Media Literacy

 

Assignment 

Name : Nisrina Novelia

                                                                     Class : 1SA08
                                                                    NPM : 15616451

 

Media Literacy

Media literacy is a set of skills that anyone can learn. Just as literacy is the ability to read and write, media literacy refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media messages of all kinds.

Media literacy skills can help children, youth and adults:

Understand how media messages create meaning

Identify who created a particular media message

Recognize what the media maker wants us to believe or do

Name the "tools of persuasion" used

Recognize bias, spin, misinformation and lies

Discover the part of the story that's not being told

Evaluate media messages based on our own experiences, beliefs and values

Create and distribute our own media messages

Become advocates for change in our media system

Media Literacy Concepts

The study and practice of media literacy is based on a number of fundamental concepts about media

messages, our media system, and the role of media literacy in bringing about change. Understanding

these concepts is an essential first step in media literacy education.

We’ve organized Media Literacy Concepts into three levels:

Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

Basic focus on how media affect us.

Intermediate concepts examine more closely how we create meaning from media messages.

Advanced concepts examine the interaction of media and society, and the role of media literacy in bringing about change.

Basic concepts

Media messages can be decoded.

By “deconstructing” media, we can figure out who created the message, and why. We can identify the techniques of persuasion being used and recognize how media makers are trying to influence us. We notice what parts of the story are not being told, and how we can become better informed.

Example

- Who is this advertisement targeting?

- What is the subtext of the ad?

-How is this ad attempting to persuade the consumer?.

- Is this a healthy and/or unhealthy media message?

- What related stories are NOT told by this media example?

Answer

Who is this advertisement targeting? This ad is probably targeting men since an attractive woman is the focus.
What is the subtext (underlying meaning) of the ad? It seems that the ad is trying to get men to see that there are attractive women at the casino and that maybe they could meet some of those women.
How is this ad attempting to persuade the consumer? The use of the “beautiful people” persuasion technique is in play. The consumer is being persuaded to think that attractive women spend time at casinos.
Is this a healthy and/or unhealthy media message? This is an unhealthy media message because they are using attractive young women to get men to go to the casino.
What related stories are NOT told by this media example? It is not showing the variety of people that may be at the casino or the possible consequences of gambling.

Intermediate concepts

Media convey ideological and value messages.

            Ideology and values are usually conveyed in the subtext. Two examples include news reports (besides covering an issue or event, news reports often reinforce assumptions about power and authority) and advertisements (besides selling particular products, advertisements almost always promote the values of a consumer society).

Example Ad 

Ideological and value message conveyed in subtext, such as moral value life value, essential value, etc.

Advanced concepts

Most media are controlled by commercial interests.

            In the United States, the marketplace largely determines what we see on television, what we hear on the radio, what we read in newspapers or magazines. As we use media, we should always be alert to the self-interest of corporate media makers. Are they concerned about your health? Do they care if you’re smart or wellinformed? Are they interested in creating active participants in our society and culture, or merely passive consumers of their products, services, and ideas?

Basic persuasion techniques

 Association

This persuasion technique tries to link a product, service, or idea with something already liked or desired by the target audience, such as fun, pleasure, beauty, security, intimacy, success, wealth, etc. The media message doesn’t make explicit claims that you’ll get these things; the association is implied. Association can be a very powerful technique. A good ad can create a strong emotional response and then associate that feeling with a brand (family = Coke, victory = Nike). This process is known as emotional transfer. Several of the persuasion techniques below, like Beautiful people, Warm & fuzzy, Symbols and Nostalgia, are specific types of association.

Example Ad

Intermediate persuasion techniques

Simple Solution

Life is complicated. People are complex. Problems often have many causes, and they’re not easy to solve. These realities create anxiety for many of us. Persuaders offer relief by ignoring complexity and proposing a Simple solution. Politicians claim one policy change (lower taxes, a new law, a government program) will solve big social problems. Advertisers take this strategy even further, suggesting that a deodorant, a car, or a brand of beer will make you beautiful, popular and successful.

Slippery Slope

            This technique combines Extrapolation and Fear. Instead of predicting a positive future, it warns against a negative outcome. It argues against an idea by claiming it’s just the first step down a “slippery slope” toward something the target audience opposes. ("If we let them ban smoking in restaurants because it’s unhealthy, eventually they’ll ban fast food, too." This argument ignores the merits of banning smoking in restaurants.) The Slippery slope technique is commonly used in political debate, because it’s easy to claim that a small step will lead to a result most people won’t like, even though small steps can lead in many directions.

Advanced persuasion techniques

Scapegoating

Extremely powerful and very common in political speech, Scapegoating blames a problem on one person, group, race, religion, etc. Some people, for example, claim that undocumented (“illegal”) immigrants are the main cause of unemployment in the United States, even though unemployment is a complex problem with many causes. Scapegoating is a particularly dangerous form of the Simple solution technique.