The term ‘Media’ is understood in two ways and it is the plural of the term ‘medium’. The word refers to the print medium, the broadcast medium and the internet. It refers to the media through which messages are delivered. The print medium, which is the oldest form, includes pamphlets, newspapers and books. The broadcast medium includes TV and radio. The Internet medium includes all this and much more. The media also refers to billboards, applications and photographs. The other sense in which we use the term ‘media’ is to refer to the tools of mass communication. We use it to refer to the content we consume, in other words, the message that is delivered. In this respect, we can divide the media into the news media, …show more content…
1.2. Literacy
Williams (1988), a well-known literary and cultural theorist, notes that as a new word in the nineteenth century, ‘literacy meant both an ability to read and a condition of being well-read’.Literacy is the ability to read and write. It lies in being able to make sense of the world around us. Therefore, literacy really is not just about reading and writing. It is about all the conveniences, benefits and advantages that ensue as a result of that ability. Literacy is a necessary component for citizenship in a democratic society (Burroughs, Brocato, Hopper & Sanders, 2009).
1.3. Media Literacy
Media literacy is a set of competencies that enable people to analyze, evaluate, and create messages in a wide variety of media modes, genres, and formats. Media literacy is concerned with ‘cultivating skills in analysing media codes and conventions, abilities to criticize stereotypes, dominant values, and ideologies, and competencies to interpret the multiple meanings and messages generated by media texts’ (Kellner & Share, …show more content…
Media literacy involves not only knowledge but also critical thinking, linguistic, visual and film literacy. Media communication has become quite a force in our society today, allowing for consumption of loads of information. And today's digital consumers are masters of media multitasking, which involves simultaneous contact with two or more forms of media. As consumers of media, it is important to have the ability to understand, translate and use the information we receive.
1.4. Definitions of Media Literacy
The National Tele media Council (1997) defines media literacy as “the ability to choose, to understand within the context of content, form/style, impact, industry and production, to question, to evaluate, to create and/or produce and to respond thoughtfully to the media we consume. It is mindful viewing, reflective judgment”.
At the National Conference on Media Literacy, sponsored by the Aspen Institute in December, 1992, the groups’ Media Literacy is the ability of a citizen to access, analyze, and produce information for specific outcomes.” In the context of a developing country like India, media literacy would also require critical skills to evaluate the role of media in a developing democratic