Critical Media Literacy (CML) and Its Relevance:
- CML takes media literacy a step further by focusing on the power dynamics inherent in media and information. It involves questioning:
- Who created this message? (Authorship and potential biases)
- What techniques are used to attract my attention? (Persuasive techniques)
- What lifestyles, values, and points of view are represented or omitted? (Representation and inclusion)
- Why is this message being sent? (Purpose and potential hidden agendas)
- How might different people understand this message differently? (Diverse interpretations)
Applying CML to Everyday Life:
- GP’s Prescriptions: Questioning potential conflicts of interest (pharmaceutical industry influence), understanding the risks and benefits of different medications, and researching alternative treatments.
- Airfare Tickets: Recognising how airlines use pricing strategies and hidden fees to maximise profits. Comparing fares across different platforms to find the best deals.
- In-class Syllabus: Understanding how the curriculum aligns with broader educational goals, advocating for inclusive and diverse course materials, and questioning assessment methods.
- Nutrition Tables: Identifying misleading marketing claims, understanding the difference between “natural” and “healthy,” and making informed choices about food.
- Court Orders: Recognising the power dynamics in legal systems, understanding one’s rights, and seeking legal counsel if needed.
Essential Skills to Develop Critical Media Literacy
Access
1.Which considerations would you have in mind while choosing the appropriate media outlets?
2.How would these considerations impact the credibility of the information that you have presented?
3. Explain in detail how you would have conducted the search for credible information in regard to a global issue.
4.Which would you place more emphasis on, and why?
5.Are there any issues concerning media that make it difficult to seek and find balanced views?
Analyse
1.How can you identify bias in media messages? What are some common indicators that a message may be biased?
2.Identify how media producers can shape or manipulate audience responses (using, for instance, emotional appeals, symbols, or figures of authority). Give examples of such techniques that you’ve come across not so long ago.
3.How can the concept of the intended audience enhance your understanding of the message’s purpose in a given communication process?
Evaluate
1.What criteria do you employ to determine the reliability of a particular news outlet?
2.How does the credibility of an author or a source impact your attitude towards the material presented?
3.Why is it critical to check facts against other sources? Provide a case in which this would be most desirable.
4.How do you determine the convergence of a media message with the principles of journalism?
5. Which of these do you consider the most important?
Create
1.What legal and moral frameworks should you observe in the process of developing and disseminating videos? Why do these ethical considerations matter?
2.What steps would you take to ensure that a public service announcement is appropriate for a particular audience? What would you have to keep in mind when developing your communication?
3. How would you go about creating a media piece that informs the audiences while also focusing on a specific social issue in the current context?
Participate
1.In your opinion, how can you engage in public debates responsibly via social media? Illustrate your response with appropriate examples.
2.In what ways can holding an opinion and expressing it online alter other people’s opinions? How can you make sure that the things you say and do on social media are dug up to be positive and useful?
3.What are the potential effects of ‘fake news’ on society and the health of democracy? How can individuals act to counter the spread of fake news in their communities?
Ten Key Indicators of New Media Literacy Skills (NMLS)
The New Media Literacy (NML) framework identifies 10 key indicators of new media literacy skills which have also been echoed by Lin, Chen, and Liang (2013):
- Access, retrieval and consumption of information: able to locate and access information using various digital tools and sources, comprehend, interpret, and analyse various forms of media, such as text, images, audio, and video, in order to extract meaning and understanding.
- Evaluation of information: knowing how to critically assess, analyse, evaluate and synthesise multiple forms of media and quality of online information to gain a deeper understanding, to draw connections between them and to check the credibility and reliability of information and media sources in order to determine their trustworthiness.
- Creation of content: being able to use digital tools to create and publish original content, such as websites, videos, and podcasts.
- Communication and collaboration: the ability to digitally create, communicate and publish original media content, including text, images, audio, and video, using various digital tools and platforms both synchronously and asynchronously.
- Design and customisation: how to use digital tools to design and customise digital content, such as personalising a blog or creating an avatar as well as publishing and distributing content for the 360-degree media platforms.
- Coding and programming: how to understand and use code to create and manipulate digital content.
Networking and online identity: being proficient to: (a) understand and manage one’s online identity, (b) use digital tools to participate in online networks and the global community, using digital technologies to engage with people and cultures from different parts of the world and (c) being able to navigate digital environment such as the Internet and online platforms, in order to access and manage information.
Digital safety and security: the ability to understand and practice safe and secure online behaviour, including the responsible use of personal information, to consider and reflect on the social, cultural, and ideological implications of media content and to use this understanding to create media that is inclusive, ethical, and culturally sensitive.
Data analysis and interpretation: being able to collect, analyse, and interpret data from digital sources.
Legal and ethical issues: the wisdom to understand and apply ethical and legal considerations in the use of digital technologies, including issues related to privacy.
An important finding of the study provides support for Jenkins et al. ‘s (2006). Participatory culture framework, which argues that the successful participation of individuals in new media sites can be achieved through the practice of certain new media literacies (NMLs).
Jenkins (2006) further argues that “fostering such social skills and cultural competencies requires a more systemic approach to media education” but Elinor Carmi (2020) stresses that data (new media, news media information, critical media literacies) citizenship outlines the importance of citizens having a critical and active role in the increasing prevalence of society’s datafication and algorithmically-driven decision-making (Gather, 2020). As digital data have become central to our cultural, social, political, and economic worlds, data citizenship seeks to establish a framework that examines the connections between data, power, and contextuality (ibid). Through data citizenship, individuals are encouraged and empowered to engage in critical inquiry and participate meaningfully and proactively in their communities (Gather, 2020).
The framework encompasses three areas: (a). Data thinking – citizens’ critical understanding of data, including understanding data collection and the data economy (Gather, 2020). (b). Data doing – citizens’ day-to-day engagements with data, such as deleting data and using data ethically (Gather, 2020). (c). Data participation – citizens’ proactive engagement with data and their networks of literacy, including taking steps to protect privacy and well-being in the data society, as well as helping others with their data literacy (Gather, 2020). (Gather, (2020) refers to the source that provides the original information.)