Media Illiteracy

In our reading of Brian O'Niell and class discussion on Media Literacy, we learned about our individual right and responsibility to choose an effective and appropriate medium. In other words, we learned about the depressing challenge each person in the world faces to become media literate. We've established that we have a right to accessible information, the right to communicate and, probably most valuable to Americans at least, the right to privacy. I say the challenge is depressing because even if we take our viewership/readership/listening-ship seriously and actively seek out objective, or at least less biased, news and media, we're still a small minority of people who chose to do so.

In some cases, like in Italy, the public doesn't get much of a choice, as it's president, Silvio Berlusconi, owns a chunk of the media there. It's interesting to note though that last month, his own paper, Il Giornale criticized his lack of leadership and ineffectiveness as a leader. ( If you're interested on the mad-house affairs of what's going on in La Bella country here's a good article: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/09/14/the_bordello_state?page=full I should warn you though, there's a huge, menacing picture of Berlusconi that took me by surprise.) At what point do we collectively finally freak out and stop the deepening divide in what get's communicated to us?

I think what is driving the nonobjective slant in news is fear. We've been running on fear for about a decade now. Fear is irrational. Irrationality needs to be fed or soothed, and naturally someone figured out how to make money off of it. And this isn't just in the States either, every country's media can easily play the fear card. So for example, a right wing publication somewhere in Europe decries the rise of Muslim immigrants within the borders. 'They aren't assimilating, they don't look or act like us and there are so many of them they'll take over the country and we'll lose our heritage.' This gets picked up by a right wing media outlet in the US and instead of letting the other country adjust and think of constructive solutions, people here freak out and talk about the rise of Londonistan (referring to the large Pakistani population in London) or how Christian Europe will die with the Baby Boomers. The idea or fear that originated in one country gets picked up and circulated over the internet, so much to the point that there are more Americans worried about it than Europeans.

I've digressed, but the point I'm trying to make is that currently, we're not making educated choices, we're not pausing to think and reflect, or seek out another opinion. And short of PBS news surging in popularity, I think media literacy is something that will be absorbed by people younger than 40. We discussed in class how it's starting to be incorporated into elementary and high school education (albeit very slowly), but I think the effects of being media literate won't be felt for a while. In my sociology class and comm class I took in college, we watched different parts of the documentary "Killing Us Softly" which is a lecture by Jean Kilbourne about the affects of Advertising on Women. (There are a few clips online if you google it) We wondered why the government didn't do more to educate people about the Ad/TV/Movie industry and teach people to be effective consumers of media. We finally conceded after a long debate, that despite efforts to expose misleading information (like what the UK is currently doing about photoshoped images in advertisements) it ultimately hinges on our personal responsibility. We have a HUGE selection to choose from and I think we gravitate to the 'comfort food' option. And after a long hard day of work, or dealing with job hunting while being unemployed some people want to hear Glenn Beck say/yell/cry what they're thinking, or Jon Stewart to skewer those inept politicians who drove this country into a swamp.

I agree with O'Neill's conclusion that young people will be the ones who are critically engaged with the media and the ones responsible for holding institutions accountable. I wish us all the best of luck! And because I'm on a role with the mock vintage posters...