Activity Objective:
In this activity, you will apply the critical process to help you discover the most recent developments in media ownership and become familiar with the Benton Foundation’s new aggregation site.
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Developing a media-literate critical perspective involves mastering five overlapping stages that build on one another. Let’s review the critical process you’ll be using below:
Description: paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the subject under study
Analysis: discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage
Interpretation: asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about one’s findings
Evaluation: arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to the critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages
Engagement: taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the cultural environment
Read about recent developments on media ownership at Benton Foundation's Web site: https://www.benton.org/benton-weekly-digest. Take notes on topics that have multiple stories or mentions in the current year.
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Now, focus on one development or pattern that has received significant attention in the current year and research this trend further.
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Through the following questions, let’s dig deeper into that trend you identified to interpret your findings.
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Now, you’ll assess whether the trends in media ownership are good, bad, or both.
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Let’s take action! Use what you have learned to engage with media ownership moving forward. Below are a few suggestions on ways to get involved:
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