Evolution of Media and Information Literacy

Evolution of Media

• Pre-Industrial Age (Before 1700s): Major developments included the discovery of fire, creation of paper from plants, and forging of tools and weapons.

• Notable historical media artifacts: Cave paintings (35,000 BC), clay tablets (2400 BC), papyrus (2500 BC), Acta Diurna in Rome (130 BC), dibao in China (2nd century), Mayan codex (5th century).

• Early printing press using wood blocks introduced around 220 AD.

• Industrial Age (1700s-1930s): The steam engine and machine tools revolutionized production, leading to advancements in mass communication.

• Significant inventions: mass printing press (19th century), The London Gazette (1640), typewriter (1800), telephone (1876), motion picture photography (1890), sound motion pictures (1926).

• Electronic Age (1930s-1980s): Introduction of the transistor revolutionized communication, giving rise to radios and early computers.

• Key inventions: transistor radio, television (1941), EDSAC (1949), UNIVAC 1 (1951), mainframe computers (IBM 704, 1960), personal computers (Apple 1, 1976).

• Information Age (1900s-2000s): The Internet enabled rapid communication and social networking.

• Emergence of web browsers (Mosaic 1993, Internet Explorer 1995), blogs (Blogspot 1999), and social networks (Facebook 2004, Twitter 2006).

Roles and Functions of Media in Democratic Society

• Monitoring Function: Keeps citizens informed about current events.
• Education: Provides meaningful information to audiences.
• Public Discourse: Offers a platform for expressing public opinion and dissent.
• Digital media encourages interactive communication and engages users in two-way interactions.

Media Convergence

• The integration of traditional (print, broadcast) and digital media creates a dynamic communication environment.
• Facilitates the flow of content across various platforms, changing how media is consumed.

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and Media

• Indigenous Knowledge: Local knowledge typically unique to a culture, in opposition to global scholarly knowledge systems.
• Indigenous Media: Media managed by indigenous communities, tailored to their cultural and language needs.

Types of Information Sources

• Books: Provide in-depth topic coverage.
• Articles: Include scholarly journals for researchers, trade publications for professionals, and magazines for general audiences.
• Newspapers: Offer current information for a wide audience.
• Internet: A vast resource but requires careful evaluation of sources.

Evaluating Information

• Accuracy: Ensure content is grammatically correct and verifiable.
• Authority: Assess the creator's credentials.
• Currency: Information should be current and frequently updated.
• Fairness: Content needs to present multiple viewpoints.
• Relevance: Ensure information is pertinent to the topic or research.

Media Messages and Conventions

• Messages: Comprised of creative language and follow particular rules.
• Conventions: Accepted standards in media, including form conventions (arrangement of codes), story conventions (narrative structures), and genre conventions (use of themes/tropes).

Film Genres

• Action: High-energy plots with physical stunts.
• Comedy: Light-hearted and humorous, exaggerated situations.
• Drama: Realistic characters and intense interactions.
• Romance: Focus on relationships.
• Fantasy: Involves magical or impossible elements.
• Adventure: Exciting narratives often paired with action.
• Horror: Designed to evoke fear and shock.
• Science-Fiction: Features imaginative elements and technology.
• Animation: Created from frame-by-frame illustrations.
• Musical: Emphasizes song and dance integration.

Camera Techniques

• Camera Shots: Wide shot, full shot, medium shot, close-up, extreme close-up.
• Camera Angles: Dutch angle, low angle, high angle, bird’s eye view.

Legal, Ethical, and Societal Issues in Media

• Digital Citizenship: Ability to responsibly navigate and engage online, adhering to ethical standards.
• Intellectual Property: Protects creations of the mind, governed by laws such as the Intellectual Property Code and Cybercrime Prevention Act.

Types of Intellectual Property

• Copyright: Rights of creators over their works.
• Patent: Exclusive rights for inventions.
• Trademarks: Distinguishing signs for products/services.
• Industrial Design: Aesthetic features of articles.
• Geographical Indications: Signs indicating specific origins.

Issues in Digital Communication

• Piracy: Unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted content.
• Cyberbullying: Intimidation via digital means.
• Netiquette: Guidelines for acceptable online behavior.
• Computer Addiction: Excessive use of technology can pose risks.

Ethical Use of Information

• Plagiarism: Using others' work without acknowledgment.
• Common Knowledge: Widely recognized facts don't require citations.
• Quotations and Paraphrasing: Properly document sources, using quotation marks for direct quotes.
• Fair Use: Legal allowance to use copyrighted material under certain conditions.
• Creative Commons: Licenses that allow creators to specify terms for the use of their work.