All Media are Constructions. Media are carefully manufactured cultural products. Understanding the grammar, syntax and metaphor system of media language heightens our appreciation and enjoyment of media experiences, as well as helps us to be less susceptible to manipulation. The best way to understand how media is put together is to do just that. Media production and media analysis are the two sides of the media literacy coin.
Audiences negotiate meaning.
Skillful readers and viewers examine different stylistic features of a media product and pay careful attention to the context in which the message occurs. This concept turns the tables on the idea of TV viewers as just passive couch potatoes. The fundamental skills of media literacy allow us to be conscious and deliberate about what we experience and, more important, how we interpret media experiences in our lives. Media have commercial interests. Media are ad-driven businesses.