Today’s program
• Talk about the workings of the media in a
nutshell (media, agenda-setting, framing &
priming)
• How the media frames reality (framing)
• The what and why of media literacy
• Critical media literacy in practice: 5
fundamentals of media and the translating of
this into the process of critical questioning
when ‘experiencing’ media content
THE MEDIA & AGENDA SETTING THEORY
•
A theory on the media and the creation of what the public thinks is
important
• Agenda-setting is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient
issues by the news media.
• Two basis assumptions underlie most research on agenda-setting:
1.
2.
the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it
media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to
perceive those issues as more important than other issues.
• One of the most critical aspects in the concept of an agenda-setting role of
mass communication is the time frame for this phenomenon.
• Different media have different agenda-setting potential
• Bernard Cohen (1963) stated: “The press may not be successful much of
the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in
telling its readers what to think about.”
Agenda-setting workings:
Framing & Priming
• A way to operationalize the potential of the agendasetting influence of the media is to zoom in on:
• Framing & Priming
• Priming is psychological concept: a cognitive process in
which media information (primes) increases
temporarily the accessibility of knowledge units in the
memory of an individual, which makes it more likely
that these knowledge units are used in the reception,
interpretation and judgment for the following external
information
Setting the Agenda…
How does the media work?
• Experience is ‘mediated’ through discourse. Social reality is
constructed. The most basic strategy for doing this is called
Framing (relate this to the 4 strategies of how reality is
transformed by discourse. Here, we focus on media as
discourse)
• (in the broadest sense of the concept) Framing refers to the
process whereby we organize reality –categorizing events in
particular ways, paying attention to some aspects rather
that others, deciding what an event means and or how it
came about. How to interpret our everyday encounters
with the world around us.
• Framing can be applied to: how a picture ‘frames’ a scene
and a newspaper ‘frames’ the story
Framing reality:
The pictured looked like this before I
‘cropped’ it
Framing and Frame analysis (Kitzinger)
• From a media and communication
perspective:
• To frame is to select some aspects of a
perceived reality and make them more salient
in a communicating text in such a way as to
promote a particular problem definition,
causal interpretation, moral evaluation,
and/or treatment recommendations (Entman,
1993)
Levels of media frame analysis
1. Frame analysis can be used to examine the
production of media coverage
– E.g. How journalist and their sources operate, and
how this affect the way a story is told (the
workings of a media system in relation to other
systems)
2. It can also be used to analyze content
– How an issue is represented in the newspaper, on
tv or, indeed, on a website
Levels of media frame analysis (2)
3. It also has implications for audiences:
frame analysis
– Frame analysis either makes assumptions about
or actually empirically explores, how frames
influence people’s reaction
– As an audience a frame triggers a specific way of
meaning construction (priming)
Aspects of a media (text) which might
be examined to identify framing cues
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Images used
Type of language used
Labels and definitions employed
Explanations offered
Responsibility assigned
Solutions proposed
Narrative structure
Contextualization and links
Historical associations invoked
Similes and metaphors
Emotional appeals
Who is invited to comment (voices, silences, perspectives)
How different speakers are introduced
How different characters, groups, social movements or entities are described
Framing of same sex marriage
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCFFxidhc
y0&feature=player_embedded
Media(are our)culture!!!
“ From the clock radio that wakes us up in the morning until we
fall asleep watching the late night show, we are exposed to
hundreds –even thousands– of images and ideas not from
television but now also from newspaper headlines, magazine
covers, movies, websites, video games and billboards. Media no
longer just shape our culture…they ARE our culture”
(source: Center for media literacy/medialit.org)
Social construction of identities through
the media: social representation
“(…) the social construction of identity today is the knowing
construction of identity. Your life is your project – there is no
escape. The media provides some of the tools which can be used
in this work.”
(Gauntlett, 1998)
Oscar-winning short animated film
“Logorama”
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10UE3O8s24&feature=related
• The Oscar-winning short animated film: Logorama. An entire
universe made out of corporate logos, replete with car chases,
shootouts, wild animals and natural disasters. The film’s producer,
Nicolas Schmerkin, said after its Oscar win that:
• “the film is not about America. It’s about our modern Western
world … It’s about the way we live and the way we react to
these logos. The brain can register 14 logos in less than one
second. Making the logos characters with sets and props is about
what we’re living.”
Are we alienated because everything is mediated?
• Via media, we ‘experience’. Experience is mediated.
• Listen to the following critique and appraisal of the (new)
media:
• Alienation and Empathy deficit:
• “If you grow up in an electronic age you have some kind of empathy deficit”
• http://www.regeneration-themovie.com/trailer.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58X7YPebJVo
• “Time Spent Online Is Important for Teen Development”
• What is your opinion on these different
statements? Do you agree or disagree? What is
your experience?
Critical Media Literacy
• Media literacy is the ability to sift through
and analyze the messages that inform,
entertain and sell to us every day.
• It's the ability to bring critical thinking
skills to bear on all media (from music
videos and Web environments to product
placement in films and virtual displays)
• It's about asking pertinent questions about
what's there, and noticing what's not there.
•And it's the instinct to question what lies
behind media productions— the motives,
the money, the values and the ownership—
and to be aware of how these factors
influence content.
Media education encourages
a probing approach to the
world of media: Who is this
message intended for? Who wants
to reach this audience, and why?
From whose perspective is this story
told? Whose voices are heard, and
whose are absent? What strategies
does this message use to get my
attention and make me feel
included?
Why is media literacy important?
1. The influence of media in our central democratic
process:
– We need 2 prominent skills to be engaged citizens of
a democracy: critical thinking and self-expression
2. The high rate of media consumption and the
saturation of society by media
– (Videogames, TV, pop music, radio, newspapers,
magazines, billboards, the internet, even T-shirts)
– Media literacy teaches the skills we need to navigate
safely through this sea of images and messages for
all our lives
Why is media literacy important? (2)
3. The media’s influence on shaping perceptions,
beliefs and attitudes
– Media experiences exert a significant impact on
the way we understand , interpret and act on our
world
– By helping us understand those influences, media
education can help us separate from our
dependencies on them
Why is media literacy important? (3)
4. the increasing importance of visual
communication and information
learning how to “read” the multi layers of imagebased communication is a necessity
5. The importance of information in society and
the need for lifelong learning
Media literacy empowerment spiral: navigation skills
(source: Center for media literacy/medialit.org)
• Based on the work of Paulo Freire
• Also known as action-learning: breaking complex concepts
into learning steps:
awareness
analysis
Action
reflection
Active
• This implies that you are not a
passive media consumer, but
also an active media producer;
• You have a voice
Profile of a media critical literate person
(source: Center for media literacy/medialit.org)
• Uses media wisely and effectively
• Engages in critical thinking when evaluating media
messages
• Evaluates the credibility of information from different
sources
• Understands the power of visual images and knows how to
“read” them
• Is aware of a diverse cultural universe and appreciates
multiple perspectives (multi-voicedness)
• Expresses him/herself clearly and creatively using different
forms of media
• Recognizes media’s influence on beliefs, attitudes, values,
behaviors and the democratic process.
Five core concepts in media literacy
1. All media messages are ‘constructed’
(authorship/constructedness)
2. Media messages are constructed using a
creative language with its own rules (format and
techniques of production)
3. Different people experience the same media
messages differently (audience)
4. Media have embedded values and points of
views (content/message)
5. Most media messages are organized to gain
profit, convince and/or power (purpose/motive)
Core concepts translated in key questions
(your role: consumer of media)
1. Who created this message? (authorship/sender)
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my
attention (format/creative strategies for reality
construction)
3. How might different people understand this
message differently? (audience/receiver)
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are
represented in, or omitted from, this message?
(content)
5. Why is this message being sent? (purpose)
CML’s FIVE CORE CONCEPTS AND KEY QUESTIONS
Media Deconstruction/Construction Framework
CML’s Questions/TIPS (Q/TIPS
© 2002-2007 Center for Media Literacy, www.medialit.org
Source: Center for Media Literacy
Key Words
#
Deconstruction:
CML’s 5 Core Concepts
5 Key Questions
(role: Consumer)
Construction:
5 Key Questions
(role: Producer)
1
Authorship
Who created this
message?
All media messages are
constructed.
What am I authoring?
2
Format
What creative
techniques are used to
attract my attention?
Media messages are
constructed using a
creative language with
its own rules.
Does my message reflect
understanding in format, creativity
and technology?
3
Audience
How might different
people understand this
message differently?
Different people
experience the same
media message
differently.
Is my message engaging and
compelling for my target audience?
4
Content
What values, lifestyles
and points of view are
represented in or
omitted from this
message?
Media have embedded
values and points of
view.
Have I clearly and consistently framed
values, lifestyles and points of view in
my content?
5
Purpose
Why is this message
being sent?
Most media messages
are organized to gain
profit and/or power.
Have I communicated my purpose
effectively?
5 key questions for us to ask in your
role as producers of media
• What am I authoring?
• Does my message reflect understanding in
format, creativity and technology?
• Is my message engaging and compelling for
my target audience?
• Have I clearly and consistently framed values,
lifestyles and points of view in my content?
• Have I communicated my purpose effectively?
We are not only consumers of media,
but also producers
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEHcGAsn
BZE
• Participatory culture
Participatory culture (Jenkins)
A participatory culture is a culture :
•
With relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement
•
With strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others
•
With some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the
one with the most experienced is passed along to novices
•
Where members believe that their contributions matter
•
Where members feel some degree of social connection with one
another
–
•
at the least they care what other people think about what they have created.
Not every member must contribute, but all must believe they are FREE
to contribute, when ready and that what they contribute will be
appropriately valued.
You reaching for others
•
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You: both consumer as producer!
On the net: there are billions of individuals, all of them producing
At first you sight: fragmentation.
But if we take a better look at reality: fragmented pieces are
integrating the emerging of building communities. We are being
social on the net (human nature), we are looking for others and
forming communities
• The language of 21st century literacy encourages interaction with an
audience
• The most profound impact of the Internet, an impact that has yet to
be fully realized, is its ability to support and expand the various
aspects of social learning
• Participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of
individual expression to community involvement
Forms of participatory culture include:
• Affiliations: memberships, formal and informal,
in online communities centered around various
forms of media
– e.g. Facebook, MySpace, game clans, message
boards etc.
• Expressions: producing new creative forms
– e.g. digital sampling, ‘modding’, skimming, writing,
mash-ups
• Collaborative problem-solving: working
together in teams, formal and informal, to
complete tasks and develop new knowledge
– e.g. Wikipedia, alternative reality gaming, spoiling
• Circulations: shaping the flow of media
– e.g. podcasting, blogging
Let’s practice!
• And analyze the following media productions
by asking the 5 core questions
Let’s analyze the following media
productions
1. Who created this message? (authorship/sender)
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my
attention (format/creative strategies for reality
construction)
3. How might different people understand this
message differently? (audience/receiver)
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are
represented in, or omitted from, this message?
(content)
5. Why is this message being sent? (purpose)
The Flintstones
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RScQTb
WRA4
What creative technique is used in this
message?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P4bzj9sdI&feature=player_embedded
Let’s analyze the following campaign ads
by WWF by answering the 5 key questions:
1. Who created this message? (authorship/sender)
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my
attention (format/creative strategies for reality
construction)
3. How might different people understand this
message differently? (audience/receiver)
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are
represented in, or omitted from, this message?
(content)
5. Why is this message being sent? (purpose)
Creative technique applied in this
campaign by WWF: Fear Appeal
• “Fear appeals have been used extensively in advertising
as marketers have found them to be effective. In using fear appeals
by associating an act with a negative effect, it creates tension and
gets the attention of the consumers, then provide them a solution;
which in this case is to take action and be convinced to stand up for
their cause. Such ads are persuasive as the messages have a
capability to change attitudes over time; whether consciously or
subconsciously.
• While ads using fear appeal can be effective, inappropriate use
could also cause consumers to avoid such advertisements when
they feel intimidated, or even irritated. As a result, consumers
refuse to give their attention and turn away from them.
• This brings us to a next question:
• Do you think that using fear-appeal messages are ethical?”
(source: Penn Olson website)
Look at the following music clip that
also deals with a similar theme
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVNM43R
PKbQ&feature=player_embedded#!
• The band Efterklang, the song is called
doppelganger
• Answer the 5 questions
Analyze “The production of meaning”
•
•
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8450349589599500087#
Look at the following YouTube video on the ‘production of meaning’ and answer
the following questions:
1. Who created this message? (authorship/sender)
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention
(format/creative strategies for reality construction)
3. How might different people understand this message
differently? (audience/receiver)
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in,
or omitted from, this message? (content)
5. Why is this message being sent? (purpose)
6. Extra question: the documentary deals with 2 clashing
ideologies. Which 2 ideologies are these and how do they
differ from each other?