Preface
About the Author
PART I: UNDERSTANDING MEDIA
Chapter 1 What Is Media Literacy?
Heightening Awareness
Asking Critical Questions
Connecting Past, Present, and Future
Expanding Literacy
Protecting Against Harmful Media
Confronting Institutional and Social Power
Resisting Distorted Representations
Critically Analyzing What’s True and False
Advancing Citizenship in a Democracy
Activating a Global Media Literacy Community
Media Literacy Theory
Media Literacy as a Moving Target
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Neil Postman
DISCourse: Crash Course Media Literacy
Chapter 2 Why Do People Use Media?
Media: A Definition
Smartphones Take Center Stage
Tracking Your Online Life
Uses and Gratifications
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Sonia Livingstone
DISCourse: Egg Crack Challenge
Chapter 3 How Do Search Engines Work?
Five Eras of the Internet
Questioning AI
Algorithmic Personalization
Search as Strategic Exploration
Search as Prelude to Purchase
How AI is Changing How We Search
The Politics of Filter Bubbles
Algorithms and Privacy
How Algorithms Discriminate
Censored Search
Surveillance Society
Regulating the Internet
AI Hype Cycles
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Michel Foucault
DISCourse: Take That Facebook
PART II: FORMS AND GENRES
Chapter 4 How Do People Get the News?
Reading, Watching, and Listening to News
News Values
Two Forms of News
News Aggregation on the Rise
The Power of Language
Trust but Verify
Framing Crime News
Eyewitness Reports
Partisanship and Journalistic Objectivity
Detecting Ideological Bias in the News
Fox News
Virality and Sensationalism
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Walter Lippmann
DISCourse: New Police Abuse Footage
Chapter 5 What Is the Difference between Advertising, Public Relations, and Propaganda?
Consumer Culture
Surveillance Capitalism
Where Art Meets Commerce
Children and Advertising
Regulating Advertising to Children
Advertising’s Unreal Realities
Influencer Marketing
Defining Propaganda
Propaganda Techniques
Publicity Matters
PR Approaches
Political Spin
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Roland Barthes
DISCourse: Fixed on Pixel
Chapter 6 Why Are We Attracted to Characters and Stories?
Storytelling and Culture
Storytelling as Social Change
Telling Emotional Truths Through Fiction
The Paradox of Tragedy
Who is the Author?
Characters Count
Archetypes of Storytelling
Narrative Conflict
Seven Basic Plots
Constructing Drama in Reality TV
Fandom, Copyright and Creativity
AI Storytelling
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Vladimir Propp
DISCourse: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
PART III: JUDGMENTS ABOUT TASTE, QUALITY, AND TRUST
Chapter 7 Why Do People Prefer Different Kinds of Music, Movies, and TV Shows?
What is Taste?
The Power of Playlists
How do People’s Taste Develop?
Media as Environment
Choices Matter
Media Awareness
Repetition & Popularity
Remixes and Spin-Offs
Genres Shape Expectations
The Birth of the Vlog
Chapter 8 Who Decides What Makes Media “Good”?
Tournaments of Value
Book Challenges in Schools and Society
Cultural Hierarchies
Memes: Making Morality Visual
Hashtag Activism
Popularity as a Measure of Quality
Reviews and Ratings
Review Aggregation
Judging Quality While Shopping Online
Virality Matters
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Pierre Bourdieu
DISCourse: Barbie Movie Review by Chris Stuckmann
Chapter 9 How Do People Decide Who and What to Trust?
Learning to Doubt
Organization Trust
Trust and Happiness
Truth Decay
Reality Check
Trust in Authority
Authenticity Rules
Political Polarization
Social Norms and Trust
Rebuilding Trust
Media Literacy Trailblazer: George Herbert Mead
DISCourse: Global Warming Cartoon
PART III: MEDIA ECONOMICS
Chapter 10 How Do Media Companies Make Money?
Entrepreneurship Matters
Jobs & Careers in Media Industries
The Media Marketplace
Purchases: The Direct Revenue Stream
Advertising: The Indirect Revenue Stream
Purchase + Advertising: The Mixed Revenue Stream
The First Amendment
Regulating Competition
Deregulation
Net Neutrality
Media Ownership
Antitrust Regulation
Censorship
Media Regulation Worldwide
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Dallas Smythe
DISCourse: Big Profits, Small Paybacks Chart
Chapter 11 Are Social Media Free?
Digital Authors Create Content
Digital Identity
Remix, Copyright, and Fair Use
The Doctrine of Fair Use
Protecting Digital Platforms from Users
Surveillance Capitalism
Regulating the Internet Economy
Your Private Life on TikTok
From Public to Private
Feeling Free
Content Moderation
Media Literacy Trailblazer: danah boyd
DISCourse: How WhatsApp Makes Money
PART IV: MEDIA EFFECTS
Chapter 12 Why Do People Worry about Stereotypes?
Stereotypes as Sensemaking
The Art of the Stereotype
The Danger of the Single Story
Are Stereotypes Realistic?
Similarity Matters
Cultivation Theory
Exploiting Stereotypes for Fun & Profit
Gender Matters
Identification & Loyalty
Representations of Sexuality
Implicit Bias
Rewards and Risks of Self-Representation
Owning Your Subjectivity
Racist and Sexist AI
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Stuart Hall
DISCourse: Disclosure
Chapter 13 What are the Benefits and Harms of Using Media?
Understanding Media Effects
Empowerment & Protection in Video Games
Gaming Addiction
Children: A Special Group
Children & Media Influence
Risks & Harms of Conflict
Digital Detox
Moral Panics
Sexually Explicit Media
Pornography Risks & Harms
Sexting
Porn Media Literacy
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Albert Bandura
DISCourse: The Neuroscience of Porn Addiction Explained
Chapter 14 How Do People Become Media Literate?
How Media Literacy Changes Over Time
Media Literacy for Young Children
Media Literacy as Public Health Issue
Reading in a Digital World
Creating Media
Reflection Matters
The Politics of Media Literacy
Lies My Teacher Told Me
Media Literacy for Democracy
Media Industry Support for Media Literacy
Media Literacy Media
The Changing Nature of Knowledge
Pathways & Obstacles
Media Literacy for All
Media Literacy Trailblazer: Len Masterman
Acknowledgments
References
Index