BUILDING AND ENHANCING

NEW LITERACIES ACROSS

THE CURRICULUM

Prepared by:

Jannel C. Alviola, Ph.D.

Head, Student Publication Office/ Associate Professor 3

College of Education
Bachelor of Secondary Education

For Instructional Purposes Only

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 VISION
A provide of relevant and quality education to a
society where citizens are competent, skilled,
dignified and community- oriented.

MISSION
An academic institution providing technological,
professional, research and extension programs to
form principled men and women of competencies
and skills responsive to local and global
development needs.

QUALITY POLICY
Northwest Samar State University commits to
provide quality outcomes-based education,
research, extension and production through
continual improvement of all its programs, thereby
producing world class professionals.

CORE VALUES
Resilience. Integrity. Service. Excellence.

INSTITUTIONAL GRADUATE OUTCOMES

Creative and critical thinkers
Life-long learners
Effective communicators
Morally and socially upright individuals

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 Table of Contents

Module 1 – Introduction to New Literacies ...................................................................................

What is Literacy?………………………………………………………………………………
Traditional literacy Vs. New Literacies……………………………………………….
Importance of Acquiring New Literacies………………………………………………
Types of New Literacies………………………………………………………………

Module 2 – Globalization and Multi-cultural Literacy ............................................................

Key Concepts…………………………………………………………………………
Globalization…………………………………………………………………….
Multi-culturalism………………………………………………………………..
The Globalization Trend and Literacy: Issues and Concerns………………………...
Multi-culturalism and Literacy: Issues and Concerns………………………………..
Diversity, equality and social justice……………………………………………..
Addressing Diversity Issues and Integrating Multi-culturalism
into the Curriculum………………………………………………………………
Module 3 – Social Literacy ……………………………………………………………………….
What is Social Literacy?..............................................................................................
Importance of Social literacy………………………………………………………...
Developing and Integrating Social Literacy
in the School Curriculum……………...................................................................

Module 4 – Traditional Media Literacy…………………………………………………………

What is Traditional Media Literacy?...........................................................................
The Role of Mass Media in the Society……………………………………………..
Mass Media: Issues and Concerns…………………………………………………..
Effective Use of the Different Media Materials
(Trimedia: TV, radio, print)……………………………………………………..
Developing and Integrating Media Literacy in Education………………………….
Module 5 - Cyber Literacy/Digital Literacy………………………………………………
What is Digital Literacies?........................................................................................
The Digital Environment………………………………………………………..
The Digital Tools………………………………………………………………..
Types of Digital Literacies…………………………………………………………
Locating and Filtering………………………………………………………….
Sharing and Collaborating……………………………………………………..
Reusing and Repurposing……………………………………………………...
Creating and Generating……………………………………………………….
Organizing and Curating………………………………………………………
Digital Literacy Applications in Education……………………………………….

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 Table of Contents

Module 6 – Eco-literacy...............................................................................................................
What is Eco-literacy ………………………………………………………………….
Inner Ecology…………………………………………………………………………
Outer Ecology………………………………………………………………………...
Importance of Eco-literacy……………………………………………………………
Education for Sustainability…………………………………………………………..

Module 7 - Art and Creativity Literacy……………………………………………………..

Art and Its Types………………………………………………………………………
What is Art and Creativity Literacy?.............................................................................
Bringing Art Literacy in Education………………………………………………….

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 Module 4
Module Title: Traditional Media Literacy

Lesson 1: The Nature of Mass Media

What is Media Literacy?

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.
Media literate youth and adults are better able to understand the complex messages
we receive from television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards,
video games, music, and all other forms of media (Center for Media Literacy).

Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via media
and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages
(http://www.bchmsg.yolasite.com/).

What is Traditional Media?

“Traditional media” refers to any form of mass communication available before the
advent of digital media. This includes television, radio, newspapers, books, and magazines.
Traditional media refers to advertising channels that have been used for decades. These are
the tried-and-true methods that businesses have relied on for years.
On the other hand, “new media” means products and services delivering information
or entertainment using computers or the internet, and not by traditional methods such as
television and newspapers.

What is Mass Media?

“Mass media” refers to communication channels through which messages may be sent
to the “masses” – large, diverse audiences. In older references, “mass media” point to the
traditional media mentioned earlier – television, radio and print. In most recent sources
though, it already covers the social media or digital media. This module, however, will focus
solely on the traditional media, as digital media literacy will be discussed in a separate
module.

Functions of Mass Media

The three basic functions of mass media are:
1. To inform
Information is most important function of mass media.
2. To educate

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 The mass media educate people by giving information about food, health, housing,
sanitation, employment, agriculture, industry, environment, science, technology,
modernization, and so on.

3. To entertain
Mass media also entertain people. Film, television, and radio are increasingly
subjected to commercialization via entertainment.

Mass communication’s ten significant purposes are as follows: (IEduNote)

1. Inform People

The most fundamental objective of mass communication is to provide information to mass

people.

Information on mass communication may be related to education, weather, sports, products

and services, public holidays, festivals, recreation, and entertainment.

2. Build Public Opinion

Another important objective of mass communication is to create public opinion on any

national or international issue.

Mass media attempts to create public opinion by providing their audiences with a realistic
picture of the world, activities of the leaders, governmental policies, etc. Mass media also
tries to build public opinion through special articles, editorials, and commentaries.

3. Persuade

Mass communication aims at persuading people to bring a change in their beliefs, opinions,
attitudes, and thinking on several issues like smoking, voting, religious convictions, donation,
dowry culture, etc.

Moreover, business enterprises design various advertisements to persuade potential customers.

4. Circulate Government Policies

Another objective of mass communication is to announce and circulate government programs

and policies. Mass media can bring such policies to the public notice very quickly.

5. Disseminate Health and Education Programs

The government takes various health and educational programmers like vaccination,
sanitation, birth control, open education, mass education, etc.

These health and education programs are disseminated and implemented through mass media
like radio, television, films, newspapers, etc.

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 6. Provide Pleasure and Entertainment

The mass media are wonderful sources of pleasure and amusement. Almost all mass media
have an entertainment component. Television and radio arrange various programs for
pleasure and amusement of mass people.

Newspapers and magazines publish articles on literary and cultural events, sports, stories, etc.
that also provide entertainment to the readers.

7. Establish Social Contact and Linkage

Mass communication also tries to establish and maintain social contact and linkage among
various races, tribes, or communities. Mass media create social contact and linkage by giving
messages of shared knowledge and experience.

For example,

a campaign to raise funds for the treatment of certain diseases or for performing certain social
activities promotes social bondage and sympathy.

8. Help in Facing Disaster and Calamity

Mass communication also aims at creating public awareness to face natural and men made
disasters like floods, earthquakes, war, riots, etc. with due courage and energy.

Through mass media, necessary instructions, strategies, & programs are circulated so that
people can take proactive preparation.

9. Highlight Diplomatic Role

In this uni-global world, every country wants to highlight its diplomatic role in global
peacekeeping and development activities. Such a diplomatic role can conveniently be
disseminated and highlighted through mass media.

10. Promote Political Ideologies

Political parties rely on mass media to promote their ideologies, plans, programs, and
manifestos. With the help of mass media, they try to create public opinion in their favor.

From the above discussion, we can conclude that mass communication has diversified
objectives. Different messages have different aims.

However, mass communication is mainly dedicated to ensuring the well-being of all classes
of people in society.

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 Role/Functions of Media (Panchal, 2015)

1. Information
2. Political awareness
3. Social awareness
4. Education
5. Economic awareness
6. Entertainment
7. Advertising

Significance/Advantages of Mass Media

1. Reaches many people quickly

2. Low cost per person reached
3. Can be used to:
3.1 Tell people about new ideas and services
3.2 Agenda-setting and advocacy
3.3 Create a favorable climate of opinion
4. Mass media not only inform but persuade.
5. Mass media are used for entertainment and commercial as non-commercial purposes.
6. Without mass media, there would be no social, economic and political systems.

Positive Impacts of Mass Media

1. A watchdog on government
 Voice of the poor is heard through media
 A trump card for common man
2. Could bring transformation/change
3. Mirror of society
 Through media, people become aware of the happenings around them.
 Show people what they actually do and what they must do
 Help keeping things in control
4. A window to the world
 A hub of information
 Global village
 Easy trade

Negative Impacts of Mass Media

1. Who watches the “watchdogs”?

 Irresponsible coverage
 Sensationalism - The use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the
expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement
(Oxford Dictionary as cited in The Beacon, 2019)
 Invade privacy
 It is a one-way communication, so improvement through feedback is virtually
impossible.
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 2. News for Sale
 Phenomena of paid news
 Profit-oriented industry

3. Cultural Damage
 Have a deep impression of Western culture
 Instill cultural stereotypes

4. Psychological Damage
 Affect the thinking capability of individuals
 Instill negative thinking patterns in society as a whole
 Affects psyche of vulnerable groups in a number of ways

5. Consumerism/Materialism

6. Crimes

What Can Media Change?

1. Our knowledge
2. Our behavior
3. Our attitude
4. Our emotions
5. Our political views

Role of Mass Media: What Should Be?

Mass media should be:

1. Informative
2. Positive
3. Creative
4. Motivating
5. Entertaining

On the contrary, some media:

1. Are negative-oriented
2. Give “Masala” News
3. Boring
4. Discouraging
5. Crime Encouraging

Ideally, media should be:

1. Free from pressure

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 2. Fact-finding
3. Providing real information
4. Positive in approach
5. Nation-building

In general:

1. Mass media is a pillar of society, and a healthy society is not possible without a
healthy mass media.
2. Mass media should take responsibility to preserve culture.
3. Media should understand the possible effects of their reports on the public.
4. Different programs for different age groups must be made.

Profit-oriented and violent programs must be discouraged

Media Literacy Concepts

Education for media literacy often uses an inquiry-based pedagogic model that
encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, hear, and read. Media literacy
education provides tools to help people critically analyze messages, offers opportunities for
learners to broaden their experience of media, and helps them develop creative skills in
making their own media messages. Critical analyses can include identifying author, purpose
and point of view, examining construction techniques and genres, examining patterns of
media representation, and detecting propaganda, censorship, and bias in news and public
affairs programming (and the reasons for these). Media literacy education may explore how
structural features—such as media ownership, or its funding mode —affect the information
presented.
With so many viewpoints, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. To guide your
exploration of the media that surround you, the Center for Media Literacy developed
these five core concepts:

1. All media messages are constructed.

Media texts are built just as surely as buildings and highways are built. The key
behind this concept is figuring out who constructed the message, out of what materials
and to what effect.

2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
Each form of communication has its own creative language: scary music
heightens fear, camera close-ups convey intimacy, big headlines signal significance.
Understanding the grammar, syntax and metaphor of media language helps us to be less
susceptible to manipulation.

3. Different people experience the same media message differently.

Audiences play a role in interpreting media messages because each audience
member brings to the message a unique set of life experiences. Differences in age,
gender, education and cultural upbringing will generate unique interpretations.

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 4. Media have embedded values and points of view.
Because they are constructed, media messages carry a subtext of who and what is
important — at least to the person or people creating the message. The choice of a
character’s age, gender or race, the selection of a setting, and the actions within the plot
are just some of the ways that values become “embedded” in a television show, a movie
or an advertisement.

5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.

Much of the world’s media were developed as money-making enterprises.
Newspapers and magazines lay out their pages with ads first; the space remaining is
devoted to news. Likewise, commercials are part and parcel of most television watching.
Now, the Internet has become an international platform through which groups or
individuals can attempt to persuade.

By considering the core concepts behind every media message, you equip
yourself with an ability to analyze and interpret a message — and to accept or reject its
legitimacy.

Mass Media: Issues and Concerns

The mass media, including news outlets and newspapers, are a powerful influence on
most people. News media and journalism outlets influence public opinion and therefore
democracy itself so their reach and power is not to be taken lightly.
Aside from the biases that are to be expected from corporations and editors, tabloids
in particular portray the world in an unrealistic way. Studies have shown that education, and
consuming respectable news instead of trash, results in a more sensible view of the world in
all matters, including views on the economy and crime rates. This is also about the tendency
for people to accept overly negative and foreboding forecasts of societies' declining moral
worth.
This section focuses on issues and concerns related to the ways that media represents
and sometimes misrepresents specific groups of people; how media influence our attitudes
and behaviors; and the ethical decisions we make daily as media consumers.
on, you can find...
Stereotypes, Prescribed Roles, and Public Perception
The U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse. According to U.S. Census
statistics from 2010, 27.6 percent of the population identifies its race as non-White (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2010). Yet in network television broadcasts, major publications, and other
forms of mass media and entertainment, minorities are often either absent or presented as
heavily stereotyped, two-dimensional characters. Rarely are minorities depicted as complex
characters with the full range of human emotions, motivations, and behaviors. Meanwhile,
the stereotyping of women, gays and lesbians, and individuals with disabilities in mass media
has also been a source of concern.
Minority Exclusion and Stereotypes

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 In the fall of 1999, when the major television networks released their schedules for
the upcoming programming season, a startling trend became clear. Of the 26 newly released
TV programs, none depicted an African American in a leading role, and even the secondary
roles on these shows included almost no racial minorities. In response to this omission, the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National
Council of La Raza (NCLR), an advocacy group for Hispanic Americans, organized protests
and boycotts. Pressured—and embarrassed—into action, the executives from the major
networks made a fast dash to add racial minorities to their prime-time shows, not only among
actors, but also among producers, writers, and directors. Four of the networks—ABC, CBS,
NBC, and Fox—added a vice president of diversity position to help oversee the networks’
progress toward creating more diverse programming (Baynes, 2003).
Despite these changes and greater public attention regarding diversity issues, minority
underrepresentation is still an issue in all areas of mass media. In fact, the trend in recent
years has been regressive. In a recent study, the NAACP reported that the number of minority
actors on network television has actually decreased, from 333 during the 2002–2003 season
to 307 four years later (WWAY, 2009). Racial minorities are often absent, peripheral, or take
on stereotyped roles in film, television, print media, advertising, and even in video games.
Additionally, according to a 2002 study by the University of California, Los Angeles, the
problem is not only a visible one, but also one that extends behind the scenes. The study
found that minorities are even more underrepresented in creative and decision-making
positions than they are on screen (Media Awareness Network, 2010). This lack of
representation among producers, writers, and directors often directly affects the way
minorities are portrayed in film and television, leading to racial stereotypes.
Racial stereotypes are not only an issue in entertainment media; they also find their
way into news reporting, which is a form of storytelling. Journalists, editors, and reporters are
still predominately White. According to a 2000 survey, only 11.6 percent of newsroom staff
in the United States were racial and ethnic minorities (Media Awareness Network, 2010).
The situation has not improved dramatically during the past decade.
Since the late 1970s, the major professional journalism organizations in the United
States—Associated Press Managing Editors (APME), Newspaper Association of America
(NAA), American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE), Society for Professional
Journalists (SPJ), Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), and others—
have included greater ethnic diversity as a primary goal or ethic. However, progress has been
slow. ASNE has set 2025 as a target date to have minority representation in newsrooms
match U.S. demographics.
Femininity in Mass Media
In the ABC sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1966), actress Donna Reed plays a
stay-at-home mother who fills her days with housework, cooking for her husband and
children, decorating, and participating in community organizations, all while wearing pearls,
heels, and stylish dresses. Such a traditional portrayal of femininity no doubt sounds dated to
modern audiences, but stereotyped gender roles continue to thrive in the mass media. Women
are still often represented as subordinate to their male counterparts—emotional,
noncompetitive, domestic, and sweet natured. In contrast to these types, other women are
represented as unattractively masculine, crazy, or cruel. In TV dramas and sitcoms, women

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 continue to fill traditional roles such as mothers, nurses, secretaries, and housewives. By
contrast, men in film and television are less likely to be shown in the home, and male
characters are generally characterized by dominance, aggression, action, physical strength,
and ambition (Chandler). In the mainstream news media, men are predominately featured as
authorities on specialized issues like business, politics, and economics, while women are
more likely to report on stories about natural disasters or domestic violence—coverage that
does not require expertise (Media Awareness Network).
Feminist critics have long been concerned by the way women in film, television, and
print media are defined by their sexuality. Few female role models exist in the media who are
valued primarily for qualities like intelligence or leadership. Inundated by images that
conform to unrealistic beauty standards, women come to believe at an early age that their
value depends on their physical attractiveness. According to one Newsweek article, eating
disorders in girls are now routinely being diagnosed at younger ages, sometimes as early as
eight or nine. The models who appear in magazines and print advertising are unrealistically
skinny (23 percent thinner than the average woman), and their photographs are further
enhanced to hide flaws and blemishes. Meanwhile, the majority of women appearing on
television are under the age of 30, and many older actresses, facing the pressure to embody
the youthful ideal, undergo surgical enhancements to appear younger (Derenne & Beresin,
2006). One recent example is TV news host Greta Van Susteren, a respected legal analyst
who moved from CNN to Fox in 2002. At the debut of her show, On the Record, Van
Susteren, sitting behind a table that allowed viewers to see her short skirt, had undergone not
only a hair and wardrobe makeover, but also surgical enhancement to make her appear
younger and more attractive.
In addition to the prevalence of gender stereotypes, the ratio of men to women in the
mass media, in and behind the scenes, is also disproportionate. Surprisingly, though women
slightly outnumber men in the general population, over two-thirds of TV sitcoms feature men
in the starring role (Media Awareness Network). Among writers, producers, directors, and
editors, the number of women lags far behind. In Hollywood, for instance, only 17 percent of
behind-the-scenes creative talent is represented by women. Communications researcher
Martha Lauzen argues that “when women have more powerful roles in the making of a movie
or TV show, we know that we also get more powerful female characters on-screen, women
who are more real and more multi-dimensional (Media Awareness Network).”

Sexual Content in Public Communication

Creators of all forms of media know that sex—named, innuendoed, or overtly
displayed—is a surefire way to grab an audience’s attention. “Sex sells” is an advertising
cliché; the list of products that advertisers have linked to erotic imagery or innuendo, from
cosmetics and cars to vacation packages and beer, is nearly inexhaustible. Most often,
sexualized advertising content is served up in the form of the female body, in part or in whole,
featured in provocative or suggestive poses beside a product that may have nothing to do with
sexuality. However, by linking these two things, advertisers are marketing desire itself.
Sex is used to sell not just consumer goods; it sells media, too. Music videos on MTV
and VH1, which promote artists and their music, capture audience attention with highly

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 suggestive dance moves, often performed by scantily clad women. Movie trailers may flash
brief images of nudity or passionate kissing to suggest more to come in the movie. Video
games feature female characters like Lara Croft of Tomb Raider, whose tightly fitted clothes
reveal all the curves of her Barbie-doll figure. And partially nude models grace the cover of
men’s and women’s magazines like Maxim, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue where cover lines
promise titillating tips, gossip, and advice on bedroom behavior (Reichert & Lambiase, 2005).
In the 1960s, when the sexual revolution led to increasingly permissive attitudes
toward sexuality in American culture, the Hays Code was replaced with the MPAA rating
system. The rating system, designed to warn parents about potentially objectionable material
in films, allowed filmmakers to include sexually explicit content without fear of public
protest. Since the replacement of the Hays Code, sexual content has been featured in movies
with much greater frequency.
The problem, according to many media critics, is not that sex now appears more often,
but that it is almost always portrayed unrealistically in American mass media (Galician,
2004). This can be harmful, they say, because the mass media are important socialization
agents; that is, ways that people learn about the norms, expectations, and values of their
society. Sex, as many films, TV shows, music videos, and song lyrics present it, is frequent
and casual. Rarely do these media point out the potential emotional and physical
consequences of sexual behavior. According to one study, portrayals of sex that include
possible risks like sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy only occur in 15 percent of the
sexually explicit material on TV (Parents Television Council). Additionally, actors and
models depicted in sexual relationships in the media are thinner, younger, and more attractive
than the average adult. This creates unrealistic expectations about the necessary ingredients
for a satisfying sexual relationship.
Social psychologists are particularly concerned with the negative effects these
unrealistic portrayals have on women, as women’s bodies are the primary means of
introducing sexual content into media targeted at both men and women. Cultural critics have
noted that sexually explicit themes in mass media are generally more widely accepted in
European nations than they are in the United States. As Jean Kilbourne has argued, sex in the
American media “has far more to do with trivializing sex than with promoting it. We are
offered a pseudo-sexuality that makes it far more difficult to discover our own unique and
authentic sexuality.” However, despite these criticisms, it is likely that unrealistic portrayals
of sexual content will continue to be the norm in mass media unless the general public stops
consuming these images.

Key Takeaways
 In American mass media, where the White male perspective is still presented as the
standard, stereotypes of those who differ—women, ethnic minorities, and gays and
lesbians—are an issue of ethical concern.
 Racial minorities are often absent, peripheral, or stereotyped in film, television, print
media, advertising, and video games.
 Racial stereotypes occur in news reporting, where they influence public perceptions.

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  Underrepresentation of women and racial and ethnic minorities is also a problem in
the hiring of creative talent behind the scenes.
 The media still often subordinate women to traditional roles, where they serve as
support for their male counterparts.
 The objectification of women in various visual media has particularly led to concerns
about body image, unrealistic social expectations, and negative influences on children
and adolescent girls.
 “Sex sells” consumer products and media such as movies and music videos.
 The issue of sexual content in the media has become a source of concern to media
critics because of the frequency with which it occurs and also because of the
unrealistic way it is portrayed.

Mass Panics Based on Sensationalism of the Printed Press

There are virtually no checks or quality control mechanisms that newspapers have to
adhere to, and, occasional outrages against press misbehavior are quickly forgotten by paying
customers. The purpose of it all is (1) sell more newspapers, or (2) influence public opinion.
People are all too willing to believe exaggerated claims. Newspaper editors pick on the
people’s fear and concoct alarmist stories from everyday events and statistics; for example
they publish alarmist articles on dangers from mobile phone masts even though there are
none, and there are almost no good-news stories about children despite massively improved
circumstances.
Many editors and media owners have explained the usefulness of fear-mongering and
sensationalism - it certainly sells more copy than balanced news. Fears become amplified and
made more real by their appearance in headlines, creating a hysteria about a topic whereas in
reality things are much more mundane and acceptable. Professional broadcaster Fraser
McAlpine says "news outlets are behaving like spoof sites, and they're making spoof sites
look like sensible news" and people are finding it harder to tell the difference. Modern
newspapers and news outlets are producing low quality, misleading and untrue stories
because they are driven by consumers who prefer entertainment, gloom and outrage rather
than serious text of reasonable reading.

More often than not, news stories become sensationalized for the simple fact that
ratings and readership will rise if people find the story interesting. Although one event is
deemed newsworthy, the media today have taken it upon themselves to turn an ordinary story
about an important event into something that is covered for weeks or even months.
So the question rises, are sensationalist news stories demeaning and damaging to
society? Most people are not even aware of the difference between an average story and a
sensationalized one. But the effects of sensational stories can last for a long period of time in
society and can change our perception of the media as we know it.
When the facts of a story are exaggerated in order for that particular newspaper or
television station to receive a better rating, the public can find it difficult to understand the
reality of what was covered.

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 The Commercialization of News

The Centralization of News Sources

A massive series of corporate takeovers has seen, over a few decades, nearly all news
products coming under the banner of just a few companies. The shrewdest companies are
those that have made massive staff cuts, for example, preferring to obtain news through
'monitoring' of television and through a very small number of wire agencies, rather than
directly do journalism themselves.
The process is: (a) commercialization, (b) efficiency-drives (drastic staff cuts), which
lead to (c) churnalism. As the giants gobble up local, smaller, media and news outlets and
apply their staff-cutting regime to them, news becomes more and more centralized. In 1992 in
the UK, locals were owned by about two hundred companies. There had already been a
decline. "By 2005, according to the media analysts Mintel, ten corporations alone owned
74% of them".

Churnalism
The new brand of commercial owners transformed journalism from an investigative
enterprise that sought to uncover truth, raise issues and debate politics, turned into an industry
of mass-produced "churnalism", operating as cheaply as possible. News speeds through news
factories manned by overworked journalists who have little time for research or investigation.
The total number of stories processed by journalists in a day always exceeds the number of
actual human beings talked to about those stories. Workers rarely get out of the office, and,
the numbers of phone calls made are scrutinized by time- and money- conscious bosses.
This process has affected all normal newspaper titles, even the 'qualities'. The best-
quality titles still had PR and/or wire copy in 80% of their stories (although in 20% of those
contained substantial additional commentary). Yet only 1% of these stories admitted their
true source. Even the best titles could only produce 12% of their stories themselves.

Profit Seeking: Quantity, not Quality

Most news outlets purchase news from news agencies. The most well-known of them
are The Associated Press and Reuters. Even if they often intend to supply unbiased news to
the world, social scientists know that multiple human factors come to distort the process. A
selection bias leads to agencies only collecting news which they think meshes within the
commonly accepted protocols of what news should be, and, even worse, news is selected
because it is sellable.
Combined with the dwindling numbers of journalists and the much greater volume of
news that the produce (churnalism), this means that our news is more decentralized and
biased than ever, but in a system where each individual player cannot do much about it nor
even see the selection bias in order to avoid it if they wished. Not only does this bias reduce
the style and scope of news sources, but, when the news story makes its way to a news outlet,
it then has to content with the editors and policy of its news sponsor.

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 The Press Freedom Index: Which Countries are Most Censored? Which Countries are
Most Free?

The freedom to investigate, publish

information, and have access to others' opinion is
a fundamental part of today's information-driven
world. Scores on the Press Freedom Index are
calculated according to indicators including
pluralism - the degree to which opinions are
represented in the media, media independence of
authorities, self-censorship, legislation,
transparency and the infrastructure that supports
news and information, and, the level of violence
against journalists which includes lengths of
imprisonments. The index does not take direct
account of the kind of political system but it is
clear that democracies provide better protection
for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate
news and information than countries where human
rights are flouted.

It must be noted that press freedom is not an indicator of press quality and the press
itself can be abusive; the UK suffers in particular from a popular brand of nasty reporting that
infuses several of its newspapers who are particularly prone to running destructive and often
untrue campaigns against victims. The Press Freedom Index notes that the index should in no
way be taken as an indicator of the quality of the media in the countries concerned.

Politics and Democracy

The press has responsibilities to the public interest: to respect the truth, to obey the
law and to uphold the rights and liberties of individuals. Good journalism is good for
democracy, but, unfortunately the most popular news feeds in most Western countries have
degraded into poor-quality sensationalism, which is affecting democracy and degrading
society. Three-quarters of people identify television as the most important single source of
information about politics and yet in the UK media monitoring of Parliament has collapsed
and coverage is almost entirely negative and pessimistic.
The worst culprit of the last few decades has been the Murdoch Empire's outputs,
complete with secret political deals that have made and broken entire governments. Already
by 1985 historians warned that these powerful engines of misinformation have political
implications and fears that an irresponsible trouble-making press, given enough rope, might
become a danger to political stability and public order, seemed fully justified. One of the UK
government's former chief scientific advisers, Sir David King, pointed out that the threat of
terrorism is likely to be far less significant than climate change but that climate change is too
complicated and doesn't sell well, whereas terrorism fits the requirements of our news culture
perfectly. The result is a populace that don't understand the risks facing them, and who vote
accordingly on the issues that the press bother to report. Sensationalism, drama, shallow
argumentation and a concentration on frivolity make it hard to appreciate the complexities of

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 the world. The effect is not merely to mislead its readers about the state of the world but to
distort the whole political process.

Violence
Questions about media violence have populated the headlines for almost as long as
mass media has existed. Every few years, there’s a new line up of suspects: music, video
games, television shows, and movies.
Criticism of media violence is often mixed with concerns of racism, gender, ageism,
and class: print media, talk shows and evening news programs often feature stories in which
hip hop and rap are held up to the viewer as the exemplars of contemporary culture’s slide
into violent depravity.
Given the widely differing views about the effects of media violence held by both
researchers and cultural commentators, it’s important to identify those effects that are well
established by reliable research and to cast a critical eye on the things we think we know.
One frequently heard claim is that media violence causes real world violence. Recent
attention has focused on the possibility that media violence (especially video games) has been
a contributing factor in mass violence such as the shootings at Columbine High School
(1999), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (2007), and Utøya Island in
Norway(2011). As technology has advanced and media have become more immersive – from
the Lumiere Brothers’ Arrival of a Train to today’s “first-person shooter” video games—
people have been concerned that viewers and players will lose the distance between
themselves and the media and be driven to acts of violence. Given the focus of these games
on weaponry, the paranoia-inducing corridors that are typical of game environments, and the
role of the player as lone judge, jury, and executioner, it isn’t difficult to see the line of
thinking that links these types of games to the idea of mass violence. Even experts on
television tell us that these games are responsible:
…common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they’re on
a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’s become part of
the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone
suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high.
And we’re going to have to start dealing with that. We’re going to have to start
addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murderers of tomorrow are the
children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.
-Dr. Phil McGraw, commenting on the Virginia Tech shootings on Larry King Live – April
16, 2007
While there may be a more complex and subtle relationship between media violence
and violent behaviour, the debate is dominated by one question—whether or not media
violence actually causes real-life violence. This may be because the debate is at least partially
a political one, between those who want to censor violent content to protect children and
those who see regulation as the slippery slope to censorship or a smokescreen hiding the root
causes of violence in society.
One thing is certain: the issue of media violence is not going to go away. Increasingly
the debate is shifting towards “cultures of violence,” and on the normalization of aggression
and lack of empathy in our society.

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 The realities of digital media complicate these issues in new ways. For instance, new
media forms are everywhere and interactive, something that traditional narrative forms (such
as books, film, and TV) are not. As well, given the increased ability of consumers to access
whatever media content they want, whenever they want, the prospect of censoring or even
limiting access to violent media is becoming more and more remote.

Suggested Reading: Media Representation https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z9fx39q/

revision/1.

References
Behrens, A. (2018, July 17). Positive and Negative Impact of Print Media. Retrieved from
https://positivenegativeimpact.com/print-media
Crabtree, V. (2009). The worst of the modern media. Retrieved from
http://www.humantruth.info/mass_media.html.
Laureta, V. (2009). Benefits of Using Newspapers, Magazines and Books in Classroom [PDF
File]. Retrieved from https://www.lcpj.pro/skedaret/1354544987-Article%2011.pdf.
Malatji, E. (2013, August 13). Primary/Basic functions of Radio. Retrieved from
http://edgarmalatji.blogspot.com/2013/08/primarybasic-functions-of-radio.html
Sarma, D. (September 20, 2017). Traditional media literacy vs. new media literacy.
https://www.slideshare.net/debashispratimsarma/traditional-media-literacy-vs-new-
media-literacy.
Sarnobat, S. (2012, July 25). Ways to make the best use of television. Retrieved from
https://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/153933-Ways-make-best-use-
television.aspx.
Vossos, T. (n.d.). The Role of Print Media in Society. Retrieved from
https://classroom.synonym.com/mass-communication-topics-research-papers-
8242300.html
Definition of media literacy. Retrieved from https://www.medialit.org/media-literacy-
definition-and-more.
Definition of media literacy. Retrieved from http://www.bchmsg.yolasite.com/media-literacy-
education.php.
Definition of sensationalism. The Beacon. Retrieved from https://www.thewilkes
beacon.com/opinion/2019/04/16/why-sensationalized-news-stories-are-damaging-to-
society/.
Ethical issues in in mass media (August 13, 2020). Retrieved from
https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Book%3A_Mass_Comm
unication_Media_and_Culture/05%3A_Ethics_of_Mass_Media/5.02%3A_Ethical_Iss
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 10 Purpose of Mass Communication.IEduNote. Retrieved from https://www.iedunote
.com/mass-communication.
https://www.slideshare.net/mickylyf/mass-media-importance-in-modern-times-role-of-mass-
media.

Prof. Ed. 8/ Prof. Ed. 9: Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum Page 20 of 21
 ACTIVITY
Cite a concrete example/illustration, based on the Philippine context and/or your experience,
on the following positive and negative effects of mass media: (5 pts. each)

A. Positive Effects
1. A watchdog on government
2. Political/social/economic awareness
3. Brings about transformation/change

B. Negative Effects
1. Sensationalism
2. Consumerism/Materialism
3. News for sale/Profit-oriented industry
4. Cultural damage
5. Psychological damage

Prof. Ed. 8/ Prof. Ed. 9: Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum Page 21 of 21