminated to the public.
Social media has become a dominant form of media influencing public opinion.
Medium
A single form of communication tool or artistic material.
As a medium, television has a profound impact on public perception.
Media
Involves various technologies and formats.
Print media, despite declines in circulation, still plays a crucial role in journalism.
Medium
In other contexts, a facilitator of processes or communication.
In scientific terms, agar is used as a medium for bacterial growth; in spiritual contexts, a medium might claim to communicate with the deceased.
Media
An ancient region of Asia to the south-west of the Caspian Sea, corresponding approximately to present-day Azerbaijan, north-western Iran, and north-eastern Iraq. Originally inhabited by the Medes, the region was conquered in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great of Persia.
Medium
An agency or means of doing something
Using the latest technology as a medium for job creation
Their primitive valuables acted as a medium of exchange
Media
A plural of medium. See Usage Note at medium.
Medium
The intervening substance through which sensory impressions are conveyed or physical forces are transmitted
Radio communication needs no physical medium between the two stations
Media
(Linguistics) See medial.
Medium
A particular form of storage material for computer files, such as magnetic tape or discs.
Media
Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes.
Medium
The material or form used by an artist, composer, or writer
Oil paint is the most popular medium for glazing
Media
A substance that propagates energy or signals through space via changes in its own state
Air acts as a medium for the transmission of sound waves.
Medium
A person claiming to be in contact with the spirits of the dead and to communicate between the dead and the living.
Media
The sparsely distributed gas and dust subsisting in the space between stars.
Medium
The middle quality or state between two extremes; a reasonable balance
There is a medium between being modest and boastful
Media
Medium
About halfway between two extremes of size or another quality; average
Medium-length hair
Plan for the medium term
John is six feet tall, of medium build
Media
An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred
The train was the usual medium of transportation in those days.
Medium
Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes.
Media
A means of mass communication, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television.
Medium
A substance that propagates energy or signals through space via changes in its own state
Air acts as a medium for the transmission of sound waves.
Media
Media(used with a sing. or pl. verb) The group of journalists and others who constitute the communications industry and profession.
Medium
The sparsely distributed gas and dust subsisting in the space between stars.
Media
Pl. media(Computers)Any of various kinds of storage devices, such as hard drives or digital audiotape.
Medium
Media
Pl. mediums A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension. Also called psychic.
Medium
An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred
The train was the usual medium of transportation in those days.
Media
A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
Medium
A means of mass communication, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television.
Media
The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
Medium
Media(used with a sing. or pl. verb) The group of journalists and others who constitute the communications industry and profession.
Media
A culture medium.
Medium
Pl. media(Computers)Any of various kinds of storage devices, such as hard drives or digital audiotape.
Media
A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved
The medium of lithography.
Medium
Pl. mediums A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension. Also called psychic.
Media
The materials used in a specific artistic technique
Oils as a medium.
Medium
A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
Media
A solvent with which paint is thinned to the proper consistency.
Medium
The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
Media
(Chemistry) A filtering substance, such as filter paper.
Medium
A culture medium.
Media
Occurring or being between two degrees, amounts, or quantities; intermediate
Ordered a medium coffee.
Medium
A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved
The medium of lithography.
Media
A voiced stop consonant.
Medium
The materials used in a specific artistic technique
Oils as a medium.
Media
(entomology) One of the major veins of the insect wing, between the radius and the cubitus
Medium
A solvent with which paint is thinned to the proper consistency.
Media
(zoology) An ant specialized as a forager in a leaf-cutter ant colony.
Medium
(Chemistry) A filtering substance, such as filter paper.
Media
(historical) cuarto: a half-fanega, {{ngd}}
Medium
Occurring or being between two degrees, amounts, or quantities; intermediate
Ordered a medium coffee.
Media
Plural of medium
Medium
The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.
Media
Means and institutions for publishing and broadcasting information.
As a result of the rise of, first, television news and entertainment media and, second, web-based media, traditional print-based media has declined in popularity.
Medium
The materials or empty space through which signals, waves, or forces pass.
Media
The journalists and other professionals who comprise the mass communication industry.
Some celebrities dislike press conferences, where the media bombards them with questions.
Medium
A format for communicating or presenting information.
Media
(computing) Files and data comprising material viewable by humans, but usually not plain text; audiovisual material.
Medium
(microbiology) A nutrient substance, commonly a solution or solid, for the growth of cells in vitro.
Media
(computing) multimedia
I have media files stored on an external hard drive.
Adjust media sound in multiple apps
Medium
(biology, horticulture etc.) A substance, structure, or environment in which living organisms subsist, grow or are cultured.
Media
The latinic plural form of medium, sometimes used as a singular noun with the same meaning as medium; as, (Computers) place your installation media into the device which will read it; (Microbiology) the tuberculosis bacterium will only grow in a special media.
Medium
A means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is conveyed or carried on, or by which an aim is achieved.
Media
The public institutions that report the news, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, collectively; the news media; as, the media were obsessed with Monica Lewinsky for months.
Medium
(engineering) The materials used to finish a workpiece using a mass finishing or abrasive blasting process.
Media
One of the sonant mutes
Medium
A liquid base which carries pigment in paint.
Medium
(painting) A means of expression, in the arts, such as a material (oil, pastel, clay, etc) or method or style (expressionism, jazz, etc).
Acrylics, oils, charcoal, and gouache are all mediums I used in my painting.
Medium
Someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world.
Medium
An item labelled or denoted as being that size.
Medium
One who fits an item of that size.
Medium
A half-pint serving of Guinness (or other stout in some regions).
Medium
(countable) A middle place or degree.
A happy medium
Medium
An average; sometimes the mathematical mean.
Medium
The mean or middle term of a syllogism, that by which the extremes are brought into connection.
Medium
(obsolete) Arithmetically average.
Medium
Of intermediate size, degree, amount etc.
Medium
Of meat, cooked to a point greater than rare but less than well done; typically, so the meat is still red in the centre.
Medium
That is medium the manufactured size.
Medium
To a medium extent.
Medium
That which lies in the middle, or between other things; intervening body or quantity.
The just medium . . . lies between pride and abjection.
Medium
See Mean.
Medium
A substance through which an effect is transmitted from one thing to another; as, air is the common medium of sound.
Whether any other liquors, being made mediums, cause a diversity of sound from water, it may be tried.
I must bring togetherAll these extremes; and must remove all mediums.
Medium
An average.
A medium of six years of war, and six years of peace.
Medium
A trade name for printing and writing paper of certain sizes. See Paper.
Medium
The liquid vehicle with which dry colors are ground and prepared for application.
Medium
A source of nutrients in which a microorganism is placed to permit its growth, cause it to produce substances, or observe its activity under defined conditions; also called culture medium or growth medium. The medium is usually a solution of nutrients in water, or a similar solution solidified with gelatin or agar.
Medium
A means of transmission of news, advertising, or other messages from an information source to the public, also called a news medium, such as a newspaper or radio; used mostly in the plural form, i. e. news media or media. See 1st media{2}.
Medium
Having a middle position or degree; mean; intermediate; medial; as, a horse of medium size; a decoction of medium strength.
Medium
A means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information
Medium
The surrounding environment;
Fish require an aqueous medium
Medium
An intervening substance through which signals can travel as a means for communication
Medium
(bacteriology) a nutrient substance (solid or liquid) that is used to cultivate micro-organisms
Medium
An intervening substance through which something is achieved;
The dissolving medium is called a solvent
Medium
A liquid with which pigment is mixed by a painter
Medium
(biology) a substance in which specimens are preserved or displayed
Medium
A state that is intermediate between extremes; a middle position;
A happy medium
Medium
Someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead;
He consulted several mediums
Medium
Transmissions that are disseminated widely to the public
Medium
An occupation for which you are especially well suited;
In law he found his true metier
Medium
Around the middle of a scale of evaluation of physical measures;
An orange of average size
Intermediate capacity
A plane with intermediate range
Medium bombers
Medium
(of meat) cooked until there is just a little pink meat inside
Common Curiosities
What are some examples of different media?
Examples include print media like newspapers and magazines, broadcast media like radio and television, and digital media like blogs and social networks.
Why is it important to distinguish between media and medium?
Accurate use of these terms is crucial in fields like communications and the arts to convey clear and precise information.
What is the difference between media and medium?
Media refers to all forms of mass communication collectively, while medium refers to a single form of communication or an artistic material.
Can the word medium refer to more than just communication?
Yes, medium can also refer to an artistic tool or material, and in other contexts, it can denote a substance that facilitates a process or a person who communicates with spirits.
What are common mediums in art?
Common artistic mediums include oil paint, clay, digital formats, and acrylics.
What is the singular form of media?
The singular form of media is medium, referring to one type of communication channel or artistic material.
How has the role of media evolved with technology?
The evolution of technology has expanded the media landscape to include digital and social media, increasing the speed and reach of information dissemination.
How do media impact society?
Media influence public opinion, shape cultural norms, and provide platforms for discourse and debate, playing a critical role in democratic societies.
Can 'medium' refer to digital formats?
Yes, digital can be described as a medium when referring to specific digital tools or platforms used in art or communication.
Is it correct to use 'media' when referring to one type of communication?
No, when referring to one type, the correct term is "medium."
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
