1. Media Literacy

2. Why bother? If we’re not media literate, we can’t understand what the media are doing for us and to us

3. SENDERRECEIVER SENDERRECEIVER CHANNEL

5. Animal House

6. The Cosby Show

7. Media Literacy Media literacy- ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and process media messages US produces the most media content, yet we’re probably among the least media literate countries

8. Active Recipients Literacy is a continuum, not a category Low  -----------------------  High High literacy  ability contextualize and understand the message from multiple perspectives i.e., You don’t just accept the media message Active processing

9. Active Recipients Low literacy  inability to contextualize media messages i.e., Don’t identify inaccuracies More likely to just accept media message at face value Inactive processing More knowledge gives us more control over interpretation Move from uncritical  to critical Understand the ways media affect us

10. A critical thinking skill enabling audience members to develop independent judgments about media content

11. Most people just veg out when interacting with the media Most people just veg out when interacting with the media Sit in front of tube Sit in front of tube Leaf through magazines and newspapers Leaf through magazines and newspapers Radio in the background Radio in the background Surf the net at random Surf the net at random Text and tweet ad nauseum Text and tweet ad nauseum

12. Kate Moore – texting champ Sends an average of 14,000 text messages a month Sends an average of 14,000 text messages a month “Let your kid text during dinner! Let your kid text during school! It pays off!” “Let your kid text during dinner! Let your kid text during school! It pays off!”

13. A critical thinking skill enabling audience members to develop independent judgments about media content

14. An understanding of the process of mass communication

15. An awareness of the impact of media on the individual and society

16. So who’s affected? Do you think you’re affected by media messages? What about other people around you?

17. Effects on me????? Never!!! I have asked many people over the years: Do media messages have an effect on you? Often respond with: No (i.e. I watched lots of violence when I was a kid and I’m fine today) Effects on others: Often imply that other people are affected by media

18. Third Person Effect

19. Perceptions of Media Effects Third-person effect (Davison, 1983) perceptual component Message desirability (pro- or antisocial) overestimate of effects on others Other people become more aggressive underestimate of effects on self Media doesn’t affect me

20. Social Distance Corollary Studies find more general / socially distant “other” leads to larger perceived effects other WSU students, then other WA residents, then public at large Lower class “others” more likely to be affected

21. The importance of perceived exposure: differences across “other” groups NOT based on perceptions of dissimilarity as assumed “other” estimates due to perceived exposure “self” estimates based on many factors, but NOT exposure

22. Linking 3rd-Person Perceptions to Support for Censorship Studies of 3rd-person perceptions and censorship of: pornography violent TV content violent and misogynic rap and death metal lyrics People support censorship because they assume people are being affected by this content

23. Strategies for analyzing and discussing media messages

24. The ability to enjoy, understand, and appreciate media content

25. Terry Pratchett

26. The Daily Show w/ John Stewart

28. An understanding of the ethical and moral obligations of media practitioners

29. Media Literacy Skills

30. Ability and willingness to make an effort to understand content, to pay attention, and to filter out noise

31. An understanding of and respect for the power of media messages

32. The ability to distinguish emotional from reasoned reactions and to act accordingly

33. Develop a heightened expectation of media content

34. Know genre conventions and learn to recognize when they’re being mixed

35. Think critically about media messages, no matter how credible the source

36. An understanding of media content as a text that provides insight into our culture and our lives