LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO
MEDIA AND INFORMATION
LITERACY
MEDIA
- Communication tools
- Plural form of medium
- describes any channel of communication
- Include anything from printed paper to digital data,
and encompasses art, news, educational content and
numerous other forms of information
INFORMATION
- Data, knowledge derived from study, experience,
or instruction, signals or symbols
- Knowledge of specific events or situations
- broad term that can cover data knowledge derived
from study, experience, or instruction, signals or
symbols
(UNESCO Media and Information Literacy
Curriculum for Teachers)
- Refers to the knowledge of specific events or
situations that has been gathered or received by
communication, intelligence, or news reports
MEDIA AND INFORMATION
- Two distinct elements that are intrinsically
connected with the concept of communication
- They are so intertwined that INFORMATION is
one of the reasons why communication can be
shared through MEDIA
CATEGORIES OF MEDIA
Media Modality
Text, audio,
video,
graphics, animation
Media Format
Digital or analog
Way of Transmitting
Electromagnetic or radio
waves, light waves
Mass Media Form
TV, radio print internet,
telephone, or mobile
LITERACY
- equivalent to a SKILL
- refers to the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate, and compute using
printed and written materials associated with
varying contexts
(UNESCO Media and Information Literacy (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, or UNESCO)
TERMINOLOGIES:
 MEDIA - read, analyze, evaluate and produce
communication in a variety of media forms.

INFORMATION LITERACY - recognize when information
is needed and to locate, evaluate, effectively use and
communicate information in its various formats.

TECHNOLOGY (DIGITAL) LITERACY - use digital
technology, communication tools or networks to
locate, evaluate, use, and create information.
UNESCO’S FRAMEWORK, MIL IS
ESSENTIAL TO:
1. Make informed Judgement
- To avoid making biased and sweeping statement,
one needs to know how to evaluate information
from various sources
2. Learn about the world around them
- Not everything you find on the net is accurate and
reliable
3. Build a sense of community
- Connecting people to promote pluralism or a
belief that each person is unique that promotes
diversity
4. Maintain public discourse
- Take an active role for self-expression and
exercising freedom of expression as stated in
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
5. Engage in lifelong learning
- Current workplace demands more complex
skills like how to identify relevant information
and how to communicate ideas using ICT
(Information Communication Technology).
LESSON 2: THE EVOLUTION
OF TRADITIONAL TO NEW
MEDIA
PRE-INDUSTRIAL AGE (PRE-1700’S)
 Prehistoric cave paintings
- earliest example of media discovered in this era
- around since 35,000 B.C.
 Papyrus Paper
- used in ancient Egypt in 2,500 B.C
- clay tablets found in Mesopotamia in 2,400 B.C.
 Acta Diurna
- considered as the world’s first newspaper
- appeared in 131 B.C.
- informed citizens of social and political
happenings in Rome
- information inscribes in a metal or stone
 Dibao
- “reports from the official residences”
- type of publications issued by central and local
governments in imperial China
- closest in form and function to gazettes in the
western world
- also called “palace reports” or “imperial bulletins”
> seen as evidence that the earliest civilizations had
already honed the skills to convey information,
through writing and drawing on whichever
material was available during that time using their
primitive languages.
INDUSTRIAL AGE (1700S-1930S)
- period described as the product of harnessing the
power of machines
- responsible for the widespread dissemination of
information.
 Typewriter (1800’s)
- allowed a more uniform method of
recording text without the confusion of
understanding the handwriting of every
person.
 Printing Press (19th Century)
- most notable invention of this era
- allowed the mass production of books,
newspapers, and other printed materials.
 Telegraph and the Telephone (1870s)
- allowed real-time communication across a great
distance
- allowed people to convey messages and
information in a faster and more efficient manner.
 Motion Pictures
- this era introduced this and continued to evolve
from 1890’s to 1926
ELECTRONIC AGE (1930S-1980S)
- started the invention of the transistor
(ELECTRONIC COMPUTING)
- semi-conductor device used to amplify electrical
signals and power, attributed to John Bardeen,
William Shockley, and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs,
1948.
 Transistor radio and the Television
- earliest electronic devices
- (transistors) paved way to the first generations of
large electronic computers and mainframes, and
the earliest forms of personal computers.
 Mass Media
- thanks to this, wherein a vast number of recipients
would be able to receive data transmitted from a
single source in real time.
INFORMATION AGE (1900S-2000S)
- modern age characterized by the massive
influence of the Internet.
- (internet) allowed communication and
information to be accessible real-time and ondemand anywhere across the globe.
 Personal computers, smartphones, tablets
and wearable devices
- harness the power and capabilities of the Internet.
 Social Media Websites
- most notable trend of this era
- application to reach out to people
 World Wide Web
- where new media can be found
- online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and
Wikis allow unlimited sharing of information
among individuals around the globe.
EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL TO NEW
MEDIA
- need for continuous improvement
- Being able to transfer information and knowledge
in a manner that is more efficient and effective is
still the goal, evident in the evolution of traditional
to new media.
HOT MEDIA
- forms requiring little involvement from the
audience.
- cannot be “TOUCHED” and thus the experience
is relatively PASSIVE and STATIC.
- television and film
COLD MEDIA
- high-level user interactivity
- more DYNAMIC and audience is more
INVOLVED
- video games, online media platforms
TRADITIONAL MEDIA
- media experience is limited
- one-directional
- sense receptors used are very specific
(print media- sense of sight)
NEW MEDIA
- more interactive
- audiences are more involved and can send
feedback simultaneously
- integrates all the aspects of old media
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION AND
MEDIA
1. Inform citizens of what is happening
(monitoring function)
2. Educate the audience
(meaning and significance of facts)
3. Provide a platform for public discourse
(public opinion and expression of dissent)
4. Give publicity to political and governmental
institutions “watchdog” role of journalism
5. Channel for advocacy for political viewpoints
NORMATIVE THEORIES OF THE PRESS
 Authoritarian
- Government has full control
- All forms of communications are under the
control of the governing elite, authorities, or
influential bureaucrats.
- Controlling the media is necessary to protect and
prevent the people from national threats through
any form of communication (information or news).
- The government has all the rights to
restrict/censor any sensitive issue from press to
maintain peace and security in the nation.
- Different types of censors include political censor,
moral censor, military censor, and corporate censor.
 Soviet Media
- 50/50
- The government undertakes or controls the total
media and communication to serve (and educate)
working classes and their interests.
- The state has the absolute power to control any
media for the benefits of the people.
- The state puts an end to private ownership of the
press and other media.
- Government media provides positive thoughts to
create a strong socialized society as well as
providing information, education, entertainment,
motivation, and mobilization.
- The public is encouraged to give feedback which
would be able to create interests toward the media.
 Libertarian
- Public has freedom to share without authorities
- Liberalism means information is knowledge and
knowledge is power.
- Libertarianism is free from any authority or any
control or censorship and is an idea of
individualism and limited government which is not
harmful to another.
- The people are more than enough to find and
judge good ideas from bad (because) people are
rational.
- The press should not give knowledge and can help
make better decision during worst situations.’
 Social Responsibility
- Social responsibility should be reached by selfcontrol, not government intervention.
- View media ownership as a form of public trust or
stewardship, rather than as an unlimited private
franchise.
- Media has obligations to society, and media
ownership is a public trust.
- Media should follow agreed code of ethics and
professional conduct.
- The government must not merely allow freedom;
it must actively promote it when necessary;
therefore, the government should act to protect the
freedom of its citizens.
- Under some circumstances, the government may
need to intervene to safeguard public interest.
LESSON 3: TYPES OF MEDIA
 PRINT MEDIA
- oldest type, use in the earliest days of written
language itself.
- evolved considerably, and is driven by humanity’s
insatiable hunger for information.
- Since the invention of the Gutenberg's printing
press (1440), print media evolved to include books,
newspapers, and magazines. These are prevalent in
most parts of the world today despite the increasing
popularity of Internet-based media.
- also known as PRESS, materials that are written
and are physically distributed.
 Books - very first mass media in history
- Baran (2010) considers books as very personal
because they contain records of past experiences
and human knowledge that are passed on to later
generations.
- They provide opportunities for escape and
personal reflection as experienced by one who reads
a novel.
- They are very specialized in that they offer more
ideas about a topic.
 Magazines and newspapers - advertisementbased
- may be targeted for the general audience or may
address the interests of a particular group of readers.
- Magazines typically contain features or human
interests articles
- Newspapers contain news stories and occasionally
have other types of articles.
 BROADCAST MEDIA
- evolved in leaps and bounds in the 20th century
- do not rely on the production and distribution of
physical copies as much as print media does
because they distribute their messages “over the
air”.
- because their programming can be viewed by
multitudes at once, broadcast media like radio and
television have been traditionally accepted as the
most efficient way to transmit messages.
- One of the most distinctive characteristics of the
broadcast media is their UBIQUITY.
- considered “household” media because they can
be found in practically any corner of a home.
- Broacast media come in two forms - RADIO and
TELEVISION
 Radio - first electronic mass medium and the
precursor of television.
- “Young people's media” - This is evident in the
proliferation of FM radio stations catering the
musical taste of younger generations, also known as
format radio.
- In the Philippines, it is customarily expected FM
programming to be format radio, whereas AM
programming is dominated by a news format.
 Television - the second most important
invention.
- “least common denominator” which means that
television programs avoid burdening the audience
of complex and complicated messages.
 FILM/CINEMA
- considered impressionable and has a cathartic
effect to its audience.
- has evolved, from black-and-white “moving
pictures” with no sound to highly sophisticated
color movies, especially with the advent of digital
cinema.
- form of media originally recorded images onto the
celluloid strips that give it its name.
- generally used for storytelling purposes, although
shorter instructional videos are also common.
- some time after their run in theaters, films may
also be re-shown on television.
 VIDEO GAMES (DIGITAL GAMES)
- continue to grow popular to both young and old
because of their increased interactivity and
interconnectivity.
- relatively young type, first coming into vogue in
the 1970s.
- most notable examples incorporate extended
visualized storytelling, and feature a wide range of
topics and themes.
- its output and design limits are further tested every
few years due to the brisk development of the
technology that drives it.
- Mobile games, playable on smartphones, are
currently as popular as their older console-based
cousins.
 NEW MEDIA
- another young, growing type of media that has
come into being with the advent of modern
technology.
- usually digital and Internet-based.
- interactive, with two-way communication (in the
form of comments, Likes, tweets, among others)
usually being central to its design.
- Social media is also a part of new media
 Digital media that are interactive, incorporate
two-way communication and involve some
form of computing
 Social Media - form of electronic
communication which people create online
communities to share information, ideas,
personal messages, etc.
SYNERGY
- interaction of two or more agents or forces so that
their combined effect is greater than the sum of
their individual effects.
CONVERGENCE
- combination of various elements to create a new
whole.
- literally means an intersection, or a meeting of
distinct forces.
> Henry Jenkins (2006)
“convergence is a word that manages to describe
technological, industrial, cultural and social
changes.”
> 3 C’s of COMPUTING, COMMUNICATION
AND CONTENT
- interconnection brought by media convergence
JENKIN’S FIVE TYPES OF CONVERGENCE
1. Technological Convergence
- most common way to point out convergence in
action
- lines of traditional media types blur as technology
makes it possible for media content to be supported
on media types and platforms
Radio
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Television
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Video Game
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Internet and
Wide Web
the
World
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Digital radio
Internet-based
radio
and podcasting
Radio on Television
(and vice versa)
Video
cassette
recorders (VCR)
Digital video disc
(DVD)
Digital video recorder
(DVR)
Digital television or
high
definition
television
Internet-based
television
Video on the internet
Interactive television
Phone-over-cable
Mobile video
Television recording
Online
interactive
gaming
Internet-capable
handheld game devices
Advergaming
Advocacy gaming
Functionalities of the
traditional medimoving
to the
Web platform
Internet
technology
incorporated
top
mobile technology
2. Cultural Convergence
- includes a number of key aspects:
 “flow” of stories from one format to another seen in adaptations
 participatory culture - allows media consumers
to add some input on the media they consume,
as well as create their own examples of that
media.
3. Organic Convergence
- natural outcome of a world filled with diverse
media types
- also called “social convergence” or “media
stacking”
- Not so much a “planned” convergence as a type
that “simply happens” by nature
- be seen in cases where a person is using their
smartphone to send messages or browse the Internet
while watching television, or reading a newspaper
while a radio program plays in the background.
4. Global Convergence
- inevitable effect of media bridging the gap
between geographically distant cultures and peoples
having these cultures influence each other.
5. Economic Convergence
- linking of companies and businesses to media.
- Prominent examples of this type of convergence
arose in the late 1990s and 2000s.
MASS MEDIA
- channels of communication that involve
transmitting information in some way, shape or
form to large numbers of people.
MEDIA EFFECTS
- intended or unintended consequences of what the
mass media does (Denis McQuail, 2010)
 Third - party theory
- people think they are immune to media influence
than others
 Reciprocal effect
- When a person or event gets media attention, it
influences the way the person acts or the way the
event functions.
- Media coverage often increases self-consciousness,
which affects our actions.
 Boomerang effect
- media-induced change that is counter to the
desired change.
 Cultivation theory (George Gerbner)
- media exposure, specifically to television, shapes
our social reality by giving us a distorted view on
the amount of violence and risk in the world.
MTRCB