Without media creation, there is no media literacy.
As mentioned in Theorizing News Literacy Behaviors news and media creation is
To my understanding media literacy is a fairly new standard, but it becomes a crucial part of everyone’s day-to-day life. So much interaction and learning happen online so it is important to be able to decipher what information is being consumed.
As mentioned in Theorizing News Literacy Behaviors news and media creation is on a larger scale and more people can contribute to the conversation than ever before. The internet allows anyone to speak their mind and share any information with little regulation. Understanding where content is coming from and who is creating it is an important aspect of media literacy. Not all content is based in fact, original or timely. Being able to distinguish these aspects of digital content is a crucial aspect of literacy. There are also many forms of media, Twitter posts are different than online article and videos, and being able to digest and analyze these various types of content help create a more rounded understanding of how people communicate online.
I had never read any definition of media literacy so the NAMLE definition helped me check my understanding against and weel souced definition. An important aspect of that definition that I had not considered was the creative side of literacy and not just the consumption side. Being able to create ethical and responsible content helps contribute to the factual and useful part of media content, rather than spreading disinformation. I think it is important to think about how the content that is being created will be read by all different audiences and if there is anything that can be improved on.
All of this is being applied from a journalistic standpoint, but media literacy is important across every aspect of digital content. The principles described in the News Co/Lab article about media creation and NAMLE should be applied when consuming any online content whether it be news, art, blog, or anything else.
