Media literacy 101

Berkeley County Reading and Writing Institutes

Frank Baker
media educator
fbaker1346@aol.com

Media Literacy Clearinghouse

http://medialit.med.sc.edu
 Media literacy 101
“It would be a breach of our duties as
teachers for us to ignore the rhetorical
power of visual forms of media in
combination with text and sound…the
critical media literacy we need to teach
must include evaluation of these
media, lest our students fail to see,
understand, and learn to harness
the persuasive power of visual media.”

NCTE Resolution on Visual/Media Literacy

Media literacy 101
 Media literacy 101
“Our students are growing up in a
world saturated with media
messages…yet, they (and their
teachers) receive little or no training
in the skills of analyzing or re-
evaluating these messages, many of
which make use of language, moving
images, music, sound effects.”
Source: R.Hobbs, Journal Adult & Adolescent Literacy, February 2004
 Media literacy 101
 American Association of School Libraries
 International Reading Association
 Natl Board of Professional Teaching
Standards
 National Council for Teachers of English
 National Middle Schools Association
 Partnership for 21st Century Skills
 White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy
 Media literacy 101

What is media literacy?

OR

Why should your students become

media literate?
 Media literacy 101
Media literacy is concerned with helping students
develop an informed and critical understanding
of the nature of mass media, the techniques
used by them, and the impact of these
techniques. More specifically, it is education that
aims to increase the students' understanding and
enjoyment of how the media work, how they
produce meaning, how they are organized, and
how they construct reality. Media literacy also
aims to provide students with the ability to
create media products. 
(Source: Media Literacy Resource Guide,
Ministry of Education Ontario, 1997)
What media literacy is:
 Media literacy in SC ELA
Elementary Middle High School
Recognize Demonstrate the Analyze nonprint
details, setting, ability to sources for
characters and distinguish accuracy, bias,
cause and effect between fact intent and
in material from and opinion, to purpose
nonprint sources compare and
contrast info
and ideas, and
make inferences
in regard to
what is viewed
Media literacy 101

"If video is how we are

communicating and
persuading in this new
century, why aren't more
students writing
screenplays as part of
their schoolwork?“
Heidi Hayes Jacob
 Core Concepts
 All media are constructed
 Media are constructed using unique
languages with their own set of rules
 Media convey values and points of view
 Audiences negotiate meaning
 Media = Power + Profit

Source: Center for Media Literacy www.medialit.org

All media are constructed
 What is this?

No, this is a PHOTOGRAPH of a horse.

 Media are constructed
using unique languages
with their own set of rules
Language of film
Camera
Lights
Sound/Music
Sets
Editing
Media convey values and
points-of-view
Audiences negotiate meaning
 Media = Power + Profit
Big 5 Media

FOX (News Corp)

NBC (GE)
CBS (Viacom)
ABC (Disney)
CNN (AOL/Time Warner)

What are the implications/ramifications if only 5

companies control magazines, newspapers, TV,
radio, newspapers, Internet, film, etc.?
 Advertiser~Audience
This program
is brought to
you by the You are
sponsor. brought to
the sponsor
by the program.
 Critical thinking questions
 Who produces/pays for media?
 For what purpose(s) was it made?

 For which ‘target audience(s)’?

 What techniques does the messenger

use to attract attention?

 Who or what is omitted and why?

 How do we know what it means?

 Does it contain bias or stereotypes?

Techniques
Techniques
Techniques
Techniques
Techniques
 Techniques

The box of Oreos was not in the original NBC “Friends:”

it was placed there virtually for DVD/syndication exposure
Techniques
well known case
of the digital
creation of a
magazine cover
featuring a
woman who does
not exist
 Body Image

The subjective concept of one's

physical appearance based on self-
observation and reactions of others.
(American
Heritage)
 Body Image- Studies
Researchers at Brigham and Women's
Hospital in Boston found that the
more adolescent and pre-adolescent
girls read fashion magazines, the
more likely they were to diet and to
feel unhappy about their bodies.
(USA Today 1/18/2006)
Body Image- Statistics

69% of teens read a

magazine in a typical
day
Real Teens: A Contemporary Snapshot of Youth
Culture ( by George Barna )
 Body Image- Statistics
 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner
 45% of boys and girls in grades 3-6 want to be thinner
 37% have already dieted
 6.9% score in the Eating Disorder range
 51% of 9-10 year old girls feel better about selves when
dieting
 9% of 9 year old have vomited to lose weight
 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat
 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies
 78% of 18 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies
 The #1 wish of girls 11-17 years old is to lose weight
source: Body Wars: Making Peace with Women's Bodies by
Margo Maine, Ph.D.
 Body Image- Studies
"....unrealistically thin young women
are often used in advertisements for
everything from soft drinks to cars.....
previous research has already shown
that such advertising contributes to
negative body images among young
girls and women."
(UK News story, Aug. 31, 2005)
 Body Image- Studies
Males impacted:
"Action figures present subtle
messages of unrealistic role
models of well-sculpted, heavily
muscled, 'perfect' bodies that
little boys see as their role
models.“

Sondra Kronberg, director and co-founder of Eating

Disorder Associates Treatment & Referral Centers
 Body Image- Studies
According to statistics posted by the National
Institute on Media and the Family, by age 13, 
some 53 percent of American girls are
unhappy with their bodies; that figure grows to
78 percent by the time girls reach 17. In
another study on fifth graders, 10-year-old
girls and boys told researchers they were
dissatisfied with their own bodies after
watching a music video by Britney Spears or a
clip from the TV show Friends. And adolescent
girls who viewed commercials depicting
unrealistically thin models felt "less confident,
more angry, and more dissatisfied with their
weight and appearance."
 Body Image:
Are things changing?

New Dove Ad Campaign

Just My Size Ad
Body Image-Resources

www.jeankilbourne.com
 Other Resources

Media Sharp:
Analyzing Alcohol &
Tobacco Messages

CDC produced curriculum

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/mediashrp.htm