Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Usefulness Of A News Media Literacy Measure In Evaluating A News Literacy Curriculum, Adam Maksl, Stephanie Craft, Seth Ashley, Dean Miller
The Usefulness Of A News Media Literacy Measure In Evaluating A News Literacy Curriculum, Adam Maksl, Stephanie Craft, Seth Ashley, Dean Miller
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
The question “What is news literacy?” has been asked and answered in a number of ways, as scholars, teachers, librarians and journalists have sought to address the confusion resulting from the increasingly crowded digital information sphere. Concerns center on how the difficulty people face in differentiating reliable, credible information from unverified and biased information threatens their ability to participate in democratic life. Approaches to training and curriculum aimed at minimizing that difficulty have included standalone courses, modules in existing courses, after-school programs, and online exercises aimed at a variety of populations, from K-12 to college students to adults. Given this …
News Media Literacy And Political Engagement: What’S The Connection?, Seth Ashley, Adam Maksl, Stephanie Craft
News Media Literacy And Political Engagement: What’S The Connection?, Seth Ashley, Adam Maksl, Stephanie Craft
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
Scholars and educators have long hoped that media education is positively related to pro-social goals such as political and civic engagement. With a focus on measuring news media literacy with emphasis on media knowledge, need for cognition and media locus of control, this study surveyed 537 college students and found positive relationships between news media literacy and two political engagement measures: current events knowledge and internal political efficacy. Findings show that news media literacy is not associated with political activity, although some dimensions of news media literacy are associated with lower levels of political trust. Results help to define significant …
Measuring News Media Literacy, Adam Maksl, Seth Ashley, Stephanie Craft
Measuring News Media Literacy, Adam Maksl, Seth Ashley, Stephanie Craft
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
News media literacy refers to the knowledge and motivations needed to identify and engage with journalism. This study measured levels of news media literacy among 500 teenagers using a new scale measure based on Potter’s model of media literacy and adapted to news media specifically. The adapted model posits that news media literate individuals think deeply about media experiences, believe they are in control of media’s influence, and have high levels of basic knowledge about media content, industries and effects. Based on measures developed to assess news media literacy, highly news literate teens were found to be more intrinsically motivated …
Developing A News Media Literacy Scale, Seth Ashley, Adam Maksl, Stephanie Craft
Developing A News Media Literacy Scale, Seth Ashley, Adam Maksl, Stephanie Craft
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
Using a framework previously applied to other areas of media literacy, this study developed and assessed a measurement scale focused specifically on critical news media literacy. Our scale appears to successfully measure news media literacy as we have conceptualized it based on previous research, demonstrated through assessments of content, construct and predictive validity. Among our college student sample, a separate media system knowledge index also was a significant predictor of knowledge about topics in the news, which suggests the need for a broader framework. Implications for future work in defining and assessing news media literacy are discussed.
Exploring Message Meaning: A Qualitative Media Literacy Study Of College Freshmen, Seth Ashley, Grace Lyden, Devon Fasbinder
Exploring Message Meaning: A Qualitative Media Literacy Study Of College Freshmen, Seth Ashley, Grace Lyden, Devon Fasbinder
Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations
Critical media literacy demands understanding of the deeper meanings of media messages. Using a grounded theory approach, this study analyzed responses by first-year college students not currently enrolled in formal media literacy education to three types of video messages: an advertisement, a public relations message, and a news report. Students did not exhibit nuanced understandings of message purpose or sender in any of the three types of messages, and had particular difficulty distinguishing public relations and news messages. These results suggest a media literacy curriculum addressing distinctions between media formats, with emphasis on analysis of message intent and point of …