Media fluency is generally understood as encompassing two skill sets. The first, which we might call media comprehension, enables media consumers to decode, analyze, and break down mediated messages into their constituent parts. The other, known as media production, involves successfully encoding some kind of meaning into a mediated message. Both are needed for successful participation in today’s media-rich landscape.
One of the primary roles of the news media is to serve as a watchdog on government and other forms of consolidated power. No matter how one feels personally about specific news outlets, reporters, or stories, the ongoing presence of the free press is essential for our democracy to function.
As residents of the United States, you and I won the geographic lottery. You didn’t earn the right to vote, the right the freedom of speech, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We were handed it. We are privileged to attend public school for free, we can easily buy food at […]
Fast forward a half a millennium or so, and we are still teaching school children how to decode Shakespeare’s plays. And while I take no issue with that, I do take umbrage with the amount of attention being paid to decoding 16th century language versus the lack of attention being given, in this country at least, to the decoding of 21st century language. One skill does not necessarily lead to the other, and that’s the misconception our educational institutions have been laboring under for quite some time.
The record-breaking Women’s March has energized a crowd of women who are looking for actionable next steps. We don’t claim to have all the answers but our gals have added many, if not most, of these action items to their monthly To-Do list. Check Your Mindset Ask Questions. In order to heal the divide in […]
THANK YOU to all my sisters who are marching in Washington DC this weekend (over 40 of my friends at last count.) Thank you for taking time off of work, even as we fight for fair pay and representation. … for taking your children, your grandchildren with you, encouraging them on the long path which […]
Gal's Guide