One crucial step in increasing awareness of corporate influence in our society is media education. The United States has lagged significantly behind many other countries in K-12 media literacy education, but more teachers, educational leaders, and others are recognizing this need in the United States. All 50 states now have K-12 media-related standards on the books, and several national organizations have emerged over the past few years to improve young people’s understanding of the media.

“Media literacy” is an increasingly recognized term in the field of education. Barry Duncan, co-author of the Media Literacy Resource Guide (Ontario Ministry of Education, Toronto, ON, 1989), states that “Media Literacy is an informed, critical understanding of the mass media. It involves an examination of the techniques, technologies and institutions that are involved in media production, the ability to critically analyze media messages and a recognition of the role that audiences play in making meaning from those messages.” Media literacy is, in short, critical thinking about the mass media.

We believe (as do many other interested individuals and organizations) that media literacy education should emphasize not only interpretation and analysis of media messages but also a careful examination of the institution of the mass media and its relation to large corporations. For example, it’s important to understand the persuasive strategies used in a political or public issue advertisement, but it’s also important to know who sponsors the ad and what those sponsors’ primary missions and motives are. Kids and teenagers can understand these concepts, and they should be given the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills about the mechanisms at work to inform, influence, and frame their lives now and in the future.

You’ll find here some media literacy student activities we’ve written plus links to related Web sites. Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or just interested in promoting critical thinking about the media, please use these resources and feel free to contribute your own ideas. We hope you’ll find us a valuable resource for teaching others about the media, its influence on society, and its corporate relationships.

See some sample critical thinking classroom activities here.

Adjectives in the news

Have students read news stories and editorials and underline adjectives that are not within quotes (e.g. words from statements that have presumably been composed by the article’s author). Then have them circle the adjectives that they think have positive or negative connotations (“green” is generally a neutral adjective, while “troublesome” is negative). Discuss the words’ meanings and the ways they contribute to the articles’ messages.

Have students rewrite some of the stories and editorials using words that have opposite meanings or connotations from the words they’ve circled. Discuss how changing these words changes the articles, and discuss the role of adjectives and “strong” words in the news. Are news stories always objective, or do they contain judgments and opinions? Are positive and negative adjectives more likely seen in “straight” news stories or in editorials?

Sound Bites

Present students with a brief quote from today’s newspaper or another publication. Ask them to write a short paragraph explaining what they think this quote means.

Have them read the entire article and write additional paragraphs explaining how their impressions have changed after getting the “big picture.”

Ask students if they’ve ever had a similar experience while listening to a TV or radio program or even to a friend speaking about something. How did the short clip differ from the larger amount of information they heard? Explain that these short statements are called “sound bites” and that they’re used regularly on TV news programs. Can they think of examples of sound bites they’ve heard? Why do they think broadcasters use sound bites? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this practice?

Limited space

Discuss how the author of a story, novel, or poem introduces readers to the setting. How is the setting described? Can the reader learn everything about the setting by reading this story or poem, or does the author only let the reader know some things about it? Might the authors of news stories and features use similar techniques to present information about places or other background aspects of their stories? How might this affect the story?

Ask students to read a news story or feature article and list the things the writer provides as background information (e.g. the location, the people). Then have them list four or five questions that they have after reading this background information. Ask them to discuss the reasons why the story includes some information and leaves other information out (e.g. space limitations, the author’s point of view, assumed prior knowledge).

Conclude by asking students to write a five-sentence paragraph describing their town (or something or someplace else they’re very familiar with). What information will they choose to include, and what will they leave out, considering their limited space? Why?

Channel One

Have students research the arguments for and against Channel One, the news-plus-commercials program that middle and high school teachers in many districts are required to show at the beginning of each day.

If your school watches Channel One, discuss the impact students think it’s had on them. Do students think that the advertising affects their attitudes toward products? Do they feel that the news programming does a good job of keeping them up-to-date on current events? How do they feel about the presence of commercial TV in the classroom?

If your school does not subscribe to Channel One, ask students to debate the pros and cons of having this type of programming in their school.

You may want to conclude the debate by having students look at the Channel One Sales Literature at obligation.org and discussing their feelings about these ads. (You may experience a lengthy download time to get these images on your computer)

Evaluating Web Sites for a Report

Ask students to imagine that they’ve been asked to conduct Web research for a paper they’re writing. Discuss the differences between using the Web and using print media such as books and magazines. Pose these questions to the class:

• How difficult is it to publish something in print? On the Web? What difference does this make when you’re trying to determine whether to use a Web site for your report?
• Can you always tell who wrote the text on a Web site? What about in print?
• If anyone can publish anything on the Web, how can you know whether you’re getting fact or opinion? What clues might you look for to tell the difference?

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Copyright in the “digital age”

Have students go to the U.S. Copyright Office website and read about the definition and purpose of copyright protections (they should link to “Copyright Basics”). Discuss the reasons why copyright protections exist and the how authors, musicians, etc. might be affected if there were no copyright laws.Read the background of the Napster case to the class:

A&M Records vs Napster. Discuss the two sides of the argument and the reasons why record producers are so concerned about Web sites such as Napster. Are students familiar with this case? What do they think about it and about the idea of free music sources that circumvent traditional music purchasing? Is it stealing?

Have students write essays answering the question “Should copyright law prohibit the exchange of written or musical materials over the Internet?” You might want to have them do more research on this topic before answering this question.

Making a Political TV Commercial

Have students go to the PBS Democracy Project “Tricks of the Trade” page and create political TV ads in favor of and against this candidate. They will see how easy it is to manipulate some basic video footage to express support or opposition for a candidate. Discuss the implications of these techniques, and ask students to watch for these techniques being used in real TV commercials they see, either for political candidates, issues, or products.

Political Cartoons

Have students browse through some political cartoons at the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists Web site. Ask them to describe what some of the cartoons say about political issues they address and explain reasons why can be effective. points view do cartoonists take in each one?

Have each student choose a cartoon. Ask them to draw new cartoons that take the opposite perspective of the one they’ve selected. Ask them to share the original and new cartoons with the class and to discuss the purpose and effectiveness of political cartoons.

Wag the Dog

Show students excerpts from the movie Wag the Dog, in which a spin doctor hired by the U.S. government fakes a war to distract the American public from a White House scandal (in particular, show the scenes where the fabricated war is broadcast on national TV). Follow up the screening by discussing whether the media has the capacity to create images that fool the entire public.

Have students watch TV news segments or read articles from a recent war or conflict. Reassure them that this conflict is real, rather than entirely fabricated as was the war in the film. When they ask the inevitable question “but.how do we know for sure?,” the conversation may begin to swing toward a philosophical discussion of “how do we know anything for sure..” Rather than taking this route, you can explain that there are some things we can do to verify the media information we get.

Help them brainstorm the ways they could do their own fact-checking and verification. Some examples might include reading more than one newspaper, looking for multiple eyewitness accounts not only from journalists but also from local people who are directly affected by the conflict, and reading or listening to alternative media sources such as community radio stations or the Independent Media Center.

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Independent Media

Define the word “independent” as it’s commonly used in the context of independent media. One definition in Merriam Webster is “not affiliated with a larger controlling unit” – in this case, a large corporation. As students may know, the word independent may also be used to describe stores, record labels, and other businesses that operate separately from large corporations. Also introduce students to the term “non-commercial,” as in “non-commercial” radio stations that do not sell advertising.

Have students hypothesize ways that an independent media outlet (e.g. radio station or magazine) might get its funding. How can these organizations get the money to operate if they’re not affiliated with a large (and presumably wealthy) corporation and don’t sell ads? What unique financing challenges might these organizations face?

Have students go to the following Web sites to learn more about four independent media organizations. In particular, ask them to browse the sites for information about how these organizations earn money:

KPFA Radio
Independent Media Center
Free Speech TV
High Country News

Ask each student or group to write a business plan for an independent media outlet, such as a radio station, newspaper, or Web site. Their business plans should explain how the organization will find and earn money, how it will use this money, and what it will do to retain its independent status and stave off the pressure to be “bought out” by a large media corporation.

Why do all the stations play the same songs?: Have students read The Radio Fight For America’s Soul. Then have them go to Clear Channel Radio and Fight the NAB to learn more about both sides of the issue of radio consolidation.

In a class discussion, ask students to articulate the two sides of the argument that they’ve read about at these Web sites. Then discuss the ways in which they think the consolidation of radio stations has affected their own radio-listening experiences. Have they noticed a difference in radio stations over the past few years? How has the consolidation affected them, if at all? Do they think consolidation will benefit or harm their ability to hear a variety of music and voices on the radio?

As an option, have the class conclude by imagining the ideal radio spectrum, in which a wide variety of stations and formats are available. What music would they be able to hear? Whose voices would be broadcast (e.g. teenage voices; minority voices?). Ask them to draw the series of FM radio frequencies and, next to this drawing, list hypothetical stations and their formats.

Basic Economics and Advertising

Ask students to define these terms: needs, wants, costs, benefits, opportunity cost. Have students look at magazine or newspaper ads and answer these questions: What needs are these ads addressing? What wants do they address? What strategies do the ads use to make people want the product? Do any of the ads create needs or perceived needs? What are the costs and benefits of purchasing these products? What are the costs and benefits of not purchasing these products? What are the opportunity costs of purchasing and not purchasing these products?

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Eisenhower TV Campaign

Have students go through the stages of the Eisenhower Answers America campaign at to see how this classic TV political campaign was organized and developed. Have them write paragraphs doing one or more of the following things:

• explaining what tactics this ad campaign used.
• comparing and contrasting this ad campaign to a modern one
• discussing the significance of television to this political campaign
• explaining whether they think political candidates should be allowed to advertise on TV and, if so, how they think the commercials should be funded and whether there should be a limit on how much a candidate can spend on TV commercials

Options: Have students create their own TV campaign ads using some of the same tactics described in this Eisenhower campaign. Or, have students research and report on Nelson Rockefeller’s 1966 New York Governor’s race, which this PBS site states may have been the first TV spot campaign to be a major factor in an election. You might also have them research and report on the famous Nixon-Kennedy debates of 1960, in which the candidates’ appearances on camera played a role in voter approval.

What if they’d had TV back then?

Discuss the role of television in influencing public opinion. Can TV news reports and programs help shape people’s attitudes toward an important event or issue? How might TV do this differently than print media or radio? Ask students to imagine that TV had existed and had been popular during a historical event that actually occurred before the advent of TV. Have them discuss how that event might have turned out differently if TV had existed.

Historical posters

Discuss the role posters play in influencing people’s attitudes and beliefs, and compare the impact of posters to that of other media, such as TV and newspapers. Have students look at the posters at the Smithsonian’s “Posters American Style” website. Ask them to choose five posters and explain what they show and what messages they impart. Have students design their own posters intended to influence the public’s attitudes toward an issue from a given historical period (e.g. World War II, the era of westward expansion across the United States).

History in the movies

Have students watch all or part of a movie about a historical topic, such as Pocahontas. Have them research the actual story and make lists comparing and contrasting the movie to the real historical account. Have them write reviews of this film to be published in a magazine entitled History Buffs.

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Media Statistics

Read this statement to the class: “According to the Center for Media Education, most children watch three to four hours of TV each day, and the average child sees more than 20,000 commercials each year.” Ask students how they think this type of statistic is calculated. Then have them conduct surveys of their own TV (or other media) viewing habits or the habits of their friends or family. Their surveys should count the number of commercials they watch per day, the number of gunshots they see on TV each day, or a similar type of statistic. Ask them to use these numbers to calculate a “per year” statement like the one above and a lifetime statement (e.g. “At the rate I’m going, I’ll watch about 1,600,000 commercials if I live to be 80!”).

Graphs and Charts in Advertising

Have students look at these ads, and ask them to figure out what’s misleading about them. Have them write statements describing what the viewer might infer from the ads and additional statements describing what the ads actually show. Discuss other examples of how statistics, graphs, and charts might be used in advertising messages.

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