Part 1. The Evolving Meaning of Television

Media Literacy Activity: The Evolving Meaning of Television
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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

Activity Objective:

In this activity, you will apply the critical process to explore the evolving meaning of television in of the 21st century.

Let’s get started! Click the forward and backward arrows to navigate through the slides. You may also click the above outline button to skip to certain slides.

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

Use the following prompts to gather information about the different types of television:

  1. List ways that television programming and technologies (both delivery and access to content) have changed over time.
  2. List ways that your television viewing has changed over time.
  3. Identify as many types of television as you can. Include any video/screen programming that anyone might possibly lump into the category of television.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

Provide your list detailing the different types of television.
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Using the list you have created, find patterns in screen and video content, devices, delivery, payment models, etc.

  1. Categorize screen/video into types of content, ways television is delivered to viewers, types of devices used by viewers, types of payment models for watching TV, television technologies, etc.
  2. Categorize programming into where, when, and how viewers access/watch TV/screen/video content.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

1. Has the genre had an influence on particular areas of society or culture?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

2. Has the influence of the genre changed over time? How?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Through the following questions, interpret the meaning of the patterns you found.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

1. What technologies (both to delivery and access content) have changed the nature and definition of this medium (these media)?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

2. What are the implications for our culture and for the television industry of such shifting behaviors, definitions, and categories?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

3. How has social media changed television viewing? Does live tweeting or posting bring people back to “real-time” viewing of television shows?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

4. Does television still play a role in uniting us as a culture? Or does the multitude of video options contribute to separating people? Is there anything besides television that can create a common cultural thread?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Next, we’ll identify what your view is as you assess whether changes in television are good or bad.

Use the space below to answer the following question.

1. In your opinion, is the changing nature of “TV” good or bad for our society, our culture, the television, and the television industry?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

2. In your opinion, is specialized TV ultimately good or bad for democracy?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

3. What do you think might happen in the future?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Let’s take action! Read the industry trade sources to learn about the latest developments in the evolution of television. Here are a few suggestions:

Use the space below to answer the following question.

Write down three things you learned about the latest developments in television from one or more of the sources above.
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.