What is the ability to read analyze evaluate and produce communication in a variety of media forms

Media literacy is the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, CREATE, and ACT using all forms of communication. In its simplest terms, media literacy builds upon the foundation of traditional literacy and offers new forms of reading and writing. Media literacy empowers people to be critical thinkers and makers, effective communicators and active citizens.

Media Literacy Education requires active inquiry and critical thinking about the messages we receive and create.
Media Literacy Education expands the concept of literacy to include all forms of media (i.e., reading and writing).
Media Literacy Education builds and reinforces skills for learners of all ages. Like print literacy, those skills necessitate integrated, interactive, and repeated practice.
Media Literacy Education develops informed, reflective and engaged participants essential for a democratic society.
Media Literacy Education recognizes that media are a part of culture and function as agents of socialization.
Media Literacy Education affirms that people use their individual skills, beliefs and experiences to construct their own meanings from media messages.

Variety of terminology – Some definitions and clarification

The term “media literacy” is often used interchangeably with other terms related to media and media technologies. To clarify what we mean when we talk about media literacy, the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) offers these definitions:

Media refers to all electronic or digital means and print or artistic visuals used to transmit messages.
Literacy is the ability to encode and decode symbols and to synthesize and analyze messages.
Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via media and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages.
Media education is the study of media, including ‘hands on’ experiences and media production.
Media literacy education is the educational field dedicated to teaching the skills associated with media literacy.

NAMLE Resource Download

NAMLE Core Principles of Media Literacy EducationDownload

NAMLE Core Principles One SheetDownload

NAMLE Key QuestionsDownload

The definition most often cited in the US is a succinct sentence hammered out by participants at the 1992 Aspen Media Literacy Leadership Institute:

… the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms.

Definitions, however, evolve over time and a more robust definition is now needed to situate media literacy in the context of its importance for the education of students in a 21st century media culture. CML uses this expanded definition:

• Media Literacy is a 21st century approach to education. • It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms - from print to video to the Internet.
• Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy.

What is important to understand is that media literacy is not about "protecting" kids from unwanted messages. Although some groups urge families to just turn the TV off, the fact is, media are so ingrained in our cultural milieu that even if you turn off the set, you still cannot escape today's media culture. Media no longer just influence our culture. They ARE our culture.

Media literacy, therefore, is about helping students become competent, critical and literate in all media forms so that they control the interpretation of what they see or hear rather than letting the interpretation control them.

To become media literate is not to memorize facts or statistics about the media, but rather to learn to raise the right questions about what you are watching, reading or listening to. Len Masterman, the acclaimed author of Teaching the Media, calls it "critical autonomy" or the ability to think for oneself.

Without this fundamental ability, an individual cannot have full dignity as a human person or exercise citizenship in a democratic society where to be a citizen is to both understand and contribute to the debates of the time.

from Literacy in a Media Age: An Overview and Orientation Guide to Media LIteracy Education