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Intro Comm Notes

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Media Literacy

From Gutenberg’s era to modern times, literacy has been a concern of educators, but also of
politicians, social reformers, and philosophers
What comes with a literate population? They are able to seek out information, stay informed,
communicate effectively and make informed decisions, thus making them better citizens
Nowadays, is being literate-able to read and write-enough?
We are living in a media-saturated world where we are constantly bombarded with
information every day
Media Literacy- the ability to decode and process messages and symbols transmitted via
media
According to the nonprofit National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), a
person who is media literate can access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information

“The new mass media—film, radio, TV—are new languages, their grammar as yet
unknown.” John Culkin, pioneer in media literacy education
The Goal of Media Literacy is to give people the ability to understand this language.

Media Literate people asks these questions:


1. Who created the message?
2. What are the author’s credentials?
3. Why was the message created?
4. Is the message trying to get me to act or think in a certain way?
5. Is someone making money for creating this message?
6. Who is the intended audience?
7. How do I know this information is accurate?

Why be media literate?


-Media’s pervasiveness, “the unnoticed fact of our present,”
-Media is omnipresent but easy to overlook like the air (and is as polluted)
-More younger audiences are consuming content longer
-Not all information is created equal, thus the need to be literate
-To skeptically the often-conflicting media messages
Advertising
Majority of hours spent in media is consuming commercial-sponsored content
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimated that each child aged 2 to 11 saw, on
average, 25,629 television commercials in 2004 alone, or more than 10,700 minutes of ads
These numbers are staggering
Contradicting messages on ads
Advertising directed to children under 8 is “inherently deceptive”, exploitative because
children can’t discern programs and commercials
Psychological pressure to influence decision making, may appeal to vanity, insecurity,
prejudice, fear, or the desire for adventure
Media literacy teaches people to be guarded consumers and evaluate claims

Bias, Spin, and Misinformation


A politician may hope to persuade potential voters that he has their best interests at heart.
An ostensibly objective journalist may allow her political leanings to subtly slant her articles.
Sensationalizing stories to boost ratings
Mass-communication messages are created by individuals, and each individual has his or
her own set of values, assumptions, and priorities
Contradicting information leads to confusion

New skills for a new world


Education provides information needed to engage with the world
All of this information is now available with the click of a mouse
Changes in technology = changes in how we learn
“education needs to be geared toward the handling of data rather than the accumulation of
data” David Berlo, communication scholar
Example is Wikipedia

Individual Accountability
Images and messages are constructed with aims in mind
It falls to the individual to evaluate and interpret
Various factors influence the interpretation, there is no correct way to interpret
All in all, having media literacy skills allows us to function better in this media-rich
environment
Democratic citizens, smarter shoppers, skeptical media consumers

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