McCracken Middle School, Bluffton SC
Media Literacy Bulletin Boards


Original Messages published in school newsletters:

August 27, 2004

Media Literacy – Are You Getting the Message?

What is Media Literacy and why is it important?  You are bombarded with 
messages from many sources daily.  Have you ever asked yourself what 
the creators of that message are really trying to get across to you?

Media Literacy helps you understand what role media (print and non-print) 
plays in our society, and gives you the skills and a framework to inquire, 
analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms.  
This is essential for citizens of a democracy.

The five key questions you should ask are:  1) Who created this message? 
2) What techniques are used to attract my attention?  3) How might different 
people understand this message differently from me?  4) What lifestyles, values, 
and points of view are represented in or omitted from this message? 
And 5) Why was this message sent?

Try applying these questions to a political ad, or an ad for Subway ©, 
or Target ©.  Tell me what you think!  Drop me a line in the mailbox outside the Media Center.

September 3, 2004

Media Literacy – Are You Getting the Message

Part 2

Concept 1

All media messages are put together very carefully. Commercials, infomercials, 
even public service announcements are designed to grab your interest and 
hopefully lead you to a desired action or behavior.  Companies pay advertisers 
to do research to find out exactly how to appeal to teens, for example, to make 
them want to buy their product.  That is the “why” of the situation.  You also 
need to ask yourself “who” created this message.  Who is the producer or storyteller?  
What is their motive?  Is it to inform, persuade, educate, or entertain? 

The six largest media companies in the world are: # 1 AOL Time Warner , 
#2 The Walt Disney Company, #3 Bertelseman AG, #4 Viacom, #5 News 
Corporation (Fox TV), and #6 Vivendi Universal (Universal Studios).  These 
companies touch every aspect of your life - every day - down to the textbooks 
you use.  How much do you know about them? 

Remember the GI Joe cartoons?  Every episode would end with a safety tip.  
The young person in peril would say “Thanks, Joe…now I know...” and GI Joe would say,
“ And knowing is half the battle.”  Stay tuned and you’ll know even more.

Are you an “ad” addict?  How many of the following slogans do you recognize?  
Drop me a note with the products they represent in the media mail box outside 
the library.  I’ll print the answers next week.

1.  Just Do it! , 2.  Drop the Chalupa! 3.  Snap Crackle, Pop! 4.  Melts in your 
mouth, not in your hand, 5.Got _ _ _ _? 6. The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing…, 7.  
Watch for falling prices!, 8.  Pardon me, do you have any ____  _____?, 9.  
They’re grrrrreat!  10.  The quilted, quicker-picker-upper.

Thanks to www.mediachannel.org, and www.nysatl.nysed.gov/Health/advertising/images


Bulletin Board Images by library media specialist: Lynne Douglas Simmons

Closeups








The bulletin board incorporates this book cover sponsored by Old Spice men's deodorant