Thoman (2003) has identified five characteristics of media that everyone should understand in order to be able to interpret and create personal meaning from media messages: (1) all media messages are constructed, (2) media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules, (3) different people experience the same media message differently, (4) media are primarily businesses driven by a profit motive, and (5) media have embedded values and points of view. The Center for Media Literacy (CML) has packaged these ideas as five core concepts—authorship, format, audience, content, and purpose—accompanied by five key questions to form the foundation of an extensive inquiry-based media literacy curriculum. The first iteration of the curriculum focused on deconstruction of messages by media consumers, while the second edition added materials to support construction of messages by media producers (Center for Media Literacy, 2008).
Authorship
The concept of authorship emphasizes that media—like buildings and highways—are constructed by people even though they may appear to be simply part of the landscape to those not involved in their construction. Authorship involves understanding how the different modes of communication provide the building blocks—such as words, sounds, and images—used to construct media texts. Authorship also involves understanding how choices made by multiple individuals working together in different roles with their own tools and techniques contribute to the construction of a media text. A thorough understanding of authorship enables students to imagine alternative versions of media messages based on different choices and creates the critical distance needed to be able to ask other important questions.
Format
The concept of format emphasizes that the tools and techniques used by authors of media texts working in different roles comprise creative languages with their own grammars and meanings. In particular, media authors often use sounds and images to evoke emotional responses of which listeners and viewers who do not understand the concept of format may not even be aware. A thorough understanding of format enhances appreciation for the creativity involved in many media experiences while simultaneously making the reader, listener, or viewer less susceptible to manipulation.
Audience
The concept of audience emphasizes that reading, listening, and viewing media texts are activities in which people deliberately choose whether or not to participate for their own reasons (Davis, 1992). Because each member of an audience brings a unique set of life experiences to a text, the authors cannot be certain of how their message will be interpreted. The proliferation of media outlets and the convergence of technology, information, and media make the concept of audience more important than ever. A thorough understanding of audience enables students to consider other viewpoints when interpreting media messages and helps them communicate their own ideas more effectively to people with different backgrounds.
Content
The concept of content emphasizes the messages communicated by media texts. Effective media messages are communicated implicitly by representations of people, places, events, and ideas as well as by the words, sounds, and images that make up the explicit content of the text. Content involves understanding that these representations are chosen by the authors of media texts rather than accepting them as natural. For example, characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, language, and culture affect how different audiences will perceive a “character,” even in a short commercial or news story. Representations can exploit stereotypes, but they can also reflect novel perspectives and help to shape and re-shape identities. A thorough understanding of the concept of content makes students aware of both the implicit and explicit messages communicated by media texts.
Purpose
The concept of purpose emphasizes the motives that individuals and organizations have for constructing and communicating media messages. Most media messages are constructed to obtain a profit either directly from the audience or indirectly from advertisers willing to pay for access to the audience. Many media messages are constructed to win an audience over to a particular idea, movement, or point of view. Purpose involves understanding that institutions have powerful effects on media messages and that institutions in turn are influenced by history, geography, economics, and politics. The convergence of technology, information, and media has generated a variety of new mechanisms through which individuals and organizations can profit from media messages and persuade others to share their points of view. A thorough understanding of purpose enables students to evaluate persuasive claims critically and make more informed choices.