“Educating children to be discriminating in their use of the media is a responsibility of parents, Church, and school.” (Pope Benedict XVI) What key media literacy concepts are needed to understand, consume and produce media? How do we evaluate and judge media products and processes? Four key media literacy concepts including language, representation, institutions and audience will be presented during the session. - Presented at Cultivating Digital Ministries 2014 in Orlando, FL.

1. Raising Kids in a Media Age
Rhonda Carrier
Incarnation Catholic School
Tampa, FL

2. Pope Francis
• The Internet is a “gift from God” that
facilitates communication, but he
warns that the obsessive desire to
stay connected can actually isolate
people from their friends and family.

3. Pope Benedict XVI:
41st World Communication Day
• Educating children to be
discriminating in their use of the
media is a responsibility of parents,
Church, and school.

4. Pope Pius XII
• It is not an exaggeration to say that the
future of modern society and the stability
of its inner life depend in large part of the
maintenance of an equilibrium between
the strength of the techniques of
communication and the capacity of the
individual’s own reaction.

5. Mass Media
• Mass media is a means of
public communication
reaching a large audience.
• Examples are TV, radio,
newspapers, and now so
much more …

6. Shift #1: Media Ownership

7. Shift #2: Media Convergence
• Thedigitization of
information and the
development of the
Internet blurs the
division between
types of media.
• Your smartphone,
camera, and Internet
portal are all one
device.

8. Shift #3: Media and Teens
• 78% of teens now have a cell phone, and almost
half (47%) of them own smart phones.
• 23% of teens have a tablet computer, a level
comparable to the general adult population.
• 95% of teens use the internet.
• 93% of teens have a computer or have access
to one at home.

9. Shift #4: Media Multi-tasking
Often Doing 2+ Activities Simultaneously
•
•
•
•
•
TV
Music
Video games
Reading
Computer Games
•
•
•
•
•
Homework
Instant messaging
Email
Websites
Other ??

10. Media In Your Home?
• What electrical media devices do you have
at home?
• Where are they located?
• Who uses them?
• Who controls them?
• Do conflicts arise over their use? Who
settles any conflicts?

11. Media Influence
Our Responsibility: Teach the Children
• How can you help
children become
discriminating users
of media?
– Learn the techniques
used to influence
attitudes and beliefs.
– Then talk to your
children.

12. Media Literacy Topics
Influencing Attitudes & Beliefs.
• Language
– Narratives
– Denotation and Connotation
• Representation
– Re-presentation: Whose Reality
• Institutions
– Media Ownership
• Audience
– Funding Corporate Institutions
– Advertisements

13. * Language *
• "When you hear the word language you will probably
automatically think of words, either spoken or written.
Words are an important part of communication between
human beings.
• But the media does not communicate with words alone.
It can also use pictures and sounds to convey meaning.
• Indeed, some media can work purely in a visual
language, through pictures that you can understand in
the same way as words."

14. Language and Narratives
• Words and pictures are
often combined in media
texts in order to create
narratives. Narratives are
stories told to make
sense of the world.
– “New stories are
uncommon: most
narratives are variations on
a limited number of
timeless themes. The
characters and settings
may vary, but the structure
remains the same.”

15. Denotations & Connotations
• If denotation is the
dictionary definition of a
word, then connotation is
the word's meaning by
association.
– Denotation: a rose is a
bush in the garden.
– Connotation: giving a rose
means love.

16. We Learn to “Read” Media
1950s version
Denotation & Connotation
• “Your understanding
relies on your ability to
respond to both layers at
the same time.”
• Compare the text and
visual “language” of this
1950s ad with a version
that might be created
today.

17. Reading the Media
What is the narrative?
Denotation & Connotation
• Who created the message?
• What is the target audience?
• What creative techniques are
used to attract attention?
• How might different people
understand this message
differently?
• What values, lifestyles and
points of view are represented
in, or omitted from, this
message?
• Why is this message being
sent?
2013 version

18. Reading the Media
What is the Narrative?
Denotation & Connotation
• Who created the message?
• What is the target audience?
• What creative techniques are
used to attract attention?
• How might different people
understand this message
differently?
• What values, lifestyles and
points of view are represented
in, or omitted from, this
message?
• Why is this message being
sent?

19. * Representation *
• Representation is the act of communicating by using
symbols.
– If I give you an apple, I have given you an apple;
– if I give you a picture of an apple, I have given you a
representation of an apple.
• “The difference between reality and representation of
reality is not difficult to understand.
• What is not so obvious is that representation is an act
or process in which reality is transformed."

20. Tampa Bay Times & Tampa Tribune
Re-presentation = Transforming Reality
Whose Chooses the Narratives?
1/25/2014 – online news
1/25/2014 – online news

21. Tampa Bay Times & Tampa Tribune
Re-presentation – Whose Reality? Whose News?
Printed 1/26/2014
Printed 1/26/2014

22. Surprise Staged Event
Do we see and hear the same thing at the same event?
We each re-present the event through personal perception.

23. Re-presentation
Professional Accuracy
• Narratives help to explain
what is happening in the
world, but not all narrative
re-presentations are valid
or accurate.
– What are the
consequences when
professionals aren’t truthful
or don’t fact check?
Hurricane Sandy photo??

24. Using Credible Sources
• Checking for credibility
and verifying accuracy is
a critical skill.
• 5W’s for evaluation
– Who published it?
– What is the purpose?
– Where is the
information from (the
source)?
– When was it created?
– Why use the info?

25. Student Products
Trail of Information:
Bibliography With Annotation to Prove
Source of Information is Credible and Accurate

26. * Institutions *
• Imagine you wake up one day and decide to publish
something using mass media.
• ”However talented or hardworking you may be, in order
to do any of these things you will need access to
technology and money to pay for the resources to get
your idea off the ground. You will need these things
because you are going to make a product or commodity
that you want people to use, in just the same way that
any other manufacturer makes a product to be sold.”
• Media institutions are big business. They exist just
to make a profit.

27. Who Owns U.S. Media?

28. 6 Corporations Control 90%
• Comcast:
– NBC, Universal, PBSKids,
• NewsCorp:
– Fox, Wall Street Journal, New York Post
• Disney:
– ABC, ESPN, PIXAR, Miramax, Marvel Studios
• Viacom
– MTV, Nick Jr, BET, CMT, Paramount
• Time Warner
– CNN, HBO, Time, Warner Bros
• CBS
– Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, NFL.com,

29. 233 Media Executives

30. Institutions Compete
For Market Segments
Market Segmentation
• Music: pop, dance, hiphop, Indie
• News: for varying political
views, in various
languages for different
audiences
• Pay per view: subscribers
pay additional fee for
specific programs – Yea
for cricket!
Scheduling Segments
• Battle for prime-time
• Early for children and
after 9:00 PM for adults
• Christmas and other
holiday events
• Drive-time for radio and
talk shows

31. Marketing to Segments
US Version Often Differs From Others

32. All For Profit
Audience Vote Indicates a Market Segment.
Then the Institution Markets to the Segment

33. Marketing to Segments
Ratings Are One Measure of “Success”

34. * Audience *
• Audience is the word used to describe people who
consume media products
• “The importance of audience to the media is obvious. All
the papers, broadcasts and recordings in the world
would mean nothing if no one read, watched or listened
to them.
• Without an audience, the media would be talking to
itself.”

35. Advertising Funds Media
• “Advertising is one of the
major ways in which
media producers make
money.
• Manufacturers pay the
media to promote images
of their products, which
they hope will encourage
people to buy them.”
• 2010 revenue for Big 6
was $275.9 billion.

36. Audience into Customers
• According to the FTC,
children between the
ages of 2 and 11 view
more than 25,000 TV
advertisements
annually.
• “By some estimates
young people see
more than 8,000
brands per day.”

37. Targeting Tweens
8 – 12 year olds
• There will be an
estimated 23 million
tweens by 2020.
• Many have
disposable incomes
from gift, allowances,
and odd jobs.
• Tweens spend
approx. $50 billion of
their own
money/annually
• Tweens influence
parent purchases.
• Pester Power: An
estimated $188 billion
is spent each year
because of children
directly influencing
their parents.

38. Brand Recognition
• A successful logo is
strong enough to be
identified even from
the first letter of the
logo.
• My international
school students in
Japan could identify
most of these brands.

39. Ads, Ads Everywhere
• Up to 60% of
newspapers are ads.
• Ads appear on
commercial TV up to
4 times/hour.
• Even many noncommercial
broadcasts advertise
their own
merchandise.

40. Ads or News?
Can Children Tell Which is Which?

41. Ads as Entertainment
Super Bowl Ads Are Big Business

42. Ads as Entertainment
Super Bowl Big Spenders

43. What if No One is Watching?
Record to watch later.
Skip the ads.

44. New Strategies …

45. Product Placements
not in 30 second ads on TV

46. Spamming Smartphones
SuperBowl Ads Via Wireless Spamming

47. Product Placements
Olympics – Summer Uniform & Olympic website

48. Product Placements
Top Sports Figures Wear the Ads

49. Placement in Video Games
Brand Recognition = Brand Loyalty = Profits

50. Computers Report Information
Online Ads Track Who and Where You Are

51. Ads on YouTube Videos
Catholic Network Relies on Revenue from Ads

52. Internet Interactive Ads
Brand Recognition = Brand Loyalty = Profit

53. Internet Interactive Ads
Brand Recognition = Brand Loyalty = Profit

54. Pope Benedict XVI:
41st World Communication Day
• Educating children to be
discriminating in their use of the
media is a responsibility of parents,
Church, and school.

55. Raising Kids in a Media Age
• Communicate with kids.
• Set limits.
– e.g. Hand in media devices at 9 PM.
• Develop non-media based projects with
collaboration at the heart of each.
• Develop projects that are media based,
but with guidance.
• Help children to develop a balance.

56. The following are
student produced

57. Links to Student Products
• Grade 8 Spanish class:
Advertisement (Bookr)
• Grade 8 Spanish class:
Animal ABC for
kindergarten (Prezi)
• Grade 7 Blogs (Edublog)
• Grade 6 Spanish &
Technology class: How-to
(Scratch)
• Grade 8 Tech: ICS, a
Second Home (Animoto)
• Grade 8 Tech: Loving
Incarnation (Animoto)
• Grade 8 Tech: ICS
Where Friendships Are
Made (Animoto)

58. Pope Benedict XVI:
41st World Communication Day
• “The relationship of children, media, and education can
be considered from two perspectives: the formation of
children by the media; and the formation of children to
respond appropriately to the media.
• A kind of reciprocity emerges which points to the
responsibilities of the media as an industry and to the
need for active and critical participation of readers,
viewers and listeners.
• Within this framework, training in the proper use of the
media is essential for the cultural, moral and spiritual
development of children.”

59. Resources
• Dunlap, Jay. Raising Kids in the Media Age. Hamden,
CT: Circle, 2007. Print.
• Wall, Peter, and Paul Walker. Media Studies for GCSE.
London: Collins, 2002. Print.
• Wittekind, Erika. The Big Push: How Popular Culture Is
Always Selling. North Mankato, MN: Compass Point,
2012. Myon. Web. <http://myon.com/>.
• ICS media literacy wikispaces:
http://icsmedialiteracy.wikispaces.com/ICS+Media+Literacy+Home
• ICS wikispaces home:
http://icstampa.wikispaces.com/ICS+Wiki+home

60. Works Cited
•Slide 6 image: "These 6 Corporations Control 90% Of The Media In America." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Jan. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6>.
•Slide 8 data: "Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project." Teens and Technology 2013. N.p., n.d. Web.
22 Jan. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-and-Tech.aspx>.
•Slide 13 text: Wall, Peter, and Paul Walker. Media Studies for GCSE. London: Collins, 2002. Print.
•Slide 14 text: Photo from my garden
•Slides 16 image: "42 Coca Cola Ads." The Interrobang. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
<http://theinterrobang.com/2012/07/42-coca-cola-ads/>.
•Slide 17 image: "Press Center." The Coca-Cola Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. <http://www.cocacolacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/new-coke-zero-campaign-tells-guys-its-not-your-fault-giving-thempermission-to-enjoy-everything>.
•Slide 18 image: – The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303680404579139422972891330>.
•Slide 19 text: Wall, Peter, and Paul Walker. Media Studies for GCSE. London: Collins, 2002. Print.
•Slide 20 images: Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune 1/25/14 online
•Slide 21 images: Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune 1/25/14 online printed
•Slide 23 image: Madrigal, Alexis C. "Sorting the Real Sandy Photos From the Fakes." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media
Company, 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2014. <http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/10/sorting-the-realsandy-photos-from-the-fakes/264243/>.
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26 Jan. 2014. <http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/rulings/true/>.
•Slide 26 text : Wall, Peter, and Paul Walker. Media Studies for GCSE. London: Collins, 2002. Print.
•Slides 27 – 29 images and text : "These 6 Corporations Control 90% Of The Media In America." Business Insider.
N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-inamerica-2012-6>.

61. Works Cited
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•
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Slide 31 image: "STUNNING: Comparing U.S. & World Covers for TIME Magazine." TruthTheory. N.p., n.d. Web.
31 Jan. 2014. <http://truththeory.com/2013/09/26/stunning-comparing-u-s-world-covers-for-time-magazine/>.
Slide 32 image: "Product Placement Watch: Yale Study on Opportunistic Ads an Opportunistic Ad for Yale?"
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Jan. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6>.
Slide 36-37 data: Wittekind, Erika. "Advertising's Influence." The Big Push: How Popular Culture Is Always Selling.
North Mankato, MN: Compass Point, 2012. 28-29. MyON. Web. <http://myon.com/>. Pp.28, 45
Slide 38 image: ? Original source of alphabet chart
Slide 39 data: Wittekind, Erika. "Advertising's Influence." The Big Push: How Popular Culture Is Always Selling.
North Mankato, MN: Compass Point, 2012. 28-29. MyON. Web. http://myon.com/.
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62. Works Cited
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