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##  Media Literacy. ERIC Digest D152.                                            

Children today are growing up in what O'Sullivan, Dutton and                    Rayner (1998) call a "media saturated" world, in which mass media,              including the Internet, have a commanding presence in daily life.               Media messages exert such powerful "social, emotional and                       intellectual influences" (Hepburn, 1999) that it is important to                develop a society which understands how media can both serve and                deceive. It is thus imperative for educators to teach what                      Megee (1997) calls "the new basic"- media literacy - so that                    learners can be producers of effective media messages as well                   as "critical consumers of ideas and information" (Rafferty,                     1999). WHAT IS MEDIA LITERACY?Based on definitions provided by            conferees at the Annenberg School for Communication (cited in Megee,            1997) and by the Canadian Ministry of Education, media literacy (ML)            may be thought of as the ability to critically understand, question             and evaluate how media work and produce meaning, how they are                   organized, how they mediate and construct reality, and how they                 impact our lives. ML may include the ability to create media                    products. 
Fulton (1998) discusses technology-related competencies             and curriculum standards defined by various states that may be                  applied to ML education. Among the six "essential learnings"                    Illinois desires for its students are the ability to seek and                   navigate information, to communicate effectively using appropriate              technology, and to be responsible citizens in a technological age.              Thus, in addition to teaching the technical aspects of handling                 various media equipment, ML is concerned with helping learners                  become informed users of media messages. UNDERSTANDING MEDIA                  MESSAGESMost people involved in ML share the premise that media             are used for specific purposes, including commercial concerns. Media            messages thus embody values and ideologies (Hoffmann and Johnson,               1998), and although media texts are theoretically polysemic (open to            various interpretations), producers employ various techniques or                codes to draw audiences to the preferred meanings of                            texts (O'Sullivan, et al., 1998). For example, product comparisons              are commonly used to persuade consumers that one brand of product is            superior to another. 
McMahon and Quinn (in O'Sullivan, et al.)                identify three categories of codes that may be used to convey                   meanings in media messages: technical codes, which include camera               techniques, framing, depth of field, lighting and exposure and                  juxtaposition; symbolic codes, which refer to objects, setting, body            language, clothing and color; and written codes in the form of                  headlines, captions, speech bubbles and language style. For                     instance, a journalist aiming at readers' sympathy for an imprisoned            political activist may choose to publish a photograph of the                    activist, crouched behind bars, next to a picture of a caged                    animal (making use of body language, setting, and juxtaposition) and            anchor the picture to a caption that reads "CAGED!" Helping learners            understand how codes are used to create desired effects is an                   essential component of ML education. IDENTIFYING STEREOTYPES AND              BIASESMedia representation of reality may "inform, reinforce or             challenge" stereotypes and biases that exist in society. For                    instance, the image of the dumb blonde (associated with                         characteristics such as seductive behavior, strong make-up, sexy                dresses, naivety, giggling, and illogical thinking) has been                    propagated through movies, and although women are increasingly being            featured as tough, independent individuals, commercials still tend              to portray female characters in decorative and domestic                         roles (O'Sullivan, et al., 1998). ML education thus needs to help               learners explore the extent to which media help                                 construct "artificial definitions of masculinity and                            femininity" (Graydon, 1997). Racial stereotypes pose another                    challenge. Racism is often masked, such as in television programs               that feature ethnic minority characters in solely humorous or exotic            roles, in commercials that sell skin-whitening beauty products, and             in the frequent portrayal of minority groups as social                          problems (O'Sullivan, et al., 1998). READING BEYOND                           REALISMMedia mediate reality via the use of recognized codes and            conventions, and the credibility or realism of a media text may be              judged by the degree to which the audience identifies with what is              being portrayed. For example, appropriate setting, clothes and props            determine the surface realism of a drama, while credible acting adds            to its plausibility, and suitable music enhances the mood. However,             what is 'real' is culturally situated and subjective (O'Sullivan, et            al., 1998). Crowds at a soccer match may thus appear either rowdy               and unruly or excited and ardent, depending on the narration and the            visual evidence presented. Mediated reality can therefore be                    controversial. Nevertheless, O'Sullivan, et al. note that audiences             generally accord a great degree of credibility to broadcast news and            documentaries, perceiving the reporting to be objective and                     accurate. Documentaries, in particular, are considered reliable                 because of visual evidence, location shots, the fly-on-the-wall                 approach (recording the reality of everyday life without structured             direction), interviews with experts and ordinary people,                        and "seamless editing." In reality, however, these techniques                   disguise values and ideologies that determine the editorial choices             involved in the making of these media messages, and ML education                needs to sensitize learners to the underlying intentions of                     producers. UNDERSTANDING AUDIENCESML is also concerned with               teaching learners how media cater to different audiences.                       Understanding audience needs helps producers decide on the content              and delivery of messages. Blumler and Katz, in their 1974                       study (cited in O'Sullivan, et al., 1998), found that watching                  television fulfilled four needs: it was a form of escapism or                   diversion from everyday pressures, a basis for socializing with                 other viewers, a channel for exploring personal problems by                     identifying with certain characters, and a source of information                about real-world events. This list - which should include                       educational needs that are relevant to today's society - is useful              for thinking about audiences of other media forms as well. Writing              articles for newspapers and magazines also requires a sense of who              the readers will be. For example, the headlines and first paragraph             of a news article have to contain information about the what, when,             where, who, and how of an event to provide the gist of a story for              busy readers POSSIBLE LEARNING ACTIVITIESML involves                      interpreting media messages (creating personal meaning from codes               and conventions) as well as thinking critically about                           then (Rafferty, 1999). Thus, an infusion approach, which immerses               teaching critical thinking within teaching the content knowledge of             ML (Feuerstein, 1999), may be useful. Thoman (1999) identifies five             critical-thinking questions that learners can ask specifically about            media messages: 
* Who created this message and why? 
* What                  techniques are used to hold my attention? 
* What lifestyles,                  values and points of view are represented? 
* How might different              people interpret this message? 
* What is omitted from this                    message? 
Learners can conduct interviews and short surveys to                 obtain information on audience needs and preferences. In addition,              Hepburn (1999) suggests getting learners to keep personal logs about            programs that appeal to specific age groups, and to study prime                 viewing times and media ratings (using resources such as the Nielsen            report on television viewers). 
To further develop critical                    awareness, learners can be asked to practice distinguishing fact                from fiction in selected television shows, and to review                        advertisements found in various media forms, as suggested by                    Hepburn. Graydon (1997) encourages learners to study the portrayal              of images, such as male-female images, by physically imitating the              ways in which men and women are positioned in fashion features,                 describing how the poses make them feel, and noting consistent                  differences. O'Sullivan, et al. (1998) advocates student research on            the same subject, such as studying the proportion of men and women              appearing in commercials and the roles they portray. 
The more                 learners are involved in ML activities, the more likely they are to             become informed and empowered users and consumers of media. The                 following Web sites provide further information on Media                        Literacy: 
The Center for Media                                                Literacy 
http://www.medialit.org 
The Media Literacy Online                  Project 
http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/HomePage 
Media                 Awareness                                                                       Network 
http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/                                    REFERENCESFeuerstein, M. (1999). Media literacy in support of             critical thinking. In Journal of Education Media, 24 (1), 43-55. [EJ            588 243] 
Fulton, K. (1998). Learning in a digital age: Insights               into the issues. In T.H.E. Journal, 25 (7), 60-63. [EJ 561                      440] 
Graydon, S. (1997). Overcoming impossible bodies: Using media            literacy to challenge popular culture. In Emergency Librarian,                  24 (3)15-18. [EJ 538 038] 
Hepburn, M. A. (1999). Media literacy: A            must for middle school social studies. In Clearing House, 72 (6),               352-357. [EJ 587 385] 
Megee, M. (1997). Media literacy: The new               basic. In Emergency Librarian, 25 (2), 23-26. [EJ 558                           513] 
O'Sullivan, T., Dutton, B., & Rayner, P. (1998). Studying the            media. 2nd ed. London: Arnold. 
Rafferty, C.D. (1999). Literacy in             the information age. In Education Leadership, 57 (2),                           22-26. 
Thoman, E. (1999). Skills and strategies for media                     education. In Educational Leadership, 56 (5), 50-54. [EJ 581                    520] 
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Digest #152 is EDO-CS-00-03 and was published in July            2000 by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English and                          Communication, 2805 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47408-2698,                  Telephone (812) 855-5847 or (800) 759-4723. ERIC Digests are in the             public domain and may be freely reproduced. Additional copies may be            ordered by contacting the ERIC Document Reproduction Service                    at (800) 443-3742. 
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This project has been funded at least              in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education                under contract number ED-99-CO-0028. The content of this publication            does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S.                  Department of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial             products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.         **Title:** Media Literacy. ERIC Digest D152.                                            **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication, Indiana              University, 2805 E. 10th Street, Suite 140, Bloomington, IN                     47408-2698. Tel: 800-759-4723 (Toll Free); Web site:                            http://eric.indiana.edu/.                                                    **Descriptors:** Audience Awareness, Class Activities, Elementary Secondary                      Education,  Mass Media,  Mass Media Effects,  Mass Media Role,                  Social Bias, Stereotypes                                                     **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests,  Media Literacy                                                
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