As part of a school assignment, student Chrissy Bedard interviewed Dayna Scott, CY Coordinator, about media literacy.

CB: How wouldyou define media literacy?

DS: Many technical definitions of media literacy abound; however, my own personal definition would be: the ability to understand and think critically about media, in all of its forms.

CB: How long have you been interested in media literacy?

DS: I think I first became interested in media literacy as a junior high school student, with the advent of "CUBE." You are probably wondering "What the heck is CUBE?" Actually, it was the predecessor to what we now know as cable television. I lived in Columbus, OH which happened to be a haven for national market research. CUBE was this little black box that hooked into your tv set and allowed you to get all kinds of television shows & movies, previously unavailable to the general public. Anyway, the ability to watch all of these channels (which inlcuded the first MTV music videos, I might add!) got me wondering about who PAYS for this stuff and WHY? These questions are the roots of my interest in media literacy. (I leave you to do the math, though...it was probably 1979?)

CB: How did you become interested in media literacy in general?

DS: See the above story....also, I began my college career as a communications major--before I realized that the big money was in english & political science! As such, I took lots of mass media courses and even got into a class with the infamous media literacy guru, Sut Jhally. Also, I am a skeptic by nature, so media literacy is not a big stretch for me.

CB: What specifically interests you about media literacy?

DS: All of it interests me; however, the topic of advertising is a particular favorite. Just the idea that businesses will pay huge sums of money to manipulate people is fascinating. And, the fact that it WORKS, given that they keep spending these huge sums of money, is truly bizarre. I guess the angle that intriques me is human nature--that people buy things to feel happy, or wear NIKE to be cool. I want to understand it.

CB: How does your education in media literacy affect your personal life?

DS: It makes it harder to watch television, or read the newspaper, or listen to NPR!! I just get agitated more easily. An example would be listening to NPR the week before Christmas. This is a public station, in theory, one that has no "advertisements" per se, just "underwriting for programs" and annoying pledge drives. The two big news pieces on this particular afternoon were "The new fad--designer pink UGG boots" and "The other new fad--a barbie doll designed for teens" (Fortunately, I have forgotten the name of this product!) Can you imagine my dismay? If this is "news" on a public radio station, then broadcasting has reached an all-time LOW!! (Keep in mind this was before Janet Jackson at the Superbowl--all-time low just keeps sinking lower!!) I guess that being educated about media literacy has just made me more indignant...and as a result, I may eventually lose friends and family who can't bear to listen to me rant and rave about the all-time low of broadcasting!! We shall see....

CB: What is one thing that you hope people will get out of CY media workshops?

DS: What I am really hoping for is world peace and enlightenment. However, I will settle for people beginning to ask more questions. As Galileo says, though, "You cannot teach anybody anything. You can only help them discover it within themselves."

What is media literacy, anyway?
In its most basic sense, media literacy is the ability to analyze and evaluate the thousands of images and words we take in every day through television, the Internet, music, newspapers, advertising, movies etc. It requires the knowledge and skills to choose and select, & challenge and question what we see and hear via the media.

Why does media literacy matter?
One way or another, media affects everyone. Young people are particularly large consumers of media. According to the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 32% of Chittenden South 8th graders reported spending 3 or more hours per school day watching TV or playing on the computer and 8% reported spending 5 or more hours per school day.

If you are interested in learning more about media literacy you can also visit the
VT ACME website at www.vmac-online.org.