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Below are eight key concepts of media literacy that can be used to support the understanding and use of media. Each is accompanied by a brief discussion and questions that might help teachers operationalize the statements for student discussion.
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Organizations. MediaSmarts: Canadian not-for-profit...
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- Information Society
- Key Concepts in Media Literacy
- Media Are Constructions
- Audiences Negotiate Meaning
- Commercial Implications of Media
- Social and Political Implications of Media
- The Nature of Media Helps Determine Content
- Media Convergence and Vertical Integration
- Government Oversight
- Critical Thinking and The “Crap Test”
The rapid development and proliferation of information and communications technologies (ICT) at the turn of the 21st century heralded the development of a new kind of society. In this information society, the production and exchange of information is a key feature in both social life and the economy. While the first half of the 20th century saw the...
According to the media literacy organization MediaSmarts, there are five key concepts in understanding media literacy: 1) media are constructions; 2) audiences negotiate meaning; 3) all media have commercial implications; 4) all media have social and political implications; and 5) the content of media depends in part on the nature of the medium.
To be media literate is to understand that every piece of media is a construction. Every television show, online video and article shared on social media was thought of, created and distributed by many people. Think of a building: when it is under construction, the workers, scaffolding, tools and equipment used to create it are all visible. Once th...
People have unconscious and conscious biases that feed into their decision-making process. When looking at a claim about a controversial issue, consider what or who the claim includes, what or who it leaves out, and what assumptions the creators might have made. Media literacy involves actively deconstructing the media one consumes. Ask yourself: W...
Media is tightly connected to companies and people trying to make money. When commercials come on during a television show, or when ads play before online videos, we will be aware that the ads are trying to sell things. But what about the platform and distribution itself? Social sites like Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook are all run by companies tha...
When it comes to big decisions, such as who you will vote for in an election, you might never see the candidates in person. That means everything you know about them is “mediated” through television, radio, the Internet, etc. Ask yourself who is presented in a way that makes them look good? Who is shown to look bad? Why did the people who made what...
Marshall McLuhanoften talked about the differences between “hot” and “cool” media. Hot media includes radio or print, where the consumer has a low level of sensory involvement. Cool media includes television and telephones, which involve the consumer’s senses more directly. McLuhan, who died in 1980, famously said the “medium is the message.” He me...
Thinking about media ownership is increasingly important as more of our communications are filtered through media. Even a government-owned media company like the CBCstill relies heavily on private media companies like Google and Instagram to deliver its content to people. Private media companies can buy other companies offering similar services (se...
It is important to understand the role that government plays in regulating media and media ownership. In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is an administrative tribunal that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunication systems in Canada. Its mandate is to ensure broadcasting and telecommun...
To think critically means to analyze information in an objective way in order to make a good judgment about it. The Critical Thinking Consortium says, “thinking critically is a way of carrying out these thinking tasks, just as being careful is a way of walking down the stairs.” Critical thinking also means setting out clear criteria for a decision....
- All media are constructions. The media do not present simple reflections of what is around us. Rather, the media present carefully crafted productions that are the result of many decisions and determining factors.
- The media construct reality. What the media are constructing is a certain representation of reality. We all have our own view of reality. We've been building it since the day we were born.
- Audiences negotiate meaning in media. Basic to an understanding of media is an awareness of how we interact with media texts (TV shows, movies, radio programs, newspapers, the Internet ).
- Media messages have commercial implications. Most media production is a business, and must make a profit. The economic basis of television has a very real effect on content, technique and distribution.
- Media are constructions. We instinctively see media as being like windows, allowing an unfiltered view of the world. In fact, though, media are frames that select and direct our attention.
- Media have commercial implications. Most media production is a business and must, therefore, make a profit. In addition, media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution.
- Media have social and political implications. “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Percy Bysshe Shelley. Whether and how media affect us is one of the oldest and most contentious questions in media studies.
- Audiences negotiate meaning. The meaning of any media work is not created solely by its producers but is, instead, a collaboration between them and the audience – which means that different audiences can take away different meanings from the same work.
Jun 4, 2020 · Media literacy includes asking specific questions and backing up your opinions with examples. Following media-literacy steps allows you to learn for yourself what a given piece of media is, why it was made, and what you want to think about it.
Sep 18, 2024 · Media literacy is the ability to apply critical thinking skills to the messages, signs, and symbols transmitted through mass media. It empowers us to make better choices about what we choose to read, watch, and listen to, and helps us become smarter, more discerning members of society.
Media literacy refers to the ability to interact with media from a position of active inquiry, carefully considering media texts, the forces and factors that shape those texts, and the ways in which audiences interpret the texts or otherwise respond.
