Media Literacy and Reasoning PERSUASION AND THE PUBLIC MIND

Persuasion and reasoning.
Media literacy and digital citizenship.
Decoding media messages.
Recognizing fake news.
Algorithms and social media.
Media literacy advocacy.

Interview with: Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director, National Association for Media Literacy Education; Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College

Resources: Media Literacy, by James Potter (book);

How Fantasy Becomes Reality, by Karen Dill (book);

Persuasion in the Media Age, by Timothy Borchers (book);

NAMLE.net, website for the National Association for Media Literacy Education + affiliated media organizations;

medialiteracynow.org, website for Media Literacy Now, current media literacy legislation by state;

factcheck.org, A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center;

Freepress.net, getting citizens involved in media decisions;

Snopes.com, a fact checking website;

Eff.org, nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation;

TED.com, TED Talks about algorithms and social media;

Key Questions to ask when analyzing media messages:

Audience & Authorship-


Who paid for this?
Who made this message?
Why was this made?
Who is the target audience and how do you know?
Who might benefit from this message?
Who might be harmed by it?
Why might this message matter to me?
What kinds of actions might I take in response to this message?

Messages & Meanings-


What is this about and what makes you think that?
What ideas, values, information and/or points of view are overt? Implied?
What is left out of this message that might be important to know?
What messaging techniques are used?
Why were those techniques used?
How do they communicate the message?
How might different people understand the message differently?

Representations & Reality-


When was this made?
Where or how was it shared with the public?
Is this fact, opinion, or something else?
How credible is this and what makes you think that?
What are the sources of information, ideas, or assertions?