Media and Information Literacy 1 • TO EVALUATE MEDIA means being able to

clearly understand the purpose of a media

NOTES: product and judge whether the information it
contains is helpful, useful, and relevant to you
In our world today, awareness of the different
or not.
aspects of life is necessary to survive (be it the
government, its laws, the church, education, or a • TO CREATE MEDIA means being able to
new virus on the loose) especially because all of express your own thoughts and ideas thereby
these aspects are constantly changing. Thus, producing your own chunk of information in
keeping abreast of what's happening these days is different forms of media (e.g. Facebook and
very important. So, how exactly do you acquire the Instagram posts, blogs, vlogs, etc.)
necessary information in order to keep up with • TO ACT means being able to use the
these changes in the world of today? information you absorb from the media you
All the things that you listed in the box in the consume.
previous page are media in different forms. But
The Media Literacy is also guided and supported
what is media?
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
• MEDIA -in the literal sense, is the plural form of and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with its
medium or "multiple mediums”. Five Laws on Media Literacy:
• MEDIUM - is a substance or a method in which • Law 1: Information, communication libraries,
something is communicated; it's the vehicle for media, technology, the Internet as well as other
a message. forms of information providers are for use in
critical civic engagement and sustainable
In other words, MEDIA is anything that is used to
development. They are equal in stature and
deliver and Q in receive messages that is
none is more relevant than the other or should
tantamount to information. Taking this definition of
be ever treated as such.
media, we can Image from: conclude that we
encounter media almost everywhere and every • Law 2: Every citizen is a creator of information/
time. Thus, you could have learned so much from knowledge and has a message. They must be
each media you encounter. These things that you empowered to access new information/
learn from the different media are called media knowledge and to express themselves. MIL is
messages. for all women and men equally and a nexus of
human rights.
• MEDIA MESSAGES- are the values and ideas
that are promoted by the media; the things that • Law 3: Information, knowledge, and messages
get put into them. are not always value neutral or always
independent of biases. Any conceptualization,
But it does not stop there. Knowing things is not
use, and application of MIL should make this
everything, it is using what you learn for your own
truth transparent and understandable to all
benefit. What you do with what you know defines
citizens.
its effects in your life.
• Law 4: Every citizen wants to know and
• MEDIA EFFECTS - are the influences and
understand new information, knowledge, and
consequences of media on the audiences.
messages as well as to communicate, even if
Knowing that these media have certain effects she/he is not aware, admits or expresses that
depending on the message it carries, we need to he/she does. Her/his rights must however never
be more careful with whatever forms of media we be compromised.
surround ourselves with. It is also important to note
• Law 5: Media and information literacy is not
that these media messages can be done or
acquired at once. It is a lived and dynamic
encoded by ANYONE; therefore, we certainly need
experience and process. It is complete when it
to learn how to verify information that we get from
includes knowledge, skills, and attitudes, when
consuming media. We must choose media sources
it covers access, evaluation/assessment, use,
that can be trusted in the information they expose.
production, and communication of information,
This is where Media Literacy comes into play.
media, and technology content.
• MEDIA LITERACY is the ability to access,
DEBUNKING MIL MYTHS
analyze, evaluate, and create different forms of
media. (Definition by the US-based Center for Because of all these ideals that one should
Media Literacy) observe and follow while consuming media, many
can't help but think of many things about Media
The US National Association of Media Literacy
and Information Literacy. Here are some myths
Educators defines Media Literacy as "the ability to
about MIL as cited by Cantor, O. L. (2019) in her
access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using
book, "Media and Information Literacy" by Vibal
all forms of communication.”
Group Inc.
• TO ACCESS MEDIA means being able to
• How come media literacy sounds like we
open, use, and consume any form of media.
should all hate the media?
• TO ANALYZE MEDIA means being able to
Criticizing is not the same as being skeptical of the
understand and absorb the messages
media. In the process of self-discovery and
embedded in the media you consume.
education, one naturally compares one media
product to another. Sometimes, one can see more
negative things than positive, but that does not Media literacy helps you become a better encoder
entail hatred towards the media. In fact, media of media messages in the long run.
literacy gives one a chance to take note of some
• I don't know how to use a computer. Do I
negative aspects and suggest ways to turn it into
have to learn that before studying media
something beneficial.
literacy?
• Do I need to be a media expert to learn In the digital age, it would be best to update your
media literacy? I am not a media skills and knowledge with the various technological
practitioner. developments in the world. While learning how to
We are all media consumers, and that is enough use a computer could enhance your life, it is not
reason for us to be responsible in dealing with it. necessarily needed in learning media literacy. To
Practicing and applying media literacy on a daily reiterate, what we are going to study is how media
basis helps us become responsible media messages, coming from all kinds of media, affect
consumers. We don't have to be an expert in us all-TV, print' radio, and film.
producing or operating different media and
• I know how to operate a DVD player and a
itstechnologies to practice media literacy. What we
laptop. Am I considered a media literate
are more concerned about is how the media crafts
person?
messages with meanings that affect our lives. Even
media practitioners should be aware of this aspect. Merely knowing how to operate media machinery is
not being media literate. What are the meanings
• Do I need to be an artist to learn media
you get from the movies or TV shows you watch in
literacy? I am not a creative person.
your DVD player and laptop? Media literacy is
In studying media literacy, we are studying media more concerned with those aspects.
as creative products as well. One need not be a • I just do everything in my laptop. That's not
practicing artist to study media literacy. But if you media. Why do I have to learn media
are one, then the study of media literacy will help literacy?
enhance your artistic expression in the long run.
Media technologies are evolving in leaps and
• My family is poor. We don't have access to
b o u n d s l a t e l y. C a t e g o r i z a t i o n s o f m e d i a
gadgets or media. Do I need media literacy?
technologies are blurring the functions and uses of
Media is not limited to gadgets and modern gadgets, including laptops. Since the laptop
technologies, it encompasses even written outputs becomes the latest conduit of media messages,
ranging from books, magazines, newspapers, you should be aware of how to use it properly
posters, and more. So, its all the more reason why within the media literacy context.
everyone needs to be media literate. It is so
• I don't know how to go online or use the
because, what we are studying is the effect of
Internet. Do I need media literacy?
media messages we encounter in different media
products we are exposed to. Yes, you need media literacy even if you do not
know how to navigate the Internet. You are still
• I only like reading books. I hate watching TV exposed to various types of media products out
or movies. Why do I need to learn media there. You will need media literacy to help you
literacy? understand and negotiate these varied media
It cannot be avoided that we are exposed to many messages outside of the Internet.
types of media products in our lives. Regardless of
Analyzing for hidden meanings is so tiring. Can't
which type of media you prefer, it is still best to
we just watch the movie and enjoy it?
equip yourself with the knowhow to appreciate the
media properly. Media literacy is not merely about analyzing hidden
meanings. It is also about enjoying the surface
• But I love movies and TV! Don't badmouth
meanings of media messages and later reflecting
them!
on why those meanings were enjoyable to you.
Again, criticizing is not merely about badmouthing Perhaps sometimes you find yourself asking how
but about studying closely why a media product something works in a movie or you end up
works or does not work for us. Maybe the media questioning the movie's story or characters. That is
messages are telling us something or suggesting the start of media literacy inquiry.
something to us. Media literacy will actually help THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
you understand more why you love the
entertainment products you love—and what that In the previous pages, we've already established
actually says about you' Media literacy is about that media literacy essentially involves what you do
self-discovery and scrutinizing our relationship with with the information you acquire from consuming
the media. different media. What indeed will you do with those
chunks of information? Normally, you would want to
• I know how to edit a video. I know how to
share them with others. For this, you will have to
shoot with a digital camera. Am a media
use different tools. This is how the communication
literacy expert already?
process works. A message is passed on to others
Merely knowing how to operate media gadgets and with the help of tools and devices like pen and
equipment does not automatically make one a paper, your own voice, the megaphone or
media literacy expert. As a media practitioner, are microphone speaker, and other platforms
you also aware of the kind of messages you are especially in social media.
encoding in the video you are shooting or editing?
Communication can be defined as the imparting or • MASS MEDIA - refers to a media outlet that is
exchanging of information or news or the used to disseminate a piece of information to a
successful conveying or sharing of ideas and large audience. This means spreading the print
feelings (definition by Lexico - powered by Oxford). media to many readers or broadcasting a radio
There are various types of communication models or television show to many listeners or viewers.
to show us how humans relay messages to each One popular example of mass media is film
other. The simplest and perhaps the oldest model since watching movies in theaters involves a
is the Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication large audience.
that shows a linear type of communication process.
• MASS COMMUNICATION - is the process of
Linear model of communication is a simple one-
spreading information in a wide manner or
way communication model. The message flows in
spreading one-way type of information toward a
a straight line from sender to the receiver. There is
huge audience.
no concept of feedback. The only task that a
receiver does here is to receive the message. Because of mass media and mass communication,
different media companies ranging from the film
industry, the broadcast industry (covering radio and
television), the publishing industry (covering books,
newspapers, magazines, and comics), and the
photography industry -can reach a wide range of
audiences. This is why media is an ideal channel
for information to be disseminated to the public;
thereby, making media an information industry.
This basic model of communication was later
Today, media as a source of information has even
improved. Theorists like David Berlo added a very
reached a wider array of consumers due to the
important factor which is feedback. They have
existence of the internet. With the internet, media
taken into consideration the receiver's reaction
now covers even various emerging and developing
which is sent back to the sender of the message.
media-related technologies, especially those
Feedback means "a reaction or response to a
belonging to the information technology (or IT)
particular process or activity”.
sector such as mobile phones or tablets. Be it
Feedback is important to know whether the newspapers, books, TVs, radios, or those mobile
message was effective or not. When the receiver gadgets, as long as it is used to deliver a media-
gives the expected response, the speaker can be constructed message, it becomes a media
sure that he had communicated his thoughts well. channel.
On the other hand, when the receiver gives a
While its true that media would seem to be
different response than expected, the speaker may
invented and kept in the industry for the sole
begin to ask whether what he said was right or
purpose of faster and better public information
wrong. This addition of feedback makes
dissemination, it is also undeniable that it has also
communication a two-way process. This model can
become an indispensable source of entertainment
be better represented in this diagram.
to the people. In the Philippines, entertainment
through media comes in a myriad of influences. In
the music industry, Filipinos have deep love for
OPM (Original Pinoy Music) that includes great
Filipino singers like Sarah Geronimo and Gary
Valenciano. However, many Pinoys can't also help
but dance to the music of BTS and other K-Pop
groups (K-Pop is a term that refers to South
Korean-produced pop music which is not only
popular in its originating culture but also accepted
in other cultures). This is an example of a culture-
specific media product in this case music—that
crossed over to other cultures in BTS popularity
and became a worldwide hit.
While referring to it as a cultural product, the
concept of media being part of popular culture or
pop culture can't be avoided. Culture is defined as
"the sum of those characteristics that identify and
differentiate human societies—a complex
MASS MEDIA AND MASS COMMUNICATION interweave of many factors. The culture of a nation
is made up of its language, history, traditions,
climate, geography, arts; social, economic, and
political norms and its system of values; and such a
nation's size, its neighbors, and its current
prosperity condition the nature of its culture.”
In the Philippine TV, Pinoys were first introduced to
Mexican culture through the popularity of Mexican
telenovelas in 1990s which started with "Marimar"
as portrayed Mexican singer-actress, Thalia. In the
early 2000s, some Asian telenovelas rose in
popularity beginning with Taiwanese telenovela, mobile apps like Instagram in mobile phones
"Meteor Garden" which catapulted the boy group, and tablets. The min purpose of this is to
F4, to popularity in the country. Later on, came socialize with people virtually.
different TV series from South Korea which remain
• What refers to electronic media that uses
popular until today. They, not only were aired with
electricity and technology to deliver the
audio dubbed in Filipino but also were produced in
message or information? Broadcast Media
remade Filipino versions by specific TV channels.
• What pertains to movies that deliver audiovisual
TYPES OF MEDIA messages? Film/Cinema
• TRADITIONAL MEDIA covers the forms of
• What is the sum of characteristics that identify
media that were introduced to the market before
and differentiate human societies? Culture
the invention of the Internet. This encompasses
all kinds of written or print media like • What refers to a reaction or response to a
newspapers, magazines, comics and books. particular process or activity? Feedback
Photographs, especially those printed in • What term refers to the forms of media that
newspapers or magazines, are also included in were introduced to the market before the
this subcategory. invention of the Internet? Traditional Media
- Broadcast media refers to electronic media • What is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate,
that uses electricity and technology to deliver and create different forms of media? Media
the message or information. Popular examples Literacy
of these are radio and television.
• What are the values and ideas that are
- Film or cinema basically pertains to movies
promoted by the media; the things that get put
that deliver audiovisual messages and are into them? Media Messages
usually projected onto a huge screen in
theaters or movie houses. Movies that are • What are the influences and consequences of
now digitally converted can also be played media on the audiences? Media effects
back using DVD players and even laptops or • What refers to a media outlet that is used to
personal computers. disseminate a piece of information to a large
• NEW MEDIA refers to media that were audience? Mass Media
established when the use of computer • What is anything that is used to deliver and
technology mushroomed in most parts of the receive messages that is tantamount to
world. This term does not specifically refer to information? Media
the computer itself, but it encompasses
computer-originated and usually Internet- • What refers to a different or newer way of
delivered information. Therefore, any kind of creating, processing, and transmitting
information and communication technology information that is similar to traditional media.
(ICT) products or systems is considered as a New Media
part of new media including mobile technology • What is defined as the imparting or exchanging
like smartphones and tablet devices which of information or news or the successful
somewhat have the similar capacity to create, conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings?
store, and transmit information like traditional Print Media
media.
New media essentially refers to a different or newer
way of creating, processing, and transmitting
information that is similar to traditional media.
Viewing films, watching television shows, listening
to radio programs, and reading newspapers could
now be done with the use of newer ICTs that break
away from the traditional way of viewing and
handling media. The format of the creation,
processing, and transmittal is basically what
distinguishes the traditional from the newer types of
media as these materials are now converted into
digital format. We have the invention of the zero-
one binary codes of the computer to thank for that,
making the encoding-transmitting-decoding
process faster and clearer. This is why new media
is also referred to as digital media to differentiate
it from the traditional or older physical-based media
formats known as analog.
• Social Media refers to Internet-maintained
computer programs that could be installed in
personal computers or portable devices, the
sole purpose of which is to connect with other
people using the same platform. This involves
signing up for a personal account in social
networking websites like Facebook or installing