Media Landscape

How many times a day do you check your newsfeed or discuss the news
with friends? We receive regular updates and notifications from so many
different sources—messengers, emails, and the news media, for example. It's trendy
to "be informed", so we willingly open ourselves up to as much information as
possible.

If we are not careful, this information can mislead and overwhelm us! Just
as coffee helps our bodies stay awake, we need critical thinking to keep our
minds focused and alert. We believe that like coffee has become a part of many
people's daily routine, media literacy should as well.
Media Literacy will help you evaluate the information flows in your daily life and
equip you with skills you can use to recognize disinformation and propaganda.

We live in a time when the media space is rapidly changing. Media now
encompasses everything from printed paper to digital content. It includes
broadcasting (radio, television), publishing (printed magazines, books, and
flyers), and online content (social media, podcasts, blogs, and web articles). Our
role in the media has also changed. We are no longer simply passive listeners,
readers, and viewers; we are now creators and sharers of information!

Information has become so easily accessible and the volume of information

has become so great, that it's no wonder we can sometimes get lost in it. What
makes it even more complicated is that some of this information is distorted,
manipulated, or just flat out false. The volume of information can be so
overwhelming it can make knowing what to believe and which sources to trust an
exhausting task.

Unfortunately, today's education system isn't yet ready to provide us with the
skills necessary to navigate through this increasingly complex landscape. Media
education has not evolved as quickly as the technology we use daily. We need skills
to analyze, evaluate, share, and even create messages. This is the basis of media
literacy. Let's begin by learning about the different types of content and finding out
which are intended to inform us, and which to persuade us.

(…to be continued)
Vocabulary

1. Match the words in the box to their definitions

Content Issue Advertising Persuasion
/ˈkɒntent/ /ˈɪʃuː/ /ˈædvətaɪzɪŋ/ /pəˈsweɪʒn/

Report Policy Credibility Propaganda

/ri-ˈpȯrt/ /ˈpɒləsi/ /ˌkredəˈbɪləti/ /ˌprɒpəˈɡændə/

Ownership Reporting Verify Opinion

/ˈəʊnəʃɪp/ /rɪˈpɔːtɪŋ/ /ˈverɪfaɪ/ /əˈpɪnjən/

Broadcasting Outlet Fact Conscious

/ˈbrɔːdkɑːstɪŋ/ /ˈaʊtlet/ /fækt/ /ˈkɒnʃəs/

1. the activity and industry of advertising things to people on television, in

newspapers, on the Internet, etc.
2. able to use your senses and mental powers to understand what is happening
3. the things that are contained in something
4. the quality that somebody/something has that makes people believe or trust
them
5. a thing that is known to be true, especially when it can be proved
6. your feelings or thoughts about somebody/something, rather than a fact
7. the act of persuading somebody to do something or to believe something
8. ideas or statements that may be false or exaggerated and that are used in
order to gain support for a political leader, party, etc.
9. the presenting of and writing about news on television and radio, and in
newspapers
10. common talk or an account spread by common talk
11. to check that something is true or accurate
12. the business of making and sending out radio and television programmes
13. a newspaper, television station, website, etc. that makes information or
other services available to the public
14. the fact of owning something
15. making available/known
16. a plan of action agreed or chosen by a political party, a business, etc.