Department of English

Introduction to Media Studies

Prof. Ahlam Lamjahdi

Semester four

Media
Studies and
CyberCulture

Prof. Ahlam Lamjahdi

 Contents

I. History of Mass Media

II. What is Media Studies ?

III. How to study media ?

IV. Media literacy concepts (1)

V. Text and subtexts

VI. The language of persuasion

VII. Deconstructing media messages

VIII. Creating counter ads

IX. Looking beyond the frame

 I. History of Mass Media

The information distributed to people on a large scale through the use of television,
radio, movies, newspapers, Internet, magazines and books is termed as Mass Media.
Can we ever imagine life without mobile phones, televisions or the Internet? Possibly
not! It is a fact that the world would have been a much bigger place, if we did not have
gadgets that enhanced connectivity. We can communicate with ease, gain knowledge with the
click of a button, and know about world events as they happen. Let's have a look at how mass
media evolved over the years.
Evolution of Mass Media :
Mass Media has been evolving through the ancient periods when kings patronized their
writers and poets for writing books and creating dramas. The power of mass media is known
to the world. It has thrown away mighty dynasties and created new empires. Mass media has
helped in creating social awareness and has also provided people with an easy way of living
life. The print media played an important part in the historical events such as, The
Renaissance, The American War of Independence, The French Revolution and many more...
Early Years :
The mass media started evolving as early as 3300 B.C., when the Egyptians perfected
the hieroglyphics. This writing system was based on symbols. Later in 1500 B.C., the Semites
devised the alphabets with consonants. It was around 800 B.C. that the vowels were
introduced into the alphabet by the Greeks.
The Book
Many books were written in ancient times, but sources confirm that the first printed
book was the 'Diamond Sutra' written in China in 868 A.D. But with the slow spread of
literacy in China and the high cost of paper in the country, printing lacked the speed required
to reach large numbers of people. However, printing technology quickly evolved in Europe.
In 1400 A.D., Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, invented the printing press of
movable type, which is said to be based on screw bases. The first book was printed in the year
1453 A.D. One of the books that were printed was, 'The Gutenberg Bible'. From a single city
in Germany, the printing press spread all over Europe, like a wild fire. In 1468 A.D. William
Caxton produced a book with the first printed advertisement in England. By the year 1500
A.D., two million copies of books were printed in these countries. In the next hundred years,
the printing rose to two hundred million copies.
The Rise of Newspaper :
The newspaper developed around 1600 A.D., but it took this form of mass media more
than a century to influence the masses directly. The first printed newspaper was "The
Relation". Later, in the year 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first colonial newspaper in
Boston. There was an increase in the circulation of newspaper in the nineteenth century. The
first African-American paper titled "Freedom's Journal" was published in the year 1827. By
the end of 1900, print media could be found in the form of books, pamphlets, magazines and
newspapers. Newspaper provided all the necessary information about the world for the people
at remote locations. Even today, newspapers remain an important global source of
information.
Telegraph and Telephone :
The first telegraph line was set in the year 1844 by Samuel Morse. And by the year
1858, the first transatlantic cable was established, making it easier for people to
communicate. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in the year 1876
which brought about a revolution in the field of communication. People were now able to sit
in the comfort of their homes and chat with friends and relatives across the globe.
Radio and Television :
Meanwhile, in the year 1885, George Eastman invented the photographic film. The film
developed by Eastman helped Gilbert Grosvenor to introduce photographs in 'National
Geographic' in the year 1899. The print media began losing popularity in the twentieth
century with the emergence of televisions and radios.
During the year 1894, the radio was invented by Guglielmo Marconi. Radios worked on
the principle of transmission of electromagnetic waves. As the transmission of radio programs
began, it became a prominent source of entertainment for the public.
The television was invented by John Logie Baird in the year 1925. The first television
transmission was done in the year 1927 by Philo Farnsworth. Walt Disney produced the
world's first full color film "Flower and trees" in the year 1932. It was during the 1950s that
the black and white television became a part of the American household. What was earlier in
the paper could now be seen audio-visually. Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon was televised
globally in color, in the year 1969. Mass media in this form became technologically
dependent and progressed along with developments in fields of electricity, semi-conductors
and cathode ray tubes.
Internet and Smartphone :
In the second half of the twentieth century, the Internet evolved. With the concept of the
Internet, the world got globally connected. The e-mail technology developed during the
1970s. It was Tim Berners-Lee who had come up with this idea of WWW (world wide web)
in the year 1990. By the year 2004 Internet broadband connected more than half of American
homes. Instant message services were introduced in the year 2001. Since its introduction, the
Internet has been providing us with information and connectivity. Today, there are more than
two billion people who use the Internet. The world is now at our fingertips. With the click of a
button we can search for anything we want.
In recent times, the introduction of smartphones has brought about a major change in
the lives of people. People do not have to wait for hours to avail valuable information. The
portability of this device is an added advantage. Smartphones have specific features such as
touchscreen, GPS, web browsers, Wi-Fi connectivity and many more applications which have
added comfort and convenience.
Mass media is a super-power that has connected the world in multiple ways. We think
of media just as newspapers, televisions and the Internet, but it has been present in some form
or the other since hundreds of years. Who knows what forms of communication we may have
a hundred years from now? Will mobile phones work on the power of thought? Civilization
will progress and its means of sharing intelligent thought will keep evolving over time.

II. What is Media Studies ?

The media refers to the different channels we use to communicate information in the everyday
world. 'Media' is the plural of medium (of communication), and the main media are:
 Internet (online media)
 Television/Radio (broadcast media)
 Magazines/Newspapers (print media)
 Film
 Music
 Video Games
Advertising is also considered a medium, as it is a separate channel of communication of
messages within other broadcast, print and online media.
What is Media Studies?
Media Studies is the analysis of the images, sounds and text we experience via the
media, and the effects these images, sounds and text have on us, the audience. It involves
looking closely at individual media texts (such as movies, YouTube channels, TV shows,
mobile phone games, pop songs etc) and applying some of the following ideas:
 Who made them ("institution")?
 How they were made ("process")?
 Why they were made ("purpose")?
 Who they were made for ("audience")?
 What rules were followed when making them ("conventions" and "genre")?
As well as essays, research, and reports, Media Studies also involves practical work,
where you learn the techniques involved for the production of your own media text. Students
produce music videos, phone apps, TV commercials, magazine advertisements, computer
animation, photo-essays and documentary videos. Media is a 'learn by doing' subject, and you
compare your own experiences with what the 'professionals' go through.
Media Studies can be taken as A-level course and many students go on to study it at
university. Success in this subject comes from a combination of creativity and understanding.
It is a unique fusion of practical and theoretical learning, which, although it can be hard work
and very time consuming, is always rewarding. It's also a lot of fun – what other subject deals
with your favourite movies, popstars and TV shows?
Why Is It Important?
As we progress into the 21st century, communications are becoming faster and faster
and faster. Think of the millions of different media images you are bombarded with every
day. It is as important now to be able to read and make sense of those images, as it has been to
be able to read ordinary text. If you do not know how to read the messages coming at you
from TV, the Internet, your smart phone, advertising etc, then you may become very lost and
misled in the 21st century. You also need to have a good idea of how those messages are
made, and who is making them, so that you may quickly become aware if someone (or some
corporation!) is trying to manipulate your thoughts and feelings.
Media Studies is also about appreciating the skill and creativity which goes into the
production of media texts. Just as analysing the different techniques used in the creation of a
poem or novel helps you appreciate the talent of the writer, so does learning about media
techniques help you appreciate the skill with words and pictures that the creators of a media
text have to possess.
 Media Studies also deals with the very latest ideas - which is why you need a website to
help you study it, rather than relying on textbooks that get out of date very quickly. Although
you do need to have some understanding of the history of media (particularly how new
technological developments have changed things), the focus of your studies is what is
happening right now, buzzing round the airwaves of the globe.

Key concepts :

1. Media Forms : This means the type of media text or media platform that we are
studying. For example, a TV programme is a different media form to a magazine or a website.
The media language we use to analyse a media text will change with different media forms.
For example if we were analysing a film, we would talk about camera movement, editing,
sound, location, props and mise- en-scene, where as if we were analysing a CD, we would
talk about image, font, colour, genre and representation. Different media forms are then split
into genres. Film for example can be split into horror, comedy, action, western or thriller. TV
might be split into soap opera, documentary, game show or drama.
Different genres have different ‘codes and conventions’. For example, we know a
science fiction film when we see one because there are spaceships and aliens, themes of
discovery and technology, the future, time travel and robots. The dominant colours are
metallic silver and neon blue or green. These codes and conventions are very different to a
western where we would expect to see cowboys and saloons, horses, spurs, guns and maybe a
cactus. The narrative or story is also different; different themes and different types of
characters too. The codes and conventions show us the type of narrative and genre and this
helps us recognise and analyse the form of the text we are studying.
Media form involves dealing with the type of language used. Media messages are
encoded and then decoded by audience. Encoding is the process by which a source performs
conversion of information into data. Decoding is the reverse process of converting data into
information understandable by a receiver. Encoding is the process of formulating messages,
that is, person's skill of using language to convey messages. Decoding is the process of
analyzing the message, that is, a person's skill of understanding language. Language is a code
established through rules and regulations. These rules govern the meaning and usage of the
code. The understanding (decoding) and production (encoding) of the code is also based on
mutual agreement of these rules.
 This process of communication requires the use of media language. News and
information, analysis and interpretations, education, public relations, sales and advertising are
mass messages. These messages are the perceptible part of our relationship to the media and it
is for these messages that we pay attention to media.
2. Representation: The process of presenting information about the world to the world is
called representation. The key issue here is to explore, who is being represented and why, and
by whom and how? Fairness of representation has always been a critical area of enquiry in
Media Studies. According to Patricia J. Williams, “The media do not merely represent; they
also recreate world as desirable, and saleable. What they reproduce is chosen, not random, not
neutral, and not without consequence”. The key questions are: who produces (creator or
author), who are the target audience, what is missing & why?
Media Representations can seem complicated but it’s very simple once you get it and
possibly the most important of all the key concepts. What we see and hear in the media is
never real... It is a RE-presentation of reality. When we see young people in the media, they
are being re-presented to us. How a person or organisation is represented is really important.
A representation could be either positive or negative depending upon the way it is
constructed. Costume, the language they use, the location are all part of how meaning is
created. Another example might be with race. As Media analysts, we need to look at the
representation of characters and organisations critically to uncover whether there is an unfair
dominance of negative stereotypes.
Try watching an episode of “The Wire or Skins” and think about the representation of
young people. Is it good or bad, fair or unfair, is it stereotypical or more balanced? Try
watching an episode of “Britain’s Next Top Model” and thinking about the representation of
women, is it positive or negative and why?As you watch TV, read magazines, go to see films
or listen to the radio, or read the paper or surf the net, try thinking about the key concepts.
Why not stop and think – who is the audience and how are they responding? What are the
stereotypes being used here and are the representations positive or negative? Which institution
made this media text and how are they funded; what is their vision?
3. Institutions: Media institutions arrange, create, illustrate, design, put together, print or
broadcast, advertise and distribute media products to the masses via existing delivery systems.
It’s important to understand how these media institutions work and how they work can
influence the media products. How a text is influenced by various institutions? How
ownership and other organization control and affect text? Concentration of media ownership
is a serious concern for many. Though, there are few who would still align with the cultural
imperialism thesis, but very few will disagree on the fact that six global media giants regulate
the entire world opinion. It is also important to realize that concentration of media ownership
seems to work against the alternative sources of opinion, voice of the dissent, diversity and
ultimately against democracy.
In Media studies, it is important to consider the company or organisation that produce or
broadcast the media texts that we receive. Different media institutions have different aims and
visions and they often have different audiences or compete with each other for the same
audience. Some media institutions are huge and they own lots of different media forms;
Rupert Murdoch owns a company called ‘News Corp International’ which owns Sky TV, The
Sun newspaper, The Times newspaper, FOX TV and 20th Century Fox films and lots more.
Some people see this as worrying because increased concentration of ownership means that
all our media content is getting more and more similar and its only real purpose is making
money.
The study of institutions also includes looking at how a company makes its money. For
example, a commercial institution like The Sun Newspaper makes its money from advertising
which means they need a very big audience to interest their advertisers. News articles are
often cut or shortened to make more space for advertising to make more money for the
institution. This worries some analysts, because it means that The Sun is not really concerned
with news so much as advertising revenue and audience figures.
Another important part of institution is ownership and control. If an owner is able to
control their institution and its content or audience then should there be a limit on how much
one media conglomerate should be allowed to own?
4. Audience: An audience is/the recipient of message. An audience is the/a group of
people who participate & experience work of art, literature, theatre, music. An audience is
the/a group of consumers for whom the media text is constructed & who is exposed to the
text. Audience is an abstract concept and can’t be defined in terms of space and time.
Audiences can’t be controlled but they can be sought. It’s an abstract concept for those
persons who use a medium. Audience is a part of the whole, made up of individuals but
measured as a collective and can be established by quantitative and qualitative methods.
Individuals differ from audience in terms of usage of different media to meet their wants.
Individuals spend different amounts of time serving different wants with different media.
Collections of individuals meet different wants through different media use create audiences.
If the media is about MASS COMMUNICATION, then it’s very important to look at
who a media text is communicating with. Different media companies have different
audiences. For example, Kerrang! Radio has a different ‘target Audience’ to Classic FM or
Choice. Different media texts can also have a different target audience. For example BBC1
make Newsround and News at Ten but the target audiences are clearly different. Media
audiences can be broken down into different groups, this is called audience segmentation.
You can segment audiences by age, race, gender, social class, how much education they have,
where they live, what sort of interests they have or the subculture they identify with.
Audiences also respond to the media texts they watch, listen to or download. Media
Studies is also concerned with audience responses. Sometimes audiences identify with certain
texts, like teenagers may like ‘Skins’ because they identify with the characters. Or maybe they
aspire to be like them, or are gratified by the story lines or action. Audiences also respond by
participating like when they vote for The X Factor, or for a ‘eviction’ type programme.

UNDERSTANDING MEDIA AUDIENCES

Researchers investigating the effect of media on audiences have considered the audience in
two distinct ways.

1. Passive Audiences :
The earliest idea was that a mass audience is passive and inactive. The members of the
audience are seen as couch potatoes just sitting there consuming media texts – particularly
commercial television programmes. It was thought that this did not require the active use of
the brain. The audience accepts and believes all messages in any media text that they receive.
This is the passive audience model.
The Hypodermic Model
In this model the media is seen as powerful and able to inject ideas into an audience who are
seen as weak and passive.
It was thought that a mass audience could be influenced by the same message. This
appeared to be the case in Nazi Germany in the 1930s leading up to WWII. Powerful German
films such as “Triumph of the Will” seemed to use propaganda methods to ‘inject’ ideas
promoting the Nazi cause into the German audience. That is why this theory is known as the
Hypodermic model. It suggests that a media text can ‘inject’ ideas, values and attitudes into a
passive audience who might then act upon them. This theory also suggests that a media text
has only one message which the audience must pick up.
In 1957 an American theorist called Vance Packard working in advertising wrote an
influential book called The Hidden Persuaders. This book suggested that advertisers were
able to manipulate audiences, and persuade them to buy things they may not want to buy. This
suggested advertisers had power over audiences. In fact this has since proved to be an
unreliable model, as modern audiences are too sophisticated.
Basically this theory stems from a fear of the mass media, and gives the
media much more power than it can ever have in a democracy. Also it ignores the obvious
fact that not everyone in an audience behaves in the same way. How can an audience be
passive – think of all the times you have disagreed with something on television or just not
laughed at a new so called comedy, or thought a programme was awful.
Cultivation Theory
This theory also treats the audience as passive. It suggests that repeated exposure to the
same message – such as an advertisement – will have an effect on the audience’s attitudes and
values. A similar idea is known as densensitisation which suggests that long term exposure to
violent media makes the audience less likely to be shocked by violence. Being less shocked
by violence the audience may then be more likely to behave violently.
The criticism of this theory is that screen violence is not the same as real violence.
Many people have been exposed to screen murder and violence, but there is no evidence at all
that this has lead audiences to be less shocked by real killings and violence. Also this theory
treats the audience as passive which is an outdated concept.
Two Step Flow Theory
Katz and Lazarsfeld assumes a slightly more active audience. It suggests messages from
the media move in two distinct ways. First, individuals who are opinion leaders, receive
messages from the media and pass on their own interpretations in addition to the actual media
content. The information does not flow directly from the text into the minds of its audience,
but is filtered through the opinion leaders who then pass it on to a more passive audience. The
audience then mediate the information received directly from the media with the ideas and
thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders, thus being influenced not by a direct process, but
by a two step flow. This theory appeared to reduce the power of the media, and some
researchers concluded that social factors were also important in the way in which audiences
interpret texts. This led to the idea of active audiences.

2. Active Audiences
This newer model sees the audience not as couch potatoes, but as individuals who are
active and interact with the communication process and use media texts for their own
purposes. We behave differently because we are different people from different backgrounds
with many different attitudes, values, experiences and ideas. This is the active audience
model, and is now generally considered to be a better and more realistic way to talk about
audiences.
Uses and Gratifications Model
This model stems from the idea that audiences are a complex mixture of individuals
who select media texts that best suits their needs – this goes back to Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs. The users and gratifications model suggests that media audiences are active and make
active decisions about what they consume in relation to their social and cultural setting and

their needs.This was summed up by theorists Blumier and Katz in 1974; “Media usage can

be explained in that it provides gratifications (meaning it satisfies needs) related to the

satisfaction of social and psychological needs.”
Put simply, this means that audiences choose to watch programmes that make them feel
good (gratifications) e.g. soaps and sitcoms, or that give them information that they can use
(uses) e.g. news or information about new products or the world about them.
Blumier and Katz (1975) went into greater detail and identified four main uses:
a. Surveillance – our need to know what is going on in the world. This relates to Maslow’s
need for security. By keeping up to date with news about local and international events we
feel we have the knowledge to avoid or deal with dangers.
b. Personal relationships – our need for to interact with other people. This is provided by
forming virtual relationships with characters in soaps, films and all kinds of drama, and other
programmes and other media texts.
c. Personal identity – our need to define our identity and sense of self. Part of our sense of
self is informed by making judgments about all sorts of people and things. This is also true of
judgments we make about TV and film characters, and celebrities. Our choice of music, the
shows we watch, the stars we like can be an expression of our identities. One aspect of this
type of gratification is known as value reinforcement. This is where we choose television
programmes or newspapers that have similar beliefs to those we hold.
d. Diversion – the need for escape, entertainment and relaxation. All types of television
programmes can be ‘used’ to wind down and offer diversion, as well as satisfying some of the
other needs at the same time.
Reception Analysis
Reception analysis is an active audience theory that looks at how audiences interact
with a media text taking into account their ‘situated culture’ – this is their daily life. The
theory suggests that social and daily experiences can affect the way an audience reads a media
text and reacts to it. This theory about how audiences read a text was put forward by Professor
Stuart Hall in “The television discourse – encoding/decoding” in 1974 with later research by
David Morley in 1980 and Charlotte Brunsden. He suggests that an audience has a significant
role in the process of reading a text, and this can be discussed in three different ways:
1 The dominant or preferred reading. The audience shares the code of the text and fully
accepts and understands its preferred meaning as intended by the producers (This can be seen
as a hegemonic reading).
2 The negotiated reading. The audience partly shares the code of the text and broadly accepts
the preferred meaning, but will change the meaning in some way according to their own
experiences, culture and values. These audience members might argue that some
representations – ethnic minorities perhaps – appear to them to be inaccurate.
3 The oppositional reading. The audience understands the preferred meaning but does not
share the text’s code and rejects this intended meaning and constructs an alternative meaning.
This could be a radical reading by a Marxist or feminist who rejects the values and ideology
of the preferred reading.

III. How to study media ?

1. KEYPOINTS
1.1 One needs to look at media communication as a process that includes institutions,
production systems, production conditions, texts, representations, meanings, audience, a
CONTEXT to production, and reception.
1.2 Investigation of the media should be based on a careful description of these aspects,
the use of analysis basedon critical approaches and interpretation of their significance.
1.3 Repeated patterns in the content and treatment of media material are likely to be
significant.
1.4 Items that are missing or not mentioned may besignificant because of this.
1.5 There are primary and secondary sources of information to be researched,
1.6 Media material may be seen as texts to be analysed for meanings.

2. METHODS OF STUDY
2.1 Textual analysis involves looking for the meanings that are generated by media
material.
2.2 Semiotic analysis is based on the premise that all texts are composed of signs that
produce meanings on two levels: connotative and denotative.
2.3 Structural analysis assumes that texts have organizing principles or structures that help
produce meanings.
2.4 Content analysis tries to quantify exactly the amount and nature of material.
2.5 Image analysis breaks into the meaning of visual material through careful description
of where the camera is placed, of technical and other devices that contribute to the
treatment of the Image, and through careful observation of elements of image content in
relation to one another.
2.6 Using questionnaires to investigate audience knowledge and attitudes in particular.
2.7 Using in-depth interviews to investigate attitudes and knowledge in personal detail.
2.8Using focus groups to investigate the opinions and attitudes of a cross-section of the
audience at one time.
2.9 Ethnographic surveys involve discussions with the audienceat the time and point of
media consumption.
One does not really study the media just by, for example, reading magazines and talking
generally about their style or about the sort of articles that are in them. Nor is it sufficient only
to seek out facts such as newspaper circulation figures, or information about how television is
run. Though these activities may be useful, they are not enough. What one has to do is to try
different methods through which to examine various aspects of the media (not just the
material that they put out).
Three major aspects of what we loosely call 'the media' are INSTITUTIONS, TEXTS
and AUDIENCES. But there are different ways of understanding what we mean by these
terms and why they matter in terms of the study of media. Although texts are the obvious
aspect of the media we experience, they are not the only, or the most important, part of media
study. Many commentators are interested in how the media affect our understanding of the
world. This involves looking at more than just texts. It also involves taking different
approaches to description and analysis, which helps make sense of how the media are part of
our lifestyles, our beliefs and even our social relationships. They are your tools for taking
things apart, seeing how things work, seeing where meanings about our world may come
from. All this should become clearer as you read on.
1. KEY POINTS
1.1 Process
The aspects of the media one may look at are:
 the institutions (organizations )t hat own, run and finance the media
 the production systems that put together the material
 the conditions under which media material is put together
 the texts (or products, or materials) that are produced
 the representations (or versions of subject matter) that are in the texts
 the meanings that are in the representations, or in our minds, or circulating
in society.
 the audiences that make sense of the product
 the context in which the material is received and understood.
All this should emphasize the point that studying the media is not just about the product, even
though it is true that this is the easiest part of the process of communication for one to get at.

1.2 Investigation
In general, investigative approaches for all subjects involve kinds of:
 description of the features of your object of study.
 analysis of such features
 application of ideas and of analytical approaches
 interpretation of what one takes from analysis and description.
In media this could be, for example, about how a newspaper is produced, how the
internet operates, how people watch television, how magazines represent people with
disabilities. Some of the features described will seem to be significant in various ways.
This significance affects the interpretation. The reasons for features seeming to be significant
will have a lot to do with the frameworks for understanding that are in your head.
Put another way, you could say that investigation focuses on the how and the why. That is, for
example:
 why do things happen the way that they do?
 why do we have the kinds of production systems and product that we do?
 how do these systems work?
 how does the audience make sense of what it reads and sees?
  why does it make a particular kind of sense of this material?

These are basic questions that you can ask yourself as you carry out close examination
of, for example, a magazine or of satellite broadcasting.
1.3 Repetition and Significance
One simple fact that may help your investigations is that anything that is repeated may
well be significant. In a sense, all study and research is looking for patterns of repetition.
What this means is that if you are describing ownership of the media, and this seems to repeat
some characteristics across most of the media, then those characteristics are significant in
some way. To take another fairly obvious example, if you study magazines for women in a
certain age band and find that certain topics are repeated again and again, then these topics
must be more significant than those that are not repeated. How you interpret this significance
is another matter. But in this case it is fairly obvious that such repetition means that the
makers of the magazines think that these topics are important, that they think they will sell the
magazine, that they think the readers will like them, that whatever is said in the articles will
contribute to the knowledge and opinions of the readers.
1.4 Absence and Significance
It is worth realizing that there are other reasons why the topic that you are investigating
could throw up significant evidence. What is absent may be as significant as what is present.
So, for example, the fact that there are no teenage boys' magazines like those for girls does
seem significant. The fact that there is virtually no hard political news in the most popular
newspapers does seem significant.
1.5 Source and Significance
There may also be significance in the SOURCE of the information that you obtain. For
example, if you read a book like American Independent Cinema (Hillier, 2000), then what
you find out from reading the interviews with directors has the significance of being a
primary or first-hand source. If you read the BBC Charter, that is primary; if you read what I
tell you about it, then that is secondary. Someone's opinion about the director's work is
secondary. Both kinds of source have their own usefulness. You also have to take into
account just what you are trying to study. If you are trying to study a film critically, then the
film itself is more primary than a description of it in some critical work. In general, it may be
difficult to get to primary sources, but it is really useful if you can. What counts as primary
rather depends on what you are trying to investigate.
 1.6 Texts and Meanings
Studying the media involves looking for MESSAGES and MEANINGS in the material.
There is a kind of assumption (which you need to test) that these meanings are there and can
influence you. Meanings come through all forms of communication, not only words. In fact, it
is arguable that they come more powerfully through pictures because these are more like real
life (iconic) than words are (symbolic). That is to say, looking at a picture of a person is quite
like looking at the real person, whereas looking at a set of words describing that person is not
the same thing at all. It is this illusion of 'being like' that is important, and that makes IMAGE
ANALYSIS important. If you are able to break into the image in a methodical way, then you
are breaking into an illusion. And, let's face it, a great deal of media material is pictorial
nowadays: comics, television, film. Even newspapers are very visual if you think about the
graphic qualities of layout and the number of photographs that fill the popular tabloids. You
can check this emphasis on pictures by using the CONTENT ANALYSIS method of study.
Meanings are embedded in texts by the producers who work for the institution,
intentionally or otherwise. Texts yield meanings when audiences engage with them.
Audiences construct meanings in their heads through interaction with the text.
Essential concepts in media studies
Text

Institution Audience
Meanings

Media Study
Should media study concentrate on textual material?
Or, should it deal with factors that influence the making and reading of texts?

2. METHODS OF STUDY
Now we can look at some specific methods that range across the media. These methods
are not, of course, mutually exclusive. They can complement one another. It is also possible
to adapt methods to suit particular needs. An example of this is David Buckingham's
investigation (1987) of EastEnders and its audience. In this case he interviewed the producers,
he interviewed groups of young people as audience, he described and interpreted the
marketing of the programme, he conducted textual analysis of certain episodes.

2.1 Textual Analysis

This is something of a catch-all term for analysis of any media material. Really, it
stands for a range of specific analytical approaches such as semiotic analysis, image analysis,
content analysis, narrative analysis and genre analysis. All these are based on specific theories
and concepts, and take a particular approach to the text in question. They try to describe and
make sense of certain features of a text. Indeed, they make claims that these features (such as
signs or CONVENTIONS) actually do exist. All of them lead to ideas about meanings in the
text, ideas about how audiences make meanings out of reading texts, suggest something about
how and why texts are produced. So textual analysis refers in general to the taking apart of a
text. It tends to look for structures and patterns of one kind or another in the text. It treats all
media material, visual or otherwise, as a kind of 'book', with meanings to be read into it. It
may be argued that we can only make sense of a text because it operates within a system of
meanings that we share in our CULTURE. SEMIOTICS, with its foundation of signs and
codes, is an example of such a system.
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS, STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS, semiotic analysis all involve
understanding of similar concepts, and are all ways of getting to the same thing: how the text
is put together, how we read meanings into it. Semiotics concentrates on the building blocks
of the text to get to meanings- the words or the elements within a picture - what it calls signs.
Structuralism looks for organizing principles and at whole sections of text – for example,
chunks of narrative, or the mise en scene (composition) of a film shot.
What you should remember is that media study is not just about texts. We tend to do a
lot with texts because we can get at them. But there are dangers in, for example, assuming too
much about institution or audience from reading a text. Similarly, be careful about assuming
that meaning is all in the text. Texts aren't like a truck, onto which we pile some goods called
meanings. Maybe texts work on your mind, but you also work on a text to make sense of it.
2.2 Semiotic Analysis (of Text)
This approach assumes that all texts are made up from sets of signs, and that these signs
have meanings attached to them. (You should also look at the section on semiotics in Chapter
3.) The point is that the meanings of signs (or combinations of signs) is not fixed. So semiotic
analysis is not like using a theorem or a formula to work out a problem of meaning. It is also
the case that some meanings are more literal, and some are more ambivalent and cultural. The
word 'cat', therefore, may mean the creature we call a cat; it may also mean ideas about 'cat-
ness' - perhaps about the independent nature of the cat or about the furry warmth of a cat. The
first meaning is labelled denotative, the second one is connotative. As Taylor and Willis
(1999) say, “a knowledge about the VALUES and beliefs of a particular culture is necessary
if connotative readings of signs are to be successfully arrived at.” Indeed, one could also say
that such readings (meanings) are ideological - they are about the particular view of the world
held by that culture.
The way the word SIGN is used is quite complicated. But the essence of it for your
analysis is to recognize words as signs, pictures as signs, and parts of pictures as signs (the
colour of the cat or the background to the cat). The process of suggesting meaning through
signs is a process of signification. Semiotic analysis may be used on word texts. It might
recognize the repetition of certain kinds of word in a story that produce a certain kind of
impression or feeling in the reader. But it also works on visual texts and those many texts, like
magazine adverts, that combine words and images. It has also tended to be used for the
decoding of certain kinds of meaning - those that are ideological in nature, that are about the
major beliefs and values that dominate the way we think about relationships, about social
institutions, about the way we believe society should operate. In the case of images, you
should tie this in with my approach to image analysis below.
A semiotician would look at the following aspects.
• Denotation - picture elements that you describe factually and objectively. Meanings about
things that are referred to from a material world, e.g. this is an image of a male kicking a
round leather ball; the ball is in the foreground of the image.
• Connotation - meanings from those elements. Meanings from a world of ideas, e.g. this
image creates a meaning of aggression because the ball and the foot seem to be kicking into
the face of the viewer of the picture.
• Anchorage - picture elements that really pin down meaning, e.g. this is an image of X taking
a penalty kick (and we know this because it says so in the caption to the photo). Further
connotations from this image might be about the game of football in general and about its
place in our culture. So this method of study involves looking carefully at what makes up a
written or visual text, and looking for what might be suggested as much as for what is actually
described.
2.3. Structural Analysis (of Text)
This method involves looking at how the text is organized and at what this may tell us.
The patterns of organization may be within one image or in a sequence of pictures, within a
short piece of writing or within a whole story. In terms of words, of written language, one key
structure that we get to by analysing a text is essentially that of grammar. This means that we
are also talking about conventions or rules, which are organizing principles (see also
semiotics and codes). Other organizing principles within language are the rules of spelling
and the rules of word order, or syntax. But all 'languages', all media, can be analysed for their
structures. The proposition is that all texts have an underlying system of elements and rules
that helps produce the meaning of a text. Genres would be a particularly recognizable
example of this. This principle of structure has caused critics to look for basic elements in a
text - types of character or patterns of storyline - and then look for principles by which these
are put together. Strictly, this is as much about looking for how the meaning is put in the text,
as it is about clarifying what that meaning is.
This approach also has problems, it has to be said. For example, it seemsattractive to
suppose that many stories use the element of the Villain' character, from the witch in Hansel
and Gretel to those various Asian, East European and Russian villains in Bond stories. The
trouble is that the meaning of villain is not necessarily 'written into' the structure of the text. It
is also constructed in the head of the reader/viewer. With a given story, different cultures
might read different characters as villains. So they would not see the text as being structured
in quite the same way. At this point it is sufficient to take on two main kinds of structure: the
structure of opposites in a story; the structure of narrative, which affects things like building
to the climax of a story.
BINARY OPPOSITIONS are opposing concepts that one reads into the text, usually
through contrasting sets of words or of pictures. The most basic oppositions are to do with
good and evil, or with male and female. One can then find words or picture elements lined up
on one side or the other, to underline the opposition, and of course to suggest approval or
disapproval of one element or the other. Males are tough, hard, reasonable; females are pliant,
soft, emotional. Villains are filmed in shadows, in dark clothes, with unshaven faces; heroes
are clean-cut, in pale clothes, in light. Although I suggest elsewhere that there are more than
two sides to every story (especially a news story), it does seem deeply ingrained in our culture
that we should think in these opposing ways. Many texts do have this structure built into
them. Many stories are based on conflict, and the easiest conflict to set up is that between two
people or two views. There may be more than one set of oppositions in a story. To describe
this structure is to describe how the text is put together. One has found a pattern. But, to make
sense of the text, one has to explain what the opposition means. Usually that meaning is about
the positive and the negative: one of the opposing elements being valued in terms of 'right' or
'good' or 'attractive', the other as 'wrong', 'bad', 'unattractive'. In fact, one is into what is valued
and what is not, into aspects of ideology.
Narrative structures are the arrangement of the building blocks of plot and drama in a
story. Describing and interpreting the structure of the narrative is another kind of structural
analysis. For example, what is called mainstream narrative or the classic realist text has a
developmental structure. This is your average story in most media, where the plot develops
from some initial problem or conflict, through various difficulties to some neat ending where
everything is sorted out. Analysis of such narrative structures not only leads to understanding
of how we come to see that text meaning what it does, but is also likely to help explain how
we, as readers or viewers, are positioned in relation to the text. For example, autobiography
depends on us being privileged to see into the mind of the story-teller and to see things
through their mind.
Looking for a structure in the narrative of a text leads to more than just a description of
how the 'machinery' works. It helps explain how we understand a text. It helps us understand
that what we think a text means is, first, more complicated than it appears on the surface and,
second, is not a matter of chance.
2.4. Content Analysis (of Text)
In this approach you simply break down (under headings) the content of, for example, a
particular programme or paper, and measure it. You may express this breakdown in terms of a
percentage of the total number of pages. For instance, in a given magazine it may be that Z3
per cent of it is occupied by advertisements. Such an approach can also be used to objectify
what is in fact treatment, not content. For example, you could add up the number of shots in a
drama programme that show the heroine in close-up as compared with other female
characters. You will find many more shots for the heroine. This proves that one of the reasons
why we know (subconsciously) that she is meant to be a heroine is because she is given so
much screen time. The great thing about such analysis is that it stops people making
generalizations such as 'there's too much violence in that thriller series'. If (and it is a big if)
you measure violence in terms of the number of violent acts, as researchers have done, then
you can do the counting for yourself. Find out just how many violent acts the supposedly
violent programme actually contains. You could even stop-watch how long they last relative
to the total programme length. It may well be that the generalization is completely wrong. So
this analysis can be used to prove or disprove snap judgements on material. Of course, it may
also throw up points that you had not thought about until you saw the figures.
2.5. Image Analysis (of Text)
There are different approaches to such analysis. But in general they will seek to break
down the elements of a given image (whether film shot or magazine photograph), and to find
out how the meaning in the image is constructed into it. In fact, there is often more meaning
in the image than there seemed to be at first. I have found the following approach to be useful
as a method for teasing out meanings from images.
I would argue that there are three main elements to any image.
• The Camera/Spectator Position
Where the camera was when the picture was shot. This automatically puts us, the
viewer, in a particular position relative to the objects in the image. This position may be
significant because, for example, we come to realize that the camera lens centre is pointing at
the bottle of perfume in the advertisement and not just at the scene in general.
• The Image Treatment
Devices used to put the image together. These also affect one's view of what the image
means, at all levels. For instance, a modern photograph may be sepia-toned in order to make it
seem old-fashioned (and so to give it a quality of nostalgia). The use of focus, of lighting, of
composition, of framing, are all devices that can affect our understanding of what is actually
in the picture. It is rather like talking about how one says something, as opposed to what one
says.
You may find that, elsewhere, these devices are referred to as 'technical codes'. If you
are dealing with film or television then you also have to take account of devices or codes of
sound, which will affect the meanings you read into the pictures. This sound is made up of
three main types: music, effects noises (FX), and dialogue or voice (including voice-over or
narrator). This is discussed further under narrative.
• Image Content
The objects that are represented within it. And content analysis can throw up some
interesting points here too, and prove that we do not usually look at images with any great
care. For instance, a scene from a film may show two people fighting in a room. It is
apparently just a picture of two people fighting, but the paper knife behind them on a
sideboard gives new meaning to the image. It suggests that something dire may be about to
happen. It suggests that the fight may turn out to be more than just a brawl. So what is in the
image, where it is placed, what symbolic meanings it may have, all matter.
 Other approaches to image analysis include the semiotic method described in 2.2 above.
There is also that approach described in terms of mise en scene, developed through Film
Studies, but applicable to any visual medium. In this case the image as text is looked at in
terms of the composition of elements within the frame, across it and in terms of depth. The
relationship of people within the frame may, for instance, tell us about their emotional
relationship – a couple may be separated on either side of a the picture. Or the background in
the picture may tell us something about fear and threat, as this relates to a character in the
foreground. There may be symbolic elements in the picture. The juxtaposition of picture
elements may be important for bringing out meaning for the viewer.
2.6. Use of Questionnaires (for Audience)
Another way of studying the media is to construct and administer some questionnaires
of your own. The media and their market research arms are asking us questions every day
about ourselves, and our reading and viewing preferences. You can do the same thing. As a
rule of thumb, it's a good thing to start by telling the respondent what the questionnaire is
about; then ask some simple questions about therespondent and their background; then go on
to ask questions with Yes/No answers (which are easy to process); then to graded questions,
ending with open questions for which any answer goes. This is a useful structure to follow.
The validity of your questionnaire depends on numbers questioned as well as how
tightly you have defined your audience. For example, it is useful either to ask questions of a
particular age group, or of an audience (respondents) covering a range of ages and
occupations, and both genders.
This method of media study is obviously useful for finding out about things like reading
habits, or opinions of programmes. If you could also persuade your local newsagent to answer
a few questions about what magazines sell best in your area, or even talk to someone in the
local media about programming policy, then you would have some useful information that
could also be compared with what you found out from your questionnaires to the public.
Whether you fill out the questionnaire form as you conduct an interview, or whether your
interviewees do this themselves, you are in fact conducting a survey.
2.7. In-depth Interviews (for Institutions or Audience)
This approach is one often used by the media themselves and by market researchers. In
essence it involves a lengthy one-to-one interview with prepared questions. Such an interview
could be used to elicit information, perhaps from someone who is particularly expert in their
field. It is also likely to be used to find out people's opinions, perhaps about an advertisement
for a certain brand of perfume. It is important to select your interviewee carefully to be
representative of your audience, or because they are especially well informed. Then a long
interview is like taking a core sample.
2.8. Focus Groups (for Audience/Marketing)
These are a development of the above, where one talks to a selected group about a given
topic in order to gain information and opinion. Again, market researchers will, for example,
show the group samples of publicity material or perhaps the pilot for a programme and ask
standard questions. Certainly you could, for example, select a group of women within a
certain age band and show them some television soap opera material in order to find out how
they make sense of the material. This is a primary source of material, where reading someone
else's research into women watching soaps would be using a secondary source.
This research methodology has been very popular for some years in the field of market
research. However, it is now being realized that, like all methodologies, it has some
drawbacks. The most obvious of these is that what people say in the special situation of a
selected focus group may not be what they really say and do in their everyday lives.
2.9. Audience Analysis/Ethnographic Surveys
This approach is less about measuring and counting than it is about describing
experience. In this case you would, for example, watch some television with your chosen
group for survey. You could ask prepared and standard questions, but you would also use an
open-question, conversational approach to get people to talk about how they watched, as
much as what they watched. You could also observe what actually went on in terms of how
viewing happened and whether people talked much when the programme was on, for
example. Necessarily this is about small samples, but it does get to the heart of an audience
really behaving as an audience.
Study Methods
Is it valid to use only one method to study some aspects of the media?
Or does one have to use a variety of methods in order to come up with any meaningful
conclusions?
 IV. Media Literacy concepts

Media literacy is a set of skills that anyone can learn. Just as literacy is the ability to
read and write, media literacy refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create
media messages of all kinds.
These are essential skills in today's world. Today, many people get most of their
information through complex combinations of text, images and sounds. We need to be able to
navigate this complex media environment, to make sense of the media messages that bombard
us every day, and to express ourselves using a variety of media tools and technologies.
Media literate youth and adults are better able to decipher the complex messages we
receive from television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, signs, packaging,
marketing materials, video games, recorded music, the Internet and other forms of media.
They can understand how these media messages are constructed, and discover how they
create meaning – usually in ways hidden beneath the surface. People who are media literate
can also create their own media, becoming active participants in our media culture.
Media literacy skills can help children, youth and adults:
 Understand how media messages create meaning
 Identify who created a particular media message
 Recognize what the media maker wants us to believe or do
 Name the "tools of persuasion" used
 Recognize bias, spin, misinformation and lies
 Discover the part of the story that's not being told
 Evaluate media messages based on our own experiences, beliefs and values
 Create and distribute our own media messages
 Become advocates for change in our media system
Media literacy education helps to develop critical thinking and active participation in
our media culture. The goal is to give youth and adults greater freedom by empowering them
to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.
In schools: Educational standards in many states -- in language arts, social studies,
health and other subjects -- include the skills of accessing, analyzing and evaluating
information found in media. These are media literacy skills, though the standards may not use
that term. Teachers know that students like to examine and talk about their own media, and
they've found that media literacy is an engaging way to explore a wide array of topics and
issues.
In the community: Researchers and practitioners recognize that media literacy education
is an important tool in addressing alcohol, tobacco and other drug use; obesity and eating
disorders; bullying and violence; gender identity and sexuality; racism and other forms of
discrimination and oppression; and life skills. Media literacy skills can empower people and
communities usually shut out of the media system to tell their own stories, share their
perspectives, and work for justice.
In public life: Media literacy helps us understand how media create cultures, and how
the "media monopoly" - the handful of giant corporations that control most of our media -
affects our politics and our society. Media literacy encourages and empowers youth and adults
to change our media system, and to create new, more just and more accessible media
networks.
The study and practice of media literacy is based on a number of fundamental concepts
about media messages, our media system, and the role of media literacy in bringing about
change. Understanding these concepts is an essential first step in media literacy education.
We’ve organized Media Literacy Concepts into three levels: Basic, Intermediate and
Advanced. Basic concepts focus on how media affect us. Intermediate concepts examine more
closely how we create meaning from media messages. Advanced concepts examine the
interaction of media and society, and the role of media literacy in bringing about change.
Basic concepts
1. Media construct our culture. Our society and culture – even our perception of reality - is
shaped by the information and images we receive via the media. A few generations ago, our
culture’s storytellers were people – family, friends, and others in our community. For many
people today, the most powerful storytellers are television, movies, music, video games, and
the Internet.
2. Media messages affect our thoughts, attitudes and actions. We don’t like to admit it, but all
of us are affected by advertising, news, movies, pop music, video games, and other forms of
media. That’s why media are such a powerful cultural force, and why the media industry is
such big business.
3. Media use “the language of persuasion.” All media messages try to persuade us to believe
or do something. News, documentary films, and nonfiction books all claim to be telling the
truth. Advertising tries to get us to buy products. Novels and TV dramas go to great lengths to
appear realistic. To do this, they use specific techniques (like flattery, repetition, fear, and
humor) we call “the language of persuasion.”
4. Media construct fantasy worlds. While fantasy can be pleasurable and entertaining, it can
also be harmful. Movies, TV shows, and music videos sometimes inspire people to do things
that are unwise, anti-social, or even dangerous. At other times, media can inspire our
imagination. Advertising constructs a fantasy world where all problems can be solved with a
purchase. Media literacy helps people to recognize fantasy and constructively integrate it with
reality.
5. No one tells the whole story. Every media maker has a point of view. Every good story
highlights some information and leaves out the rest. Often, the effect of a media message
comes not only from what is said, but from what part of the story is not told.
6. Media messages contain “texts” and “subtexts.” The text is the actual words, pictures
and/or sounds in a media message. The subtext is the hidden and underlying meaning of the
message.
7. Media messages reflect the values and viewpoints of media makers. Everyone has a point
of view. Our values and viewpoints influence our choice of words, sounds and images we use
to communicate through media. This is true for all media makers, from a preschooler’s crayon
drawing to a media conglomerate’s TV news broadcast.
8. Individuals construct their own meanings from media. Although media makers attempt to
convey specific messages, people receive and interpret them differently, based on their own
prior knowledge and experience, their values, and their beliefs. This means that people can
create different subtexts from the same piece of media. All meanings and interpretations are
valid and should be respected.
9. Media messages can be decoded. By “deconstructing” media, we can figure out who
created the message, and why. We can identify the techniques of persuasion being used and
recognize how media makers are trying to influence us. We notice what parts of the story are
not being told, and how we can become better informed.
10. Media literate youth and adults are active consumers of media. Many forms of media –
like television – seek to create passive, impulsive consumers. Media literacy helps people
consume media with a critical eye, evaluating sources, intended purposes, persuasion
techniques, and deeper meanings.
Intermediate concepts
11. The human brain processes images differently than words. Images are processed in the
“reptilian” part of the brain, where strong emotions and instincts are also located. Written and
spoken language is processed in another part of the brain, the neocortex, where reason lies.
This is why TV commercials are often more powerful than print ads.
12. We process time-based media differently than static media. The information and images
in
TV shows, movies, video games, and music often bypass the analytic brain and trigger
emotions and memory in the unconscious and reactive parts of the brain. Only a small
proportion surfaces in consciousness. When we read a newspaper, magazine, book or website,
we have the opportunity to stop and think, re-read something, and integrate the information
rationally.
13. Media are most powerful when they operate on an emotional level. Most fiction engages
our hearts as well as our minds. Advertisements take this further, and seek to transfer feelings
from an emotionally-charged symbol (family, sex, the flag) to a product.
14. Media messages can be manipulated to enhance emotional impact. Movies and TV shows
use a variety of filmic techniques (like camera angles, framing, reaction shots, quick cuts,
special effects, lighting tricks, music, and sound effects) to reinforce the messages in the
script. Dramatic graphic design can do the same for magazine ads or websites.
15. Media effects are subtle. Few people believe everything they see and hear in the media.
Few people rush out to the store immediately after seeing an ad. Playing a violent video game
won’t automatically turn you into a murderer. The effects of media are more subtle than this,
but because we are so immersed in the media environment, the effects are still significant.
16. Media effects are complex. Media messages directly influence us as individuals, but they
also affect our families and friends, our communities, and our society. So some media effects
are indirect. We must consider both direct and indirect effects to understand media’s true
influence.
17. Media convey ideological and value messages. Ideology and values are usually conveyed
in the subtext. Two examples include news reports (besides covering an issue or event, news
reports often reinforce assumptions about power and authority) and advertisements (besides
selling particular products, advertisements almost always promote the values of a consumer
society).
18. We all create media. Maybe you don’t have the skills and resources to make a blockbuster
movie or publish a daily newspaper. But just about anyone can snap a photo, write a letter or
sing a song. And new technology has allowed millions of people to make media--email,
websites, videos, newsletters, and more -- easily and cheaply. Creating your own media
messages is an important part of media literacy.
Advanced concepts
19. Our media system reflects the power dynamics in our society. People and institutions with
money, privilege, influence, and power can more easily create media messages and distribute
them to large numbers of people. People without this access are often shut out of the media
system.
20. Most media are controlled by commercial interests. In the United States, the marketplace
largely determines what we see on television, what we hear on the radio, what we read in
newspapers or magazines. As we use media, we should always be alert to the self-interest of
corporate media makers. Are they concerned about your health? Do they care if you’re smart
or wellinformed? Are they interested in creating active participants in our society and culture,
or merely passive consumers of their products, services, and ideas?
21. Media monopolies reduce opportunities to participate in decision making. When a few
huge media corporations control access to information, they have the power to make some
information widely available and privilege those perspectives that serve their interests, while
marginalizing or even censoring other information and perspectives. This affects our ability to
make good decisions about our own lives, and reduces opportunities to participate in making
decisions about our government and society.
22. Changing the media system is a justice issue. Our media system produces lots of negative,
demeaning imagery, values and ideas. It renders many people invisible. It provides too little
funding and too few outlets for people without money, privilege, influence, and power to tell
their stories.
23. We can change our media system. More and more people are realizing how important it is
to have a media system that is open to new people and new perspectives, that elevates human
values over commercial values, and that serves human needs in the 21st century. All over the
world, people are taking action to reform our media system and create new alternatives.
24. Media literate youth and adults are media activists. As we learn how to access, analyze
and interpret media messages, and as we create our own media, we recognize the limitations
and problems of our current media system. Media literacy is a great foundation for advocacy
and activism for a better media system.
 V. Text & Subtext

Text
We often use the word “text” to mean “written words.” But in media literacy, “text”
has a very different meaning. The text of any piece of media is what you actually see and/or
hear. It can include written or spoken words, pictures, graphics, moving images, sounds, and
the arrangement or sequence of of these elements. Sometimes the text is called the “story” or
“manifest text.” For most of us, the text of a piece of media is always the same.
Subtext
The “subtext” is your interpretation of a piece of media. It is sometimes called the
“latent text.” The subtext is not actually heard or seen; it is the meaning we create from the
text in our own minds. While media makers (especially advertisers) often create texts that
suggest certain subtexts, each person creates their own subtext (interpretation) based on their
previous experiences, knowledge, opinions, attitudes and values. Thus, the subtext of a piece
of media will vary depending on the individual seeing/hearing it.
Example :
Magazine ad: “got milk?”

The text of this media message includes:

 An image of musician Sheryl Crow
holding a guitar case and a glass of milk in a
room with a lamp, bed, open door, etc. behind
her.
 The logo “got milk?” and the words
“Rock hard.”
 The short paragraph: “To keep the
crowd on their feet, I keep my body in tune.
With milk. Studies suggest that the nutrients in
milk can play an important role in weight loss.
So if you’re trying to lose weight or maintain a
healthy weight, try drinking 24 ounces of low-
fat or fat free milk every 24 hours as part of
your reduced-calorie diet. To learn more, visit
24 24milk.com. It’s a change that’ll do you
good.”
 Another logo that reads “milk. your diet.
Lose weight! 24 oz. 24 hours”
  A small image of Sheryl Crow’s album Wildflower.

Possible subtexts include:

 Sheryl Crow drinks milk.
 Sheryl Crow can only perform well by drinking milk.
 Sheryl Crow wants to sell her album.
 Milk renders great concerts.
 If you drink milk you will lose weight.
 Beautiful people drink milk.
 If you drink milk, you’ll be beautiful and famous, too.
 Sheryl Crow stays at cheap motels.
 Rock stars like ripped jeans

VI. The Language of Persuasion

The goal of most media messages is to persuade the audience to believe or do
something. Hollywood movies use expensive special effects to make us believe that what
we’re seeing is real. News stories use several techniques – such as direct quotation of
identified sources – to make us believe that the story is accurate.
The media messages most concerned with persuading us are found in advertising, public
relations and advocacy. Commercial advertising tries to persuade us to buy a product or
service. Public relations (PR) "sells" us a positive image of a corporation, government or
organization. Politicians and advocacy groups (groups that support a particular belief, point of
view, policy, or action) try to persuade us to vote for or support them, using ads, speeches,
newsletters, websites, and other means.
These "persuaders" use a variety of techniques to grab our attention, to establish
credibility and trust, to stimulate desire for the product or policy, and to motivate us to act
(buy, vote, give money, etc.) We call these techniques the “language of persuasion.” They’re
not new; Aristotle wrote about persuasion techniques more than 2000 years ago, and they’ve
been used by speakers, writers, and media makers for even longer than that. Learning the
language of persuasion is an important media literacy skill. Once you know how media
messages try to persuade you to believe or do something, you’ll be better able to make your
own decisions.
 Advertising is the easiest starting point: most ads are relatively simple in structure,
easily available, and in their original format. Media literacy beginners are encouraged to learn
the language of persuasion by examining ads. Keep in mind that many media messages, such
as television commercials, use several techniques simultaneously. Others selectively employ
one or two.
Political rhetoric – whether used by politicians, government officials, lobbyists, or
activists - is more difficult to analyze, not only because it involves more emotional issues, but
also because it is more likely to be seen in bits and fragments, often filtered or edited by
others. Identifying the persuasion techniques in public discourse is important because the
consequences of that discourse are so significant – war and peace, justice and injustice,
freedom and oppression, and the future of our planet. Learning the language of persuasion can
help us sort out complex emotional arguments, define the key issues, and make up our own
minds about the problems facing us.
NOTE: We’ve divided our list of persuasion techniques into three levels: Basic,
Intermediate and Advanced. Basic techniques are easily identified in many media examples,
and they are a good starting point for all learners. Identifying many intermediate techniques
may require more critical distance, and they should usually be investigated after learners have
mastered the basics. More abstraction and judgment may be required to identify the advanced
techniques, and some learners may find them difficult to understand. However, even media
literacy beginners may be able to spot some of the intermediate or advanced techniques, so
feel free to examine any of the persuasion techniques with your group.
Basic persuasion techniques
1. Association. This persuasion technique tries to link a product, service, or idea with
something already liked or desired by the target audience, such as fun, pleasure, beauty,
security, intimacy, success, wealth, etc. The media message doesn’t make explicit claims that
you’ll get these things; the association is implied. Association can be a very powerful
technique. A good ad can create a strong emotional response and then associate that feeling
with a brand (family = Coke, victory = Nike). This process is known as emotional transfer.
Several of the persuasion techniques below, like Beautiful people, Warm & fuzzy, Symbols
and Nostalgia, are specific types of association.
2. Bandwagon. Many ads show lots of people using the product, implying that "everyone is
doing it" (or at least, "all the cool people are doing it"). No one likes to be left out or left
behind, and these ads urge us to "jump on the bandwagon.” Politicians use the same technique
when they say, "The American people want..." How do they know?
3. Beautiful people. Beautiful people uses good-looking models (who may also be celebrities)
to attract our attention. This technique is extremely common in ads, which may also imply
(but never promise!) that we’ll look like the models if we use the product.
4. Bribery. This technique tries to persuade us to buy a product by promising to give us
something else, like a discount, a rebate, a coupon, or a "free gift.” Sales, special offers,
contests, and sweepstakes are all forms of bribery. Unfortunately, we don’t really get
something for free -- part of the sales price covers the cost of the bribe.
5. Celebrities. (A type of Testimonial – the opposite of Plain folks.) We tend to pay attention
to famous people. That’s why they’re famous! Ads often use celebrities to grab our attention.
By appearing in an ad, celebrities implicitly endorse a product; sometimes the endorsement is
explicit.Many people know that companies pay celebrities a lot of money to appear in their
ads (Nike’s hugecontracts with leading athletes, for example, are well known) but this type of
testimonial still seems to be effective.
6. Experts. (A type of Testimonial.) We rely on experts to advise us about things that we don’t
know ourselves. Scientists, doctors, professors and other professionals often appear in ads and
advocacy messages, lending their credibility to the product, service, or idea being sold.
Sometimes, “plain folks” can also be experts, as when a mother endorses a brand of baby
powder or a construction worker endorses a treatment for sore muscles.
7. Explicit claims. Something is "explicit" if it is directly, fully, and/or clearly expressed or
demonstrated. For example, some ads state the price of a product, the main ingredients, where
it was made, or the number of items in the package – these are explicit claims. So are specific,
measurable promises about quality, effectiveness, or reliability, like “Works in only five
minutes!” Explicit claims can be proven true or false through close examination or testing,
and if they’re false, the advertiser can get in trouble. It can be surprising to learn how few ads
make explicit claims. Most of them try to persuade us in ways that cannot be proved or
disproved.
8. Fear. This is the opposite of the Association technique. It uses something disliked or feared
by the intended audience (like bad breath, failure, high taxes or terrorism) to promote a
“solution.” Ads use fear to sell us products that claim to prevent or fix the problem.
Politicians and advocacy groups stoke our fears to get elected or to gain support.
9. Humor. Many ads use humor because it grabs our attention and it’s a powerful persuasion
technique. When we laugh, we feel good. Advertisers make us laugh and then show us their
product or logo because they’re trying to connect that good feeling to their product. They
hope that when we see their product in a store, we’ll subtly re-experience that good feeling
and select their product. Advocacy messages (and news) rarely use humor because it can
undermine their credibility; an exception is political satire.
10. Intensity. The language of ads is full of intensifiers, including superlatives (greatest, best,
most, fastest, lowest prices), comparatives (more, better than, improved, increased, fewer
calories), hyperbole (amazing, incredible, forever), exaggeration, and many other ways to
hype the product.
11. Maybe. Unproven, exaggerated or outrageous claims are commonly preceded by “weasel
words” such as may, might, can, could, some, many, often, virtually, as many as, or up to.
Watch for these words if an offer seems too good to be true. Commonly, the Intensity and
Maybe techniques are used together, making the whole thing meaningless.
12. Plain folks. (A type of Testimonial – the opposite of Celebrities.) This technique works
because we may believe a "regular person" more than an intellectual or a highly-paid
celebrity. It’s often used to sell everyday products like laundry detergent because we can more
easily see ourselves using the product, too. The Plain folks technique strengthens the down-
home, "authentic" image of products like pickup trucks and politicians. Unfortunately, most
of the "plain folks" in ads are actually paid actors carefully selected because they look like
“regular people.”
13. Repetition. Advertisers use repetition in two ways: Within an ad or advocacy message,
words, sounds or images may be repeated to reinforce the main point. And the message itself
(a TV commercial, a billboard, a website banner ad) may be displayed many times. Even
unpleasant ads and political slogans work if they are repeated enough to pound their message
into our minds.
14. Testimonials. Media messages often show people testifying about the value or quality of a
product, or endorsing an idea. They can be experts, celebrities, or plain folks. We tend to
believe them because they appear to be a neutral third party (a pop star, for example, not the
lipstick maker, or a community member instead of the politician running for office.) This
technique works best when it seems like the person “testifying” is doing so because they
genuinely like the product or agree with the idea. Some testimonials may be less effective
when we recognize that the person is getting paid to endorse the product.
15. Warm & fuzzy. This technique uses sentimental images (especially of families, kids and
animals) to stimulate feelings of pleasure, comfort, and delight. It may also include the use of
soothing music, pleasant voices, and evocative words like "cozy" or "cuddly.” The Warm &
fuzzy technique is another form of Association. It works well with some audiences, but not
with others, who may find it too corny.
Intermediate persuasion techniques
16. The Big Lie. According to Adolf Hitler, one of the 20th century’s most dangerous
propagandists, people are more suspicious of a small lie than a big one. The Big Lie is more
than exaggeration or hype; it’s telling a complete falsehood with such confidence and
charisma that people believe it. Recognizing The Big Lie requires "thinking outside the box"
of conventional wisdom and asking the questions other people don’t ask.
17. Charisma. Sometimes, persuaders can be effective simply by appearing firm, bold, strong,
and confident. This is particularly true in political and advocacy messages. People often
follow charismatic leaders even when they disagree with their positions on issues that affect
them.
18. Euphemism. While the Glittering generalities and Name-calling techniques arouse
audiences with vivid, emotionally suggestive words, Euphemism tries to pacify audiences in
order to make an unpleasant reality more palatable. Bland or abstract terms are used instead of
clearer, more graphic words. Thus, we hear about corporate "downsizing" instead of "layoffs,"
or "enhanced interrogation techniques" instead of “torture.”
19. Extrapolation. Persuaders sometimes draw huge conclusions on the basis of a few small
facts. Extrapolation works by ignoring complexity. It’s most persuasive when it predicts
something we hope can or will be true.
20. Flattery. Persuaders love to flatter us. Politicians and advertisers sometimes speak directly
to us: "You know a good deal when you see one." "You expect quality." "You work hard for a
living." "You deserve it." Sometimes ads flatter us by showing people doing stupid things, so
that we’ll feel smarter or superior. Flattery works because we like to be praised and we tend to
believe people we like. (We’re sure that someone as brilliant as you will easily understand
this technique!)
21. Glittering generalities. This is the use of so-called "virtue words" such as civilization,
democracy, freedom, patriotism, motherhood, fatherhood, science, health, beauty, and love.
Persuaders use these words in the hope that we will approve and accept their statements
without examining the evidence. They hope that few people will ask whether it’s appropriate
to invoke these concepts, while even fewer will ask what these concepts really mean.
22. Name-calling. This technique links a person or idea to a negative symbol (liar, creep,
gossip, etc.). It’s the opposite of Glittering generalities. Persuaders use Name-calling to make
us reject the person or the idea on the basis of the negative symbol, instead of looking at the
available evidence. A subtler version of this technique is to use adjectives with negative
connotations (extreme, passive, lazy, pushy, etc.) Ask yourself: Leaving out the name-calling,
what are the merits of the idea itself?
23. New. We love new things and new ideas, because we tend to believe they’re better than
old things and old ideas. That’s because the dominant culture in the United States (and many
other countries) places great faith in technology and progress. But sometimes, new products
and new ideas lead to new and more difficult problems.
24. Nostalgia. This is the opposite of the New technique. Many advertisers invoke a time
when life was simpler and quality was supposedly better ("like Mom used to make").
Politicians promise to bring back the "good old days" and restore "tradition." But whose
traditions are being restored? Who did they benefit, and who did they harm? This technique
works because people tend to forget the bad parts of the past, and remember the good.
25. Rhetorical questions. These are questions designed to get us to agree with the speaker.
They are set up so that the “correct” answer is obvious. ("Do you want to get out of debt?"
"Do you want quick relief from headache pain?" and "Should we leave our nation vulnerable
to terrorist attacks?" are all rhetorical questions.) Rhetorical questions are used to build trust
and alignment before the sales pitch.
26. Scientific evidence. This is a particular application of the Expert technique. It uses the
paraphernalia of science (charts, graphs, statistics, lab coats, etc.) to "prove" something. It
often works because many people trust science and scientists. It’s important to look closely at
the "evidence," however, because it can be misleading.
27. Simple solution. Life is complicated. People are complex. Problems often have many
causes, and they’re not easy to solve. These realities create anxiety for many of us. Persuaders
offer relief by ignoring complexity and proposing a Simple solution. Politicians claim one
policy change (lower taxes, a new law, a government program) will solve big social problems.
Advertisers take this strategy even further, suggesting that a deodorant, a car, or a brand of
beer will make you beautiful, popular and successful.
28. Slippery slope. This technique combines Extrapolation and Fear. Instead of predicting a
positive future, it warns against a negative outcome. It argues against an idea by claiming it’s
just the first step down a “slippery slope” toward something the target audience opposes. ("If
we let them ban smoking in restaurants because it’s unhealthy, eventually they’ll ban fast
food, too." This argument ignores the merits of banning smoking in restaurants.) The Slippery
slope technique is commonly used in political debate, because it’s easy to claim that a small
step will lead to a result most people won’t like, even though small steps can lead in many
directions.
29. Symbols. Symbols are words or images that bring to mind some larger concept, usually
one with strong emotional content, such as home, family, nation, religion, gender, or lifestyle.
Persuaders use the power and intensity of symbols to make their case. But symbols can have
different meanings for different people. Hummer SUVs are status symbols for some people,
while to others they are symbols of environmental irresponsibility.
Advanced persuasion techniques
30. Ad hominem. Latin for "against the man," the ad hominem technique responds to an
argument by attacking the opponent instead of addressing the argument itself. It’s also called
“attacking the messenger.” It works on the belief that if there’s something wrong or
objectionable about the messenger, the message must also be wrong.
31. Analogy. An analogy compares one situation with another. A good analogy, where the
situations are reasonably similar, can aid decision-making. A weak analogy may not be
persuasive, unless it uses emotionally-charged images that obscure the illogical or unfair
comparison.
32. Card stacking. No one can tell the whole story; we all tell part of the story. Card stacking,
however, deliberately provides a false context to give a misleading impression. It "stacks the
deck," selecting only favorable evidence to lead the audience to the desired conclusion.
33. Cause vs. Correlation. While understanding true causes and true effects is important,
persuaders can fool us by intentionally confusing correlation with cause. For example: Babies
drink milk. Babies cry. Therefore, drinking milk makes babies cry.
34. Denial. This technique is used to escape responsibility for something that is unpopular or
controversial. It can be either direct or indirect. A politician who says, "I won’t bring up my
opponent’s marital problems," has just brought up the issue without sounding mean.
35. Diversion. This technique diverts our attention from a problem or issue by raising a
separate issue, usually one where the persuader has a better chance of convincing us.
Diversion is often used to hide the part of the story not being told. It is also known as a “red
herring.”
36. Group dynamics. We are greatly influenced by what other people think and do. We can
get carried away by the potent atmosphere of live audiences, rallies, or other gatherings.
Group dynamics is a more intense version of the Majority belief and Bandwagon techniques.
37. Majority belief. This technique is similar to the Bandwagon technique. It works on the
assumption that if most people believe something, it must be true. That’s why polls and
survey results are so often used to back up an argument, even though pollsters will admit that
responses vary widely depending on how one asks the question.
38. Scapegoating. Extremely powerful and very common in political speech, Scapegoating
blames a problem on one person, group, race, religion, etc. Some people, for example, claim
that undocumented (“illegal”) immigrants are the main cause of unemployment in the United
States, even though unemployment is a complex problem with many causes. Scapegoating is
a particularly dangerous form of the Simple solution technique.
39. Straw man. This technique builds up an illogical or deliberately damaged idea and
presents it as something that one’s opponent supports or represents. Knocking down the
"straw man" is easier than confronting the opponent directly.
40. Timing. Sometimes a media message is persuasive not because of what it says, but
because of when it’s delivered. This can be as simple as placing ads for flowers and candy
just before Valentine’s Day, or delivering a political speech right after a major news event.
Sophisticated ad campaigns commonly roll out carefully-timed phases to grab our attention,
stimulate desire, and generate a response.

VII. Deconstruct Media Messages

Deconstructing a media message can help us understand who created the message, and
who is intended to receive it. It can reveal how the media maker put together the message
using words, images, sounds, design and other elements. It can expose the point of view of the
media maker, their values, and their biases. It can also uncover hidden meanings – intended or
unintended.
How to Deconstruct a Media Message ?
All media messages – TV shows, newspapers, movies, advertisements, etc. – are made
or constructed by people. One of the most important media literacy skills is deconstruction –
closely examining and “taking apart” media messages to understand how they work.
Deconstructing a media message can help us understand who created the message, and who is
intended to receive it. It can reveal how the media maker put together the message using
words, images, sounds, design, and other elements. It can expose the point of view of media
makers, their values, and their biases. It can also uncover hidden meanings – intended or
unintended. There is no one “correct” way to deconstruct a media message – each of us
interprets media differently, based on our own knowledge, beliefs, experiences, and values.
Just be prepared to explain your interpretation.

Key Concepts for Deconstructing Media :

SOURCE :
All media messages are created. The creator could be an individual writer, photographer
or blogger. In the case of a Hollywood movie, the scriptwriter, director, producer, and movie
studio all play a role in creating the message. Ads are usually put together by ad agencies, but
the “creator” is really the client – the company or organization that’s paying for the ad. The
key point is: Whose message is this? Who has control over the content?
TEXT
We often use the word “text” to mean “written words.” But in media literacy, “text” has
a very different meaning. The text of any piece of media is what you actually see and/or hear.
It can include written or spoken words, pictures, graphics, moving images, sounds, and the
arrangement or sequence of all of these elements. Sometimes the text is called the “story” or
“manifest text.” For most of us, the text of a piece of media is always the same.
SUBTEXT
The “subtext” is an individual interpretation of a media message. It is sometimes called
the “latent text.” The subtext is not actually heard or seen; it is the meaning we create from
the text in our own minds. While media makers often create texts that suggest certain
subtexts, each person creates their own subtext (interpretation) based on their previous
experiences, knowledge, opinions, attitudes, and values. Thus, two people interpreting the
same text can produce two very different subtexts.
AUDIENCE
Media messages are intended to reach audiences. Some are designed to reach millions
of people. Others may be intended only for one person. Most media messages are designed to
reach specific groups of people – defined by age, gender, class, interests, and other factors –
called the “target audience.”
PERSUASION TECHNIQUES
Media messages use a number of techniques to try to persuade us to believe or do
something. If we can spot the techniques being used, we’re less likely to be persuaded, and
more likely to think for ourselves.
POINT OF VIEW
 No one tells the whole story. Everyone tells part of the story from their point of view.
Deconstructing a media message can expose the values and biases of the media maker, and
uncover powerful messages.

VIII. Creating counter-ads

Advertising is a huge business, not only across America but across the entire
globe. Advertising is mainly used to make someone or something well and widely known
nationwide. Depending on how you advertise, it can make or break your career. However,
most people have never heard of the term "counter-advertising," nor do they know of its
importance. Counter-advertising is when an advertisement poses an argument against a
preceding argument in regard to a certain issue, person or product. In other words,
advertisements cannot only be used for promoting a product or an individual. Advertisements
can also take stands against other advertisements in controversial topics.
Basically, counter-advertising is exposing a previous ad and its product or products.
Let's take fast food, for example. There are countless advertisements for. A counter
advertisement would be an ad that would expose "the truth" about McDonald's and the health
concerns the restaurant has. This actually leads me to my next point. Counter advertisements
are easy to identify. They are the ads that target large corporations that produce products such
as alcohol, cigarettes and fast food. However, one thing you will need to consider is the
complexity of counter advertisements. Counter-advertising is, in actuality, not that intricate
when you really think about it. The more difficult part of the ad is merely the research
aspect of creating the advertisement.
Once you finish your research, generating your ad will be rather easy.
There are, technically, different types of counter-advertising. There is counter
advertising for smoking. Many smoking counter ads will provide the viewers information
regarding the dangers of smoking. Examples can range from the number of deaths smoking
causes a year to the number of poisons each cigarette contains. Smoking counter ads will also
provide viewers information regarding the dangers of nicotine. You also have counter
advertisements regarding fast food. As stated before, many counter advertisements regularly
target fast food restaurants, particularly McDonald's, because of health concerns. Fast food
counter-advertisements, however, don't just target McDonald's. They also target myriad other
fast food restaurants, including Taco Bell (another main target) and Wendy's.
 One additional point that is important to consider in regard to counter advertising is the
film industry. What I mean is a documentary can be an hour-long counter advertisement.
Take “Super Size Me”, for example. “Super Size Me” is one large counter advertisement
because the documentary/film opposed not only McDonald's but also essentially the entire
fast food industry. The film provided detailed information supporting the cons of McDonald's
food, including obesity and heart disease. The film also provided statistics regarding the
percentage of people in America who are overweight/obese.Films and documentaries that
target large corporations are basically large counter advertisements.
Counter-advertising has already been ingrained in our society; we are just not aware of
its presence yet. We still think these are regular advertisements. However, they have a
stronghold in not just America, but also across the planet. You can “talk back” to deceptive or
harmful media messages by creating counter ads. These are parodies of advertisements,
delivering more truthful or constructive messages using the same persuasion techniques as
real ads. By creating counter-ads, you can apply media literacy skills to communicate positive
messages, in a fun and engaging exercise.
The simplest way to create a counter-ad is to alter a real ad (magazine or newspaper ads
work best) by changing the text or adding graphic elements; just write or draw over the
original ad, or paste new materials onto it. (An example: change “Come to Marlboro Country”
to “Come to Marlboro’s Graveyard” and add a few tombstones to the landscape.) A counter-
ad can also be created by drawing a new image, copying the design and layout of a real ad.
Collage techniques work well, too. You can also write scripts for radio or TV counter-ads,
and read them to a class or group. Or take it a step further and record or videotape your
counter-ad. Here are a few tips to help you make effective counter-ads:
· Analyze. Look at several real ads and try to figure out why they’re effective. The best
counter-ads use the same techniques to deliver a different message.
· Power. Your message has to break through the clutter of all the real ads that people see or
hear. Think about what makes an ad memorable to you. What techniques does it use to grab
your attention? Use them.
· Persuade. Use the same persuasion techniques found in real ads – like humor, repetition, or
flattery -- to deliver your alternative message.
· Pictures. Visual images are incredibly powerful. People often forget what they read or hear,
but remember what they see. The best counter-ads, like the best ads, tell their stories through
pictures.
· Rebellion. Advertising targeted at young people often appeals to a sense of youthful
rebellion. Effective counter-ads expose misleading and manipulative advertising methods and
turn their rebellious spirit toward the corporate sponsors who use them.
· “KISS” – Keep It Short & Simple. Use only one idea for your main message. Focus
everything on getting this message across.
· Plan. Try to think of everything – words, images, design -- before you begin production.
Make a few sketches or rough drafts before you start crafting the final product.
· Practice. If you’re going to perform a radio or TV script (and especially if you’re making an
audio recording or video) your cast and crew will need to rehearse. Then, rehearse it again.
· Teamwork. Working in a team can lighten your workload and spark creativity. Brainstorm
ideas as a group. Make sure all members share responsibility for the work.
· Revise. When you think you’re finished, show your counter-ad to uninvolved people for
feedback. Do they understand it? Do they think it’s funny? Use their responses to revise your
work for maximum impact.
· Distribute. Your ideas were meant to be seen! Make copies of your counter-ads and post
them around your school, workplace, community center, etc. Get them published in your
organizational or school newspaper. Show your videotape to other kids and adults. Your
counterad can stimulate needed discussion and debate around media issues.
· Have fun! Making a counter-ad is a fun way to learn about media, to be creative, and to
express your views. Enjoy it!

IX. Looking Beyond the Frame

The ability to analyze and evaluate media messages is an essential first step in
becoming media literate. Deconstructing individual media examples, identifying the
persuasion techniques used, and applying the media literacy concepts discussed earlier in this
section are important skills that can lead us to a deeper understanding of the media messages
that bombard us every day. But this is just the beginning. True media literacy requires
“looking beyond the frame” of the media message – the individual TV commercial, news
story or website, for example – to examine its context.
This involves four interrelated concepts and skill sets:
1. Media messages reflect the social, political, economic, and technological environment of
the media system in which they are created. They either reinforce that environment – by
perpetuating stereotypes, for example –or they challenge it. For example, big-budget
Hollywood blockbusters are produced by media conglomerates seeking to maximize short-
term profits. They often rely on familiar character types, storylines, and genres because old
formulas create a safer investment. In contrast, films made by independent filmmakers –
particularly those with little access to money and power --are often more original, covering
subject matter and featuring characters we haven't seen before.
Instead of appealing to the lowest common denominator, independent films often
challenge audiences' assumptions and beliefs. Looking beyond the frame to consider the
context of both kinds of films enriches one’s understanding of our media culture. This
involves deconstructing our media system to examine issues of media ownership, power and
control, and to recognize how these issues influence media content.
2. Examining the relationship between media and society raises the issue of media justice.
Our media system produces a lot of negative, demeaning imagery. It privileges some people
and some perspectives, and ignores or silences others. It renders entire groups of people
invisible. The dominant media system – consisting almost entirely of private corporations
producing and distributing media for profit – provides too little funding and too few outlets
for people without money, privilege and power to tell their stories. The media system is
unjust, and it perpetuates and strengthens injustice throughout society. The media justice
movement works to create a fairer and more just media system that serves everyone,
particularly communities that have been historically underrepresented and misrepresented in
the mainstream media, including indigenous communities, people of color, people with
disabilities, working class people, and others. The media justice movement believes that
communication is a human right and that media should belong to the people.
3. Just as literacy is the ability both to read and write, media literacy involves both
understanding media messages and creating media. We all create media. We write notes and
send email. We draw and doodle. Some of us play and compose music. Some take photos or
make videos. Many people blog and use social-networking websites. High-tech or low-tech,
our own media creations contribute to the media landscape. Learning how to express oneself
in a variety of media is an important part of being media literate.
4. Media literate individuals are active participants in our media culture. While many people
analyze and criticize media messages, and others focus on creating their own media, more and
more people are also becoming media activists. They are changing the way they use media,
challenging media messages and media institutions, supporting independent media, and
working for media justice and media reform. Since media create so much of our culture, any
social change will require significant change in our media environment, in media policies and
practices, and in media institutions. Becoming an active agent for change in our media culture
is a natural result of being media literate.