Media and

Information
Literacy
BUGAAY, JENALYN B.
ABM 12 - A
1. Explain the statement of Marshall McLuhan that
“The Medium is the Message"

Marshall McLuhan coined the expression "the medium

is the message," which means that the form of a media
embeds itself in the message, forming a symbiotic
connection in which the medium impacts how the
message is received.
 2. Does technology shaped us or is it us who
shaped technology? Explain your answer and
give an example.
Technology is a tool that we develop and improve and adapt and customize
to help us do what we want, faster, easier and better. In other words: we
design and control the technology. It starts with us using technology that
corresponds to nature. Over time, we begin to research, invent, or discover
new technologies for comfort and safety. Air conditioning makes life easier in
summer, heating makes life easier in winter, vehicles and airplanes shorten
travel times, sewer technology increases quality of life and safety, etc. These
technologies shape our lives. The answer is that both are true and operate in
a cycle. Technology shapes our beginnings, then we shape technology for our
comfort and security that shapes our lives, creating new needs and interests,
and then repeats itself.
 Media and Government
NORMATIVE THEORIES OF THE PRESS

1. Authoritarian - Authoritarians are necessary to control the media to protect and prevent the
population from national threats through any form of communication (information or news).
The press is an instrument to strengthen the power of the ruler in the country and not a
threat. Authorities have full rights to authorize and control all media by licensing the media
and applying a certain amount of censorship.
2. Soviet Media - Soviet media theory holds that the state has absolute power to control all
media for the benefit of the people. The government takes over or controls all media and
communications activities to serve the working class and its interests. They destroy the private
property of the press and other media. Government media provides positive thoughts to create
a strong socialized society and provides information, education, entertainment, motivation
and mobilization. The theory describes the entire purpose of the mass media to educate the
broad masses of the working class or workers.
 Media and Government
NORMATIVE THEORIES OF THE PRESS
3. Libertarian - Libertarian theory sees that there are more than enough people to find and judge
the good ideas from the bad. The theory is that people are rational and their rational thoughts
lead them to discover what is good and what is bad. The press should not restrict anything, even
negative content can convey information and you can make a better decision in the worst
situation. Libertarian thoughts are exactly against or against authoritarian theory, which means
that authoritarian theory states that "all forms of communication function like a king under the
control of the government or the elite."
4. Social Responsibility - The theory of social responsibility allows a free press without any
censorship, but at the same time the content of the press must be discussed in public debates and
the media must assume any obligation through public interference or professional self-regulation,
or both. The theory is between the authoritarian theory and the libertarian theory because on the
one hand it gives total freedom to the media and on the other hand external control. The theory
helped create professionalism in the media by establishing a high level of accuracy, truth, and
information.
NORMATIVE THEORIES
MEDIA CONTROL FUNCTIONS OF MEDIA
OF THE PRESS

Dictatorship Influenced and overpowered by power

AUTHORITARIAN and authority in the nation.
Government

Dictatorship They put end to the private ownership

SOVIET MEDIA of the press and other media.
Government

Private There is absolute freedom to media,

LIBERTARIAN media plays the role of a watchdog.
Ownership

Democratic Media should accept any obligation

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY from government.
Government
HOW WILL YOU DESCRIBE
MEDIA IN THE PHILIPPINES
USING THE NORMATIVE
THEORIES OF THE PRESS?
The media in the Philippines are not limited to a single
normative theory of the press, but are a combination of
four theories. It somehow creates a conflict between the
three parties which are the government, the journalists
and the citizens due to the inconsistent normative
theories that exist in our society. But in addition to the
conflict, it could also provide the government with
protection for journalists and freedom of expression for
citizens.