MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY

CHAPTER I
The World of Media
and Information Literacy
 To map out the history of the emergence of media both in the
global and local arena, including the transition from indigenous
forms of communication to new media
To differentiate interpersonal communication from mass
Learning Objectives
communication
To discuss the theories on the relationship of media and society
To explain the meaning of media literacy, information literacy, and
technology literacy
To design a community activity that will illustrate to the immediate
members of a community the importance of media and information
literacy
 Communication – is the directed and purposeful exchange of information and
messages between people or groups of people by speaking, writing, gestures, and
signs.
Messages – refer to any form of communication (information, feelings, and ideas)
passed or transmitted using a channel. Turow (2007) goes further by saying that it

Key Terms
is a collection of symbols that appear purposefully organized (meaningful) to those
sending or receiving them.
Interpersonal Communication – refers to the communication between two
persons, whether they are verbal or non-verbal.
Mass Communication – is the term commonly used to refer to communication
systems that are configured to create, produce, and disseminate media texts to
mass audiences. Traditional forms of mass communication consist of newspaper,
radio, television, and film. It is also understood that in mass communication, there
is no immediate feedback between the source and the receiver.
 LESSON 1
Communication: From Interpersonal
to Mass Communication
 Communication
It refers to people or groups of people imparting
or exchanging messages through speaking, writing,
gestures, or even using other symbolic forms by
utilizing a variety of channels for sending and
receiving.
 Messages
“a collection of symbols that appear purposefully
organized (meaningful) to those sending or
receiving them”
 Types of Communication
• Interpersonal Communication
 Communication that involves two to three individuals
interacting through the use of their voices and bodies

• Mediated Interpersonal Communication

 Communication that is mediated through the use of
devices such as pen, telephone, or computer
 Communication wherein technology stands in
between the parties communicating and becomes
the channel by which the message is sent or received
 Types of Communication
• Small Group Communication
 Discourse between three or more persons

• Organizational Communication
 Communication in a working environment

• Public Communication
 Involves one person communicating to a large number
of people
Eight Elements That Constitute the Creation
of a Message
1. Source: The source is where the message came from
which can be a person or an organization.
2. Encoding: The process by which a message is translated
so it can be transmitted and communicated to another
party. It is how you compose your sentence as you
communicate.
3. Transmitting: The actual act of sending the message. It
can either be through the person’s vocal cords and facial
muscles complemented with hand gestures, if we mean
the act of speaking. It could also be the posting of an
administrative letter on the bulletin board so everybody
can see.
Eight Elements That Constitute the Creation
of a Message
4. Channels: Technologies are the lines that enable the act
of sending or transmitting, which can be the telephone,
the Internet for voice operated applications, the radio
and television, or the print media to communicate more
complex messages.
5. Decoding: The transmitted impulses are converted to
signs as the brain perceives and processes it. The reverse
of encoding, decoding is the process by which the
receiver translates the source’s thoughts and ideas so
they can have meaning.
Eight Elements That Constitute the Creation
of a Message
6. Receiver: The receiver is the one who gets the message
that was transmitted through the channels. Like the
source or sender, the receiver can be an individual or an
organization.
7. Feedback: Feedback is the response generated by the
message that was sent to the receiver, which can either
be immediate or delayed.
8. Noise Interference: Most of the times, there is
something that interferes the transmittal process. This
interference is known as noise, which may be treated
both literally and figuratively.
 LESSON 2
From Writings on the Wall to Signals Traveling in
the Airwaves:
A Historical Overview of
Communications
 From Papyrus to Paper
 Around 100 AD, Christian invented the codex, a document
which can be rightfully referred to as the prototype of a
book.
 By the 15th century, the technology was already paper.
 Also in the 15th century, Johann Gutenberg (1394–1460)
invented the printing technology that would eventually
be called the movable type machine.
 The Gutenberg printing process launched what could be
considered the first medium truly designed for the
masses.
Nation-States and the Rise of Newspapers
 After the 17th century, the first newspaper was reportedly
produced in England (although it was restricted because
of the apprehension by the ruling monarchs).
 By 1700, the idea of a free press, independent from the
control of the government, emerged as a strong rhetoric
against authoritarian states.
 Around this time, it is also important to note the rise of
an adversarial press, defined as a press that had the
ability to conduct dialogue and even argue with the
government.
Nation-States and the Rise of Newspapers
 The development of the steam engine gave rise to the
steam-powered cylinder press, which dramatically
lowered the cost of newspapers. Such advances in the
technologies of scale and the rise of the working class
transformed the newspaper into a truly mass medium.
 In the Philippines, the rise of the newspaper came about
in the first decades of the 19th century. In December 1,
1846, La Esperanza, the first daily newspaper, was
published in the country.
Nation-States and the Rise of Newspapers
 Today, the newspaper as a medium has evolved with the
rise of the Internet and digital technology. While the
broadsheet and tabloid formats still exist, news agencies
have turned to the web as another platform for
newspaper publications and have generated a new
business model for the newspaper industry.
 From Static to Moving Images
Several inventions intersected and gave rise to film as a mass medium:
 George Eastman invented the lm and built a company
that would be known as Kodak.
 Thomas Edison and his assistant, William Dickson, turned
the use of the photographic film, (now in a strip) into a
material that can be moved in front of a lens at a constant
speed to result into several photographs, each one
different from the other one because of a slight change in
the movement of the subject. When that strip was
developed and viewed by the naked eye, it gave the
illusion of a moving object.
 From Static to Moving Images
 Frenchmen Louis and Augusto Lumière further developed
the technology of film projectors.
 Edison would still improve the technology developed by
the Lumière brothers with large screen projecting.
 By 1896, the Edison vitascope was on a public debut in
New York, where it showed a film entitled Rough Sea at
Dover by Robert Paul.
 By 1907, the word “television” was already used in a
magazine called the Scientific American.
 By 1928, the first telecast of a television program took
place, transmitting from the experimental studio of
General Electric in New York City.
 From Static to Moving Images
 By 1930, the Radio Corporation of America introduced
electronic scanning, a much improved technology from the
mechanical scanning introduced earlier.
 By 1939, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first
president to appear on the tube.
 In Europe, the Nazi authorities in Germany operated the
world’s first regular television service, using it as a platform
for propaganda.
 Commercial television came into being in the United States
only in 1946.
 From Static to Moving Images
 In the Philippines, an American engineer, James Lindenberg,
began assembling transmitters in Bolinao, Pangasinan in
1946. He was not fully successful with his attempt to
establish a television station but soon he was able to team up
with Antonio Quirino, and together, they would establish the
Alto Broadcasting System where he would serve as the
general manager. Their first official telecast was in October
23, 1953.
 The Rise of New Media
 The invention of the transistor radio in 1948 signaled the
development of semi-conductor devices, considered the
foundation of modern electronics, as it led to the
invention of integrated circuits, a technology that will be
critical in the development of the computer.
 By 1953, IBM has already shipped its first electronic
computers called 701 in the industry. It sold 19 machines
to research laboratories, aircraft companies, and the
federal government.
 The Rise of New Media
 By 1969, the ARPANET was created and considered as the
predecessor of the internet. It was a large area-wide
network created by the US military, specifically the US
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to
serve as a ground for networking technologies that will
link the military to various federal agencies, even the
universities.
 In 1971, the transition from ARPANET to Internet
commenced to serve more purposes other than catering
to the military. The first innovation was the TCP/IP
architecture as proposed by Stanford University. It is
considered the standard protocol by which networks
communicate.
 The Rise of New Media
 By 1983, the Internet was universally adopted.
Commands for electronic mails were standardized,
thereby making it a lot easier for the layman to navigate
the increasingly complex world of the Internet.
 The Internet enabled the development and the unabated
growth of the new media because it democratized the
platform for creating, producing, and disseminating
information.
 Timeline of Internet in the Philippines
 In 1986, the first local Bulletin Board System (BBS) was
used in the Philippines. BBS is a computer system running
a software that allows users to connect and exchange
messages and information using a terminal program.
 By 1987, inter-BBS connectivity was enabled through the
Philippine FidoNet exchange. One bulletin board system
in Metro Manila was now able to connect to other
bulletin board systems in the same area.
 By the early years of the 90s, email gateways and services
broadened, courtesy of some multinational corporations
operating in the Philippines.
 Timeline of Internet in the Philippines
 By 1993, the government would figure as a major player,
mostly of the role discharged by the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST). With the support from
the Industrial Research Foundation (IRF), the PhilNet
project was launched, consisting of representatives from
various universities such as the University of the
Philippines–Diliman, University of the Philippines–Los
Baños, De La Salle University, and Ateneo de Manila
University. They would team up with Dr. Rudy Villarica
who would represent the Industrial Research Foundation.
 Timeline of Internet in the Philippines
 By July 1993, with full funding from the DOST, the PhilNet project
scaled up. Students from the participating universities were able to
connect to another gateway at the Victoria University of Australia.
 By November 1993, an additional grant of ₱12.5M enabled the
purchase of equipment and lease of communication lines.
 By March 29, 1994, the Philippines was formally connected to the
Internet, using the PLDT network center in Makati City.
 On the same day, the First International E-mail Conference was
being held at the University of San Carlos in Cebu. Dr. John Brule, a
professor emeritus from Syracuse University, announced “We’re
in!” as the PhilNet connection successful linked up with the global
Internet.
 LESSON 3
Communication Vis-á-Vis
Mass Communication
 Issue
Texting is a form of mediated interpersonal
communication assisted by the technology
provided by cellphones.

However, as attested by the EDSA II phenomenon,

cellphone technology was
significantly used to topple a government.

So, now, is texting really a form of mediated

interpersonal communication or it is actually a
mass communication?
 Mass Communication
“comprise the institutions and techniques by
which specialized groups employ technological
devices (press, radio, films, etc.) to disseminate
symbolic content to large, heterogenous, and
widely dispersed audiences”
 Issue
Texting is a form of mediated interpersonal
communication assisted by the technology
provided by cellphones.

However, as attested by the EDSA II phenomenon,

cellphone technology was
significantly used to topple a government.

So, now, is texting really a form of mediated

interpersonal communication or it is actually a
mass communication?
 Defining Features of
Mass Communication
• Technological devices

• Magnitude and scope of its audiences

 Interpersonal communication, inasmuch as it is mediated by technology,

appears to be limited in each reach; mass communication, however, is
able to reach huge audiences at the same time.

 Mediated interpersonal communication too appears like messages

created by individuals or perhaps teams, while mass communication is
created by huge, mostly powerful and extensive organizations.
 Example
Scenario 1: Sandy comes to your house to tell you that plans of massing up at the
EDSA shrine are now in place, and many like-minded organizations are supporting
this move. He visits to your house so you can have a face-to-face communication,
which is interpersonal communication.

Scenario 2: Suppose he is unable to drop by your house and instead, sends you a
text message; this is mediated interpersonal conversation. Since he is a leader of
an organization, his associates find it appropriate to record in video camera a
short spiel where he makes an appeal to his
friends from all over the city to come and join the rally at EDSA. The video
message lands in your e-mail. This is a ne example of mediated organizational
communication.

Scenario 3: He is invited to a talk show, so he can inform the public of his call to a
rally at the EDSA Shrine. Here is where you encounter his appeal that is
persuasive enough to get you and your friends to pick up your bags and head to
the EDSA Shrine.
 Implication of Having Scenario 3
To get Sandy as guest entailed a series of processes. A production meeting for
the week’s episodes generated a series of actions that allowed network
executives to determine the priority issues of the day. They have probably
thought that the call for a president’s ouster is imminent, and that the
coalition representing this call is broad enough and deserves to be heard by
the viewing public. Sandy is contacted by the network executives, and is
adequately oriented on the nature of the program and the questions that
may be asked by the panelists. It is also likely that Sandy was provided some
tips on how to convey his message and how to avoid certain words that may
seem politically incendiary to the Board of Censors or even to the advertisers.
In a way, these institutions that are external to the broadcast network have
stakes in the programs that are aired.
 Discussion Learnings
 The involvement of huge and expansive organizations is
central to the idea of mass communication.
 Mass communication is carried out by organizations which are
part of a bigger assembly or network of institutions that form
an industry.
 Like the manufacture of products in a factory assembly line,
organizations produce media in an industrialized setting,
involving a remarkable size of workers with specialized
knowledge, machinery, technology, and channels for the
distribution and dissemination of knowledge.
 LESSON 4
Approaches to the Relationship
Between Media and Society
 Media and Social Control
• Mass Society Approach
 An approach which sees society as an integrated whole, with
structures and institutions holding power and authority and exerting
control over society.
 The term “mass” suggests more than the common sense notion of
large groups of people; instead, it implied that the creation of media
was now directed toward an undifferentiated audience, and that the
traditional categories used in segregating audiences (e.g., gender, class,
location, and even race) are dispensed with.
 The media is seen as a powerful agent in establishing social control in
societies characterized by the dominance of industries, growing urban
centers, alienation of citizens from their social institutions, and lack of
strong citizen organizations.
 Media and Social Control
• Base-superstructure Model
 Media institutions are part of the superstructure, along with other
social and cultural institutions. The base, on the other hand, is made up
of economic institutions and economic relationships which determine
the nature and behavior of the superstructure.
 In a capitalist society, the economic ownership of media institutions
dictates whose interests media will serve.
 It can explain a great deal about how media ownership in Philippine
society is controlled by the few who are also holding the ownership of
other more important industries.
 Media generate ideas that serve the interests of the economic and
political elite, thereby reinforcing and reproducing the relationships
that prove the dominance of capitalism and the exploitation of the
masses.
 Media and Social Integration
• Functionalism
 It sees society like an organism that has parts, institutions for that
matter, each discharging a function but are linked to an integrated
whole, much like the interdependent parts of an organism. Media as an
institution is one of a society’s many parts, discrete in its function but
linked to other institutions so it can provide society the integration,
cohesion, and stability it needs to survive and thrive.
 Media and Social Integration
• Social Constructionalism
 It posits the notion that individuals have the capacity to act on their
own will to reproduce institutions. As members of a social unit, they
are considered social actors, continuously interacting with others,
throwing in their stakes and interests, constructing the lived realities,
and influencing the construction of social institutions.
 “(It) refers to the processes by which events, persons, values and ideas
are first defined or interpreted in a certain way and given value and
priority, largely by mass media, leading to the (personal) construction
of larger pictures of reality.”
 Media and the Rise of an
Information Society
• Information Society
 It was allied to the notion of information economy characterized by the
emergence of a thinking class, and the rising number and significance
of information-based work, mostly arising from the developments in
computer technology.
 It is also characterized by increasing global connectivity facilitated by
the Internet wherein anyone can access data, information, and a broad
array of knowledge products and use it to advance both personal and
collective goals; anyone can create a website and upload media in
various forms and formats. These technological breakthroughs inform
the idea that we are living in an information society where the creation,
production, dissemination, and even manipulation of information is a
dominant economic, political, and even cultural activity.
 LESSON 5
Media and Information Literacy
as Citizen Engagement
 Media Literacy’s Five Key Questions
1. Who created this message?
2. What creative techniques were used to attract my attention?
3. How might different people appreciate and understand these
messages?
4. What lifestyles, value systems, perspectives, and points-of-
view are represented in this message? Conversely, what is
omitted?
5. Why is this message being sent?
 What Is Media Literacy?
“It is the ability to access, analyze, and respond to a
range of media.”
*range of media ‒ includes print, moving images, and other hybrid forms such as
multimedia texts
*access ‒ denotes the knowledge of where to find these forms of media
‒ should include the technical competence to navigate around technology and
easily adjust to the technological advancements that happen every now and then
*analysis ‒ includes thinking reflectively and critically on what has been read, seen, or
experienced, and its implications to oneself and to one’s community
‒ also includes the assessment of the reliability of the material, its sources, and if
it is presenting facts, the
reliability of the sources
*response ‒ includes the ability to experience and explore the pleasures of the media
text, and how these are realized through the language of the media
‒ also includes an evaluation of how, as perennial media audiences, these
media texts shape our insights, perspectives, and identities
 What Is Media Literacy?
 Most media literacy educators will agree that media literacy
should teach learners how to have access to the media,
acquire the critical tools to understand the media, as well as
create and express themselves using the media.

 Media literacy embraces everything ‒ from having the

knowledge needed to use old and new media technology to
having a critical relationship to media content in a time when
the media constitutes one of the most powerful forces in
society.
 Origins of the Word “Media”
The original means of mass communication were print—
magazines, journals, and newspapers—and their collective name
was already in place: publications. Soon after, radio and
television were added to the mix, however, the term
“publications” would not stretch to fit. Needing a term that
would encompass all these means of communication, writers
borrowed the term “media” from advertising people, and used it
since then to accommodate these means of communication and
even the newer ones, such as the Internet.
 Empowerment and Media Literacy
Media literacy education is all about cultivating power inside
you. In other words, its purpose is to cultivate the power inside
you, so you do not become mere passive recipients of media and
information texts, but active users, consumers, and even active
producers of media and information texts instead.
 What Is Information Literacy?
 It is the set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize
when information is needed, and how to locate, evaluate,
and use it effectively.

 “It constitutes the abilities to recognize when information is

needed and to locate, evaluate, effectively use, and
communicate information in its various formats.”
 On Information Age
 Information Age is a knowledge-based society surrounded by cutting-
edge technology that makes every aspect of our lives faster and
easier.
 Its onset is associated with the dramatic changes that the digital
industry has created.
 The Internet arose in 1969, but it was in 1989 when a fully developed
World Wide Web arose and turned it into the global platform for
knowledge sharing, communication, and archiving.
 A parallel development was the rise of a knowledge economy
characterized by production and consumption of products that were
generated from intellectual capital.
 Other developments that coincided with the information age is the
revitalized role of libraries in the production of knowledge.
 What Is the Internet?
It is a vast chain of computer networks in which anyone who has
access to a computer with Internet connection can publish their
documents. All of these networks are linked together via digital
technology. Thus, the it allows transmission of a variety of file
types, both written and non-written multimedia.
Who Puts Information on the Internet?
 Sources of Information
• Popular Publications: Most of what rules in the print and non-print media
are popular publications with the general public as its target audience. They
serve to both inform and entertain the general public. We turn to popular
publications to have a pulse of popular opinion, or to get entertained, or to
simply gain information regarding a popular subject.
• Scholarly Publications: These are well-researched articles found mostly in
academic journals and published for the specialists of a specific field. The
language is very technical because it is geared toward the consumption of
specialists, scholars, and those seeking research-based information on a
particular area of knowledge such as the social sciences, the natural
sciences, and the arts and humanities.
• Trade Publications: These are also highly specialized materials meant for the
players and specialists of a specific industry. They combine popular appeal
and specialized knowledge because it also needs to attract the non-
specialists who are the potential consumers or users of a particular product.
Formats of Information
 LESSON 6
Media and Information Literacy Education
 Advantages of Being Media and Information
Literate
• You will have the ability to examine—even scrutinize—content of
media and information messages closely and see how their
meanings are significant or otherwise to your life as a person,
and to your community as well.
• You will gain an understanding of the structures that govern the
creation and dissemination of media and information messages.
• You will also gain an understanding of how political forces shape
the creation and dissemination of media and information
messages.
 Advantages of Being Media and Information
Literate
• You will learn how to sift information, discern what is both useful
and useless to your lives.
• You will value the word ethics and its implications to the society.
 What Is Responsible Digital Citizenship

It can be defined as the set of appropriate social norms

and behavior with regard to the use of the Internet.
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal Situations
and Issues on Responsible Digital Citizenship

On Digital Access

The ideal situation is that all have full electronic participation in

society. However, this is not the case, as poverty and social
exclusion, among others, limit the access of a significant fraction
in Philippine society. Low bandwidth and
expensive Internet rates are just some of the constraining
elements. Responsible digital citizenship should advocate for the
increased access of all citizens to information technologies.
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal Situations
and Issues on Responsible Digital Citizenship

On Digital Communication

This involves the electronic exchange of information through

various platforms and channels. Information technology has
hastened and facilitated exchange of information. What needs to
be addressed is the responsible use of communication platforms,
including a consideration of how information exchanges will
benefit communities and, of course, society at large.
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal Situations
and Issues on Responsible Digital Citizenship

On Digital Commerce
This involves the sale and purchase of goods and services
using digital platforms in the Internet and mobile phones. This is a
growing branch of the economy so much so that even the Bureau of
Internal Revenue is still not yet decided on how to monitor these
individuals and entities doing retail businesses online. However, it
must also be noted that the unregulated nature of transactions in
the Internet has also given rise to transactions that are in conflict
with both local and international laws. Responsible digital citizenship
also entails contributing to the responsible and legal use of the
Internet for economic activities.
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal Situations
and Issues on Responsible Digital Citizenship

On Digital Etiquette

This is about the commonly regarded as appropriate and

respectful behavior when using information technologies.
Etiquette covers the proper use of language, especially in an
environment that relies much on the written word, as well as
invoking the virtue of empathy which is the ability to the feelings
of others inasmuch as we would like our feelings to be considered.
This area should also be concerned with the relationships we
build with fellow digital citizens—one occasioned by humility,
fairness, and open-mindedness.
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal Situations
and Issues on Responsible Digital Citizenship

On Digital Law
This covers the legal environment that informs and guides the users
about the ethical and productive use of technology, defined as
abiding with the laws of society. In the Philippines, we can refer to
the Magna Carta for Internet Freedom which is a crowd-sourced
document. It was the product of intense advocacy on the ground
and legislative lobbying after significant sectors of society reacted to
the constraining or say undemocratic provisions of the then Republic
Act. No. 10175, otherwise known as “An Act Defining Cybercrime,
Providing for the Prevention, Investigation, Suppression, and the
Imposition of Penalties therefore and for Other Purposes.”
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal Situations
and Issues on Responsible Digital Citizenship

On Digital Wellness
This covers the protection of users from what could be potentially
deleterious to their physical, physiological, and even psychological
well-being. Eye safety, repetitive stress syndrome, and sound
ergonomic practices are just some of the things that are
compromised when we deal with technological devices. Digital
citizenship includes the promotion of the well-being of technology
users and the prevention of technological innovations that will
potentially compromise the health of its users.
Some Useful Discussions on Ideal Situations
and Issues on Responsible Digital Citizenship

On Digital Security
This area covers the entire gamut of safety precautions that
information technologies invoke—from virus protection, to data
protection. As technologies grow and evolve into something more
complex, the need for security systems become even more
compelling.