Jan 17th. What is Media Literacy?

Question 1

Why is media literacy important?

Answer 1

• Elder Oaks: truth should be sought through the right means. There are eternal truths.
• “Members of the Church should seek out and share only credible, reliable, and factual sources of information.” - Church Handbook 38.8.41
• Grammar of the media: *“The grammar of the media can offer important clues about what information is credible, what is of dubious value, what is likely propaganda meant to deceive, and what is offered as satire and humor in an otherwise sometimes bleak media arena.”
• “We must look critically at all media we encounter.”We are learning from everything, even when it’s not in an academic setting. (pg 33-34)

Question 2

In what ways is media our teacher?
In what ways is it not?

Question 3

What is the definition of Media Literacy?

Answer 3

“The process of critically analyzing media content by considering it’s particular presentation, its underlying political or social messages, and its media ownership or regulation that may affect the type of content we receive.” (pg 35)

Question 4

Questions to ask to stimulate critical media consumption:

Answer 4

Is a news story biased? Why is it even news? Does a popular television show or video game encourage gender or racial stereotypes or antisocial behavior? What is an advertiser really trying to sell, and to whom? Does the placement of photos and articles fairly represent the relative importance of those items as news?

Question 5

Media Literacy: High Levels vs. Low Levels

Answer 5

High Levels: Question Media
Low Levels: Feel Victimized/Controlled by Media
Framed this way, does the concept of media literacy reflect LDS doctrine, scripture, or any talks by General Authorities? If so, which ones?

Question 6

Semiotics

Answer 6

Study of signs and symbols
Signifier = The form of the message
Signified = What the form represents

Question 7

Framing

Answer 7

Media frames stories in certain ways to make the message more easily organized, digestible
Once frames, like signs, are accepted, they appear natural and go largely unquestioned
What examples of frames can you think of in current debates? How is the wording used in the debate crucial to recruiting new followers?

Question 8

Know the substance of Plato’s quote from chapter 2. Should his argument change for the 21st century?

Answer 8

“Children cannot distinguish between what is allegory and what isn’t, and opinions formed at that age are usually difficult to eradicate or change; it is therefore of the utmost importance that the first stories they hear shall aim ato producing the right moral effect.” - Plato

Question 9

Media Bias
Gladstone’s The Influencing Machine
List the biases and summarize each one.

Answer 9

Commercial bias
Bad News bias
Status Quo bias
Access bias
Visual bias
Narrative bias
Fairness bias