PERSUASION AND THE PUBLIC MIND OWMedia

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?

Differences between campaigns and movements.
Persuasive techniques-strategies used for campaigns & movements.
Media coverage of campaigns and movements.
Strategies for effective presentations.
Making strategic decisions.

Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College

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

Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution, edited by A. Boyd and D. Mitchell (book);

Prime Time Activism: Media Strategies for Grassroots Organizing, by Charlotte Ryan (book);

The Art of Protest, by T.V. Reed (book);

Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing, by Lee Staples (book)

The advertising creation process.
The target audience.
Advertising strategies.
Creating lifestyles/values through advertising.

Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College

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

Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture, by Stuart Ewen (book);

Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture, by Arthur Asa Berger (book);

Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising, by Paul Messaris (book);

The Public Mind, with Bill Moyers (PBS Video);

The Persuaders, with Douglas Rushkoff (Frontline/PBS Video)

The role of feelings, needs, and values in the persuasion process.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
The social construction of affect.

Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College

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

Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining, by R. Gass and J. Seiter (book);

Social Psychology, by Gilovich, Keltner, Chen, Nisbett (book);

A Theory of Human Motivation, by Abraham Maslow (book or Kindle edition)

The variables that influence how people communicate.
Compliance gaining strategies.
Detecting deception.

Interview with: David Keating, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, California State University, Northridge.

Resources: Duped: Truth-Default Theory and the Social Science of Lying and Deception, by Timothy Levine (book);

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

Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining, by R. Gass and J. Seiter (book);

Influence: Science and Practice, by Robert Cialdini (book);

The Dynamics of Persuasion, by Richard Perloff (book)

How do audiences think about messages?
Polling-Data Analysis-Ratings.

Interview with: Tim Borchers, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Peru State College

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

Inside Prime Time, by Todd Gitlin (book)

The Public Mind: Pt. 2 Leading Questions, with Bill Moyers (PBS Video)

The Persuaders, with Douglas Rushkoff (Frontline/PBS Video)