Media Literacy in Action

Renee Hobbs is one of the world’s leading authorities on digital and media literacy education and a professor at the University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of Communication and Media. As a teacher, researcher, activist, and media professional, she has offered programs for educators on four continents and produced some of the leading empirical research on the subject. Hobbs is the author of 12 books and more than 200 scholarly and professional articles. Her work has received awards from professional organizations including the International Communication Association, the Media Ecology Association, the National Association for Media Literacy Education, and others. In collaboration with the Media Education Lab, Hobbs created COURAGEOUS RI, a statewide media literacy program designed to use media literacy and active listening to reduce the fear and hate that leads to violence, funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She has spoken at the United Nations and consulted extensively with educators, school leaders, and government officials in Belgium, Brazil, China, Croatia, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania, and many other countries.

• PrefaceAbout the AuthorPART I: UNDERSTANDING MEDIAChapter 1 What Is Media Literacy?Heightening AwarenessAsking Critical QuestionsConnecting Past, Present, and FutureExpanding LiteracyProtecting Against Harmful MediaConfronting Institutional and Social PowerResisting Distorted RepresentationsCritically Analyzing What’s True and FalseAdvancing Citizenship in a DemocracyActivating a Global Media Literacy CommunityMedia Literacy TheoryMedia Literacy as a Moving TargetMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Neil PostmanDISCourse: Crash Course Media LiteracyChapter 2 Why Do People Use Media?Media: A DefinitionSmartphones Take Center StageTracking Your Online LifeUses and GratificationsMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Sonia LivingstoneDISCourse: Egg Crack ChallengeChapter 3 How Do Search Engines Work?Five Eras of the InternetQuestioning AIAlgorithmic PersonalizationSearch as Strategic ExplorationSearch as Prelude to PurchaseHow AI is Changing How We SearchThe Politics of Filter BubblesAlgorithms and PrivacyHow Algorithms DiscriminateCensored SearchSurveillance SocietyRegulating the InternetAI Hype CyclesMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Michel FoucaultDISCourse: Take That FacebookPART II: FORMS AND GENRESChapter 4 How Do People Get the News?Reading, Watching, and Listening to NewsNews ValuesTwo Forms of NewsNews Aggregation on the RiseThe Power of LanguageTrust but VerifyFraming Crime NewsEyewitness ReportsPartisanship and Journalistic ObjectivityDetecting Ideological Bias in the NewsFox NewsVirality and SensationalismMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Walter LippmannDISCourse: New Police Abuse FootageChapter 5 What Is the Difference between Advertising, Public Relations, and Propaganda?Consumer CultureSurveillance CapitalismWhere Art Meets CommerceChildren and AdvertisingRegulating Advertising to ChildrenAdvertising’s Unreal RealitiesInfluencer MarketingDefining PropagandaPropaganda TechniquesPublicity MattersPR Approaches Political SpinMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Roland BarthesDISCourse: Fixed on PixelChapter 6 Why Are We Attracted to Characters and Stories?Storytelling and CultureStorytelling as Social ChangeTelling Emotional Truths Through FictionThe Paradox of TragedyWho is the Author?Characters CountArchetypes of StorytellingNarrative ConflictSeven Basic PlotsConstructing Drama in Reality TVFandom, Copyright and CreativityAI StorytellingMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Vladimir ProppDISCourse: Willie Wonka and the Chocolate FactoryPART III: JUDGMENTS ABOUT TASTE, QUALITY, AND TRUSTChapter 7 Why Do People Prefer Different Kinds of Music, Movies, and TV Shows?What is Taste?The Power of PlaylistsHow do People’s Taste Develop?Media as EnvironmentChoices MatterMedia AwarenessRepetition & PopularityRemixes and Spin-OffsGenres Shape ExpectationsThe Birth of the VlogChapter 8 Who Decides What Makes Media “Good”?Tournaments of ValueBook Challenges in Schools and SocietyCultural HierarchiesMemes: Making Morality VisualHashtag ActivismPopularity as a Measure of QualityReviews and RatingsReview AggregationJudging Quality While Shopping OnlineVirality MattersMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Pierre BourdieuDISCourse: Barbie Movie Review by Chris StuckmannChapter 9 How Do People Decide Who and What to Trust?Learning to DoubtOrganization TrustTrust and HappinessTruth DecayReality CheckTrust in AuthorityAuthenticity RulesPolitical PolarizationSocial Norms and TrustRebuilding TrustMedia Literacy Trailblazer: George Herbert MeadDISCourse: Global Warming CartoonPART III: MEDIA ECONOMICSChapter 10 How Do Media Companies Make Money?Entrepreneurship MattersJobs & Careers in Media IndustriesThe Media MarketplacePurchases: The Direct Revenue StreamAdvertising: The Indirect Revenue StreamPurchase + Advertising: The Mixed Revenue StreamThe First AmendmentRegulating CompetitionDeregulationNet NeutralityMedia OwnershipAntitrust RegulationCensorshipMedia Regulation WorldwideMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Dallas SmytheDISCourse: Big Profits, Small Paybacks ChartChapter 11 Are Social Media Free?Digital Authors Create ContentDigital Identity Remix, Copyright, and Fair UseThe Doctrine of Fair UseProtecting Digital Platforms from UsersSurveillance CapitalismRegulating the Internet EconomyYour Private Life on TikTokFrom Public to PrivateFeeling FreeContent ModerationMedia Literacy Trailblazer: danah boydDISCourse: How WhatsApp Makes MoneyPART IV: MEDIA EFFECTSChapter 12 Why Do People Worry about Stereotypes?Stereotypes as SensemakingThe Art of the StereotypeThe Danger of the Single StoryAre Stereotypes Realistic? Similarity MattersCultivation TheoryExploiting Stereotypes for Fun & ProfitGender MattersIdentification & LoyaltyRepresentations of SexualityImplicit BiasRewards and Risks of Self-RepresentationOwning Your SubjectivityRacist and Sexist AIMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Stuart HallDISCourse: DisclosureChapter 13 What are the Benefits and Harms of Using Media?Understanding Media EffectsEmpowerment & Protection in Video GamesGaming AddictionChildren: A Special GroupChildren & Media InfluenceRisks & Harms of ConflictDigital DetoxMoral PanicsSexually Explicit MediaPornography Risks & HarmsSextingPorn Media LiteracyMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Albert BanduraDISCourse: The Neuroscience of Porn Addiction ExplainedChapter 14 How Do People Become Media Literate?How Media Literacy Changes Over TimeMedia Literacy for Young ChildrenMedia Literacy as Public Health IssueReading in a Digital WorldCreating MediaReflection MattersThe Politics of Media LiteracyLies My Teacher Told MeMedia Literacy for DemocracyMedia Industry Support for Media LiteracyMedia Literacy MediaThe Changing Nature of KnowledgePathways & ObstaclesMedia Literacy for AllMedia Literacy Trailblazer: Len MastermanAcknowledgmentsReferencesIndex

This is the best media literacy book on the market for college students. This is the book I had been waiting for.