TOPIC 7: Media Literacy and the Legal, Ethical, and Societal Issues in Media (Weeks 8-9)

INTRODUCTION:

In this topic, the students would be learning about Media Literacy, and the Legal, Ethical, and Societal Issues in Media which include
Copyright, Plagiarism and its forms, Cyber bullying, Computer addiction, and Netiquette.

At the end of this topic, the students would have gained at least 80% mastery of the content, and all are expected to be able to:
a. define media literacy and clarify misconceptions on being media literate
b. differentiate media native and media naive students,
c. compare and contrast the different types of media,
d. cite specific examples for each type of media,
e. explain the legal, ethical, and societal issues in the use of Media, and
f. create a blog regarding a social issue relevant to the present time using Facebook (internet media) as the platform. g.

PRE-COMPETENCY CHECK-LIST:

What do you think must you have in order to be called a media literate individual?

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Can you call yourself media literate? Why or Why not?

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LEARNING MATERIAL: Please read.

MEDIA LITERACY
The Basic Definition

Media literacy is the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, CREATE, and ACT using all forms of communication.

In its simplest terms, media literacy builds upon the foundation of traditional literacy and offers new forms of reading and writing. Media literacy
empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators and active citizens.

Variety of terminology – Some definitions and clarification

The term ―media literacy‖ is often used interchangeably with other terms related to media and media technologies. To clarify what we mean when
we talk about media literacy, National Association for Media Literacy Education offers these definitions:
o Media refers to all electronic or digital means and print or artistic visuals used to transmit messages. o Literacy is the ability to encode and
decode symbols and to synthesize and analyze messages. o Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via
media and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages.
o Media education is the study of media, including ‗hands on‘ experiences and media production.
o Media literacy education is the educational field dedicated to teaching the skills associated with media literacy.

Importance of Media Literacy

• Learn to think critically. As kids evaluate media, they decide whether the messages make sense, why certain information was included,
what wasn't included, and what the key ideas are. They learn to use examples to support their opinions. Then they can make up their own
minds about the information based on knowledge they already have.

• Become a smart consumer of products and information. Media literacy helps kids learn how to determine whether something is credible.
It also helps them determine the "persuasive intent" of advertising and resist the techniques marketers use to sell products.
• Recognize point of view. Every creator has a perspective. Identifying an author's point of view helps kids appreciate different perspectives. It
also helps put information in the context of what they already know -- or think they know.

• Create media responsibly. Recognizing your own point of view, saying what you want to say how you want to say it, and understanding that
your messages have an impact is key to effective communication.
 • Identify the role of media in our culture. From celebrity gossip to magazine covers to memes, media is telling us something, shaping our
understanding of the world, and even compelling us to act or think in certain ways.

• Understand the author's goal. What does the author want you to take away from a piece of media? Is it purely informative, is it trying to
change your mind, or is it introducing you to new ideas you've never heard of? When kids understand what type of influence something has,
they can make informed choices.

• When teaching your kids media literacy, it's not so important for parents to tell kids whether something is "right." In fact, the process is more
of an exchange of ideas. You'll probably end up learning as much from your kids as they learn from you.

Media literacy includes asking specific questions and backing up your opinions with examples. Following media-literacy steps allows you to
learn for yourself what a given piece of media is, why it was made, and what you want to think about it.

• Teaching kids media literacy as a sit-down lesson is not very effective; it's better incorporated into everyday activities. For example:

 With little kids, you can discuss things they're familiar with but may not pay much attention to. Examples include cereal commercials,
food wrappers, and toy packages.

 With older kids, you can talk through media they enjoy and interact with. These include such things as YouTube videos, viral memes
from the internet, and ads for video games.

Types of Media
Print Media

This type of news media used to be the only way of delivering information to the public. For the generations of the 80s and 90s, print media was the
only media of entertain. People relied on newspapers and magazines to learn everything, from recipes and entertainment news to important
information about the country or the world. Print media includes:

 Newspapers – printed and distributed on a daily or weekly basis. They include news related to sports, politics, technology, science,
local news, national news, international news, birth notices, as well as entertainment news related to fashion, celebrities, and movies.
Today‘s parents grew up with this type of printed media.
  Magazines – printed on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. It contains information about finance, food, lifestyle, fashion,
sports, etc.
 Books – focused on a particular topic or subject, giving the reader a chance to spread their knowledge about their favorite topic.
 Banners – used to advertise a company‘s services and products, hung on easily-noticed sights to attract people‘s attention. 
Billboards – huge advertisements created with the help of computers. Their goal is to attract people passing by.
 Brochures – a type of booklet that includes everything about one company – its products, services, terms and conditions, contact
details, address, etc. They are either distributed with the newspapers, or hand over to people.
 Flyers – used mostly by small companies due to the low cost of advertising. They contain the basic information about a company,
their name, logo, service or product, and contact information, and they are distributed in public areas.

Broadcasting Media

Broadcasting media includes videos, audios, or written content that provides important or entertaining information shared by different methods:

 Television – in the past, there were a few channels sharing various types of content, whereas now we have hundreds of TV channels
to choose from. Each channel delivers a different type of content, so you have a separate channel for news, drama, movies, sports,
animation, nature, travel, politics, cartoon, and religion. It‘s the number one broadcasting media due to its reach to the audience.
 Radio – uses radio waves to transmit entertaining, informative, and educative content to the public. Due to its high reach to the
audience, radio is widely used for advertising products and services. Radio is one of the oldest means of entertainment, and today
people often hear it to find out the weather and traffic while commuting.
 Movies – film, motion picture, screenplay, moving picture, or movie has world-wide reachability. It‘s the best type of mass media to
promote cultures and spread social awareness. Movies have always played a huge part in the entertainment world.

Internet Media

Nowadays, we are relying on the Internet to get the news a lot more often than the traditional news sources. Websites provide information in the
form of video, text, and audio. We can even choose the way we want to receive the news. Types of Internet media include:

 Social networks or websites – including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Quora, Reddit, Pinterest, etc.
They are user-friendly and widely used by people around the world. Although we can find any news here, they may be misleading because of
the lack of regulations on the content shared.
 Online forums - an online place where we can comment, message, or discuss a particular topic. Forums allow us to share knowledge with
other people with the same interest. That‘s why it‘s regarded as the best platform to seek support and assistance.
 Podcast – a series of audios focused on a particular topic or theme. We can listen to them on a computer or a mobile phone. It‘s a platform
that allows anyone to share their knowledge and communicate with the world.
Legal, Ethical, and Societal Issues in Media
What is Copyright?

Copyright refers to the legal right of the owner of intellectual property. In simpler terms, copyright is the right to copy. This means that the original
creators of products and anyone they give authorization to are the only ones with the exclusive right to reproduce the work.

Copyright law gives creators of original material the exclusive right to further use and duplicate that material for a given amount of time, at which
point the copyrighted item becomes public domain.

Copyright ownership gives the owner the exclusive right to use the work, with some exceptions. When a person creates an original work, fixed in a
tangible medium, he or she automatically owns copyright to the work.

Many types of works are eligible for copyright protection, for example:

• Audiovisual works, such as TV shows, movies, and online videos

• Sound recordings and musical compositions
• Written works, such as lectures, articles, books, and musical compositions
• Visual works, such as paintings, posters, and advertisements
• Video games and computer software
• Dramatic works, such as plays and musicals

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is presenting someone else‘s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full
acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition.
Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional. Under the regulations for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a
disciplinary offence.

Forms of Plagiarism
1. Verbatim (word for word) quotation without clear acknowledgement
Quotations must always be identified as such by the use of either quotation marks or indentation, and with full referencing of the sources
cited. It must always be apparent to the reader which parts are your own independent work and where you have drawn on someone else‘s
ideas and language.

2. Cutting and pasting from the Internet without clear acknowledgement

 Information derived from the Internet must be adequately referenced and included in the bibliography. It is important to evaluate carefully all
material found on the Internet, as it is less likely to have been through the same process of scholarly peer review as published sources.

3. Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing the work of others by altering a few words and changing their order, or by closely following the structure of their argument, is
plagiarism if you do not give due acknowledgement to the author whose work you are using.

A passing reference to the original author in your own text may not be enough; you must ensure that you do not create the misleading
impression that the paraphrased wording or the sequence of ideas are entirely your own. It is better to write a brief summary of the author‘s
overall argument in your own words, indicating that you are doing so, than to paraphrase particular sections of his or her writing.
This will ensure you have a genuine grasp of the argument and will avoid the difficulty of paraphrasing without plagiarising. You must also
properly attribute all material you derive from lectures.

4. Collusion
This can involve unauthorised collaboration between students, failure to attribute assistance received, or failure to follow precisely regulations
on group work projects. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are entirely clear about the extent of collaboration permitted, and which
parts of the work must be your own.

5. Inaccurate citation
It is important to cite correctly, according to the conventions of your discipline. As well as listing your sources (i.e. in a bibliography), you
must indicate, using a footnote or an in-text reference, where a quoted passage comes from. Additionally, you should not include anything in
your references or bibliography that you have not actually consulted. If you cannot gain access to a primary source you must make it clear in
your citation that your knowledge of the work has been derived from a secondary text (for example, Bradshaw, D. Title of Book, discussed in
Wilson, E., Title of Book (London, 2004), p. 189).

6. Failure to acknowledge assistance

You must clearly acknowledge all assistance which has contributed to the production of your work, such as advice from fellow students,
laboratory technicians, and other external sources. This need not apply to the assistance provided by your tutor or supervisor, or to ordinary
proofreading, but it is necessary to acknowledge other guidance which leads to substantive changes of content or approach.

7. Use of material written by professional agencies or other persons

You should neither make use of professional agencies in the production of your work nor submit material which has been written for you
even with the consent of the person who has written it. It is vital to your intellectual training and development that you should undertake the
research process unaided. Under Statute XI on University Discipline, all members of the University are prohibited from providing material
that could be submitted in an examination by students at this University or elsewhere.
 8. Auto-plagiarism
You must not submit work for assessment that you have already submitted (partially or in full), either for your current course or for another
qualification of this, or any other, university, unless this is specifically provided for in the special regulations for your course. Where earlier
work by you is citable, ie. it has already been published, you must reference it clearly. Identical pieces of work submitted concurrently will
also be considered to be auto-plagiarism.

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text,
and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending,
posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about
someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior.

Here are some of the common ways that cyberbullying is taking place among young people:

• Sending mean or threatening messages by email, text or through comments on a social networking page.
• Spreading embarrassing rumours, secrets or gossip about another person through social networking sites, email, or texts.
• Taking an embarrassing picture or video of someone with a digital camera and sending it to others or posting it online without their
knowledge or permission.
• Posting online stories, pictures, jokes, or cartoons that are intended to embarrass or humiliate.
• Hacking someone's email account and sending hurtful content to others while pretending to be them.
• Using someone else's password to get into their social networking account and post material as them that would be embarrassing or offensive.
• Tricking someone to open up and share personal information and then sharing that information widely with others.
• Creating online polls and rating people in negative, mean ways.
• In online gaming, repeatedly harming a player's character, ganging up on a player, or using personal information to make direct threats.

What is Computer addiction?

It is a disorder in which the individual turns to the Internet or plays computer games in an attempt to change moods, overcome anxiety, deal with
depression, reduce isolation or loneliness, or distract themselves from overwhelming problems. The elderly, as well as children and adolescents, are
particularly vulnerable because they may not realize the extent of their dependency. In many instances, individuals with computer addiction may seek
help for another condition, such as depression, phobias or other addictions.

Internet or computer addictions manifest in several ways that cover various degrees and areas of Internet usage. They are the following:

• Information overload. Too much online surfing leads to decreased productivity at work and fewer interactions with family members.
 • Compulsions. Excessive time spent in online activities such as gaming, trading of stocks, gambling and even auctions often leads to
overspending and problems at work.
• Cybersex addiction. Too much surfing of porn sites often affects real-life relationships.
• Cyber-relationship addiction. Excessive use of social networking sites to create relationships rather than spending time with family or friends
may destroy real-life relationships.

Core Rules of Netiquette

Netiquette, or network etiquette, is concerned with the "proper" way to communicate in an online environment. Consider the following "rules,"
adapted from Virginia Shea's The Core Rules of Netiquette, whenever you communicate in the virtual world.

Rule 1: Remember the Human

When communicating electronically, whether through email, instant message, discussion post, text, or some other method, practice the Golden Rule:
Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Remember, your written words are read by real people, all deserving of respectful
communication. Before you press "send" or "submit," ask yourself, "Would I be okay with this if someone else had written it?"

Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
While it can be argued that standards of behavior may be different in the virtual world, they certainly should not be lower. You should do your best to
act within the laws and ethical manners of society whenever you inhabit "cyberspace." Would you behave rudely to someone face-toface? On most
occasions, no. Neither should you behave this way in the virtual world.

Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace

"Netiquette varies from domain to domain." (Shea, 1994) Depending on where you are in the virtual world, the same written communication can be
acceptable in one area, where it might be considered inappropriate in another. What you text to a friend may not be appropriate in an email to a
classmate or colleague. Can you think of another example?

Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth

Electronic communication takes time: time to read and time in which to respond. Most people today lead busy lives, just like you do, and don't have
time to read or respond to frivolous emails or discussion posts. As a virtual world communicator, it is your responsibility to make sure that the time
spent reading your words isn't wasted. Make your written communication meaningful and to the point, without extraneous text or superfluous
graphics or attachments that may take forever to download.

Rule 5: Make yourself look good online

One of the best things about the virtual world is the lack of judgment associated with your physical appearance, sound of your voice, or the clothes
you wear (unless you post a video of yourself singing Karaoke in a clown outfit.) You will, however, be judged by the quality of your writing, so
keep the following tips in mind:
Always check for spelling and grammar errors
Know what you're talking about and state it clearly
Be pleasant and polite

Rule 6: Share expert knowledge

The Internet offers its users many benefits; one is the ease in which information can be shared or accessed and in fact, this "information sharing"
capability is one of the reasons the Internet was founded. So in the spirit of the Internet's "founding fathers," share what you know! When you post a
question and receive intelligent answers, share the results with others. Are you an expert at something? Post resources and references about your
subject matter. Recently expanded your knowledge about a subject that might be of interest to others? Share that as well.

Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control

What is meant by "flaming" and "flame wars?" "Flaming is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any
emotion." (Shea, 1994). As an example, think of the kinds of passionate comments you might read on a sports blog. While "flaming" is not
necessarily forbidden in virtual communication, "flame wars," when two or three people exchange angry posts between one another, must be
controlled or the camaraderie of the group could be compromised. Don't feed the flames; extinguish them by guiding the discussion back to a more
productive direction.

Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy

Depending on what you are reading in the virtual world, be it an online class discussion forum, Facebook page, or an email, you may be exposed to
some private or personal information that needs to be handled with care. Perhaps someone is sharing some medical news about a loved one or
discussing a situation at work. What do you think would happen if this information "got into the wrong hands?" Embarrassment? Hurt feelings? Loss
of a job? Just as you expect others to respect your privacy, so should you respect the privacy of others. Be sure to err on the side of caution when
deciding to discuss or not to discuss virtual communication.

Rule 9: Don't abuse your power

Just like in face-to-face situations, there are people in cyberspace who have more "power" than others. They have more expertise in technology or
they have years of experience in a particular skill or subject matter. Maybe it's you who posesses all of this knowledge and power! Just remember:
knowing more than others do or having more power than others may have does not give you the right to take advantage of anyone. Think of Rule 1:
Remember the human.

Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes

Not everyone has the same amount of experience working in the virtual world. And not everyone knows the rules of netiquette. At some point, you
will see a stupid question, read an unnecessarily long response, or encounter misspelled words; when this happens, practice kindness and forgiveness
as you would hope someone would do if you had committed the same offense. If it's a minor "offense," you might want to let it slide. If you feel
compelled to respond to a mistake, do so in a private email rather than a public forum.
LEARNING RESOURCES:
1. https://namle.net/publications/media-literacy-definitions/
2. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/news-and-media-literacy/what-is-media-literacy-and-why-is-it-important
3. https://whatagraph.com/blog/articles/different-types-of-media
4. https://support.google.com/legal/answer/3463239?hl=en
5. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/copyright.asp
6. https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism
7. https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it
8. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cbr-scrt/cbrbllng/prnts/cbrbllng-en.aspx
9. https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=15912
10. https://www.psychguides.com/behavioral-disorders/computer-internet-addiction/
11. The Core Rules of Netiquette Shea, V. (1994). Core rules of netiquette. Netiquette (Online ed., pp. 32-45). San Francisco: Albion Books.
12. https://coursedesign.colostate.edu/obj/corerulesnet.html

DISCUSSION BOARD:

QUESTION: In the digital era, how would you make sure that the pieces of information you search online are credible and valid?
YOUR ANSWER:
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POST-COMPETENCY CHECKLIST:
Give 5 specific examples (names like Bombo radio, Inquirer, Abs-Cbn) for each type of Media. Make sure that the internet media that you would cite
are credible sources.

Print Media Broadcasting Media Internet Media

1. 6. 11.

2. 7. 12.

3. 8. 13.

4. 9. 14.

5. 10. 15.

ACTIVITY:

Using Facebook as your platform, create a blog regarding a social issue relevant to the present time. Cite at least 3 sources of information that
you have used in order to come up with the information that you have included in your blog.

Take SCREENSHOTS of your post. Include them in the compilation of activities for the next monthly collection.

P.S. ONLY INCLUDE THE SCREENSHOTS, NO NEED FOR THE SOFT COPY!