product placement identification news literacy skills fair use identification W r i t i n g

compose a letter to a young media consumer, giving this consumer three media literacy skills we have learned about this semester. We have discussed media literacy in every chapter that we’ve covered and the skills should be based on the things we’ve learned or done in exercises in class. For full credit, please use the following format:

Dear Young Media Consumer: You can choose to address it to a real person in your life if you’d like to.

Paragraph #1 (at least 100 words): Explain why media literacy skills are needed.

Paragraph #2 (at least 200 words): Give media literacy tip #1. You will want to tell the young media consumer what branch of the media this tip relates to. Tell them how to do the skills involved in this tip and when in the class we learned about this. For example, your paragraph might look like this:

The first tip I have for you is about video news releases and TV. When you watch local TV news, the station does not always have enough financial resources to put towards a variety of stories. That makes them susceptible to using public relations-provided footage, especially about places that would be expensive to go to. For example, as we learned in the video we watched in class called Toxic Sludge, if you are watching a TV news story about a new cruise ship that is the largest in the world, and you see footage of that cruise ship anchored in the Bahamas, chances are the local TV station did not shoot that video themselves; they were likely provided the footage by the agency promoting the cruise line. Ask yourself questions like, Is this footage of someplace exotic or far away? Is there a specific product that seems to be highlighted in the footage, even if the news piece is on a broader subject (such as a news piece about the benefits of orange juice, when most of the footage shows a Minute Maid product)? Does this feel like real news or does it feel like public relations? TV news stations are supposed to tell you if the footage is from a PR agency, but sometimes they don’t, so be on the lookout. 

Paragraph #3 (at least 200 words): Give media literacy tip #2. Use same format as above.

Paragraph #4 (at least 200 words): Give media literacy tip #3. Use same format as above.

Paragraph #5: Wish your young media consumer luck and sign off.

Here are some examples of media literacy skills we’ve learned this semester; it will be up to you to reference what part of the class we learned this in:

• product placement identification
• news literacy skills
• fair use identification for copyright
• how not to libel someone
• how to protect your privacy online
• internet and surveillance culture
• how to identify logical fallacies in talk radio
• how ads avoid false advertising through language that is intentionally imprecise
• advertorials
• Photoshopping images