What is media literacy? Obviously, when beginning the study of media literacy (or merely just trying to understand it), this should be the first question we ask. A week ago I can honestly say that I had a limited understanding of true media literacy. I defined it as messages from limited, mainly technological sources. After some considerable time studying the matter, my definiton has changed. My new comprehension of media literacy is the ability to understand and sort through all forms of messages encountered every day from mulitiple outlets. I found one article, Expanding the Definition of Media Literacy by Bill Walsh, writer of a weekly column called "Media Watch", to be central to my new understanding. In the article Walsh talks about "expanding the traditional view of literacy, not replacing it." He goes onto explain that no one outlet of media is more important than another: reading, writing, TV,computers, even billboards are all important.
To become media literate we must also ask ourselves the right questions. This was a recurring theme I found in almost all of my studies. Education Specialist Jane Tallim, says that being media literate is "about asking pertinent questions about what's there, and what's not there. And it's the instinct to question what's behind media productions, and to be aware of how these factors influence content." For me those questions are things like: Who was this message meant for? Who benefits from this message? What are their intentions for this message?
I'm still not certain I grasp the full extent of what media literacy is or how to answer the questions that it raises. However, I think just trying to gain a better understanding and knowing the right questions to ask puts me much closer to gaining a better view of the interconnected world that we are all a part of.
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