UNDERSTANDING MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY; AN ORIENTATION

UNDERSTANDING MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY; AN ORIENTATION

What is media?

The term media, which is the plural of medium, refers to the communication channels through which we disseminate news, music, movies, education, promotional messages and other data. It includes physical and online newspapers and magazines, television, radio, billboards, telephone, the Internet, fax and billboards.

It describes the various ways through which we communicate in society. Because it refers to all means of communication, everything ranging from a telephone call to the evening news on television can be called media.

When talking about reaching a very large number of people we say mass media. Local media refers to, for example, your local newspaper, or local/regional TV/radio channels.

Different types of media

Media can be broken down into two main categories: broadcast and print. The Internet has also emerged as a major player, as a rapidly-growing number of people globally get their news, movies, etc. online.

Print Media includes all types of publications, including newspapers, journals, magazines, books and reports. It is the oldest type, and despite suffering since the emergence of the Internet, is still used by a major proportion of the population.

What is information?

Information is stimuli that has meaning in some context for its receiver. When information is entered into and stored in a computer, it is generally referred to as data. After processing — such as formatting and printing — output data can again be perceived as information. When information is compiled or used to better understand something or to do something, it becomes knowledge.

The data-information-knowledge-wisdom model illustrates this hierarchy. Structured as a pyramid, the model was created to show that data can be captured in different formats, analyzed and converted into different forms. Each level of the pyramid represents a different perspective or level of abstraction as follows:

• The discrete, raw facts about a given situation with no analysis or interpretation applied.
• Applying description and meaning to data to make it useful.
• Information that has insight, context and a frame of reference applied so it can be interpreted.
• Knowledge is converted into wisdom by applying judgment and action to the information.

ROLES OF MEDIA

Media and other information providers play a central role in information and communication processes. They are one way of communicating information, although their role is much broader than that. For the purpose of the MIL curriculum, media are defined (irrespective of the nature and technologies used) as sources of credible and current information created through an editorial process determined by journalistic values whereby editorial

accountability can be attributed to a specific organization or a legal person.

To the extent that media are an important part of every society’s communication system, their institutional make-up can mesh with a variety of non-media information providers, such as libraries, museums, archives, Internet information providers, other information organizations and citizens who produce their own content.

Media play several roles. They:

• act as channels of information and knowledge through which citizens communicate with each other and make informed decisions
• facilitate informed debates between diverse social actors
• provide us with much of what we learn about the world beyond our immediate experience
• are means by which a society learns about itself and builds a sense of community
• function as a watchdog of government in all its forms, promoting transparency in public life and public scrutiny of those with power through exposing corruption, maladministration and corporate wrong-doing
• are essential facilitators of democratic processes and one of the guarantors of free and fair elections
• are a vehicle for cultural expression and cultural cohesion within and between nations
• function as an advocate and social actor in its own right while respecting pluralistic values2

Adapted from UNESCO MDIs

— SOURCING INFORMATION

The proper use of information made available by media and various information providers depends on people’s abilities to understand their information needs, and to locate, retrieve and evaluate the quality of the information they can access.

Today, there is an extremely wide and diverse selection of information material, content, and resources available, particularly on the Internet, varying greatly in accuracy, reliability, and value. In addition, this information exists in a variety of forms (e.g. as text, image or statistic, electronically or in print), that can be made available through online repositories and portals, virtual and real libraries and documentary collections, databases, archives, museums, etc. The most important factor, however, is that the quality of this information can range from ‘very good’ to ‘very bad’.

Before evaluating information sources, it is important to think about what the information is for. This will help you to identify credible information sources.

The key questions might be: What source or what kind of source would be the most credible for providing information in this particular case? Which sources are likely to be fair, objective, lacking hidden motives, showing quality control?

We can think of information as being held by media  and  other information providers,  such as libraries, museums, archives and the Internet. These information providers have a number of roles, including to:

• inform
• educate

  facilitate teaching and learning processes

• provide access to all types of information (often free of charge, plural, reliable and

without restrictions)

• serve as a gateway to information
• promote universal values and civil rights, such as freedom of expression and information
• serve as society’s collective memory
• gather information
• preserve cultural heritage
• entertain

IMPORTANCE OF MIL FOR CITIZENS

Media and information literacy (MIL) brings together disciplines that were once separate and distinct. MIL is concerned with giving people an understanding of the importance of media and other information providers in order to :

1. make informed decisions
2. learn about the world around them
3. build a sense of community
4. maintain public discourse, and
5. engage in lifelong learning

Further, MIL should spur citizens to become active producers of information and innovators of media and information products, as well as critical thinkers. MIL should incite them to use new and traditional media for self-expression, creativity and greater participation in their country’s democracy and the global information network.