# Medea & Media

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medea-media/224662>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 15, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medea-media/224662 "2004-01-15T22:29:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Escher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Escher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Escher)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medea-media/224662/1 "2004-01-15T22:29:36Z")

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Ok, throwing a question out for anyone. I’ve done some searching and can’t find anything on it.  
I was reading a book not long ago that had a statement in it that stated that the media had taken the name from Medea, the Greek sorceress who had carried on with Jason, of the Argonaut fame.  
The basis ran that Medea had been a manipulator of the facts and a renowned liar. Obviously, this wasn’t written by a fan of the media.  
On the quick scan, it appears to hold weight, but I’m a natural skeptic. Anyone with an idea?

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medea-media/224662/2 "2004-01-15T22:47:09Z")

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I doubt it.

Media is the plural for medium, the middle.

In the case of the news media…radio, tv, the press…the media is the vehicle which transmits information between the source and the public.

Another example of media would be sand blasting, the sand being the abrasive media between the blaster and the painted surface.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medea-media/224662/3 "2004-01-16T00:22:26Z")

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The OED clearly indicates that “media” in its modern usage is merely the latin pluran of “medium” First cite, 1923.

“Medium” meant “a channel of communication” since 1585. It’s clear that when people started talking about multiple channels of communication, they pluralized the word.

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medea-media/224662/4 "2004-01-16T15:09:33Z")

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Once again, it’s amazing how many of these false etymologies can be discounted by a quick glance in a dictionary.

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**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medea-media/224662/5 "2004-01-16T16:03:38Z")

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Oy, the very premise that the communications carriers deliberately chose a name based on a negative image should have triggered alarm bells.  
Other examples of “media”: pen-and-ink; oil-on-canvas; fresco. They are the means by which the artist paints the picture.  
A “multi-media” work: combines images, audio, text, hyperlinks, what have you.  
In Spanish, they are called the “medios de comunicación” – the means of communication.