The article presents the results of modeling the semantic processes taking place during the hermeneutic interpretation of the Russian term and concept of ‘media’. The paper examines the synonymous pair of the univerb ‘медиа’ (‘media’) and generating word-combination ‘средства массовой информации’ (‘means of mass information’). As a result of semantic condensation, the components ‘information’ and ‘masses’ lose their original semantics, and the ‘intermediary’ component acts as the dominant one.