chapter 2: Media Literacy

Media literacy

the process of critically analyzing media content by considering its particular presentation, its underlying political or social messages, and its media ownership or regulation that may affect the type of content we receive

semiotics

the study of signs and symbols

framing

relies on the notion that we classify, organize, and interpret things into certain schema, or frameworks, to simplify the complex

echo effect

a phenomenon that occurs when people surround themselves with online voices that echo their own, reinforcing their views and the belief that those opinions are in the majority, when in fact, they may not be

media grammar

the underlying rules, structures, and patterns by which a medium presents itself and is used and understood by the audience

actualities

edited audio clips from interviews with people

voice overs

an unseen announcer or narrator talking while other activity takes places, either on radio or during a television scene

laugh track

a television sitcom device that generates prerecorded laughter timed to coincide with punch lines of jokes

hypertext

text online linked by HTML coding to another web page or website or to a different part of the same web page

media oligopoly

a marketplace in which media ownership and diversity are severely limited and the actions of any single media group affects its competitors substantially, including determining the content and price of media products for both consumers and advertisers

media bias

a real of perceived viewpoint held by journalists and news organizations that slants news coverage unfairly, contrary to professional journalism’s stated goals of balanced coverage and objectivity

information overload

the difficulties associated with managing and making sense of the vast amounts of information available to us

visual literacy

what do visual images mean?

film literacy

understanding how film/tv/internet videos work – editing, tropes, etc

digital/technological literacy

can you use the technology to access the media text?

goes both ways, can you use antique technologies of media

linguistic literacy

can you speak or read the language of the media?

motivation awareness

what is the purpose of media content? (who is sending this message and why?)

fundamentals of media literacy

motivation awareness, consider the source, framing

framing

a way to discuss something in order to create a connotation while trying to remain objective

mean world syndrome

People who watch more TV, and have lower media literacy levels, tend to believe the world is more violent and scary than it really is

dimensions of media literacy

cognitive, emotional, aesthetic, moral

cognitive

can I intellectually process this information (includes linguistic and some technological literacies)

emotional

how does this piece of media make me feel?

Are these feelings impeding my understanding the text critically or intellectually?

aesthetic

does this media text succeed on an artistic level? (Does that matter?)

moral

what are the value systems imparted by this media text? Do I agree with them