Obviously being media literate is important. I’d probably be missing the entire point of the class by now if I didn’t believe that. Heck, I was aware of how important it was before enrolling in this class, but I enrolled because I wanted to fine-tune my skills and get to the bottom of this entire media landscape and its issues in trustworthiness that, while not necessarily new, have certainly been put under a microscope in recent history.
I remember reading about PolitiFact early on in my journalism career. It’s a site specifically dedicated to determining what is factual and what is not, and I love this article from them about being able to spot false statements on “news sites.” In the article’s reference to a site known for not being truthful, it says, “While elaborate conspiracy theories and mindless clickbait show up on the pages, completely made up posts work just as well.” I think it’s extremely important to remember that real websites maintained by human beings do this, and it’s a way to trick us into thinking that their information is factual.
I love Columbia Journalism Review because it’s journalism about journalism, and I wouldn’t be a journalist if I weren’t curious and concerned about the state of the industry. This article is called “Making media literacy great again,” and it says, “Media literacy works, and it just might save humanity.” I think that should be the motto of every journalist fighting to spread the truth.
Many students regard The New York Times as the peak of accuracy, and while they’re not immune to getting stories 100% correct, I’d say I agree that they’ve been the pinnacle of accuracy and accountability in journalism. This article struck me as interesting, as we’ve discussed the idea of a “post-truth” world. It even provides some tests to students to show how difficult it can be to determine whether or not a piece of media provides sufficient evidence to be accepted as fact while showing the different categories of articles, including satire, and how they can be used as tools.
This article from Common Sense Education gets to the bottom of something I strongly believe in, which is having meaningful discourse and understanding the other person, being open to having your mind changed and arguing an opinion instead of a person. It says, “Media literacy offers students a chance to learn how to connect information from the media to the world around them rather than just passively experience it,” and I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. Media literacy gives us the best possible chance to acquire facts then interpret them, form opinions about them and use those opinions to interact with others.
I think all of these sources do an excellent job of giving a brief rundown of media literacy while also showing how important it is. I don’t think we can connect meaningfully with others without understanding media literacy, and it’s something that should extend far beyond simple journalistic practice.
