2.  Media messages are constructed.
 The different forms of media use unique
languages, each with its own set of “rules.”
 Different audiences understand the same media
message differently.
 Media are primarily businesses driven by a profit
motive.
 Media have embedded values and points of view.

3.  Media messages are constructed.
Somebody makes up the TV shows and movies you
see, and the video and computer games you play.
All media are carefully assembled, edited, selected
and designed constructions. Much of our view of
reality is based on media messages that have been
pre-constructed and have attitudes, interpretations
and conclusions already built in. The media, to a
great extent, present us with versions of reality.
They show us a world but it is a selected and often
unrepresentative view, even though it seems to be
true. Learning to distinguish the reality from the
reflection is important in this concept.

4.  The different forms of media use unique
languages, each with its own set of “rules.”
When Steven Speilberg decided to shoot Schindler's
List in black and white, he acknowledged the
relationship between media content and media form.
This principle of media literacy enables us to
understand the unique characteristics and attributes
of each medium and to explore that way that form is
related to content. It enables us to conceptualize not
just what we are told, but how. Over time, we
understand what each technique means. We become
fluent in the "languages" of different media and can
appreciate their aesthetic qualities.

5.  Different audiences understand the
same media message differently.
People see media through the lens of their own
experience. When different people watch the same
show, they see different things. People who watch
the same TV show or visit the same Web site often do
not have the same experience or come away with the
same impression.
Each person(s) can interpret or negotiate a message
differently based on age, culture, life experiences,
values and beliefs. (TV runs at 30 frames per second;
movies at 24 fps; therefore television and movies
tend to keep us from conscious analysis and
reflection about individual messages.)

6.  Media are primarily businesses
driven by a profit motive.
People create media so they can make money. The
bottom line is the “buck.”
Networks look for audiences to be delivered to
sponsors. The issue of ownership and control is of
vital importance at a time when there are more
choices but fewer voices. (Ninety percent of the
world’s newspapers, magazines, television stations,
films, and computer software companies are owned
by seven big corporations.)

7.  Media have embedded values
and points of view.
TV shows, magazines, video games and other media
messages show you what someone else thinks is
important. Even though we are conditioned to think
of movies, television programs and other media as
separate and discrete products, they consistently
construct, contain, carry and convey certain basic
beliefs and values. Producers of media messages have
their own beliefs, values, opinions and biases. These
can influence what gets told and how it is told.
Producers must choose what will and will not be
included in media texts, so there are no neutral or
value-free media messages. As these messages are
often viewed by great numbers of viewers, they can
have great social and political influence.

8. Which of the 5 core concepts does each question fit
into?
1. Who paid for this media and why?
2. How accurate is this reality?
3. What different meanings might others find in this
message?
4. What kind of values does this media promote?

9. Which of the 5 core concepts does each question fit
into?
1. Who paid for this media and why? (Media are driven
by a profit motive.)
2. How accurate is this reality? (Media messages are
constructed.)
3. What different meanings might others find in this
message? (Audiences understand the same media
messages differently.)
4. What kind of values does this media promote? (Media
have embedded values and points of view.)

10. Which of the 5 core concepts does each question fit
into?
1. Who paid for this media and why? (Media are driven
by a profit motive.)
2. How accurate is this reality? (Media messages are
constructed.)
3. What different meanings might others find in this
message? (Audiences understand the same media
messages differently.)
4. What kind of values does this media promote? (Media
have embedded values and points of view.)