Media Literacy

Abstract

Media texts are increasingly being used in all areas of secondary school curricula but there are two misconceptions underlying this use of media texts. The first is that specialised and technical knowledge can be conveyed in everyday language and the second is that media texts represent transparent and everyday translations of cultural knowledge and issues. It is important that teachers realise that the discourses of the media are shaped by priorities that are radically different from those governing the discourses of education. Media texts are structured and composed to make particular kinds of information relevant to particular audiences. The social purpose of media texts dictates particular text structures, sentence patterns and visual representations. This teacher resource has been developed from the original monograph published in 1994 by the Metropolitan East Disadvantaged Schools Program. It addresses the context in which media production takes place and the media products themselves. All teachers will be able to use this resource to develop critical media literacy.