Media and

Information
Literacy
Quarter 1 – Module 4
 A. QUARTER: First
B. WEEK: 1-10
C. TEACHER: ARMAN Z. SERRANO
D. CONTENT STANDARDS:
• The learner demonstrates understanding of media and information
literacy (MIL) and MIL related concepts
E. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS:
• The learner organizes a creative and interactive symposium for the
community focusing on being a media and information literate individual.
F. MELC:
• Present an issue in varied ways to disseminate information using the
codes, convention, and language of media
G. LECTURE NOTES:
TOPIC: MEDIA AND INFORMATION LANGUAGES
Lesson 1: MEDIA CODES AND CONVENTIONS
Inherently, people have the
capability of consuming and interpreting
information; hence, the notion “man is a
thinking animal.” As a matter of fact, several
studies have indeed analyzed this pattern of
understanding various dimensions. Because
man is rational, it can be concluded that
everything around him is equivalent to
meanings and justifications.
Media, in its broadest sense, exist for consumption and interpretation. Any form
of media aims to send messages, regardless of the purpose. Television shows do not
exert effort in aesthetically presenting visuals for no apparent reason. Movies are
produced and shown to entice the audience and their preferences. Thus, it is crucial for
media people to accurately consider how people understand and interpret concepts, so
their ideas also go along with the audience’s expectations.

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CODES
Codes are known as a system of signs.
Apparently, these signs were
categorized in order to correctly
identify which of these codes affect
what. Through the collaborative efforts
of McMahon and Quinn (1998), these
categories were presented including
their perspective codes:
Technica Symbolic Writte
l n
Camera Objects Headlines
angle Lens Setting Captions
choice Body Speech
Framing language bubbles style
Shutter Clothing
speed Depth color
of field
Lighting and
exposure Juxta
position
CONVENTIONS
Codes are media indicators, as mentioned above. On the other hand, conventions
are the generally accepted ways of doing things. Therefore, codes basically trigger
people to come up with interpretations and inferences, and these interpretations and
inferences are the actual conventions.
Conventions put sense to codes. Again, since man a thinking animal, it is natural
to associate meanings to whatever is perceived.
Lesson 2: MEDIA MESSAGES
Given the wide reach and flexibility of media through
different forms, it can be easily concluded that
messages invariably differ. Whether one watches a
news program on TV, or listen to an AM program on
the radio., the messages of these forms of media
apparently differ, as anchored by their respective
purposes. Regardless of these circumstances, a

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media consumer is still the one benefitting from the
vast source of information bridged by the media.

MEDIA MESSAGES
Forms of messages come from daily. From the moment one opens his or her
eyes, different kinds of information are already being thrown at him or her. Reading text
messages, checking social media updates, and watching morning news programs, are
some of the usual activities done in jumpstarting a normal day. Then, while on the road,
listening to music or radio also makes it inevitable for one to consume messages. More
so, being at school or work, where messages are highly abundant and are constantly
circulated., it is undeniable that indeed, people and messages apparently exist.
DESIGNED FOR THE PUBLIC
It should be noted that messages from mass media
have different contexts. Since messages from this
source are created for public consumption,
chances are, these messages are designed and
disseminated in accordance to how media entities
want their messages to be perceived. Needless to
say, because of natural diversity of audiences, it is
crucial that they know how to reach out without
compromising anyone.
This phenomenon is anchored by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw’s Agenda –
Setting Theory. One component of this theory simply states that media has the
tendency to manipulate its way of presenting messages in order to obtain the desired
reception from the audience. This is called media agenda. For example, politicians who
are allegedly involved in corruption are sometimes given a negative image of media.
This is reflected through news reports about them, emphasizing the reasons why these
political personalities are probably guilty of such accusations.

MEDIA PORTRAYALS

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 The power of media continues to extend to different aspects. This power
includes the establishment of impressions on various elements in the society, because
again, media has the power to reach out to the public in general. Hence, these
impressions apparently cover portrayals of people with various profiles.

One of the most prominent portrayals in media is woman. Often, this portrayal is
also equivalent to controversies because of the limited image associated. Caprino (2014)
expressed her sentiment about woman portrayals because of some negative depictions
attached to them. For instance, mass media shows women who are constantly
conscious about their looks, those who cannot even balance personal life and work, how
catty and demeaning they can be, and how they would do anything to be on top even at
the expense of others.

MEDIA AND VIOLENCE

Violence is not new problem in the society. Every year, there are reported cases
on how such is committed by different people through different means. However, it is
alarming to look its increasing rate that implies a higher level of brutality and viciousness
among the perpetrators. Some say that one factor is media.
In a nutshell, media messages exist for several reasons. It may provide countless
information, exhibit different portrayals, or even affect behaviors. However, it is
important to always look at the underlying messages and identify their real implications.

Lesson 3: MEDIA AND THE AUDIENCE

The previous lessons have clearly
explained how media is powerful, and how it
can drastically affect consumers on many
levels. However, it is usually important to look
at how the audience can also be as powerful
as the media in terms of reception, which
apparently varies. There are several
considerations in order to reach the audience,
and perhaps, the differences and
segmentations are the biggest obstacles in
achieving such.
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TWO FACES OF THE AUDIENCE
According to Potter (2012), the members of the audience are perceived in two
ways- human minds as machines, and interpretive beings. Apparently, there is an
existing debate on what really is the face of the audience. Both positions are logically
driven, given their respective justifications and reasoning.
Having minds like machines implies that members of the audience are like robots
that receive information, decode them, and end up with negotiated meanings. The
proponents of this audience explain that for communication to exist, similarity of
interpretation should be necessary. Because of this common understanding, sharing of
thoughts surface; therefore, this sharing can potentially initiate an effective
communication process.
Meanwhile, being interpretative beings totally opposes the idea of the first
position. While the first idea centers on how robotic and unified the members of the
audience are in terms of interpretation, this position states that human beings have the
liberty to conclude anything they want. Interpretations vary depending on person’s
background. In effect, this idea can open doors to several opinions and stands.
For example, as stated by Potter, moviegoers are not expected to have the same
impression and interpretation of movies they watched. In fact, arguments may even
take place after talking about the conclusion of a movie, especially those that are open-
ended. Another instance includes controversial statements of famous personalities on
social media. A lot of these prominent people were either bashed or praised by netizens,
depending on their various beliefs.

EFFECTS ON THE
AUDIENCE
The audience is not only confined with the idea of
perceiving and interpreting media messages. More
importantly, the effects of these messages are the true
indicators in analyzing the relationship between the media
and the audience. In the first place, media is pervasive and
constant (Potter, 2012), and it is inevitable that most of the
people are dependent on their use of such. He extensively
discussed domains which are also affected.
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1. Physiological. This focuses on the human brain, being a physical organ of the
body, which is determined by its pre-birth programming. This programming
refers to stimuli, whether positive or negative. Media becomes involved because
it can actually trigger this programming, which eventually escalates to arousal
(finding pleasure to media use) and leads to dependency.

2. Cognitive. Alongside the previous effect, cognitive changes can be generated by

the media. Media effects on this aspect concern learning, and how knowledge
can be constantly altered by continuous exposure.
3. Belief. Belief falls under cognition, only that it is anchored by probability that
requires verification. It is part of human nature to have beliefs, depending on
one’s orientation and cultural background. However, media has the capacity to
affect such, either through affirmation or negation. For example, one’s belief on
political issues may be affected by the media. If media frames it in a way that the
involved personality is condemned because of anomalous activities, chances are,
people might be more inclined to seeing that person negatively.
4. Attitude. Once belief is affected, attitude comes next. Attitude is defined as an
evaluative judgment, which relates to comparing an object to a standard. For
instance, known personalities like politicians and celebrities are always evaluated
based on their actions, while public’s attitudes are always defined based on
standards.
5. Affective. Affective are anchored by emotions. This simply says that media may
also trigger man’s emotional inclination towards something he perceives. An
example would be news on the aftermath of calamities. After typhoon Yolanda hit
the Philippines in 2013, several news reports on its effects were shown on news
programs. These effects included casualties, destruction of infrastructures,
mourning of survivors, and others. Because of this, many people from different
walks of life extended their support through financial assistance, donations, and
prayers. These actions only proved that media was able to affect emotions of
people.
6. Behavior. Behavior is the overt action of people. If the media is able to penetrate
most of the abovementioned components, then people can gradually change in
terms of how they translate all these effects into actions.

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THE POWER OF THE AUDIENCE
However, it is important to note that media is not entirely the sole reason why
the audience are inclined to its influence and effects. It should be noted earlier, Uses
and Gratifications Theory by Elihu Katz was discussed. Again, this theory states that the
audience has the power to choose the kind of media they desire to consume, depending
on what gratifies their needs.In the example given on behavioral change, if the effects of
being anti-social are manifested by a person, it is assumed that the permission from the
media to generate such behavioral effect is granted by this individual. Hence, it can be
inferred that if one chooses to react to it otherwise, it will also be his or her discretion,
thus opposing the power of media controlling the people.

Lesson 4: MEDIA AND THE PRODUCERS / STAKEHOLDERS

Media may be initially perceived as a
sophisticated way of disseminating
information and messages to the public, which
comes in several forms. However, it should
not be forgotten that in the end, it is a
business, just like other companies and
corporations all over the country. Naturally, in
the context business, it requires to be driven
by capital and profit. However, in order to
achieve such, media entries need
stakeholders.

COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES
The economy is important in maintaining stability of the society. In order to
achieve this, it is important to always look at the contribution of the market. Market, in
liberal democratic countries, is the means of producing and distributing goods and
services (Spence, et al, 2011). It is important to ensure that this effort is given worth
through the patronage of consumers; otherwise, the market will fail, and so also the
economy.
Media plays a major part in terms of reach through commercial organizations.
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Because of being pervasive, the market can attract more people and more potential
consumers. Hence, the marketability of products featured on commercials shown
depends on their recurrence in order to establish recall. It is risky though, because being
on media requires a huge amount of money, hit or miss.
Even if the market depends on media in terms of public reach, it must be noted
that media also depends on the market. Without them no profit will come. Again, media
as a business organization cannot exist without such. Meaning, it is a give and take
process. Both benefits, both

gains. It is important to remember that their dependencies are at stake if the public does
not give in.
ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES
Because of the advent of social media and other internet websites wherein a lot
of potential target people are drawn to, advertisers cannot help but extend and
promote products and services in the cyberworld. For example, because video streaming
sites like Youtube, which is now a community visited site among netizens,
advertisements are now embedded on selected videos.
Likewise, other social media sites like Facebook are now inclined to such practice
for the stakeholders. Pages emerge as advertisers aim to increase its number of “likes”
to ensure its pervasiveness among people. Other advertisers use hashtags to make their
products and services trend online. Hence, all these opportunities are fully utilized in
order to attract more potential consumers.
CONFLICT BETWEEN MEDIA AND STAKEHOLDERS

The power of media and stakeholders working

together is undeniable. Because of their equally
relevant influence on the public, they can
intensify their goals- appealing to public interest
and getting potential consumers. However, this
power that they share is not always as ideal as it
more complications likewise may sound. Since both ideas are big,
interfere.
Spence and his colleagues (2011) also emphasize that both the media and the
market have their own set of norms in order to achieve their objectives. Apparently,
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these norms do not always meet; in fact, some even oppose. One of the common
examples of this conflict is interest. Businesses are driven by the individual’s own
interest or egoism, while media must abide by its norm of delivering public interest, or
the interest of many. For example, if a product or service is not commonly utilized by the
public, and even unknown by some, it would be assumed ineffective for media to air its
advertisement; hence, the conflict.

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 LET’S ANSWER!

ACTIVITY 1: INDIVIDUAL WORK

Directions: Answer the following questions.
1. What are media messages?

2. What does Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw’s Agenda-Setting Theory imply?

3. How are women portrayed in media? Give one concrete example.

4. How can media be violent? Give one real life event and defend it.

LET’S DIG DEEPER!

Directions: Choose and watch a local movie. Identify the common codes and
conventions, anchored by the three types according to McMahon and Quinn.

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