Media Literacy
Why bother?
If we’re not media literate,
we can’t understand what
the media are doing for us
and to us
SENDER
RECEIVER
CHANNEL
CHANNEL
RECEIVER
SENDER
Animal House
The Cosby Show
Elements of Media Literacy
Art Silverblatt (2001)
1.
2.
3.
A critical thinking skill enabling audience
members to develop independent judgments
about media content
An understanding of the process of mass
communication
An awareness of the impact of media on the
individual and society
4. Strategies for analyzing and discussing media
messages
5. The ability to enjoy, understand, and appreciate
media content
6. Development of effective and responsible
production skills
7. An understanding of the ethical and moral
obligations of media practitioners
8. An understanding of media content as a text
that provides insight into our culture and our
lives
This one we’ll save for last.
A critical thinking skill enabling
audience members to develop
independent judgments about
media content

Most people just veg out when interacting with
the media
Sit in front of tube
 Leaf through magazines and newspapers
 Radio in the background
 Surf the net at random
 Text and tweet ad nauseum

Kate Moore – texting champ


Sends an average of
14,000 text messages a
month
“Let your kid text during
dinner! Let your kid text
during school! It pays
off!”
A critical thinking skill
enabling audience
members to develop
independent judgments
about media content
An understanding of the
process of mass
communication
An awareness of the
impact of media on the
individual and society
Strategies for analyzing
and discussing media
messages
The ability to enjoy,
understand, and
appreciate media content
Terry Pratchett
The Daily Show w/ John Stewart
Development of effective
and responsible
production skills
An understanding of the
ethical and moral
obligations of media
practitioners
Glenn Beck
Media Literacy Skills
Ability and willingness to
make an effort to
understand content, to
pay attention, and to filter
out noise
An understanding of
and respect for the
power of media
messages
Third Person Effect
The ability to
distinguish emotional
from reasoned reactions
and to act accordingly
Develop a heightened
expectation of media
content
Know genre
conventions and learn
to recognize when
they’re being mixed
Think critically about
media messages, no
matter how credible
the source
An understanding of
media content as a text
that provides insight into
our culture and our lives