VOLUME 64 i NUMBERS 1 & 2 Agency

From the Editors Marieli Rowe and Karen Ambrosh, Neil Andersen and Carol Arcus ...... 2 Henry Jenkins interviewed by Neil Andersen By Neil Andersen ...... 4 Media Teory 101: Agency By David Buckingham ...... 12 Agentive Realism and Media Literacy By Michael Dezuanni...... 16 Media Literacy, Good Agency: If Jez We Could? By Julian McDougall ...... 20 Media Literacy Tat Excludes a Planet at Risk is Not Agency By Barrie Zwicker...... 27 A Fresh Look at the Media Literacy Movement: Te Telemedia Council as an Agent for a Better Future By Marieli Rowe ...... 34 Te Birth, Death and Resurrection of a Subject Association By Robyn Quin and Barrie McMahon...... 40 Towards a Rights-Based Vision of Digital Literacy By Matthew Johnson ...... 46 Marshall McLuhan on Agency in Education and Technology Use By Alex Kuskis ...... 50 Maneuvering Entrenched Structures of Arab Education Systems: Te Agency of Arab Media Literacy Educators and Activists By Jad Melki and Lubna Maaliki ...... 56 Fostering Agency Trough Media Literacy By Martin Rayala...... 61 Newspapers in Education: Acquiring Future Customers, or Serving Future Citizens?: On the Suitability as Agency of Newspapers in Education in Japan for Promoting Media Literacy By Yoshimi Uesugi ...... 64 Promoting Media Literacy in China: Te Agency Efort By Alice Y. L. Lee ...... 70 Producing and Building My Citizenship: Media Education and the Human Rights of Young Women By Raquel Ramírez Salgado ...... 74 Canadian Agents By Neil Andersen ...... 80 End User License Agreements in Plain Language By Neil Andersen ...... 86 Barry Duncan: A Radical Agent for Media Literacy Education By Carol Arcus ...... 90

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 1 FROM THE EDITORS

“Tis time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

ice President Joe Biden quoted Emerson in for this year and potential growth and change in our his recent eulogy for astronaut and former organization, we are purposefully pausing production senator, John Glenn, to illustrate his legacy. of our traditional journal for 2017. Readers can ex- VIt represents a poignant example of John Glenn’s per- pect to receive more communication about this pro- sonal agency in his extraordinary life. Te urgency of cess throughout the year in both print and online. our work in media literacy and the need for knowl- We thank you for your continued support and look edge and action has never been more evident than forward to celebrating with you in our anniversary today; the anxiety level of our society appears to be year. i at an all-time high. Could it be brought on by the un- precedented experience of today’s pervasive media immersion? It is easy in our time for an individual to Marieli Rowe be mired in a sea of media messages, which can be like JML EDITOR trying to navigate an ocean without a rudder. More people, of all ages, are feeling an untraceable sense of anxiety and a loss of control that can only be reme- died through agency. Emerson’s words are from 1844, Karen Ambrosh and yet provide a strong positive spirit across time, NTC PRESIDENT especially today. Knowing what to do in our time is media literacy in action; it is Agency. Leave it to the Canadians to capture the essence of our time and be a true agent of change for a me- dia-wise, literate global society. Te Journal of Media Marieli Rowe Karen Ambrosh Literacy owes a debt of gratitude to Neil Andersen and Carol Arcus for challenging us and our readers to look at what we do in media literacy education through a new lens, from a point of knowledge in action. Te contributions of our authors in this issue give us much hope and direction. Tey are beacons of light in the vast ocean of our media environment. We would especially like to congratulate, and to highlight the visionary work of Dr. Martin Rayala. He and Dr. Cristina Alvarez are the co-founders of the innovative Design Lab School in Delaware, which has become one of 10 schools across the country to be designated an XQ Super School, receiving $10 million to rethink high schools for the 21st century. Te National Telemedia Council is inspired by the work of these pioneers of the future. Next year, we will be celebrating our 65th Anniversary and want to declare 2018 as our Year of Media Literacy. To prepare

2 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY FROM THE GUEST EDITORS

gency is knowledge in action. In media lit- uses of agency according to cultural contexts: media eracy, agency is the exercising of awareness literacy in action; change agents; media education A through critical thinking skills to efect in the service of democracy or human rights and as change personally, locally and/or globally. an agent for awareness in the workplace, school, and Agency is also a central dilemma of our evolving society. Other words are also employed strategically, electronic environment. With power comes responsi- for example: one to refne meaning (see Martin Ray- bility. As governments, corporations and individuals ala’s use of ‘meliorism’ in “Fostering Agency Trough acquire increasing power over their own and others’ Media Literacy”) and one to characterize it (see Julian information, ethical questions continue to raise their McDougall’s purposeful use of ‘fuck’ in “Media Litera- heads. cy, Good Agency: If Jez We Could?”). Governments can collect and share—without We are very grateful to the many thoughtful peo- responsibility or detection—details of our online ac- ple who took the time and trouble to help us wres- tivities. Corporations can collect and sell—without tle with so many critical aspects of agency and to the remuneration or regard—details of our online activi- Journal of Media Literacy for publishing them. We ties. We, ourselves, can create and distribute powerful hope that their thoughts and actions will support and communications, true or false, harmless or damaging. encourage your own refections and, If Jez We Could, What are the responsibilities and agencies in an envi- your agency. i ronment of such surveillance and disclosure? Marshall McLuhan observed that violence is agency—the act of someone seeking to fnd or es- tablish an identity. We must acknowledge—by way of transparency and context—that the articles in this issue were written during a most violent history, spe- Neil Andersen Carol Arcus cifcally: bombings and shootings in northern Europe; mass drownings in the Mediterranean; a failed coup and purge in Turkey; mass shootings in America; weekly deaths of black men and women at the hands of police; the Brexit vote; civil wars in the Middle East; the hottest summer on record; and a US presidential campaign in which Donald Trump gave license to civil disobedience, xenophobia, misogyny and division. It is inevitable that these violent events infuenced some of the tone and substance of the articles. We begin the issue with big ideas. You will fnd some rich and provocative discussions about the po- tential of media literacy education—indeed its very purpose and efcacy—in promoting agency. Funda- mentally, these articles ask us to consider agency’s rai- son d’être and tragic faws. Te rest of the issue ofers case studies of a variety of idiosyncratic meanings and

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 3 Henry Jenkins interviewed by Neil Andersen

[politics] [distributed power] [self-determination] [participatory culture] [Nelly Stromquist] [Anthony Giddens]

Henry Jenkins is the Provost’s Pro- Politics occur at all levels where power is de- fessor of Communication, Journal- ployed—from the informal distribution of power at ism, Cinematic Art and Education the level of the family, through the structures in the at the University of Southern Cal- classroom which shape the relative infuence of teach- ifornia and the founder and former ers, students, parents, administrators, etc., over how director of the MIT Comparative learning takes place, to the relations between consum- Media Studies Program. He is the ers and producers or between labor and management, author/editor of more than 17 books on various aspects to the relationships of citizens and various govern- of media and popular culture, including most recently mental agencies, to the relationships between peoples By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism and around the world. Power, resources, and opportunities Participatory Culture In a Networked Era. are unevenly distributed, resulting in struggles at all levels of the society. For me then, agency has to do with issues of f you follow Henry Jenkins’ work, you probably self-representation and self-determination within the know that the interview is his chosen media form contested political spaces that shape our everyday I on his personal blog henryjenkins.org. So I asked lives. Agency in that sense is both personal (how much Henry if I could ironically fip him into the interviewee control do I have over how I perceive and act upon the and ask him about agency rather than have him write. world) and collective (how much power do I gain by He agreed. It was fun. And very elucidating. joining forces with others to pursue shared interests.) Agency is not the same thing as autonomy: we make N.A. A great deal—possibly all of your work— choices in a world not of our own making and not of implicates agency. Textual Poachers explored fan our own choosing. Tere are constraints or limits on agency. I ofen wonder if your move from MIT to what we can do, what we can see, what we can think, USC might have been a deliberate exercise of agen- but for that very reason, it is important to recognize cy. Te conferences that you mount with the en- the freedom to think and act which we do enjoy with- tertainment industry seem like another exercise of in those constraints. agency. Your books and your series of interviews on Agency is closely related to notions of voice, which henryjenkins.org seem again to be forms of agency. Nick Couldry has defned as the capacity to construct Is agency the foreground of your life? and circulate representations of oneself that matter, that can make sense to others, and that may have conse- H. J. Before we get too deep into our discus- quences in terms of how they perceive you and what sion, it might be helpful to lay out a cluster of related actions they take that impact your life. Giving voice to concepts that are important for understanding how I our concerns is one way that people exercise agency. think about agency. Te frst would be politics, which I Participation refers to the ways people assert defne not simply in institutional terms (the functions voice and agency in a shared social setting. Nico Car- of governments and nation-states) but in functional pentier has argued that participation can only occur terms—the mechanisms through which human col- under conditions of equality and reciprocity: par- lectives determine how power, resources, and oppor- ticipation occurs when we make collective decisions tunities are distributed. that impact our lives and where we each have an equal

4 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY share of the power to make our choices and meanings ed, and inhabited in our era of digital transformation. stick. I am prepared to see participation in relative Tought of in terms of critical participation, our rather than absolute terms. A situation may be more work as educators involves helping people to acquire or less participatory, participants may have diferent the skills and resources they need to assert greater agen- degrees of agency, voice and infuence, but our obliga- cy over their everyday lives. Te choices we make about tions as scholars and educators is to make the condi- how to manage our classrooms or how to engage with tions under which we operate as transparent as possi- other communities emerge from the assumptions we ble to all parties involved. make about the amount of agency diferent groups en- In cultural studies, agency ofen exists in re- joy and our sense that we as adult educators are entitled lation to structure: none of us, as I suggested above, to be the ones who make decisions that impact the lives have absolute autonomy. Our agency is constrained of others. I see media literacy as very much involved in or reshaped by various systemic and structural factors helping people acquire and assert agency towards great- in our lives. Our ability to act in the world is shaped er self-representation and self-determination. by our access to knowledge, to a shared vocabulary through which to express our experiences, to the plat- We need to overcome that initial perception of media forms through which we speak, to the willingness of others to listen and take seriously what it is we are try- as all-powerful and recognize strategies and tactics ing to communicate, and so forth. Agency is impacted that enable the exercise of grassroots power in the face by structural and systemic inequalities around issues of corporate media. of age and generation, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and class and economic opportunity. As a scholar, my goal is ofen to call attention to So, yes, the issue of agency is a central one in my potentials for and limits on agency. Te challenge is work. I ofen speak of myself as mapping shifs to- to take agency seriously without overstating or under- wards a more participatory culture, shifs that refect stating the constraints imposed upon it. changing perceptions of our personal and collective A protectionist position in media literacies ofen agency and shifs in our communicative capacities — emerges from the perception that a particular group i.e., access to the means of cultural production and is vulnerable to media infuences and needs to be circulation. protected by those in positions of power over them: You can see these questions evolving across each so, for example, adults in relation to children. Protec- of my books. Textual Poachers was an attempt to doc- tionism is at heart a denial of agency. I believe a more ument the kinds of everyday agency that fans exercise empowering approach starts by recognizing the agen- at a time when the public perception was that fans cy of others, the ways young people, for example, are were couch potatoes. I saw fandom as a place where already making meanings or asserting some degree key critical conversations around media took place, of control over their lives. We need to overcome that where people taught each other the skills they need- initial perception of media as all-powerful and recog- ed to exert greater collective and personal agency over nize strategies and tactics that enable the exercise of grassroots power in the face of corporate media. Te Protectionism is at heart a denial of agency. aims of our teaching and writing should be towards helping people to recognize and exercise what agency they possess as they struggle to make meaning of me- the shared cultural resources that they used to defne dia representations that impact them. I would argue their personal identities and imagine what kind of that there’s been an evolution in media literacy from a world they wanted to live in. Convergence Culture took focus on teaching the skills of critical consumption to these ideas more decisively into the digital age, asking teaching skills of critical production to teaching skills how networked communications were changing what of critical participation. Part of that evolution has kinds of culture were produced and consumed and, been a shif in the way media gets produced, circulat- through that, having an impact on key institutions

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 5 that shape our lives, such as education, politics, and al mechanisms. Tey certainly use social media as part religion. Confronting the Challenges in a Participatory of their political tactics, but they are actually tapping Culture, Reading in a Participatory Culture, and Par- into a wide array of diferent mechanisms, depending ticipatory Culture in a Networked Era each spoke to on the resources available to them, and pursuing social the pedagogical implications of these core concepts, justice by any media necessary. Tey are seeking new asking what kinds of skills and competencies young languages by which to express their concerns, disgust- people need to develop in order to exert agency in this ed by Washington insider-talk that is exclusive (in that emerging model of participatory culture. Spreadable it assumes people already are policy wonks) and repul- sive (in that it is driven by partisan blood sports). I see media literacy as very much involved in helping And in many cases, they have been efective at putting their concerns onto the national agenda. I was people acquire and assert agency towards greater self- struck at some of the Democratic candidate forums— representation and self-determination. less so with the Republicans—by how many of the is- sues being discussed emerged from the agendas of the Dreamer movement, #blacklivesmatter, Occupy Wall Media asks how exerting greater control over how me- Street, and a range of other youth-centered movements dia circulates through our communities impacts the and networks. So, the book is cautiously optimistic relationship between producers and consumers. And about the capacity of young citizens to make a diference with my newest book, By Any Media Necessary, my in the world via their emerging tactics and rhetorics. team is asking what the implications of this expanding A key concept running through the book is that of agency is for us as activists and citizens. the civic imagination. Before we can change the world, we have to be able to imagine what a better world looks N. A. One of your current projects is By Any like. We have to envision the steps towards change, we Media Necessary: Te New Youth Activism. How have to imagine ourselves as political agents, and we does this project encompass and manifest agency? need to be capable of empathy for people who have diferent experiences than our own. Te functions of H. J. By Any Media Necessary is a deep dive into the civic imagination are played by diferent rhetor- the political lives of American youth, an outgrowth ical devices at diferent moments or in diferent cul- of the McArthur Foundation’s Youth and Participato- tural contexts. So, for the U.S. founding fathers, a new ry Politics Network. Altogether, my team interviewed society emerged from their fascination with classical more than 200 young activists across a range of dif- times, and for the Civil Rights movement, the push for ferent political movements, trying to understand the social justice was fueled by imagery that took shape role which new media and participatory culture plays in the pulpits of the black church. Today, young peo- in their lives. Most writing about youth and politics ple are ofen drawing on images taken from popular is dismissive: youth come to embody all of our fears media, which they remix and repurpose towards their about the faltering state of American democracy— own ends—Harry Potter, Hunger Games, superheroes, they are seen as ignorant and apathetic; they are click- zombies, Star Wars. Even Anonymous’s use of the Guy tivists or slacktivists who substitute social media use Fawkes mask is informed by V for Vendetta more than for real-world protest; they are more apt to vote on the folk mythology of British politics. American Idol than in the presidential election. We see signs of similar developments around We found something really diferent: Like many the world. In summer 2016, my research team did a of us, they are discouraged by the various ways that 3-week workshop with the Salzburg Academy help- citizenship and government are in crisis in the United ing 80 students from 20 countries to map the civic States, but they are seeking other mechanisms through imagination of their region and thus create a global which to change the world. Tey ofen are routing atlas of the civic imagination. What stories motivate around the roadblocks of institutional politics in order us towards social and political change? Folk tales? Re- to bring about change through educational and cultur- ligious narratives? Stories from history or contempo-

6 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY rary reality? Stories from popular culture? And what Communications and Journalism. Each of the writers commonalities can we fnd across those diferent were working on their own case studies, but we were forms of the civic imagination? also meeting each week to talk through connections Our book is supported by a robust digital ar- across the cases, and thus, the book reads as a coher- chive that has many resources for educators and ac- ent monograph even though it has multiple authors. tivists to use in mentoring their participants. You can Te book’s cover was designed by an undocumented fnd it at byanymedia.org. Some of these materials are youth whose visual style has had a strong impact on produced in partnership with the activist groups we the DREAMer movement. study. We partnered with the crowdsourced arts proj- Behind those authors was a larger research group, ect Hit(Re)cord to develop some conversation starter Civic Paths, which might at any moment in time in- videos for classroom use, and in turn, we feld-tested volve 10-15 Ph D. candidates from multiple depart- these videos in partnership with the National Writing ments, who were our thinking partners on this project. Project and the National Association of Media Literacy Tey were also doing their Educators. We hope that these resources will be used own research, sometimes in to improve civic and media literacy education, helping various collaborations with students to hear the voices of their contemporaries— each other and with various young, informed, civically engaged people sharing afliated faculty. Tis was a their perspectives on issues that matter to them. space where we could talk And we are extending the book through a spe- through what we were read- cial issue of the Journal of Digital and Media Literacy ing and writing, share drafs, (http://www.jodml.org/) focused on the pathway from solicit research partners, and voice to infuence, which certainly has much to share do short-term projects. And about the question of civic agency. this group in turn partnered with the mix of organizations N. A. Henry Jenkins is a powerful brand, espe- I mentioned above to extend cially in the cultural studies and media education the book into various other communities. It is also a transmedia brand with a spaces—the online resources, multi-platform presence. How have you managed yes, but also a range of webinars we’ve conducted with that brand to promote critical thinking? the Connected Learning Network (http://connected- learning.tv/). H. J. Te term “brand” feels appropriate to me, And at the helm of all of this is my extraordinary because the name, Henry Jenkins, stands for more than research director, Sangita Shresthova, a former MIT a single individual. I am ofen asked how I do every- student who has been working with me on this project thing I do, and the simple answer is that I am not an since I moved to LA seven years ago. She manages the isolated individual. I am part of a larger network. Ev- students, handles the logistics, becomes the key intel- erything I do is collaborative. Everything I do has a lectual and creative collaborator on the project, and pedagogical dimension. ensures that everything keeps moving forward amidst So, to continue with the example above, the ma- all of the other demands on my time and attention. terials and resources we’ve assembled around By Any All of these partnerships involve mutual mentor- Media Necessary refect deep collaborations every step ship: the exchange of knowledge, insights, skills, and along the way. Te ideas informing the book and the resources amongst groups of people who can have vocabulary we used came out of my involvement in greater impact working together than we would have a multidisciplinary research network on Youth and working as individuals. I struggle ofen with the ways Participatory Politics and also from conversation in which my brand both enables more people to see with our sibling network on Connected Learning. Te this work but also may suck up too much of the credit book is co-authored with a mix of post-docs and PhD from all of these other gifed people who are contrib- students I assembled at USC’s Annenberg School of uting to this project.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 7 Tat said, I am very protective of that brand— whom have their own reason to want to engage with what kinds of ideas get attached to it—and I do be- our changing media landscape. lieve that the things that I support have a consistent And I have found the blog entries fow easily message, each in their own ways helping us to push across national borders, helped in part by volunteers towards a more participatory culture. And there is who translate individual posts that matter to them a commitment across all of this to make the ideas into their own national languages, and in turn, I am accessible to a broad range of communities that are able to feature work from many diferent countries, each in their own ways seeking to exert greater agen- increasing its visibility beyond local borders. cy in terms of self-determination and self-represen- Part of the intervention is to foster conversations, tation. to introduce other scholars whose work should be As we think about how to connect scholarship more widely known and discussed, and also to mod- with agency, I believe we have to move beyond cri- el what thoughtful conversations across disciplines or tique. Critique is a tool for social change, but it should nationalities might look like. When I started the blog, be a starting point—we need to identify problems with I wrote most of the pieces myself. Now, it is mostly existing structures, for sure, but we also need advoca- interviews. I play a role in shaping the agenda of these cy, we need to be contributing to the civic imagination, conversations in terms of choosing which authors we need to be spotlighting examples where people are to contact and in terms of framing some questions making a diference in the world, we need to be open emerging from their work. So, over time, readers cer- to new and emerging possibilities. If we are going to tainly get a sense of what I am seeking as an interloc- move beyond critique, we need to share what we are utor, but I also hope that they get exposed to a much for and not simply what we are against. And I would broader range of voices and perspectives. say that this, as much as anything else, is what drives Tese conversations may take various forms. me and my many collaborators. Most ofen, I am interviewing people about their work. But I’ve also hosted conversations (rather than N. A. I am particularly intrigued by the series interviews) with other authors—for example, a pro- of interviews on your personal blog. Specifcally, longed exchange with Tessa Jolls about the current why you selected the interview media form and how state of media literacy education—and between other that form might intersect with notions of agency. authors. We’ve done some rather large-scale exchang- Almost all the interviews—the content—involve the es involving many contributors around issues impact- interviewees’ agency, but is the interview form—in ing the feld of fandom studies. and of itself—a kind of agency, or does it facilitate And I’ve hosted projects, such as Participato- agency? What have you learned about questioning ry Poland, that are curated by others—in this case, a and the interview form? And what—if any—is the group of Polish educators I had encouraged to apply agency of your posting them to your personal rather the concepts of participatory culture and learning in than professional website? their own post-Socialist context. And I make the blog an extension of my own teaching, encouraging my H. J. First of all, I intend my blog as an interven- students to share some of their ideas with the world tion in the fow of knowledge. We are in the midst of through this platform. a moment of profound and prolonged media change, More generally, I am interested in the conver- which impacts every aspect of our lives, and there sation format as a way of breaking down boundaries is an urgent need, a professional obligation, for me- between scholars and encouraging more fexibility dia scholars to move beyond their disciplinary en- in how we think through issues together. See, for ex- claves and engage with other groups who are working ample, a series of conversations about participation through the same set of questions. So I chose the blog which I organized with Nick Couldry for the Inter- form because it is accessible to a diverse group of read- national Journal of Communications (http://ijoc.org/ ers—academics and educators but also policy makers, index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/2748/1119) or the journalists, industry people, fans, gamers, etc., each of book-long conversation I had with danah boyd and

8 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Mimi Ito that we published as Participatory Culture in them through public libraries or other public institu- a Networked Era (http://ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Wi- tions. But they were using social media to move across leyTitle/productCd-0745660703.html). physical boundaries in their everyday interactions and I believe that the current structures of academic to direct attention towards things they care about. discourse result in a fxity of thinking: we throw essays We might think, for example, about how #black- and books over a wall at each other with ofen years livesmatter emerged as people in diferent locations of delays between responses, and this is totally inade- pooled knowledge and worked together to call atten- quate if our goal is to document a changing world or tion to larger patterns of racialized police violence. even moreso if our goal is to bring about social and What might at one time have been treated as a series cultural transformations. of isolated incidents and read entirely in terms of the individuals involved is now understood in relation N. A. Some pundits suggest that social media to systemic racism in large part because that hashtag weaken agency, either through clicktivism or by re- helped diverse and scattered participants to link their ducing people’s face-to-face relationships. Tey sug- perspectives and experiences together. gest that the reduced personal connection people might feel during online communications has cre- We throw essays and books over a wall at each other ated superfcial relationships. Others cite the Arab with ofen years of delays between responses, and Spring, Black Lives Matter and the Occupy Movement this is totally inadequate if our goal is to document a as examples of social media’s potential agency. How changing world or even moreso if our goal is to bring has the social media environment impacted agency? about social and cultural transformations. H. J. Tis is a key set of issues that we try to ad- dress in By Any Media Necessary (http://www.ama- But #blacklivesmatter and these other move- zon.com/Any-Media-Necessary-Activism-Connect- ments do not stop there. For one thing, when people ed/dp/1479899984). Certainly it would be a shame if communicate their views online, this ofen has im- young people substituted clicking and passing along plications in their face-to-face communities. Because messages online for other forms of political partic- social media doesn’t necessarily diferentiate diferent ipation, but that is not what we found through our audiences, their relations to others in their lives—their research. Various social media platforms or video family, their teachers, their community, their bosses sharing sites are being actively deployed in the pro- —are put at risk as views that might once have been duction and circulation of information and the mo- expressed in private are brought more fully into view. bilization of publics around specifc issues. Youth use So, social media critics are wrong when they describe social media to direct collective attention towards is- this as the lowest risk form of activism. sues that matter to them, though they make diferent Beyond that, these activist groups are also taking choices about how “political” they want to be on dif- to the streets to dramatize their messages in various ferent media platforms. Tey use these social media kinds of public demonstrations. Tey are translating platforms to gain access to perspectives they might not their views into street art and posters that may allow encounter in their everyday lives, though research also them to be seen by people who would not directly en- suggests that they most regularly interact online with counter the protestors themselves. Tey are learning people they already know face-to-face. Some groups within these activist groups how to exert infuence are making more tactical use of these platforms, and on political leaders (thus the various confrontations not necessarily just the “usual suspects.” We found, for between #BLM protestors and the presidential candi- example, that undocumented youth were among the dates) and on the media itself (given how ofen these most sophisticated in their use of social media, despite voices are now being heard on radio or television). the fact that many of them lacked the kind of private- Tis is at the heart of what we mean when we talk ly-owned technologies enjoyed by other American about bringing about change through ‘any media nec- youth. Ofen, they were using tools made available to essary.’ We fnd very few youth who are engaging with

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 9 these issues through social media alone. For many, passion and do not understand core principles, if it be- social media is considered as part of a large range of comes one more thing people are expected to teach in tactics and strategies through which they are seeking an already over-crowded school day. For me, the only social change. realistic way forward would be to see media literacy as part of a paradigm shif—not simply or not mostly N. A. Media literacy is ofen well-supported new content we teach but a new way of thinking about at the post-secondary level, but not well represent- and teaching all of the school content, not an added-on ed in K - 12 US education policy compared to the subject but a set of skills which teachers take ownership UK, some Australian states and Ontario. (Even in of across disciplines. Tis is part of what motivated my Ontario, where there is strong policy, there is weak book, Reading in a Participatory Culture (http://www. implementation support.) In fact, By Any Media amazon.com/Reading-Participatory-Culture-Mo- Necessary is an example of ad hoc media literacy by-Dick-Classroom/dp/0807754013/ref=sr_1_1): we education. Is weak ofcial support at the elemen- modeled how we might teach classic literature—in this tary/high school school level a failure of agency? A case, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick—diferently in a misunderstanding of media literacy? Might schools’ world which takes new media literacies seriously as a media literacy education sufer or prosper if it were central part of our pedagogical mission. supported by government policy? N. A. Marshall McLuhan’s main ideas date from H. J. If you want to see evidence of agency, you the 50s to the 70s. Even his most recent thinking is need look no further than the many educators around now almost 40 years old. What aspects of agency do the country who have chosen to incorporate media you think he helped us understand? What aspects literacy activities and resources into their teaching in have we developed post-McLuhan? the absence of institutional support and sometimes in the face of institutional opposition. Tey have done so H. J. I am far from an expert on McLuhan so I because of their own personal commitments to ensur- need to paint in somewhat broad strokes here. As a ing that their students have the capacities for critical media scholar, I have enormous respect for McLu- thought and social action. Tey have done so, some- han’s contributions to our feld. In many ways, he led times, by bonding together within a larger media liter- the way from a focus on individual media towards an acy movement, forging networks with other teachers, approach that looked comparatively across media. He seeking out insights through journals and websites also led the way in moving us from thinking about me- and podcasts and blogs and webinars, mostly on their dia in hierarchical terms (e.g., literature is better than own time and at their own expense. flm which is better than television which is better than Let me be clear that when I talk about educators, comics...) and towards a more ecological approach that I do not mean only classroom teachers, but also librar- describes the media system in place within a particu- ians, community organizers, religious leaders, and lar society (here, he follows in the footsteps of Harold others who have brought discussions of media literacy Innis). Above all, he makes the basic claim that media into their domains. I fnd this commitment inspira- matter—not simply on the level of their content but tional but also frustrating, because there’s no question in terms of their afordances, in terms of our changed that many more resources and interventions are need- perceptions of time and space. All of these insights re- ed. Part of the point of bringing media literacy into main fundamental to our feld. And let’s not forget how our schools is to ensure equal access to experiences infuential all of these insights were in helping to in- and knowledge which can help us to foster a more par- spire the media literacy movement in North America. ticipatory culture. Where I struggle with McLuhan is that the impact Tat said, I worry about what happens to the cre- of media in his account can sometimes seem predeter- ativity, vision, and passion that drives the media liter- mined. Coming out of cultural studies, I see culture acy movement right now if it becomes a bureaucratic as a site of struggle, as we grapple with what uses we mandate, mostly in the hands of people who lack that are going to make of the media that enters our world,

10 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY what role we want it to play in our lives. Sometimes, lenge old cultural hierarchies, to take seriously forms McLuhan tells us that media are put out before they of cultural production and cultural knowledge that are thought out, which still suggests a place for critical are dismissed by others. John Fiske taught me that as discussions to re-interpret and alter their impact on the human beings, we do not engage in meaningless ac- world. But there is a degree of technological determin- tivities: the task of the scholar, and by extension the ism in McLuhan’s work that makes me uncomfortable teacher, in response to an unfamiliar form of culture is because it over-rides the notion of agency that we have to take every step we can to make sure we understand been trying to develop across this interview. what it means to the people who are embracing and Tat said, McLuhan thought about teaching in participating in it. We should use our discomfort as a terms of probes—throwing out ideas, even extreme or excessive ideas, as provocations that force the reader/ It is easy to do the opposite: to dismiss the culture our student to question and think through what is being students prize in favor of trying to impose our own said. He ofen makes amplifed claims about the im- pact of media to break his listeners out of their lethar- tastes upon them and, in the process, to weaken their gic acceptance of the world they have been given and critical abilities by teaching them to distrust their own to force them to critically engage with other possibili- perceptions of the world around them. ties. I really value this model for how a teacher might engage with all kinds of publics—sparking discussions on issues that might otherwise seem too settled. But prompt to ask more questions rather than make pro- it also means we should be cautious about reading his nouncements. And that means our work starts with comments literally or taking his insights as a kind of an ethic that respects and values the agency of others. scripture. Tis was not the way he positioned himself Second, Williams himself tests theoretical in- in any given conversation—he ofen played the part of sights against lived experiences. He writes in a key an oracle who needed to be interpreted, a fool or clown passage, “When the Marxists say that we live in a dying who disrupted established patterns, but not as a savior culture and that the masses are ignorant, I have to ask whose words were to be printed in red ink. Let’s think them, as I did ask them [as a student], where on Earth of McLuhan as a provocateur rather than a prophet. they have lived. A dying culture, and ignorant masses, are not what I have known and seen.” Williams was N. A. If you were interviewing Henry Jenkins a Marxist, and so he is testing theories that he values about agency, what question would you ask him? deeply here and using his own direct experience of the world as a yardstick to determine whether they make H. J. You’ve done a better job here than I would sense or not. have done. Tis core skepticism—never cynicism—is what But let me say a bit more at the end about where we want to teach our students: we want them to strug- my commitment to the concept of agency comes from. gle with, and negotiate around, the representations of I recently wrote an essay for Renee Hobbs’ book about their lives which the media provides them, even as we the intellectual ‘grandparents’ of the current media need to respect and value their own judgements about literacies movement, and I chose to write my essay what forms of cultural practice are meaningful to about my mentor, John Fiske, and through him, his them. It is easy to do the opposite: to dismiss the cul- mentor, Raymond Williams [an excerpt can be found ture our students prize in favor of trying to impose our at http://henryjenkins.org/2016/06/tracing-the-roots- own tastes upon them and, in the process, to weaken of-media-literacy-raymond-williams-and-john-fske. their critical abilities by teaching them to distrust their html]. For me, Williams’ essay “Culture is Ordinary” own perceptions of the world around them. i (http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/Gustafson/FILM%20 162.W10/readings/Williams.Ordinary.pdf) represents a manifesto for the kinds of work I want to pursue. First, there is Williams’ steadfast commitment to chal-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 11 Media Teory 101: AGENCY

By David Buckingham

David Buckingham is an Emeritus Professor of Media and Communications at Loughborough Uni- versity, UK. He has received the Jessie McCanse Award, published 30 books and 250 articles about media, young people and education, and lectured in more than 35 countries around the world. You can find out more about his past and current projects at www.davidbuckingham.net.

[power] [structuration] [social theory] [structuralist theory] [Anthony Giddens] [active audience]

Defining agency der and ethnicity. In diferent ways, all these structural forces can be seen to defne the parameters of individ- hen the word ‘agency’ is used in relation ual freedom and power. to media, it generally relates to organi- In social theory, structure and agency are ofen W zations that produce particular kinds of opposed to each other: more structure means less media, like advertising agencies or news agencies. agency, and vice versa. Historically, one could argue Alternatively, we use the term ‘agents’ to refer to in- that the relationship between structure and agency has termediaries between creative producers and media been one of the central debates—if not the central de- organizations—as in the case of literary agents, who bate—in the social and human sciences. As we shall represent authors in dealing with publishers. see, it is also a key dimension of studying media. However, in media theory, the word has a much Te question of structure and agency is essen- broader and more abstract meaning. One online dictio- tially a question about power. To what extent are in- nary defnes it as ‘an action or intervention producing a dividuals able to choose and determine who they are, particular efect’. Agency involves factors such as indi- and who they will become? How far do factors such vidual choice, auton- as economic status or social class determine or con- omy, self-determina- strain our everyday experiences and our life chances? tion and creativity. It Are our personal identities shaped by broader forces implies activity, but it such as gender or ethnicity, and to what extent are we also implies power— able to challenge or escape from these? As I will argue, the power to produce this debate is ofen presented in terms of an either/or an efect, to have in- choice. However, there may be ways of looking beyond fuence, to make a what is ofen a very simple polar opposition. diference. Tere are plenty of forms of Structure, agency and media power activity in the world, but not all of them involve power of this kind. Broadly speaking, structuralist theories tend to empha- Academic discussions of agency tend to couple size the power of these broader factors. Such theories it with structure. Structures are the wider social fac- are ofen accused of being unduly deterministic, in the tors that shape and constrain—and to some extent sense that they may ignore the diversity of individual determine—the actions of individuals. Key examples experience and the degree of free choice and control of structural forces would include the economy, the that individuals have. On the other hand, theories that political system, and aspects such as class, age, gen- emphasize agency tend to be accused of overstating—

12 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY and indeed celebrating—the power of individuals. roles in many media industries; and they identify sys- Tey are ofen seen as unduly individualistic. tematic patterns of under-representation or mis-rep- Many of the key debates in social theory can be resentation, for example in the number and the kinds understood in these terms. Back in the 1970s, one of roles women take in mainstream movies or on TV. of the major debates in academic Media and Cultur- Tese things may be changing, but advocates of the al Studies was to do with structuralist argument ofen claim that such changes the relationship between are largely superfcial or trivial. base and superstructure in By contrast, an emphasis on agency would tend Marxist theory. Some ar- to focus on media audiences. Here we fnd studies gued that human actions that show how audience members (and especially were ultimately determined female audiences) make meanings that are not nec- by the economic base— essarily the same as those that are intended by me- that is, the relationships dia producers. People may resist the meanings that between labour and capital. are apparently promoted by media, and use media in Others argued that there playful or subversive ways to serve their own needs were aspects of the ‘super- and purposes. structures’—not least areas like the media industries So, for example, a structuralist analysis of chil- and education—which could be seen as more or less dren’s toys would look at the market forces that result autonomous or independent from economic forces. in a gender-defned, ‘pink and blue’ world. It would Tis had important implications for understand- argue that children’s toys are dominated by gender ing ideology. Did capitalist control of the media in- stereotypes and limited role models. However, look- dustries mean that the media necessarily promoted ing at children’s agency would suggest that these fac- capitalist ideologies? Were the ruling ideas in society tors are far from being all-powerful: when we look at simply the ideas of the ruling class, as Marx put it, or children’s play, we fnd that children use these toys in were the workings of ideology more diverse and un- much more diverse and creative ways, which do not predictable? Tose who emphasized the economic necessarily conform to gender stereotypes. base were ofen accused of ‘vulgar’ (that is, unduly crude) Marxism; while those who emphasized the au- The power of media audiences tonomy of the superstructures were accused of ignor- ing fundamental economic realities. Te history of research on media audiences can be seen In relation to media, a version of this binary as a constantly swinging pendulum between ‘powerful opposition is regularly played out in both academ- media’ (structure) and ‘powerful audiences’ (agen- ic and public debate. Here again, the key question is: where does the power lie? Do media institutions have Te history of research on media audiences can be seen the power to impose their defnitions of the world on as a constantly swinging pendulum between ‘powerful audiences? Or to what extent are audiences free to media’ (structure) and ‘powerful audiences’ (agency). make choices, and to create their own meanings? Here again, we tend to be presented with either/or choices. Either people are passive consumers, or they are active cy). On the one hand, we have media efects research participants; either they are manipulated by media, or (which is very much about powerful media) and on the they have the ability to control them; either the media other, we have academic approaches like ‘uses and grat- are powerful, or audiences are. ifcations’ or ‘active audience theory’, which emphasize So, for example, we could look at the role of media the power of audiences. Aside from occasional bouts in forming gender identity in these terms. Approaches of mud-slinging, these approaches tend to ignore each that emphasize structure tend to focus on media insti- other, and they ofen look at quite diferent aspects of tutions and media texts. For example, studies are likely media, or diferent kinds of audience behaviour. to show that women still occupy relatively few senior Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there were recur-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 13 ring battles within Media Studies between audience Beyond structure and agency researchers and those who studied the political econ- omy of media institutions. Audience researchers were Is there any way of looking beyond what ofen seems ofen accused of celebrating the power of ‘active au- to be a very polarized debate? One of the problems diences,’ and of a kind of shallow populism; while the here is that media power is ofen seen as a kind of political economists were condemned for overstating ‘zero sum’ equation. If media power goes up, audience the power of media institutions, and subscribing to a (or user) power goes down. If audiences claim or as- kind of gloomy pessimism. For the most part, these sume more power, the power of media producers is accusations were quite wrong (although there were correspondingly undermined or reduced. And there is some exceptions!), but they contributed to a damaging an assumption that there must be a way of balancing polarization in the feld. these things out—some kind of happy medium. Some recent work in social theory suggests an al- Tose who celebrate the use of digital technologies by ternative approach. Here structure and agency are seen, not as opposed, but as complementary—as two sides of activists and social movements tend to ignore the ways the same coin. And in some cases, researchers have ar- in which they are used as a means of surveillance both gued that the distinction itself is no longer very helpful. by governments and by private companies. Structuration theory—mainly associated with Anthony Giddens—implies that structure and agen- cy are both parts of the same Tese debates also evolve as the media themselves process. Structure works evolve. In the past twenty years, the advent of digital through agency, and agen- and social media has seen a resurgence of claims about cy works through structure. ‘powerful audiences’—and indeed, many have argued Both constantly develop and that media users are no longer merely ‘audiences’, but evolve in relation to each rather active participants. Some argue that media cul- other. So, for example, if we ture is now a ‘participatory culture’, in which ordinary think about gender identity, people have an almost infnite ability to create and dis- we could argue that ‘gender’ tribute their own meanings. Such approaches clearly does not exist independently stress the power of individual agency. of the actions of individuals; However, this euphoria about new media tends but equally, individual be- to ignore the massive political and economic interests haviour only makes sense if it at stake. Most major social media platforms are com- is seen (at least partly) in relation to dominant ideas mercially owned, and data on individual users is sold about gender. in the commercial market. Te companies that own Another popular way of looking at this is by us- these platforms control their design and terms of ser- ing ideas about performance, particularly associated vice, and users have very little choice but to consent to with Judith Butler. Te claim here is that individuals this. Meanwhile, those who celebrate the use of digital actively perform gender: while some of what they do technologies by activists and social movements tend appears to confrm expectations, they might also ig- to ignore the ways in which they are used as a means nore or subvert them. Gender is not an objective or of surveillance both by governments and by private fxed structure, external to individuals, but something companies. that has to be constantly produced and reproduced Here again, the key question is about power. It is through individual actions. However, what it means assumed that greater activity on the part of ‘the-people to be ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ (for example) is defned formerly-known-as-the-audience’ will result in them through a history of actions and interactions: it is not having greater power to determine how the world is simply a matter of free choice. represented, and to exercise infuence. Yet activity is So if we think about our example of children’s not the same as agency. toys, we would have to accept that most toys (and the

14 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY ways in which they are marketed) draw on conven- One of the best ways of doing this is to follow tional signifers of gender. But they also become ‘gen- a particular object through the various networks of dered’ as a result of how they are used—how children actors in which it is embedded. For example, an ac- play with them, as well as how adults choose them and talk about them. Tese processes may involve a good deal of diversity and negotiation: conventional Subjects only come into existence in and through expectations are by no means guaranteed. From this specifc social practices: we are what we do. perspective, children’s play with toys is not simply a matter of them being passively slotted into pre-deter- mined ‘roles’. Rather, it is a more complex and unpre- tor-network approach to children’s toys might well dictable process, in which objects (such as toys and take a single example, such as Barbie, and trace how media) as well as people (children and parents) can it comes to have meaning, and how those meanings play many diferent parts. Similar arguments could be change, across diferent contexts and relationships. In made about the role of gender in adult play, most ob- this case, it would involve considering aspects of de- viously in the case of computer games. sign and marketing alongside consumption and use. It would look at how diferent versions of the doll are marketed, and how this has changed over time. It would examine how the object itself (the doll) is used, and how its meanings are defned and challenged, both overtly (for example by feminist campaigners) but also more covertly or subversively by fans and within children’s play. Tis kind of analysis—which would be perfectly accessible for school students—is likely to take us well beyond simplistic ideas about the efects of ‘bad role models’. To return to my key question, these approaches all imply a rather diferent view of power. Tey re- More recently, approaches like actor network the- gard power not as a possession—something that is ory and practice theory seem to take this a step further. owned by one or other party—but as a process and It would be foolhardy to attempt to explain these ideas a relationship. Tis also applies to media power. Te here, but essentially they both challenge the basic media industries do not simply impose meanings on distinction between structure and agency. Tey sug- passive audiences; but nor do users simply create their gest that there is no such thing as a ‘social structure’ own meanings, in a wholly free and autonomous way. out there, which can be considered separately from Rather than seeing the relationship between structure the practices of human individuals (or ‘subjects’). and agency as a matter of ‘either/or’, we need to see it But equally, subjects only come into existence in and as ‘both/and’. i through specifc social practices: we are what we do. Rather than focusing research on specifc indi- viduals or groups, or on more abstract aspects of the social structure, these approaches suggest that we need to focus on specifc practices (such as media use), or particular networks of actors (which would include non-human actors like media texts). We need to un- derstand how these practices or networks constitute both the individual and the social—how they bring the individual subject into being, and how they create what we perceive to be ‘the social’.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 15 Agentive Realism and Media Literacy

By Michael Dezuanni Ph.D.

A/Prof Michael Dezuanni, Queensland University of Technology undertakes research and teaching in the field of digital cultures and education, which includes film and media education, digital literacies and arts education. He is appointed by the Film, Television and Animation Discipline in the Creative In- dustries Faculty and is a Chief Investigator within QUT1s Digital Media Research Centre. Michael explores the most efective, productive and meaningful ways for individuals to use and understand the media and technologies in their lives.

[media efects] [active audience] [maker] [performativity] [agentive realism]

hat does it mean for young people to act in the early work of scholars like Stuart Hall (1967) in or upon the world, with, through and and Raymond Williams (Williams, 1966); the ‘active W in response to media; that is, with agency? audience’ approach within Cultural Studies and the Tis question has driven media literacy in all its forms thinking of scholars such as Sonia Livingstone (2008), since at least the 1920s, when concerned adults frst David Buckingham (2003) and Henry Jenkins (1992). began to question the relationship between children Tese approaches have made sometimes similar and and the frst mass medium to so publically appeal to sometimes very diferent assumptions about young children—the cinema. In the 80 plus years since the people’s ability to act in or upon the world with media. Payne Fund Studies set out to understand the efects Digital media technologies have added further of cinema on children, the question of young people’s complexity to the question of agency in terms of agency with media has persisted as a social concern. young people’s potential vulnerability to—or ability to Television, comic books, video games, the home rent- exploit—media. Digital media literacy recognizes the al market for ‘video nasty’ horror flms in the 1980s, collapse of media-making and consumption practices. heavy metal rock music, the Dungeons and Dragons Social media participation, for instance, ofen includes board game, the internet, social media and online the production and circulation of images of the self gaming have all raised concern—if not moral pan- and others, raising new questions about ethics, safety ic—about young people’s ability to act in and upon and responsibility. While many well-established media the world consciously, morally, ethically, safely and literacy concepts can be applied to digital media, new responsibly. concepts are also required to account for how the rela- Media literacy education is arguably a product of tionship between individuals and media has changed social concern about young people’s potential vulnera- due to digital technologies. In social media and digital bility to, or ability to exploit, various forms of popular games contexts, in particular, it becomes increasingly culture and media. Diferent media literacy schools difcult to unravel processes of analysis and creation; of thought have located agency variously, leading to although of course, even before digital media the sep- a range of policy and educational responses: the ‘pro- arating out of media-analysis and media-making did tectionism’ or ‘inoculation’ associated with F.R. Leavis not well represent many young people’s engagement (1933); the ‘demystifcation’ of the Frankfurt School with popular culture, as Jenkins so clearly demonstrat- Marxists in the 1940s and ‘50s and 1980s scholars like ed (1992). Te entanglement of media-making and Len Masterman (1990); the ‘discrimination’ approach thinking/meaning-making challenges us to fnd new

16 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY ways to think about agency and it is helpful to turn to theories of knowledge to identify ways forward. At the heart of the issue of agency is the question of how we theorize the individual’s ability to act in and upon the world. To understand agency, we cannot avoid philosophical questions about the production of knowledge and self-awareness. René Descartes’ famous dictum ‘I think, therefore I am’ has arguably had a more profound infuence on how we under- stand agency within the Western philosophical tradi- tion than any other theory. Te distinction between the immaterial mind and the material, sensory (and allegedly unreliable) body deeply informs our under- standing of knowledge. In separating mind from body, Cartesian dualism places more emphasis on what one thinks than what one feels, senses or does in the mate- rial world. From this perspective, the ability to think ticulation and self-awareness when we assess students. is essential to agency because without self-awareness, We only need to look at media curriculum documents it is impossible to act upon the world. Te material and assessment requirements in countries like Austra- experience of the world, e.g., the body’s functions and lia and the United Kingdom for evidence of this. capabilities and non-human entities like technolo- But there is another way to think about how in- gies are less essential because they become secondary dividuals ‘become’ within the world through media to the ability to think. It is not hard to identify the production, where media production involves acting infuence of Cartesian dualism on the education sys- within and upon the world, without necessarily in- tems established through public policy initiatives in the 19th and 20th centuries. Furthermore, it is easy to I was never convinced a student who could recite a see the Cartesian tradition within media literacy ed- media theory or write a critical refection about their ucation, which has ofen placed emphasis on young own media productions possessed any more agency people learning about the media, with emphasis on than a student who mastered media technologies to critical thinking. From this perspective—which I be- create compelling work. lieve is fawed—unless one learns to refect on media production and consumption, agency is likely absent. Tere is something troubling about over-empha- volving critical refection. As a researcher, I have in- sizing critical thinking when applied to media literacy, creasingly turned to theorists such as Michel Foucault particularly media participation and production. As a (1989), Judith Butler (1990) and Karen Barad (2007) media educator teaching high school students, I was who argue Cartesian dualism inadequately accounts never convinced a student who could recite a media for the individual. Barad, for instance, draws on both theory or write a critical refection about their own Foucault’s theories of discursivity and Butler’s theory media productions possessed any more agency than of performativity to argue the basic problem of dual- a student who mastered media technologies to create ism centers on what she calls the mistake of ‘represen- compelling work. However, we in the media literacy tationalism.’ feld tend not to trust student media production as Representationalism assumes knowledge can evidence of agency. We worry media production may and should be represented through language, symbol, simply copy, quote or replicate commercial products structure and categorization. To create knowledge, we or that the development of media production skills represent it, for instance through scientifc theories is not as important as the development of conceptual and methods to seek and represent ‘facts’ and truths. understanding. We tend to privilege explanation, ar- Likewise, in media studies we might aim to have stu-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 17 dents recreate media knowledge through writing, anal- None of this is merely theoretical. When students ysis or through explicitly recreating genre knowledge create a video they are ‘becoming’ in material and dis- by making their own media (generally accompanied cursive ways and are therefore acting in the world. It is by written explanation). Te problem with representa- as important to have a successful bodily arrangement tionalism is that it assumes we can control knowledge with a device for capturing footage (to incorporate the and stand apart from it, and that this equates to agen- camera apparatus) as it is to be able to arrange shots cy. But as Foucault so convincingly argues, it is im- according to genre conventions and to be able to think and speak about this. Each element potentially in- Agency exists as much in material interaction as it does volves agency. From this perspective, when students in the deployment of concepts and theories. make a video, they mediate bodily knowledge, repre- sentational concepts, technological/apparatus inter- action and more. ‘Knowledge’ is assembled through possible to disentangle oneself from discourse. When this complex entanglement and agency is produced we produce the self through language and practice, through these arrangements. we simply repeat social and cultural norms and it is So what are the implications of this understand- only through the creative application of norms that we ing of agency for media literacy educators? Perhaps might produce power. From this perspective, ‘critical most importantly, it means agency exists as much in thinking’ is as prone to repetition of harmful social material interaction as it does in the deployment of norms as creative practice is. concepts and theories. It is as likely students will act Butler extends Foucault’s work to argue we per- upon the world via the development of a new techno- formatively repeat and vary norms in agential ways. logical skill as it is they will act upon the world via the Performativity involves material and discursive be- arrangement of thoughts and concepts. Tis bolsters what I think many media literacy educators have ofen ‘felt’—that creative media production allows students to become in the world in important ways and that it is not necessary for students to be able to articulate their achievements in words for these achievements to matter. As someone who hopes media literacy can chal- lenge potentially harmful social and cultural norms, I am also very much drawn to Butler’s argument that it is through risking social viability that we undertake performative variation. Tat is, it is when we feel safe enough to ‘become’ in diferent ways that we are like- ly to vary norms. Media literacy classrooms should be safe environments for performative variation and media literacy matters most when young people are able to speak about, with and through media concepts coming in the world, requiring both the body and the and technologies in ways that vary normativity. Tis mind, and it is in circumstances where individuals are might be as simple as writing a section of code in a willing to risk social viability that variation to harm- new way whilst making a digital game; as straightfor- ful norms is likely to take place. Barad’s conception of ward as feeling comfortable with holding a camera to ‘agential realism’ argues that material and discursive shoot footage, or as complex as making a flm to enter (language-based) aspects are entangled in processes a dialogue about an issue. of performative becoming. Her point is that we must Creating safe classroom spaces to promote a acknowledge both the discursive and material to see range of perspectives, viewpoints and practices seems how individuals ‘become’ in the world. particularly important in relation to young people’s

18 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY social media participation. Te vernacular creativities (Burgess, 2006) of taking and circulating photos, the quotidian and cu- ratorial practices of reposting images, videos and text and the shared practices of online gam- ing all add complexity to young people’s social-material partici- pation in media ecologies. Te practices of bringing oneself into being through social classroom. i media activity potentially heighten the risks of norma- tive repetition or the consequences of varying norms REFERENCES and it is important that media literacy educators pro- Barad, K. M. (2007). “Meeting the universe halfway: quantum physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning” pp. xiii, 524 p). Available from http://ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/login?url=http:// dx.doi.org/10.1215/9780822388128 via eDuke at Highwire What we should avoid in media classrooms Buckingham, D. (2003). Media Education: Literacy, Learning and is promoting the belief there is only one right Contemporary Culture. Cambridge, UK: Polity. way to answer a question or to participate Burgess, J. (2006). “Hearing Ordinary Voices: Cultural Studies, Vernacular Creativity and Digital Storytelling.” Continuum: Journal of through formal and informal production. Media and Cultural Studies 2(20), pp. 201-214. Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York: Routledge. vide students with opportunities to practice ‘doing’ so- Foucault, M. (1989). Te Archaeology of Knowledge. London: Routledge. cial media in new and diferent ways. Hall, S., & Whannel, P. (1967). Te popular arts. Boston: Beacon Press. What we should avoid in media classrooms is Jenkins, H. (1992). Textual Poachers, Television Fans and Participatory promoting the belief there is only one right way to an- Culture. New York: Routledge. swer a question or to participate through formal and Leavis, F. R., & Tompson, D. (1933). Culture and Environment. informal production. Tis may be difcult to achieve London: Chatto and Windus. when we are required to adhere to standardization Livingstone, S. (2008). Taking risky opportunities in youthful content through testing, comparison and making judgements creation: teenagers’ use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression. New media & society, 10(3), 393-411. about quality. Unless we can provide safe conditions Masterman, L. (1990). Teaching the media. London ; New York: for variation, though, we are unlikely to create the best Routledge. conditions for student agency in the media literacy Williams, R. (1966). Communications (Rev. ed.). London: Chatto & Windus.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 19 Media Literacy, Good Agency: If Jez We Could?1

By Julian McDougall

Julian McDougall is Professor in Media Education and Head of the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice at Bournemouth University, UK. He is editor of the Media Education Research Journal and the Journal of Media Practice and the author / editor of a range of books, chapters and articles in the fields of media education and media literacy. He runs a professional doctorate programme for teachers of creative arts and media.

[civic agency] [neoliberalism] [UK politics] [GAPMIL] [ethnography] [Brexit] [Zizek] [hegemony]

Tere is nothing about neoliberalism that is deserving WING project, would look like. To be clear, I am not of our respect, and so in concert with a prefgurative suggesting that media education could or should do politics of creation, my message is quite simply ‘fuck it’. this, but equally I don’t accept the idea that media lit- Fuck the hold that it has on our political imaginations. eracy and civic engagement are necessarily connected, Fuck the violence it engenders. Fuck the inequality it but I’m going to think through here an agentive media extols as a virtue. Fuck the way it has ravaged the en- literacy designed to absolutely fuck neoliberalism. vironment. Fuck the endless cycle of accumulation and the cult of growth…… Fuck the ever-intensifying move Terms (and conditions) towards metrics and the failure to appreciate that not everything that counts can be counted. Fuck the desire • Media literacy—let’s go with the broad brush head- for proft over the needs of community. Fuck absolutely lines from the new UNESCO declaration, that media everything neoliberalism stands for, and fuck the Trojan (and information) literacy is concerned with what cit- horse that it rode in on! (Springer, 2016: 288) izens choose to do with or how they respond to informa- tion, media and technology in their desire to participate, self-actualize, exchange culture and be ethical. (UNES- edia literacy and progressive politics are not CO, 2015) the same thing. I do not believe that media Meducation should necessarily see itself as po- • Agency—knowledge in action (from the editors of litical, despite my own politics being pretty clear—I am JML in framing this issue) a member of Momentum, the grassroots wing of the Labour party in the UK, a ‘Corbynista.’ But the recent • Civic agency—making media literate choices when feld of educational work on media literacy for civic en- engaging with media or using media to join the con- gagement does rather force this issue, so in this piece versation in the public sphere or the commons. I want to explore what media literacy for ‘good civic agency,’ by which I mean a progressive, liberal, egali- • Te relationship between media literacy and ‘good’ tarian, profoundly anti-neoliberal, so essentially LEFT civic agency—thus far, hard to say.

1 In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran backbench Labour Party ‘rebel’, was persuaded to stand for leadership and won easily. Tis was, in part, the outcome of a successful social media campaign by the grassroots activist group Momentum, who coined the slogan ‘Jez We Can’ to echo Obama. http://bzfd.it/2erQB0j

20 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY • Te relationship between media literacy, good agen- Attending the Salzburg Academy on Media Lit- cy and neoliberalism—must be oppositional. eracy and Global Change, led by Paul, it struck me that a pretty consistent political agenda is at work, Media Literacy and Civic Action and appears to be signed up to, hearts and minds, by the facilitators and young people participating. For Young people receiving media literacy education will, example, the 2016 event challenged its participants to readers of JML will hope, be critical, creative, aware of examine critically how the media shape public attitudes more or less hegemonic corporate practices at work toward migration and how such a polarizing issue could behind their social media activities, come to be refex- be framed to support more civic-minded responses (see ive about the mediated curation of their lives in third MOVE, 2016). Civic-minded, in this sense, surely spaces, use media to change the world for the better, means something political, fostering resistance to ‘oth- contribute to the global economy with their twen- ering’ centre-right media discourse? Te Salzburg fo- ty-frst century literacies and participate in a new dig- rum seems like a kind of ‘third space’ (Gutierrez, 2008; ital public sphere. And their advanced new media lit- Potter and McDougall, 2017) where people are satu- eracy will keep them safe online. Tis, to say the least, rated by rich civic media literacy activities, enabling far-reaching ambition is evident in the recent UNE- funds of knowledge to translate into progressive and SCO declaration on Media and Information Literacy political action, but it isn’t a neutral space, the dynam- which, among many other objectives, calls upon those ics are charged with an unstated lef-wing agency, a charged with enabling it to ‘enhance intercultural and counter-script to neoliberalism (disclaimer—these are interreligious dialogue, gender equality and a culture my words, not out of Salzburg). Tis is very hard to do of peace and respect in the participative and demo- in the second space (formal education) because in the cratic public sphere’ (UNESCO, 2015). And yet there classroom the external drivers for media literacy are is no pedagogic rationale for how this might all come framed by either defcit models (protectionist critical about. If we had one, what would it look like? reading of ‘big media’) or neoliberal economic modal- In an interview for the Media Education Research ities (digital literacy skills for employment). Journal (http://merj.info/) about his important book on media literacy and the ‘emerging citizen’, (Media Notes from a Small Island Literacy and the Emerging Citizen: Youth, Engagement and Participation in Digital Culture, Peter Lang Pub As part of a comparative media literacy project with Incorporated, 2014) Paul Mihailidis states this case: the United Kingdom Literacy Association (McDougall et al., 2015), we asked a group of Media students in Citizens (now) have more voice, and more agency. Tey are not bound by borders for in- And yet there is no pedagogic rationale for how this formation or networks to disseminate news at might all come about. If we had one, what would it a certain time and place. Digital culture has subverted how citizens debate, engage, and look like? participate. However, how we teach and learn about citizenship is still grounded in civic a sixth form college (pre-University, 16-19 years old) structures and duties, and not in networks, to undertake a creative task that 1) involved making connectivity, agency and participation. My something with an explicit agenda of civic participa- book sets out, in essence, to show this discon- tion, 2) putting it online and 3) attempting to engage nect and then argue for media literacy as the an audience. Topics included the death penalty, the mandate for civic inclusion and democratic global water crisis, the cost of public transport for thought in digital culture. It’s clear that we youth, feminism, teen female body image (twice), or have the capacity and networks in place, we the need for politics to be taught in schools and foot- just don’t have the learning and engagement ball (twice). One participant already had her own contexts to match. (Herrero-Diz, 2015) Tumblr but opted to set up a Blogspot in order to share

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 21 her short written post on the death penalty. Her feed- campaigner in the UK, gets closer to the complexity of back amounted to responses from three friends via the socio-cultural framing of public sphere practices Whatsapp. Te one student to make a video claimed for young people—“It’s a cultural shif, you’re trying to that she did not have the facility to upload it to the say to people, you’re a citizen before you’re a consumer.” web: “I have no hosting sites to add my video onto as Hoping to impact on this, our Spirit of 13 proj- I do not have internet access on my laptop at home, I ect invited under 25s to make short flms responding have took a video from my phone of the video I made on to Ken Loach’s documentary about the welfare state (http://www.thespiritof45.com/), to ‘give voice’ to their In the classroom the external drivers for media literacy generation’s views on contemporary issues of social are framed by either defcit models (protectionist justice (see McDougall and Readman, 2015). critical reading of ‘big media’) or neoliberal economic Eighteen months on, we re-connected with the participants to fnd out if they voted in the 2015 gen- modalities (digital literacy skills for employment). eral election and to look for evidence of any broader ‘democratic engagement’ around the election fostered movie maker on my laptop so I could attach it here for by their involvement. Te participants revealed a de- you.” Her video about the water crisis comprised stills, gree of engagement in political/civic issues that they captions and music and was reminiscent of charity were able to relate to the Spirit of 13 project, although appeals. A ‘Politics in school’ piece began and ended they didn’t necessarily formalise this engagement in with a piece to camera about the creator’s own experi- conventional terms. Only half the respondents voted ence, framing a series of vox pops with fellow students but there was evidence of enthusiastic engagement which served to demonstrate their own ignorance of with political issues via social media: “Most of what politics. At the time of writing, the video had impres- flls my news feed is recommended articles and videos sive playback but no responses. Another video largely about political issues that my friends have ‘liked,’” said comprises shots of fashion and makeup in shops with one respondent. Another said, “Social media helps me voiceovers from diferent girls about their response to to understand what my peers think about a certain po- the body image expected of women. Tis participant litical issue. It’s also the fastest way to get hold of news did show that she had shared the link on her Facebook, (Twitter).” Twitter and Tumblr accounts, though; again, there was Te reverse was true of traditional media, with no evidence of any audience engagement. Overall, most respondents suggesting that the press, TV and none of the participants made any attempt to engage radio played a minor role, if any, in their media di- an audience online beyond a small circle of friends ei- ets, which suggests that, for this generation, there is, at ther due to reluctance or inability. least, a correspondence between new technologies and Tis fnding is in keeping with the recent longitu- political engagement. dinal, ethnographic observations from Te Class (Liv- Regarding the project itself, we elicited some ingstone and Sefon-Green, 2016). Whilst the young clear statements about the relationship between flm- people here are strongly networked and there are some making practice and political awareness: “Gave me the overlaps between college and lifeworld connections, framework to express already existing political ideas there remains a great deal of insulation between per- and provided the opportunity for a short discussion sonal and educational networking and a signifcant ab- with younger students I wouldn’t have otherwise met to sence of civic engagement with any ‘new public spaces’. discuss social issues;” “Spirit of 13 opened my eyes to how much of everyday life is politics and how some of it Brexit Stage Right is controlled;” “Making flms is going from thought and theory to action in a way that resembles feld research.” How ‘youth voice’ is articulated in specifc practices, So Spirit of 13 provided a stimulus for young peo- and on whose terms, is complex, especially in the ‘mi- ple to explore stories and issues to promote refection cropolitical’ social media age. On the ‘civic imperative,’ on the meanings of politics and social engagement but Jamal Edwards, ‘Youtube mogul’ and Bite the Ballot the conversion of such refexive media literacy to di-

22 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY rect civic action—at the polling station—appears to have been slipped away. Another year on, these are hard times indeed for ‘good civics’. Te generation that media literacy educa- tors want to reach is growing up with a proliferation of terrorist attacks on EU nations, the refugee crisis (and the confused European response to it) and common- place xenophobia towards Islam, hostility to migrants, the increase in hate discourse across social media, the UK’s departure from the European Union and the horrible alliance of ‘year zero’ presidential candidate Trump and Brexit architect Nigel Farage. manifested in such agency. Media literate people are UKIP and your disgrace, ofen pretty right wing, can be extreme, at worst badly Chopped heads on London streets, ‘radical’ or at best speak a neoliberal discourse. all you Zombies tweet tweet tweet How has the media literacy community allowed (Sleaford Mods, 2014). itself this complacency? An obvious example is the optimism around digital social networks set against Te UNESCO Global Alliance for Media and In- the more complex interplay between the network formation Literacy recently convened in Latvia and as a counter-commodifying space of resistance (the responses from delegates, EU and European Com- Digital Commons, for example) and the hegemonic mission representatives and the UNESCO rapporteur control of networks in the neoliberal market. Whilst to these developments centred on the (laudable) view perhaps it is still reasonable to say—as commentators that MIL could be used as a safeguard against hate dis- did at the advent of ‘the online age’—that non-hierar- course. But it’s hard to see how UNESCO statements chical arrangements on the internet are very diferent about the importance of addressing hate speech trans- to capitalist impositions of control and enclosure, it late meaningfully for those members of society who is sobering to refect at this time that the empire has are ‘information resistant’ (UNESCO’s term) and/ or reluctant to engage in public debate—those in the So—the inconvenient truth is that being media literate margins but happily so. Te proposition from some panelists that MIL could have prevented Brexit was, has no necessary relation to ‘good agency.’ to a UK delegate, hard to swallow when we know that younger people, immersed in social media and largely oblivious to the ‘old school’ press rhetoric of fear and struck back pretty well in profting from “the dialec- loathing (of the other) largely either voted to remain tic between autonomy and exploitation” (Wittel, 2016: or were excluded from the referendum by age. Argu- 59). However, some rich sites for confict are present- ably, MIL and some broader geo-civic education for ed in this dialectical space with radical opportunities the over 50s is what we need! in each for media literacy educators: the open source So—the inconvenient truth is that being media web; the ‘Free Culture’ movement; new publishing literate has no necessary relation to ‘good agency.’ We modes (and associated activism against the commod- urgently need to challenge two problematic assump- ifying, metric hierarchy corporate practices of Aca- tions—(1) that media literacy has any necessary re- demia and ResearchGate); the Digital Commons and lationship with civic engagement or participation in alternative education movements. the public sphere and then (2) that if engagement / Networks, in this taxonomy, are understood as participation do arise partly as an outcome of media ‘thought collectives,’ of which two are in clear oppo- literacy, that there will necessarily be a liberal, egal- sition. On one side, the neoliberal hegemony, itself itarian, environmental or peace-promoting politics a network of ideology, reliant on a frst-order accep-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 23 However, many of the movements studied in the collection might be considered mile-wide, inch-deep in the sense of being short term ‘crash-and-burn’ im- pacts on the order of things, which returns to equi- librium having allowed sufcient resistance for the centre to hold. Tis resonates with the 2016 Momen- tum campaign around Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, most defnitely charged with network capital, and the poli- tics of which are seductive to us—“welcome to the mass movement of giving a toss about stuf”—but with an absence of powerful hybridity as the activist impulses of the Labour movement are increasingly decoupled from the parliamentary party. tance of the market and second-order state policy of Tis is a quite diferent form of hegemony to opening everything up to it—in Zizek’s terms, the the co-option of networking practices by the politi- market as ideology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sla- cal mainstream, however, which Jenkins observes in voj_Žižek). On the other side, the commons, a con- the US as no surprise, given “these new kinds of civic tribution economy, whereby we give to one another cultures are developing a new repertoire of mobiliza- our progressive ideas and resources (in our context, tion tactics, communication practices and rhetorical for media literacy teaching) and accept that some give genres.” In this sense the (popular) cultural sphere is more than others (as opposed to a gif economy, which the transition point (from actor network theory, or requires reciprocal exchange). Te commons, for the the gateway, in Jenkins’ terms) to the political / civic second thought collective, is given priority over the sphere—‘by any media necessary.’ market as a ‘natural order’: Jez We Can Do Media Literacy? Te network of the activist thought collec- tive needs spaces to meet and to talk. It will Let’s not make the mistake of confusing an- be another challenge to make these gather- ti-rhetorical ‘truth-telling’ with actually tell- ings possible. We need them regularly, we ing the truth. (Tompson, 2016: 2) need them on a global scale and we need them to be funded. We also need these gath- In that third space for media literacy, we might erings to be free from the usual constraints fnd a way of dealing with the ‘parataxis’ currently em- of academic conferences, which are designed ployed by Trump-Farage. Without, though, an explicit- not to foster but to hinder the free circulation ly political remit, media literacy will always hit against of ideas. (Wittel, 2016: 85) a neoliberal double bind. On the one hand, we teach theory but only assess the understanding of it, not the In an optimistic presentation of research into putting to work of it for progressive ends. Tis leads American youth activism mobilized by network me- to Media students faithfully ‘applying’ Laura Mulvey’s dia, Jenkins (2016) ofers a hopeful lens for seeing ‘male-gaze’ theory as a production technique, happi- ‘networked publics’ as productively disruptive: ly writing about how they objectifed females in their music videos. On the other hand, if we merely ‘give Tese models push against the individual- voice’ for self-representation we ofen fnd young peo- ity of personalizing logics of neoliberalism. ple re-articulating the ‘divide-and-rule’ parataxis we Networked publics depend on social connec- want to oppose. Consider this example from research tions among participants and ofen demand into audience responses to an exploitative UK docu- that we care about the plight of others. mentary about social security claimants, from the Hard (2016: 269) Times Today project (Bennett and McDougall, 2016a):

24 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY “… you’ve got a family, get a job rudeboy, McDonald’s status of a media text and reactions to it re- are hiring 24/7, you can clean toilets.” (Community flm produce or challenge social hierarchies, ex- participant, Back2Back Films, 2014) ploitation and cultural alienation? How can During his second leadership campaign, Jeremy this be diferent? What will you do about Corbyn ofered a set of values and a digital-democ- it to make change happen? racy manifesto. Taking both together, he pledged full employment, security at work, an end to privatization How would you describe your textual expe- of public services, environmental policies framed by rience? What does it look and sound and/or social justice objectives, redistribution of wealth, for- feel like? How do media give you opportuni- eign policy based on confict resolution and human ties to connect, represent / be represented, de- rights, an open knowledge library (free to all), digi- velop as a person? What will you do to fght tal platform co-operatives, a Digital Citizen Passport media power when they misrepresent and for access to health, welfare, education and housing, deny social justice? open-source licenses for all publicly-funded technol- ogy resources and—most prominent for our concerns What diferent kinds of spaces and places are here—a people’s charter of digital liberty rights and there for consuming and producing textual the fostering of popular participation in the democrat- meaning? How do these textual media spaces ic process. All of this would be fnanced by progressive enable or obstruct equality, rights, plurality of taxation and is thus rendered seemingly unelectable. representations, collective action? What will Tese pledges ever being government policy and the you do to create radical textual spaces? possibility of aligning them with the educational cur- riculum via the conduit of media literacy in the UK What does it mean to be a producer or con- are pipe dreams, of course. But what if? sumer in these spaces and places? Who has a We concluded Afer the Media (Afer the Media: voice through media? Who is in the margins? Culture and Identity in the 21st Century by Peter Ben- How open (to all) are these media spaces? nett, Alex Kendall, Julian McDougall; Routledge) How will you use media to increase plurali- and started Doing Text (Bennett and McDougall, ty and fair representation for social justice? 2011, 2016b Auteur) with a set of questions for stu- dents to work with when trying to do media literacy What diferent kinds of associations and for radical change. For those projects, the progres- afliations do you make? Who with? What sive outcomes are intended to be a greater refexive for? How will these mediated associations and curational engagement with textual lifeworlds, translate into collective action to change political in the CCCS tradition—understanding things and challenge power? popular culture as a site of struggle and resisting neoliberal agendas for canonical, protectionist and How do you understand the idea of author- economic modalities for media literacy. In the latter ing? What is being creative? Who has access project we were providing practical implementation to these actions, who is denied? How can you of the themes of Afer the Media in a ‘third space’ work with new modes of media produc- notion of the extended classroom. But here, for this tion to fght power structures? article, these framing questions are ‘Corbynised’ to make them work for this hypothetically direct lef- How do you represent yourself in diferent wing counter-script, for ‘good agency.’ Te original spaces and places? How do these represen- questions are followed here by the ‘neoliberal fuck- tations compare to mainstream media, how ing,’ in italics: is social justice enabled or denied? How are women, LGBT, disabled people represented? What is a text? What is the diference be- What will you do to support fairer media tween a text and an event? How does the representation of people across society?

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 25 How might we need to re-think the tradition- engagement for social justice, then ‘go the whole hog.’ al categories of learning: reading and writing, To that end, in this piece I have put some cards on speaking and listening? How have these cate- the table by way of articulating what a transparently gories previously stopped people from having a radical, shamelessly lef-wing, and in the UK context voice? How will YOUR thinking diferently ‘Corbynistic’ media literacy for ‘good agency’ might about literacy to include digital media lead look like if only Jez we could! i to a redistribution of cultural capital? [With thanks to Ashley Woodfall] In a recent thesis on the decline of the neoliber- al grand narrative in the wake of austerity, Brexit and Trump’s candidacy, Martin Jacques observes: REFERENCES Back2Back Films. Benefts Street: Back2Back Opinions. Birmingham 2014: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUfDguSXw3I One of the reasons why the lef has failed Bennett, P, Kendall, A and McDougall, J (2011) Afer the Media: to emerge as the leader of the new mood of Culture and Identity in the 21st Century. London: Routledge. working-class disillusionment is that most Bennett, P and McDougall, J (eds) (2016a) Popular Culture and the social democratic parties became, in vary- Austerity Myth: Hard Times Today. New York: Routledge. ing degrees, disciples of neoliberalism and Bennett, P and McDougall, J (eds) (2016b) Doing Text: Media Afer the Subject. Leighton-Buzzard: Auteur. uber-globalisation. (2016: 32) Gutierrez, K. (2008). Developing a sociocritical literacy in the third space. Reading Research Quarterly, 43(2), 148–164 I would level the same charge at the media lit- Jacques, M (2016) ‘Te Death of Neoliberalism and the Crisis in eracy movement. Media literacy is currently nothing Western Politics’. Te Observer, 21.8.16 31-33. necessarily to do with civic or political agency but has Jenkins, H (2016) (ed) By Any Media Necessary: Te New Youth quite a lot to do with protectionist defcit models and Activism. New York: New York University Press. subsequently unintended marginalization, reproduc- Livingstone, S and Sefon-Green, J (2016) The Class: Living and Learning in a Digital Age. New York; New York University Press. ing hierarchies of cultural capital by associating lit- McDougall, J, Berger R, Fraser, P and Zezulkova, M (2015) ‘Media eracy with ‘enrichment’ and signing up to corporate Literacy, Education & (Civic) Capability: A Transferable Methodology’ imperatives to develop ‘21st century skills’ to fuel the in Journal of Media Literacy Education 7(1), 4 -17: uber-global economy, in Jacques’ words. Personally, McDougall, J and Readman, M (2015) ‘Mediapting the civic despite my writing here, I am still deeply skeptical imperative’. Jackson, D and Torsen, E (eds) UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign, Refections from UK about this (civic) agency project for media educators. Academics. 33-22. Bournemouth: CSJCC. Where it happens, it tends to be in third spaces, not Herrero-Diz, P (2015) Review of ‘Media Literacy and the Emerging in formal education. In those spaces there is usually Citizen: Youth, Engagement and Participation in Digital Culture’ / interview with Paul Mihailidis. Media Education Research Journal 5.2: 112-114. I am still deeply skeptical about this (civic) agency Potter, J and McDougall, J (forthcoming, 2017) Digital Media, project for media educators. Where it happens, it tends Education and Culture: Teorising Tird Space Literacy. London: Palgrave MacMillan. to be in third spaces, not in formal education. Salzburg Global Seminar (2016) MOVE https://move.community/ Sleaford Mods Tweet Tweet Tweet Cologne: Harbinger 2014 a political objective, whether stated or not. Tis polit- Springer, S (2016). ‘Fuck Neoliberalism’. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2016, 15(2): 285-292 ical objective is usually lef wing, whether the facilita- Tompson. M (2016) ‘Tey’ve got away with words’. Te Guardian tors would be comfortable with the term or not. Te Review, 27.8.16: 2-4 outcomes tend to be a resistant energy towards neo- Unesco (2016): Riga Recommendations on Media and Information liberal media representations and a counter-script to Literacy in a Shifing Media and Information Landscape: http://www. unesco.org/new/fleadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/Events/ seemingly neutral functional versions of media litera- riga_recommendations_on_media_and_information_literacy.pdf cy. Either way, if you’re going to try, as UNESCO and Wittel, A (2016) Digital Transitions. Saarbrucken: Lambert Academic GAPMIL and others—with good intentions—are, to Publishing. make a connection between media literacy and civic

26 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Media Literacy Tat Excludes a Planet at Risk is Not Agency

By Barrie Zwicker

Barrie Zwicker is an independent documentary producer, author and social and political activist. For seven years he taught two courses, Media & Society, and Media, Ethics and the Law, at Ryerson Uni- versity in Toronto. For 15 years, at Vision TV, the world’s first multi-faith TV channel, Zwicker was the sole resident media critic in Canada. His 2006 book, Towers of Deception: The Media Cover-Up of 9/11, earned Gold in the Current Afairs category of the Independent Publishers Awards. The book includes Zwicker’s 75-minute documentary DVD The Great Conspiracy: The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw.

[McLuhan] [media literacy] [Hayakawa] [activism] [critical thinking]

Te closer one gets to details, the more likely one is to be guage in Tought and Action (S.I. Hayakawa). (In the wrong.1 —George Friedman accompanying illustration of an abstraction ladder, “Derek Hughes” is a fctional person representing the he editors of this theme issue took a delight- smallest indivisible unit. “Education” represents the fully haphazard approach to defning agency. most abstract entity). T “You are welcome to write about your defni- Accordingly my four incision points into agency tion and exercise of agency as an author, teacher, ob- are specifc projects (although in the fnal project I re- server, blogger, presenter, activist, etc. At its leanest, turn to the ladder with a twist that may surprise). agency is knowledge in action.” (my emphases) Good thing, because I’m ambivalent about re- Project 1: A Poll Is Born ceived defnitions, and also somewhat allergic to high abstractions, including Background agency, knowledge and ac- tion. But I only break out From the outset of my seven years teaching a Media in a rash in the presence & Society course at Ryerson University, I carried my Education of high abstractions when skepticism about conventional education with me. more specifc terms are Partly this was learned from my father, an ordained available. (Obviously I’m progressive preacher. Each Fall he took me out of Teaching not allergic to italics!) school to dig potatoes in his large garden, explaining Profession Te editors could to an uncomplaining me that there are paths to learn- hardly avoid using the ing well outside school. Tat was a big lesson taught in Elementary high abstraction agency a potato patch 70 years ago. It was reinforced during School Teacher in the context of explain- the three years I attended Marshall McLuhan’s Mon- ing this issue’s theme. So day night seminars in the late 60s and early 70s. It was they’re of the hook. I’m the one I applied as a journalism teacher that remains Derek Hughes not. To be consistent I with me today. begin near the bottom of So in Media & Society my 130-odd students and the four-rung “abstraction myself began each week in plenary with a guest speak- ladder” originated in Lan- er (they were outsiders or “anti-environments,” as Mc-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 27 Luhan might call them). Tey ranged from humble er of the Committee for an Independent Canada (CIC).3 cogs in the wheels of journalism such as newspaper Te raison d’etre for the project was one of the copy editors, to the leading lights of the Canadian me- twin concerns of the CIC (known today as the Coun- dia of the day including Pierre Berton, June Callwood cil of Canadians). Tese concerns were, and remain and Patrick Watson.2 today: repatriating the Canadian economy from U.S. Each week, on the days following that week’s ple- domination and resisting the U.S. Empire’s cultural nary, I encouraged projects related to what the speaker steamroller. had shared—action arising from knowledge. Tis was a large canvas for a bunch of frst-year journalism students and their prof. The project Because of Hurtig’s newsworthiness and my open bias in favour of his mission, I issued a campus-wide Tis one began with a public opinion pollster. In the invitation to his talk. Te hall was packed. Hurtig was following seminars I asked the students to decide on a inspiring. For my part I was inspired to invite any subject to poll about, to write the poll questions, con- of my students to join me in establishing a Ryerson duct the poll and write a report. Chapter of the CIC. Tirty-three did. Te journalism Te pollster generously agreed to return to the department chair, the late J. D. MacFarlane, bless- campus to look over the students’ draf questions and ed this initiative. Looking back it’s clear that without suggest better ones. Te students then took to the MacFarlane as a champion, without his support of streets of the city—the potato patch—to ask the ques- agency (a.k.a. activism) it’s doubtful the Ryerson CIC chapter could or would have been formed and gone on Media literacy work that fails to address the key to achieve the surprising outcome that it did. issues of ownership and control of the media is not as Te students and I chose a chapter mission rele- industrial strength as it should be. vant to our interests and strengths. We committed to more than study. We committed to activism, agency if you will. As a result, the Ryerson chapter of the CIC be- tions. I asked the editors at Te Toronto Star to consid- came de facto the CIC’s national media activism chapter. er publishing a student-written story based on the poll results. Te editors agreed to consider. Te students The Project wrote. Te Star published. Project completed. I like to think that my students, in their subse- Arguably the most vexed issue in the world of Cana- quent work in the mainstream media, would be more dian journalism and publishing at the time were the sensitive about—or better still, critical of—polling ques- special privileges enjoyed by foreign-operated period- tions. Tat would be critical thinking, applied in their icals, notably Time and Reader’s Digest.4 post-graduation practical professional settings. I’d call Te powerful pair enjoyed substantial tax ben- that agency at work within the area of media literacy. efts and subsidized postal rates meant for domestic publishers, to an extent where their circulation was Project 2: Elite Media Successfully Challenged 51% of total Canadian periodical circulation and the pair soaked up the lion’s share of periodical advertis- Background ing revenue, sending staggering profts home—$14 million for the two magazines in 1974. Media literacy work that fails to Te special privileges were a spermicide on address the key issues of own- the birth of new Canadian periodicals, stultifed the ership and control of the media growth of existing Canadian periodicals and mur- is not as industrial strength as dered others. All this enabled Time “Canada,” as its it should be.5 Another invited founder Henry Luce said, to: “…exert upon the world speaker was Mel Hurtig, at the the full impact of our infuence, for such purposes as Mel Hurtig time a founder and a prime mov- we see ft and by such means as we see ft.”

28 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Te timing of the Ryerson chapter’s launching teachers and students to challenge the great its mission was right. Te Liberal government of the inequalities in knowledge and power that ex- day was somewhat nationalistic; the special privileges ist between those who manufacture informa- anachronistic. tion in their own interests and those who con- First, chapter members educated themselves sume it innocently as news or entertainment. about the issue. Next, a petition signed by all chapter members Tis article resonates strongly with that outlook. was sent to Prime Minister Pierre-Elliot Trudeau urg- From Duncan’s time through to today, a good deal ing repeal of the special privileges. A letter-writing of the credit for the extent to which media literacy is blitz followed. Each Member of Parliament was sent a taught in Ontario schools goes to determined media personally composed letter on the issue. literacy leaders such as Neil Andersen and Carol Ar- Afer the letter-writing, a demonstration was cus, co-editors of this JML issue. held outside the downtown Toronto ofces of Time So Andersen was pleased to learn that our grand- “Canada.” Placards read “Time is not of the essence, daughter Leah receives at least one 40-minute period Canada is,” “Time out” and so forth. of media literacy daily. Her teacher had told the class: Tis activism—along with the eforts of other media literate activist Canadians—made a diference Her teacher had told the class: “We don’t know who at the federal cabinet table. Secretary of State Hugh discovered water but we know it wasn’t a fsh.” Faulkner introduced Bill C-58 into the House of Com- mons to remove the privileges. Bill C-58 received Royal Assent. Te privileg- “We don’t know who discovered water but we know es were no more. Time “Canada” decided to abandon it wasn’t a fsh.” Tis is a fairly well-known McLuhan its so-called Canadian edition. Tis enabled Maclean’s aphorism that many or most adults would not have magazine, until then a monthly, to blossom into weekly heard. publication. Maclean’s prospers to this day. Te students’ involvement in research, their The Project choosing activism from petitioning to letter-writing to demonstrations, and the subsequent satisfaction of I ofered myself as a guest at one of Leah’s media liter- seeing their labours bear fruit I would classify as exer- acy classes. Te teacher agreed that we focus on ste- cising agency with a capital A. reotyping. I was introduced only as “Leah’s grandfather.” Project 3: A Granddaughter, Bruce Jenner and Not a word more. Te idea Terrorism was to provide as little in- formation as possible upon Background which the grades 7/8s could build a stereotype. Media literacy is mandated in Ontario, to the extent I asked the students that Ontario is a world leader. what they thought stereo- A lion’s share of the credit must go to the late Bar- typing meant and asked for ry Duncan. Duncan’s life agency was focused on me- examples. Tey were in the dia literacy. He was chair of the writing team for the ballpark. Teir examples path-breaking Media Literacy Resource Guide. From mostly involved gender the Rationale: and race. Tis was when I learned most of them Te media…provide not only information knew who Bruce Jenner about the world, but also ways of seeing and was8 and that she had been on the cover of Vanity Fair understanding it… Media literacy enables in a curvy dress with the headline: “Call me Caitlyn.”

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 29 A welcome challenge came from a girl who cor- mill projects are, well, run-of-the-mill. Risky projects rected me when I referred to Jenner alternately as “she” in my experience have been much more educative, en- and “he.” I was still conficted, but the student had ac- gaging and fun for all concerned. cepted Jenner’s sex change. She said: “Sir, you keep saying ‘he.’ Tat’s wrong. It’s ‘she.’” I thanked her sin- Project 4: This article cerely. I hope there was a lesson there for the class: that being corrected is a gif and critical thinking should be Background welcomed. Tat student was exercising agency—in this case involving a part of speech. Mainstream and so-called “alternative” media failings I suggested that the most powerful stereotype in can be assigned rungs on a ladder of abstractions. On the world currently is “terrorist.” the bottom rung—Hayakawa’s Level 1—are the small- Tey had no problem accepting est indivisible units of media failings: typos, mis-spell- it. Tis took us into deep waters, ings, incorrect grammar, minor factual errors, sloppy including Trevor Aaronson’s TED headlines and the like. Talk (Te Terror Factory: Inside At Level 2 are systemic identifable biases regard- the FBI’s Manufactured War on ing, for instance, race, gender, class and so on. Terrorism) (http://bit.ly/2ipsn9S). At Level 3 are harder-to-identify unarticulated His frst words are: “Te FBI is re- major premises. Tese include, for instance, that pro- sponsible for more terrorism plots motion of infotainment, consumerism and capitalism in the United States than any other are acceptable as news. Tese premises are embedded organization. More than Al Qaeda, in clusters of subject matter including whole news- more than Al-Shabaab, more than paper sections (travel, automobiles and “entertain- the Islamic State—more than all of ment”). them combined.” Existing at Level 4, the highest abstraction level, Aaronson, associate director and co-founder of is the most critical as well as the most hidden failing of the non-proft Florida Center for Investigative Report- the media in general. By “media” I mean Western, es- ing, shows “how the FBI has, under the guise of en- pecially American, mainstream newspapers, websites, gaging in counterterrorism since 9/11, built a network radio and TV news, and accompanying opinion col- of more than ffeen thousand informants whose pri- umns and commentary. In the media, so defned, I refer to a dangerous Preparations I made for that class, the class experience and misleading worldview, a worldview currently and refections since show a major advantage dominated by the so-called “war on terror.” When this worldview is absorbed and accepted as the al- of agency for those initiating projects, especially ways-threatening “way things are,” it frightens mil- controversial ones, in the feld of media literacy. lions into a more easily-manipulatable mass. It creates chronic anxiety. It goes a long way toward justifying mary purpose is to infltrate Muslim communities to wars. It benefts the elite of (less than) 1% and disem- create and facilitate phony terrorist plots so that the powers the more than 99%. bureau can then claim victory in the War on Terror.” Te presentation of this worldview harnesses vir- (http://amzn.to/2hETGjh) tually all the powers of media. Tey then efectively Te students were open to this information. Te function as instruments of the 1%’s agenda. Most hid- class makeup, like that of Toronto, is diverse and in- den of all: this misleading worldview is not a matter cludes Muslims.9 of the media failing. It’s a matter of the media succeed- Preparations I made for that class, the class expe- ing—for the agenda’s perpetrators. rience and refections since show a major advantage of So rather than calling it a worldview, which de- agency for those initiating projects, especially contro- notes observation, this almost evidence-free perceptu- versial ones, in the feld of media literacy. Run-of-the- al-only “reality” should be termed a world of illusion—

30 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY one invisible as illusion for those who accept it. most important missing dimension in media literacy Why is the American-controlled fnancial pow- studies, judging for instance by most back issues of erhouse the IMF named the International Monetary JML. As it is missing, by the way, in most psycho- Fund? Why is the IMF agenda, which can be summed logical, sociological and historical studies. Academe up in two words—deregulation and austerity—called as a whole is missing in action in interrogating the “neoliberalism” rather than, say, “neoconservatism” or established order. A worthwhile documentary deal- “in the service of global capitalism”? ing with this is Adnan Zuberi’s 9-11 in the Academic From oligarchy to international fnance to mov- Community.10 iedom to TV to baseball and at thousands of points Zuberi’s critique clearly applies to media literacy between, questions about the status quo—about what studies. Te frst two interview clips underscore this. Peter Dale Scott calls the politics of the “Deep State”— Prof Graeme MacQueen of McMaster University in cannot arise in a politically relevant form for most Hamilton11 states: “It’s … profoundly disappointing … people, because they are in thrall of the illusion. how universities manage to ignore deeply important Tis is in large part, I submit, because of the me- questions. And afer 40 years in the institution you get dia’s hidden major premises as well as de facto cen- to see what those are…” sorship. For instance, the omission of questioning, let He’s followed by Prof. David MacGregor of West- alone investigative journalism, about the assassination ern University in London, Ontario: “...my friend Peter of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, from the time of his Dale Scott talks about Deep Events. He talks about assassination to the present day. Tere are all too many events which we don’t spend too much time trying to examples of other deep-state crimes against democ- understand but we try in a sense not to understand, racy or SCADs—a term invented by Lance deHav- events which make a huge impact on the way we live, en-Smith, author of Conspiracy Teory in America. but we stop thinking about them, almost as soon as Evidence of these crimes is censored out and replaced they happen.” by false or hidden histories. Insofar as agency in media literacy studies, and Consequently political involvement, or agency, teaching, repeatedly fails to grapple with the largest a prerequisite for societal change, is at an all-time understandings we can muster, the promise of agency low. is undelivered. If in media literacy we devote most of our energies, time and foci on technology (Level 1) or The Project negotiation of meaning (Level 2) or educational strat- egies (Level 3) we risk failing to reach Level 4 or “the Tis article itself is the fnal project. At its heart I argue big picture,” to use an overworked term almost always that most media literacy studies and projects fail at the used to describe smaller pictures. highest level, Level 4, paradoxically in parallel with the In elaborating, I am obligated to climb down one intentional “failure” by the media at that Level. rung here from the abstractions “the big picture” or I am saying that the questioning referred to “world,” to a smaller but still large abstraction, “war.” above, unless I am mistaken, is generally absent or Tis lends itself to study from a media point of view, as discouraged in classrooms and, it seems to me, even in numerous studies have. media literacy circles. I appreciate this is a very serious Tis abstraction, war, moreover, is timely, urgent criticism, and acknowledge that there are no doubt and literally a matter of life and death. I’m suggesting some brave enough to risk it. here that we who are media critics/teachers should A key concept in, for instance, the Ontar- fnd current wars and threats of wars to be compelling, io media studies curriculum, is that “all media are alarming and motivating. constructions.” But would this concept lead a media Planetary threats can be raised in classrooms, literacy teacher to engage with the concept of “the given a dedication to courageous agency by media world as it is?” Maybe. But failure to see that these literacy teachers. Imagine the class discussion on the fve words describe, like the shadows on Plato’s cave, subject of war and the media using the following quote a virtually bogus media environment is arguably the from Pope Francis:

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 31 Time, my brothers and sisters, seems to Afer these are determined, next come aims and be running out; we are not yet tearing one objectives, and afer that strategies. Today’s world of another apart, but we are tearing apart our speed-up and scale-up must be apprehended on the common home. Today, the scientifc com- largest canvas we can grasp: of life on the planet being munity realizes what the poor have long at risk within a very short time, geologically speak- told us: harm, perhaps irreversible harm, ing. Media literacy work, like all other work, should is being done to the ecosystem. Te earth, interrogate establishment powers and traditions—es- entire peoples and individual persons are sentially responsible for the pickle we’re in—sound being brutally punished. And behind all alarms and promote solutions. this pain, death and destruction there is the A case can be made, I submit, that those dedi- stench of what Basil of Caesarea called “the cated to media literacy studies can be more efective dung of the devil.” An unfettered pursuit of by deploying Marshall McLuhan’s “probes” and be- money rules over the entire socioeconomic coming “provocateurs” or even “subversives,” crossing system [my emphasis], it ruins society, it swords with the time-stealing, mind-manipulating, condemns and enslaves men and women, death-dealing status quo. it destroys human fraternity, it sets people A myriad of starting points are available to the against one another and, as we clearly see, it teacher. As already suggested, the stereotype “terror- even puts at risk our common home. ist” is an instrument of massive deception, a la 1984. A keynote term, it’s ready-made, available for student Now that is “big-picture” grasp. As opined re- deconstruction in virtually every news report every garding the Pope’s statement at http://bit.ly/2iR9kIs: day. “We” are corralled mentally to see the Muslim “And don’t forget S&P 500 at all time highs. Because kids in my granddaughter’s class as potential “home- the New Normal, where apparently world war news is grown terrorists.” the best imaginable news for risk assets.” Or take the topical and timely phenom Pokemon It’s axiomatic that agency in media studies re- Go as a starting point. It’s presented by the media as a quires critical thinking about media. But because me- harmless and indeed educational game of fun, wonder dia and their efects are global, this critical thinking and exploration. Te educative value of Pokemon Go must address global issues. Not least in the areas of in the classroom lays in exposing its deceptive aspect, geopolitics, militarism, war, international fnance and its dark lure for Big Brother data harvesting. (http:// global climate change. Te efectiveness of media lit- bit.ly/2hEYkh6) Te ongoing world of illusion is fabricated, re- inforced and re-reinforced so relentlessly, is so nearly Te ongoing world of illusion is fabricated, reinforced universally embedded, that it paralyzes citizens’ un- and re-reinforced so relentlessly, is so nearly universally derstanding of their own agency in the world. Even embedded, that it paralyzes citizens’ understanding of media-critical fsh can swim in this world without their own agency in the world. knowing it’s the water of McLuhan’s aphorism. Resolved: “Tat to the extent that media liter- acy studies fail to address this world of illusion they fail to exercise agency appropriate to today’s human eracy studies and teaching therefore rests on the size condition.” A debate on this resolution would make a of the canvas we work on. Friedman’s quote is provoc- provocative media literacy project, from grade school ative in this regard. through to post-graduate. i Or put another way: how courageous is our in- trospection about our media literacy work as it relates to planetary survival? Te media literacy project, I ar- gue, must start with delineating not our project aims and objectives, but our project boundaries.

32 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY FOOTNOTES 1 I’m indebted to Carol Arcus, one of the editors of this issue, for making me aware of this quote. 2 For readers who don’t know who these people are: Berton (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Berton) from his start as the youngest city editor of a major daily at the time, went on to become arguably the country’s most noted daily columnist (in the Toronto Star), then edited the country’s largest magazine, became an innovative fxture for years on radio and TV and wrote 50 books, many best sellers. June Callwood was a crack magazine feature writer and author who uniquely married writing and political activism, especially on behalf of downtrodden women and children, establishing institutions in this feld that fourish to this day. Patrick Watson, an early TV genius, invented programs such as “Tis hour Has Seven Days,” so successful in substance and audience size that the governing powers of the day at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had to axe it. He went on to become chairman of the CBC’s Board of Governors. 3 Hurtig was an innovative and successful publisher in Edmonton, Alberta, who went on to produce Te Canadian Encyclopedia. As a publisher, author and activist, he mainly exercised agency in the area of Canadian sovereignty. One of his several books is Te Betrayal of Canada, Stoddart Canada, 1991, ISBN 0-7737-2542-3] Hurtig passed away on August 3rd, 2016 at age 84, in Vancouver, B.C. 4 Time in 1974 was 100% American owned. RD, seeing the writing on the wall, had by 1974 arranged for 30% Canadian ownership. 5 Time “Canada,” was launched by Time founder Henry Luce in 1943. By 1974 it had a circulation north of the border of 510,000; next largest was Time Pacifc’s 335,000. For a fuller explanation of the Time/Reader’s Digest issue see Cultural Sovereignty: Te Time and Reader’s Digest Case in Canada by Isaiah Litvak and Christopher Maule, Praeger Publishers, New York, Washington and London, 1974, Library of Congress number PN4914. P4L5 051 73-13342 6 New York, Scribner, ISBN 06841 25927 9780684 125923, OCLC 483381 7 Queen’s Printer for Canada, Ottawa, 1970; Catalogue No. YC2-282/3-01 8 In case any readers happen not to know, Jenner is a retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete, Jenner revealed her identity as a trans woman in April 2015, publicly announcing her name change from Bruce to Caitlyn in a July 2015 Vanity Fair cover story. 9 Toronto was recently recognized by the UN as having the most diverse population in the world. More than 140 languages and dialects are spoken and 47 per cent of Toronto’s population (1,162,635 people) report themselves as being part of a visible minority. Half were born outside of Canada. 10 https://911inacademia.com/2015/10/14/view-the- documentary/ 11 A founder of that university’s Centre for Peace Studies.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 33 A Fresh Look at the Media Literacy Movement Te National Telemedia Council as an Agent for a Better Future

By Marieli Rowe

Marieli Rowe has been the Executive Director of The National Telemedia Council since 1978. She helped expand the organization’s newsletter into The Journal of Media Literacy and has been the editor since its inception. Her passion for media literacy began with her children, running children’s film festivals, serving on boards for public radio, television and cable access, and continues today into the next generation, asking questions about the evolving ecology of childhood and the need for a 21st-century transformational literacy.

[National Telemedia Council] [autonomy] [critical thinking] [agency] [transformative literacy] [collaboration] [ecology of childhood]

fer nearly seven decades of working in the ofcial start as the American Council for Better Broad- feld of media literacy, can it be possible for casts began on June 24th, 1953 in Minneapolis at a A someone to ask me to take a “fresh” look at conference of the American Association of Universi- the movement? If anyone can do that, it is Neil Ander- ty Women, with delegates from 93 cities and 34 states, sen. When he invited me to contribute my thoughts representing 18 national organizations, 18 state groups about “Agency” and media literacy, my frst reaction and many local organizations. At the time, we were al- was “Huh?” I struggled with the term and asked for ready twelve years old as a Wisconsin group, collabo- help from Neil, from my son, and from my colleagues. rating with others from Columbus, Ohio to New York When the “Aha” moment dawned on me, it was an to San Francisco to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and more, amazing awakening and discovery of a fresh look at before our incorporation as a national organization. who we (NTC) are, what has motivated us, and the Along with our founding leaders, Dr. Leslie clarity of our goals and purpose that have remained Spence and Jessie McCanse, there were important through the years. pioneering agents for media literacy who should not be forgotten. At Ohio State University, Dr. Edgar Dale Today it is more important than ever to equip and established principles for qualitative evaluation of me- empower our children to be their own best agents. Tey dia. Dr. Louis Forsdale of Columbia University Teach- ers College wrote about multimedia literacy in 1955, must know and test, retest, and perhaps change “the potentially coining the term we use today. Working waters they swim in.” with and in support of our eforts were two infuential government representatives: FCC Commissioner Ab- Te media literacy movement has always been bott Washburn, eloquently pro- about change and agency, working to empower our moting NTC’s mission in public youth to be free, capable, autonomous thinkers and do- appearances and on the com- ers. For nearly three generations, the Wisconsin-born mission, and Professor Harry National Telemedia Council (NTC) has endeavored to Skornia of the University of be a change agent for media literacy education. Illinois, an international lead- Te NTC is the oldest media literacy organization er in educational broadcasting in the United States that is still alive and thriving. Our and the U.S. State Department.

34 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Tese are just a few of the many who helped form our • T e ACBB (now NTC) held annual con- philosophy and approach. To learn more about their ferences beginning in 1954 in various lo- work, see Telemedium, Te Journal of Media Literacy, cations, hosted by members, ofen in as- Volume 53, No. 1, Summer 2006. sociation with other organizations. While NTC’s goal has always been to give agency to ev- all these conferences were about media ery child living in our rapidly changing media envi- literacy, they featured and were named ronment, to live a life fulflled through the power and according to a specifc theme, e.g., Chil- confdence of critical, knowledge-seeking, skeptical dren, News, etc. Te Boone, North Caro- (but not cynical) thought. NTC has done this through lina Conference in 1995 was the frst time promoting positive, active media literacy that empow- that our stated topic was simply called ers individuals, and makes it possible to be in, not un- “Media Literacy.” Highlights of our con- der the control of the media. ferences have also included innovative Toward this goal, NTC developed many activities communication means. In 1981, we held that facilitated agency for participants and members Kids Across Space via satellite, connecting through the years: children in Washington D.C. and Bris- bane, Australia. (David Fabie tribute at • Broadcast on Broadcasts: Beginning in the end of this article). In 2003, we held the 1940s, we had A Voice on the Air for an International Video Conference Forum, 25 years in conjunction with the develop- bringing together fve media literacy cen- ment of Wisconsin Public Radio, lovingly ters in London, Toronto, New York, Mad- known as “WHA, the oldest station in the ison, and Seattle. nation.” Leslie Spence and Jessie McCanse hosted the weekly program interviewing For nearly three generations, the Wisconsin-born media professionals and educators and National Telemedia Council (NTC) has endeavored discussing media issues of the day. to be a change agent for media literacy education. • Te Annual Look Listen Opinion Poll, our earliest project, was designed to provide qualitative evaluation (a frst!) • T e Teacher Idea Exchange was frst pub- of television prime time programming. lished in 1973 and became a regular fea- From 1953 to 1989, a detailed Look Listen ture of our organizational newsletter and report, quoting participants’ responses, later Te Journal of Media Literacy. was published each year and shared with • Week-long summer workshops for teach- broadcasters, government agencies, and ers were held at Edgewood College in the public. Madison from 1976 to 1981. • Project Postcard, another early activity, • In 1978, we founded Kids-4, a dedicated made it possible for viewers to express children’s channel in Sun Prairie, Wis- their opinions about advertising directly consin which is alive and thriving inde- to the advertisers through a packet that pendently today. included penny postcards, address lists of • ACBB/NTC worked with policy-making sponsors, and guidelines for comment. agents over the years. In 1979, we made • Annual Sponsor Recognition Awards to recommendations on the need for criti- sponsors of quality programming were an cal viewing skills for children to the FCC’s integral component of the above evalu- inquiry on children’s television and ad- ation projects. Tese awards were based vertising practices. We participated in the on the comments of viewers and listeners development of the Corporation for Public gathered in the Look Listen Poll and Proj- Broadcasting’s policies as members of its ect Postcard. advisory council of national organizations.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 35 • T e Journal of Media Literacy has been adapt to change and to be fexible. and continues to be our voice of agency • Fourth is that we keep going with for the beneft of the media literacy move- patience and persistence, walking when ment. Beginning as a four-page newsletter, we cannot fy, and keeping on when the published six times a year with news and going gets tough. tips for members, it grew into a journal • Fifh, we hold fast to the mission of cre- with a purpose of being a bridge for aca- ating a media-wise, literate global society demic research and practitioners, be they which means seeking a transformative teachers, parents, producers, or activists. literacy in a changing world of multiple • NTC created the Jessie McCanse award cultures, moving with the constantly named in honor of our co-founder. Estab- evolving ecology of childhood and the lished in 1987, the award recognizes indi- mediated environment. vidual contribution to the media literacy feld over a long, sustained period of time In thinking about my personal agency, for me of at least ten years. It honors individuals it began with the family, the young child and what whose contributions exemplify Mrs. Mc- Canse’s high principles, ethics, and dedi- NTC’s goal has always been to give cation. agency to every child living in our Refecting on the sixty-three year-long span of rapidly changing media environment, to NTC, I am remembering other vibrant organizations live a life fulflled through the power and that began in those early decades, but have since ceased confdence of critical, knowledge-seeking, to exist. For example, the National Association For Bet- skeptical (but not cynical) thought. ter Radio And TV was headed by Frank Orme in California. Some- I like to call “the evolving ecology of childhood.” In what later, Action For the mid 1950s, when my family moved back to the Children’s Television United States afer having lived in Switzerland for four was started by four years with two toddlers, I was troubled by the unin- mothers in Boston in- vited babysitter coming into my children’s lives. Here cluding Evelyn Sarson was Captain Kangaroo instructing my boys to “Tell and Peggy Charren. your mommy to go and buy Wonder Bread.” At frst, Tese organizations we had thought we would not need to have a television were efective during in our home, but it didn’t take very long for our boys their time. In think- to toddle to the neighbor’s house. We came to realize it ing about our unique would be better to have this new box in our own home longevity, I see certain where we could teach and manage their media expe- Jessie McCanse intrinsic factors that riences. It was the beginning of an awareness that I have made it possible: had never before come across. At about that time, I be- came acquainted with and volunteered for the ACBB’s • First and foremost have been our strong frst Children’s Film Festival, which was designed to basic principles and a philosophy that provide quality programming beginning at the pre- endures through the changing times. school age. Some sixty plus years later, my philosophy • Second, our commitment to coopera- and mission remain steadfast amidst relentless and ac- tion, collaboration, and valuing giving celerating change. credit to others where credit is due. Today it is more important than ever to equip • Tird is our willingness and ability to and empower our children to be their own best agents.

36 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Tey must know and test, retest, and perhaps change “the waters they swim in.” (S.I. Hayakawa) We as parents, teachers, and all concerned (and that includes broadcasters, citizens, activists, etc.) are privileged to fll our children’s backpacks with the best for their voyage through the adventure of life. Te ear- lier we begin, the better it is. Te more we give them the trust, the more we enable their autonomy. With this ability to exercise agency for themselves, they will ex- perience the joy of an enlightened journey through life. And so for me, exercising agency for media lit- eracy has become a passion of great urgency. Te in- creasingly rapid and pervasive progress of the elec- tronic information age is changing our Culture. It is a change of equal, if not greater signifcance than global warming and the environment. “KIDS—Across Space” via Satellite, the 1981 event in progress: on stage, David Fabie (2nd from right) leads the US-Australia To give agency to our youth and the generations live interactive exchange (see story on next page). of tomorrow means empowering them …

• to meet the challenges and explore the joys of media through higher-order thinking skills • to recognize manipulation and seek truth • to acknowledge point of view and listen, with open mind, yet critical thought • to make the connection between media and all the Arts • to create, to perform, to fourish, whether in music, the visual, or performing arts We hold fast to the mission of • and to build those never-before-seen or creating a media-wise, literate heard-of visions for tomorrow! global society which means Tis will ensure a culture in which people are ca- seeking a transformative pable of being in control of their autonomy and desti- literacy in a changing world ny. Tat is a privilege indeed and a path worth living. of multiple cultures, moving It is really all about “making a diference,” or in with the constantly evolving the words of a wonderful French priest...a friend of ecology of childhood and the my mother’s who perished in the French underground during the Nazi invasions… mediated environment. “Il faut toujours ajouter au monde.” i

*I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the indis- pensable contributions of Karen Ambrosh, Neil Anders- en, and Bill Rowe to this article.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 37 A Tribute to NTC and KIDS-4, Te Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Children’s Channel A letter from David Fabie Remembering the 1986 “Kids Across Space” event.

David Fabie grew up in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, where he was a young member of the original “KIDS-4” , the pioneering Sun Prairie project of “television by and for” children aged 9-14. The hands-on project, conceived in the 1970s, was a vibrant collaboration that included the new medium of Cable TV, the community, schools, local government, and the media literacy education ideas of NTC (then known as the American Council for Better Broadcasts).

Teachers, parents, and professionals from cable and local government volunteered to bring to life the innovative chil- dren’s channel which still thrives to this day. Mr. Fabie, now living and working in London, U.K., shared his memories, on the 35th anniversary of the Landmark 1981 “KIDS ACROSS SPACE” event in a Facebook comment which we gratefully reproduce here with his permission, as an example of lifelong Agency at its best.

hey say the worst thing you can have in live camera and cheerfully announced; “Well, here’s our television is “dead air”. Suddenly in front of a video montage!” T room full of government and media dignitar- And … nothing. ies, with broadcasting history literally hanging in the A technician from COX Cable Television, hur- balance, that is exactly what we were facing. Dead air. ried into the room and whispered in the ear of a nearby Te date was Tursday, October 15th, 1981. adult that the Video tape player in the satellite truck, Two days earlier, I had boarded an Amtrak train in was not working, and therefore none of the prepared Columbus, Wisconsin, along with Mike Daugherty, footage we had brought with us to Washington could John Garrett, Tom Gehrmann, Chris Kerwin, Anne be shown. So we proceeded to do what we always did O’Brien, Becky Weirough, Glenn Zweig, Steve Funk, when doing live television. We improvised. Te kids and Mike Kennedy, Now in the ballroom of the Capi- from Indiana looked at us like we were nuts. Tey tal Hill Holiday Inn in Washington D.C. a live satellite were not used to working live. One of the great things demonstration, linking our group of American kids, about the Kids 4 program is we started out doing all of and a group of young people in Brisbane Australia had our shows live. It was only afer two years we switched just gone live on the air. to recording them frst, then airing them. Te two groups were kids who shared the unique Still, with a ballroom full of dignitaries watching experience of being media users, not just media con- you , plus trying to fll an entire hour with stuf of the sumers. A group us from the “Kids 4” television proj- top your head, AND cope with at least a 5 second time ect in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, A group from the KIDS delay between you and the people you were trying to ALIVE! Project in Bloomington, Indiana, were hav- interview, it was bit tense, even by our standards. ing a live cultural exchange via satellite with a group Te end result however, was amazing. Tat one of young people from down under in Australia, who technical glitch turned what would have been a largely hosted the popular children’s program WOMBAT. scripted exchange into an actual conversation. Asking Te kids from the Australian television show each other about school, about hobbies and what was went frst, showing an amazing video montage of their it about working with television that interested them, studio, the gold coast of Australia and the stories they as well as sharing our own experiences as kids learning produced there at Channel 7 in Brisbane. Ten it was to use media and not be used by it. our turn. Or so we thought. Kerri Brinson from KIDS Of course at the time, it felt like a disaster. ALIVE!, from Bloomington Indiana looked in the Looking back on that day, thirty fve years ago,

38 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY I marvel at how much the world has changed. At the ed in the courtyard of the Capitol Holiday Inn. Ten time, what we were doing in Washington DC that day back into the conference room where it was seen on was not all that remarkable from a technical stand- large screen receivers by all of us there. point. Live satellite broadcasts were hardly a rarity in Whew! Did you follow all that? Don’t worry, 1981. Yet from a cultural and educational standpoint, there won’t be a quiz. But here is what you need to the Kids-to-Kids interconnect was nothing short of know, everything that I just described, in all its com- revolutionary. plicated glory, the average teenager can now do with Te Interconnect didn’t radically change the me- the phone they carry in their pocket. No trucks need- dia landscape, or advance broadcast technology. What ed, no delay and now we don’t even think twice about it did do, was in the space of a few short hours make it. I know this because I do it nearly every day. the world a remarkably smaller place. It showed that I live in London and at least three times a week I live satellite broadcasting could be used for more than will facetime, or skype or Periscope or Facebook live, breaking news and sporting events. More than that, it or viber video call with friends and family scattered laid the foundation for the type of personal inter con- all over the globe. From my in-laws in Kuala Lumpur, nectivity that today, we take completely for granted. Malaysia, to my parents in Madison, Wisconsin, and As much as I say that live satellite television was dozens of friends at dozens more points in between. commonplace in 1981, that isn’t to say the mechanics Te interconnect was the truly the frst global of it were simple. Te path of the satellite interconnect face-time session . —from Washington, D.C. to , Brisbane, Australia was Te greatest take away from that day for those of a complex series of relays starting with a signal car- us fortunate enough to have been part of it, was the ried by cable to a Cox Cable production truck parked power of broadcast technology to bridge distances and just outside in the courtyard of the hotel.From there, connect people in new and exciting ways. It was, at the Mobil-Video Company (MV) picked up the signal least for one thirteen year old, a life changing experi- in its truck parked next to the Cox truck, and carried ence. A live demonstration of the power of broadcast it via microwave across town to PBS Headquarters at technology to connect people and be a platform for L’Enfant Plaza. sharing experiences and ideas, in (nearly) real time. PBS then took over sending the signal to its sat- Tose lessons of the Interconnect are even more ellite ground station outside Washington, D.C., which important today than they were three decades ago. In then sent the signal up to the Western Union Satellite, a world where if kids in Sun Prairie want to talk to WESTAR I, 22,300 miles above the Earth’s surface. kids in Brisbane, all they need is a smart phone and THEN, the WESTAR I, transmitted the signal to the a decent Wi-Fi signal; Media Literacy is more crucial satellite receiving dish at Sans Francisco’s PBS station now than ever before. Teaching young pople how to KQED, and via microwave (Using AT&T facilities) to harness the power of media, and connectivity as tools COMSAT’s earth station at Jamesburg, California. At for education and empowerment is more important Jamesburg, COMSAT picked up the signal and trans- today, than it has ever been. mitted it up to the Pacifc Ocean INTELSAT satellite Teaching young people to be media users, not which relayed it down to the an earth station at Moree just media consumers has always been at heart of the near Sydney Australia. mission of Kids 4 and Te National Telemedia Coun- Finally from there the signal travelled via land cil. Tat mission, which took a gigantic step forward lines (microwave) to the studios of Channel 7, Bris- in 1981 continues today. bane, where the Australian children received it and Tirty-fve years on, it remains an experience responded. Teir messages back to the U.S. travelled that played a tremendous role in shaping my path in in the reverse direction using landlines and a second life.I can’t thank you enough for having been allowed transponder on the INTELSAT satellite to Jamesburg, to be part of it. i and back to San Francisco via AT&T microwave. Ten back to Washington via Western Union’s WESTAR III David Fabie satellite, then directly to the on-site satellite dish locat- London, Hufngton Post UK

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 39 Te Birth, Death and Resurrection of a Subject Association

Robyn Quin and Barrie McMahon

Robyn Quin was the founding president of ATOM (WA—[Western Australia]). She has had a distinguished career as a teacher, media studies consultant and academic. Together with Barrie McMahon she has written several texts for teachers and students on media education.

Barrie McMahon played a significant role in the development of media studies courses in Western Australian schools. In 2013 he received the National Telemedia Council Jessie McCanse Award for Individual Contribu- tion to Media Literacy.

[subject associations] [Australian Teachers of Media (WA)] [curriculum renewal] [theory] [practice] [meeting evolving needs]

signifcant absence in the literature on the have existed for a long time. Some media subject asso- history, development, content, pedagogy, ciations have a history almost as old as the concept of A standards and assessment of media educa- media literacy itself. Te Ontario-based Association for tion (the process of teaching/learning about the me- Media Literacy was established in 1978 and expand- dia) and media studies (a specifc school subject) is ed over the following decades into British Columbia, any discussion of the role, function and efectiveness Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. It held conferences in of related subject associations. It is a gap worthy of Guelph, Ontario in 1990 and 1992, then Summit 2000 note because histories of school subjects usually in- in Toronto that brought together media educators clude reference to the role of the subject association from Spain, India, the United States, the Philippines, in variously preserving, protecting, defending and New Zealand and Australia. changing the discipline whose members it represents. Down under professional media teacher associ- In some cases the subject association has been at ations dated back to the 1970s in some States, nota- the forefront of curriculum reform. Helsby and Mc- bly the Australian Teachers of Media (Victoria) and Culloch describe the teacher-led reform of the sci- in South Australia. Most other States followed rapidly ence curriculum in England during the 1960s when including the Australian Teachers of Media (WA) in the Science Masters Association and the Association 1981. In 1983 there were subject associations estab- of Women Science Teachers (later to be combined as lished in Scotland—Association for Media Education the Association for Science Education) led a campaign Scotland; and New Zealand—the Association of Film for curriculum change that resulted in the Nufeld and Television Teachers (later NAME or the National Science Teaching Project, the frst large-scale attempt Association of Media Educators). [Te authors apolo- to reform both teaching approaches and content in gise to any European, U.S., South American or Asian schools mathematics and science. teacher subject associations that should have been in- To date there has been little investigation into cluded in the list above. Such absences refect our lack the historical role of media education/media literacy of knowledge of the early development of subject as- subject associations even though subject associations sociations around media literacy in these countries].

40 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY If you have arrived at, or are approaching your time to preserve, protect, or progress its senior years, you will recognise the names of many of discipline? the agents that led the establishment of these teacher • In what ways did or could the subject associations. Te list is a roll call of some of the pi- association exert agency? oneers of media literacy: Canada—Barry Duncan, • How did it act—or fail to act—as an John Pungente; Australia—Barrie McMahon; Scot- agent of change? land—Eddie Dick; New Zealand—Geof Lealand. Te • How did it perform or otherwise as a structural basis of the various subject associations tool of leadership and innovation? difer: some—like the Australian organizations—are • How did it achieve—or fail to achieve— incorporated bodies, some are companies limited by power and infuence? guarantee and others—like AMES in Scotland—are registered charities. However, their commonalities are First, the study enquires into the thinking, the more numerous than their diferences. processes and principles that led to the birth of the All the media education subject associations in subject. Tere follows a brief historical examination their early iterations avowed similar intentions: of the conduct of the Association over a thirty-year period in which we chart the forces determining the • to promote the study of the media in schools nature of the Association and its activities. Te study • to provide networking opportunities and concludes with a discussion of the implications of the professional development for teacher genealogy for the future of the professional Associa- members tion. Te work is ofered in the hope of making a stra- • to represent and defend the discipline and tegic contribution to the growing body of knowledge their members to the educational authori- about media education around the world. ties, the community and the media. • to publish material about the media and Birth the teaching of media studies. Tere were two key drivers behind the plan to establish In a modest attempt to examine the role and a media studies association for teachers. Te Educa- function of media subject associations over time we tion Department of Western Australia’s policy position present a genealogy of one subject association: the was that media education would be part of the school Australian Teachers of Media (WA). Te choice of this curriculum from kindergarten to year 12. However particular association is dictated by circumstance—we the Department had largely withdrawn its enabling lack the local knowledge and the resources to inves- resources. Primary school teachers in particular were tigate the role of subject associations elsewhere. Tis lef to fnd their own means of furthering their skills focus on a single body is not a claim that the Western and understandings about media education. Australian experience is a universal one; it is certainly Te more signifcant driver was at upper sec- not so. However it is to be hoped that the questions ondary level. Classroom teachers were engaged in a we ask, the genealogy we construct with all its con- struggle to have the subject recognised as sufciently tradictions and false starts will prompt others to tell rigorous to be included in those subjects examined for the stories of their own media education associations the purposes of university entry (universally seen to be before all who can contribute to the story of their early high status subjects). In 1976 the subject Media Studies histories have departed. had been approved by the accrediting authority as being Tis work asks these questions: appropriate for students who had no university aspira- tions. Media Studies teachers however contested this • How did a particular subject association pigeon-holing. It was a struggle which was to last for come to look and sound the way it does over thirty years. Meanwhile, in the eyes of the teachers, today? their current Media Studies student cohort required a • What did the subject association do over non-academic approach, lots of practical activities.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 41 Te assumption was that students would automatically the educational authorities for higher status for the learn media concepts by doing media-based activities. subject. Unlike media education in the United Kingdom Te Australian Teachers of Media (WA) Associ- and the United States, the subject did not develop as a ation’s avowed aim was to promote and expand the reaction to community fears about the media as a force teaching of media studies but professional teachers’ alien to culture (Masterman, (1983, 1991); Alvarado, associations also function as mediators of social and Gutch and Wollen (1987); Buckingham (1998); Tyner political forces acting upon the school subject: “Te (1998). Rather the subject emerged as an answer to a subject associations of the teaching profession may social/educational problem facing Western Austra- be theoretically represented as segments and social lian schools at the time: how to keep less-academical- movements involved in the negotiation of new allianc- ly-able students engaged in school. A consequence of es and rationales…” (Esland and Dale, 1973, p. 107). the ‘hands-on’ pedagogy was that Media Studies was In the case of media studies, the subject association seen to be less academically rigorous and a lot more was a force for the maintenance of old alliances and fun than the high status subjects like English or histo- rationales. ry or the sciences. Although ATOM provided a range of services to Media studies roots as a space for the less-aca- members including flm previews, cinema discounts, demically-able helped shape and signifcantly contrib- newsletters, occasional lectures, a biennial conference uted towards an anti-academic discourse around the and lobbying, teaching of production skills continued subject in which doing was prioritised over thinking, to be a major feature of its activities for the frst half of production over writing, the popular over the seri- the eighties. Much of its energy was spent in its forma- ous. Te Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM)WA tive years on conducting skills-based workshops for was created in 1981 at a time when the Education De- teachers modelled on the in-services of the seventies. partment was withdrawing funds for in-servicing. Its Te extract below from the newsletter circulated to membership was unusual—almost unique—amongst media teachers points to the extent to which the As- professional teacher associations in Australia in that it sociation aimed to reproduce the fun days of the ex- comprised both primary and secondary teachers. For tended, production-oriented, live-in workshops of the many members, both primary seventies: and secondary, skills acquisition was their priority and the sub- ATOM (WA) has been busy organising and ject association was the means to running Media Workshops. Te one-day learn production skills. Perhaps workshops in slides and colour printing were more importantly for upper sec- well received and the demand for colour ondary school teachers, a pro- printing was so great we are running a repeat fessional teachers’ association workshop late in second term. During the frst ofered a means by which they weekend in May we held a residential work- thought they could both infu- shop at York for teachers interested in start- ence the curriculum and lobby ing some Media Studies. Tose of you who have ever attended a Media Studies workshop would have recognised the atmosphere in- stantly. Te eyes drooped, the bodies sagged and the jokes got worse but nevertheless all said they loved it. (Little Aidem, 1982, No.2)

In response to demand from its members ATOM (WA) maintained and reinforced the practical nature of the subject. Te expansion in the number of high schools ofering media studies across all years in the

42 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY 1980s was an added incentive for the professional as- were all media theorists rather than practitioners—a sociation to provide professional development. At that feminist flm academic, a political economist and a time there was no supply of trained graduates from researcher with an interest in audience studies. Work- the universities, and practical workshops were still shop topics included analysis of television drama and a means by which teachers of English, social scienc- documentary, flm genre, representation and feminist es and arts were trained as media teachers. Teachers flm theory. Notably absent from the State ATOM con- in that period could choose to join the discourse of ference were the types of workshops that had dominat- practical work by becoming media teachers or reject ed the National Media Education Conference two years the discourse and remain in their existing subject area. previously: sessions on how to apply flm make-up, how Tus those teachers who were “converted” sustained to stage a movie fght and how to make a class flm. and reinforced the production-oriented discourse. At the same time as ATOM was fostering a more By the mid-eighties Media Studies—the second- academic approach to media studies it was an agent ary school subject—was stafed by graduates with a of opposition. Pointed resistance to the intellectualisa- degree in communications. Tese teachers had little or tion of the subject is evident in the subject association no need for instruction in how to use media tools and newsletter of the period. A correspondent to the pub- had some background in communication theory and lication deplored the “alarming tendency” of media cultural studies. ATOM reacted to its new member co- studies to embrace such concepts as myth and meton- hort by shifing its focus from production to theory ymy (J. McMahon, 1986, p.3). Te newsletter regularly and actively supported some of its members’ attempts satirised the complexity of the theoretical concepts of to academicise the subject. Ivor Goodson (1997) ar- the media studies syllabus and the obscurity of its jar- gues that the evolution of a school subject from a gon. Te publication, in late 1986, of an “Alternative utilitarian to an academic version is a common route Media Studies Examination,” reproduced in part be- and driven by the self-investment of those teaching low, demonstrates this point. the subject. He argues that teachers will seek academ- ic status for their subject out of material self-interest • “An understanding of the ideological func- (p. 106). Te case of ATOM contradicts this argument tion of signs is a necessary pre-requisite for because ATOM embraced simultaneity rather than any analysis of the products of the capital- linear evolution: a new academic discourse joined but ist media.” Discuss with reference to the did not defeat the existing ant-theoretical conception fact that Joan Collins is a Pisces. of the subject. • Write an essay on either the adaptation of Certainly there were many secondary school the narrative techniques of the classic realist teachers within ATOM (WA) whose priority was the novel to the flms of Eisenstein or how Jane subject status of Media Studies in years 11 and 12— Fonda manages to look so young. i.e., recognition as a pathway to university education. • Which is more difcult: trying to under- Other association members believed that in making stand French semioticians or deciding the subject more academically rigorous media stud- whether to watch Sons and Daughters or ies would lose its traditional student base while at the Sale of the Century? same time failing to capture the hearts and minds • Account for the lack of reference to con- of university-bound students. ATOM in this period temporary alienation in Playschool. (End of the mid-eighties accommodated—and at various of Year Examination: Alternative media times supported—both discourses: the academic and studies examination 1987, ATOM News, the practical. November, 1986, p. 18) Notwithstanding the Association’s tolerance of some members’ desire to maintain production as the Te excerpt above shows how the teachers’ pro- core of the subject, it actively promoted an academic fessional association hijacked the academic discourse discourse. Evidence for this lies in the frst state media of cultural studies for its own purposes of critique. It conference organised by ATOM. Te keynote speakers demonstrates how “discourse can be both an instru-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 43 ment and an efect of power, but also a hindrance, a maintain membership and thus viability—got into bed stumbling block, a point of resistance and a starting with the media. It broadened its membership base to point for an opposing strategy.” (Foucault, 1981, p. include many teachers and non-teachers disinterest- 101) Undoubtedly, Foucault would have regarded the ed in media education but seduced by the free cinema satire above as efective resistance. He argued that tickets ofered to members. It became a partner with resistance is more efective when directed at a “tech- mainstream media organisations in the production of nique” of power rather than at “power” in general materials that were in essence advertising materials (McHoul and Grace, 1993, p. 86). Complexity and for the media outlets. By the year 2000 ATOM (WA) jargon were two of the techniques employed by those was efectively dead—it had no formal organisational seeking to make the subject more academically rigor- structure, no executive leadership and no members. ous and introduce new knowledge into media studies. In the satirical “alternative examination” above the Resurrection subject association is actively interrogating the tactics of power used in the struggle over knowledge. Agency ATOM rose from the dead in 2010 to become a profes- as enacted by the subject association resulted in both sional learning community focussed on building ca- change and development (a more academic approach pacity, providing positive learning opportunities, or- to the subject) and resistance and dissent (a disavowal ganizational culture and structure and support for its of the academic approach). ATOM demonstrates that members. What motivated media teachers to create a agency is complicated, perverse, sometimes illogical new and invigorated teachers’ association? To them it and certainly non-monolithic. was new, most of them were still in primary school at the time of the death of the original ATOM (WA). Te Death biographical notes of the elected ofce bearers distrib- uted at the initial meeting to establish the new ATOM Perhaps the subject association’s failure to achieve a (WA) reveal that the average length of the teaching ca- unifed, hegemonic vision for its discipline was re- reer of the group was fve years. sponsible for its sharp decline over the 1990s. AT- Te drivers behind the re-establishment of OM’s raison d’être of the seventies—the practical ATOM were primarily political. In the frst decade of workshops—was irrelevant and unnecessary for the the 21st century there was, for the frst time in Austra- university trained graduates entering the teaching lia, the very strong likelihood that all the States would profession. Tis new breed of teachers had a thorough have to implement a national curriculum for the years grounding in media theory, were competent media Kindergarten to year 10 (ffeen-year-olds). Fear is a producers and were arguably better qualifed academ- powerful mobilizing agent and media teachers were ically than those who led the subject association. Tey afraid that their subject area would disappear with- were not interested in learning from those who knew in a unifed national Arts Learning Area. Unlike the less than themselves. To lead is to anticipate and the English, sciences, mathematics, art and even dance leadership of the association manifestly failed to iden- subjects—all of which were represented by well-es- tify the evolving needs of its members. tablished teacher associations—media studies had Perhaps too, the target group of teachers was too no voice because it had no organized structure to broad. Whereas other professional associations had represent its subject teachers. A handful of second- focussed on upper secondary school teachers, ATOM ary school media teachers mobilized their cohort and (WA) had attempted to service the needs of both pri- founded the new ATOM (WA) with the stated aim of mary and secondary school teachers. While the focus representing the interests of media teachers to the po- was on skills acquisition the services provided by the litical decision-makers. Association seemed relevant to primary school teach- While political imperatives generated the resur- ers but their interest and involvement waned once the rection of ATOM (WA), its sustainability and growth academic discourse gained temporary dominance. post-2010 are explained by its ability to meet the needs ATOM—in a doomed but desperate efort to of its members. Tose most attracted were teachers

44 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY of the year 11 and 12 courses. Professional develop- ually sought to defne the subject through its publica- ment for teachers is not provided by any central ed- tions and activities. In the eighties it was a potent force ucation authority, but the need for continual educa- in the maintenance of a focus on media production tion remains. Te upper school media course, called through its provision of media production workshops Media Production and Analysis, now has the univer- and its attacks on the jargon of cultural studies. In the sity admission status that was so long sought. Tere nineties it was instrumental in building an equiva- also exists a ‘lite’ version of the subject aimed at stu- lence between the subject and entertainment when it dents not intending to proceed to university studies. shifed its attention away from issues of pedagogy and For ATOM (WA) members, the focus is frmly on the content while devoting its energies to expanding its higher status university entry course. A perusal of the membership through the recruitment of teachers who correspondence between members indicates that their were non-media-studies specialists. Te denial of its interest is in obtaining support regarding the exam- pedagogical role ensured its demise. In rising to meet inations, moderation procedures and the production the professional needs of teachers ATOM (WA) once equipment that will enable their students to efectively again is a force in media education. i produce the practical component of their assessment. Media teachers know that student success in the fnal external examinations has become a proxy REFERENCES for ranking the quality of schools and the quality of Alvarado, M., Gutch, R., & Wollen. T. (1987). Learning the media: An introduction to media teaching. London: Macmillan. teachers. Western Australian media produces an an- Buckingham, D. (1998). Media education in the UK: Moving beyond nual league table of the schools which have produced protectionism. Journal of Communication, 48(1), 33-43. the most academically-successful students. Tere are Esland, G., & Dale, R. (Eds.). (1973). School and society (Course E282, no subject exceptions hence media teachers are under Unit 2). Milton Keynes: Open University Press. pressure to produce ‘successful’ students with success Foucault, M. (1981). Te history of sexuality: Vol 1. An introduction (R. defned as a high score. Te subject association ATOM Hurley, Trans.). New York: Random House. (WA)—by virtue of its production of sample examina- Goodson, I. (1997). The changing curriculum: Studies in social construction. New York: Peter Lang tions, professional development workshops and shar- Helsby, Gill and McCulloch, Gary. (1996 ).” Teacher Professionalism ing of teacher resources—is the critical support for and Curriculum Control.” Goodson, I. & Hargreaves, A. (Eds) teachers trying to ensure their students perform well. Teachers’ Professional Lives. London: Falmer Press Related to the above is the technology support Masterman, L. (1983). Media education in the 1980s. Journal of Educational Television, 9(1), 7-12. service provided by the teacher association. Te pro- Masterman, L. (1991). An overview of media education in Europe. duction of a relatively sophisticated media product Media Development: Journal of the World Association for Christian is a central requirement of the external media exam- Communication, XXVII, 3-9. ination. While all media studies teachers now have McMahon, J. (1986, May). Letter to the editor. ATOM News, p. 3. degrees in communications or similar, their level of Tyner, K. (1998). Literacy in a digital age: Teaching and learning in the familiarity with and knowledge of digital technolo- age of information. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. gies is variable. Some who have majored in journal- ism in their degree may have little or no knowledge ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of media production, others who have studied flm or Gemma Wright, the current ATOM (WA) President who played the key role in the resurrection of ATOM (WA) was interviewed regarding television at university will be competent media prac- factors which she believed inspired the resurrection. Gemma also titioners, however the pace of change in technologies provided documents and timelines. is such that their knowledge of platforms and sofware Lawry Hill from the Central Institute of Technology was interviewed regarding his contribution both in re-establishing ATOM (WA)’s is quickly out-of-date. ATOM (WA) provides an es- organizational structure and in providing a platform of technical sential service in advising members on hardware and support and showcasing student productions upon which ATOM sofware investments and in conducting training in (WA) has built. how to use such. Te potted genealogy of ATOM (WA) to date demonstrates how the subject association has contin-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 45 Towards a Rights-Based Vision of Digital Literacy

By Matthew Johnson

Matthew Johnson is the Director of Education for MediaSmarts, Canada’s center for digital and media literacy. He is the author of many of MediaSmarts’ lessons, parent materials and interactive resources and a lead on MediaSmarts’ Young Canadians in a Wired World research project. He has contributed blogs and articles to websites and magazines around the world as well as presenting MediaSmarts’ materials on top- ics such as copyright, cyberbullying, body image and online hate to Parliamentary committees, academic conferences and governments and organizations around the world, frequently as a keynote speaker. He has served as on expert panels convened by the Canadian Pediatric Society, the Ontario Network of Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatric Services and others, consulted on provincial curriculum for the Ontario Ministry of Education, and been interviewed by outlets such as The Globe and Mail, BBC News Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Radio Canada International and CBC’s The National.

[defnitions] [digital literacy] [research] [pedagogy] [critical thinking]

anadian media education, which has tradi- communication, such as digital “drama” or privacy tionally taken an empowerment approach concerns which, while always present with traditional C based on encouraging critical thinking and on media—telephone conversations, just like social net- empowering young people to become active, engaged works, lacked many of the cues we rely on to sense consumers and creators of media, has always been how others are feeling, and certainly were never fully about agency. One of the foundational curricular def- private—are nevertheless far more prominent in a dig- nitions of the term, for instance, places a heavy stress ital context. Tis suggests that digital literacy is worth on critical thought and independence: considering separately from media literacy, while re- specting the many ways in which they overlap.3 Media literacy is concerned with helping stu- More ofen than not, though, “digital literacy” is dents develop an informed and critical un- not connected to media literacy at all, and instead is derstanding of the nature of mass media, the typically used to mean one of two quite distinct things: techniques used by them and the impact of the ability to use digital tools specifcally to access and these techniques. More specifcally, it is edu- evaluate online content—what is sometimes called cation that aims to increase students’ under- information literacy4—and a suite of skills and habits standing and enjoyment of how the media designed to prevent youth from either encountering work, how they produce meaning, how they or causing trouble online, which is frequently also are organized, and how they construct reality. called digital citizenship.5 Tere are aspects of agency Media literacy also aims to provide students to both of these defnitions: certainly, youth need to with the ability to create media products.1 know some technical skills to have full agency in the networked world, as much as they need to be able to Te role of agency in digital literacy, on the oth- navigate the risks of being online. Te ability of both er hand, is ofen less clear. To be sure, the distinction visions of digital literacy to provide youth with agency, between media and digital literacy is somewhat arbi- though, are limited by their defnitions. Information trary and, indeed, digital literacy may be considered as literacy focuses too narrowly on a particular use of a sub-type of media literacy, especially since more and digital media, and even in that use ignores the con- more of our media consumption is delivered by net- siderations of being both a consumer and a broadcast- worked devices.2 Still, there are aspects of networked er (or re-broadcaster) of information in a networked

46 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY world: most of the information that youth encounter from search engines to social networks; the ability to online comes to them via social media, adding an eth- understand the content that they access, not just on a ical dimension to sharing information that is typically surface level but in a critically engaged way that draws absent from information literacy models. Digital citi- on media literacy to recognize how both the commer- zenship has a broader focus and an emphasis on eth- cial nature of the spaces they inhabit and the techni- ics, but is most ofen more a list of things not to do in cal architecture of the networked world infuence that order to keep yourself and others safe. As important content; and, fnally, the ability to create content using as these rules may be, the emphasis on them—and the those digital tools, both for creative expression and for resulting narrowing of students’ options and experi- advocacy purposes as consumers and citizens.10 ences—means that more ofen than not digital citi- While not technically a part of the defnition, ac- zenship programs create a barrier to agency, as youth cess can be seen as a necessary precondition of digital come to see themselves exclusively as either victims to literacy, since youth cannot acquire any of the other be protected or delinquents whose natural tendencies skills without reliable access to networks. It is also a must be curbed.6 We saw this view refected in our sur- right: Article 17 of the Convention requires parties to vey of Canadian teachers, who identifed “staying safe “ensure that the child has access to information and online,” “appropriate online behaviour” and “dealing material from a diversity of national and internation- with cyberbullying” as the top three most important al sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of digital literacy topics for students to learn.7 Similar- his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and ly, most eforts by governments at all levels to address physical and mental health.”11 Our research has found these issues are framed in negative, punitive contexts that the great strides taken by Canadian governments and rely heavily on scare tactics.8 To encourage youth in the early days of the Internet12 have not necessarily to be responsible, creative and critically engaged us- been followed up on. While nearly all of the youth in ers of networked technology, we need to stop trying our student survey told us that they are able to access to scare them into following rules and instead teach the Internet outside of school,13 our qualitative data them to know and exercise their rights as informed suggests that that access may not be fast or reliable and engaged digital citizens. in many rural and northern parts of the country. Te To do so, we must ensure young people know picture inside schools, meanwhile, is concerning. In that despite the Internet’s borderless qualities, they do not give up their rights when they go online: both the More ofen than not digital citizenship programs create United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child a barrier to agency, as youth come to see themselves (referred to hereafer as the Convention) and the spe- cifc rights guaranteed by their own governments, exclusively as either victims to be protected or such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, delinquents whose natural tendencies must be curbed. provide youth with essential rights in their dealings with government, service providers, third parties and our survey of K-12 teachers we heard again and again other Internet users. Tese include rights to privacy, frustration with slow and unreliable networks and out- to free expression, to education and access to informa- of-date or poorly chosen technology.14 It goes without tion, and to be free from discrimination, fear, violence saying that schools are where youth have the best and harassment. chance of learning the digital literacy skills they need, At MediaSmarts we have developed a defnition not just those they think they need, and we would be of digital literacy, based on models from the Report of right to be concerned about a situation where teenag- the Digital Britain Media Literacy Working Group, Di- ers are signifcantly more digitally connected at times gEuLit, and Project New Media Literacies,9 that is made when they are away from guidance and supervision. up of four key components: frst, access to networks Tere is more to access than literally being able and networked devices, a precondition for digital liter- to connect to networks: youth also need to be able to acy; then what we’ve identifed as the three key digital use them without fear of harassment, bullying and literacy skills—the competence in using digital tools, hate. Tis, too, is a right, as the Convention requires

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 47 signatory states to “protect the child from all forms of would contact the service provider in order to have an physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect unwanted photo removed.17 or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation.” In order for youth to exercise their rights as con- Unfortunately, our research has shown that Canadi- sumers, though, they need to understand the commer- an girls, in particular, are likely to see the Internet as cial considerations of the media they use—particularly a frightening place, which may lead to narrowed op- those that use their data and personal information as portunities and, as an ironic result, a source of revenue. To do that, we need to do a better lower levels of confdence, resilien- job of teaching them to understand digital media. Te cy and safety skills. Events of the “understand” skills can be seen as a bright point in the last few years have shown clearly Canadian digital literacy landscape: students and teach- that many online spaces are hostile ers agree on the value of being able to verify the infor- environments for women and girls, mation they see online, and most students know and as well as for visible minorities and use a number of diferent techniques for doing this.18 other marginalized groups: over a But here, too, there is a gap between school and the rest third of Canadian students in grades 7 to 11 encoun- of students’ lives, with authentication seen as primarily ter sexist or racist content online at least once a week.15 a matter for the classroom: while nine in ten students To confront the forms of harassment and hostility that verify information they need for school work, only two- keep youth from taking full advantage of their online thirds do so for information they’re seeking for their access, youth need to be made aware of their rights in personal interest, and just over half verify anything they online spaces and empowered to build communities learn through social media19—the main source of news where their rights are respected. for youth and an increasing number of adults as well.20 Much of the harassment that youth face online is Increasingly, the Internet is where politics happens, and actually perpetrated by peers, underscoring the need to authentication skills—especially the “sof” skills of rec- teach students how to use digital tools responsibly and ognizing bias, loaded language, and how a source may efectively. While this skill includes the obvious tech- be compromised by who is funding it—are essential for nical profciencies associated with using networked (as Article 29 of the Convention puts it) “the preparation technology, it also encompasses the ethical and afective of the child for responsible life in a free society.” dimensions of that use, such as understanding the real For the same reasons, to be involved in civic life efects of what we do in virtual worlds, and addressing today means contributing to the “online commons” by the efects of digital communication on empathy and creating digital media. Despite the fact that the Inter- relationships. As well, it means understanding the full net has removed the stranglehold that publishers and consequences of our use of digital technology, such as broadcasters once held on getting the message out, the risks posed to our privacy. Unfortunately, our re- however—and the fact we can now do with a cellphone search found that Canadian youth are ofen unaware what twenty years ago required a camcorder that cost of their rights to privacy, whether those provided by hundreds or even thousands of dollars—relatively few the terms of service they agree to (two-thirds of Cana- Canadian youth are creating content, in20 or out21 of dian students don’t understand the purpose of privacy school. Not being taught to create digital media—not policies),16 those provided by laws such as COPPA or only limits students’ education, but also their right “to PIPEDA, or the Convention, which states that “no child seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing with his or her privacy.” While most of the major social or in print, in the form of art, or through any other networks have made signifcant strides in recent years media of the child’s choice.” (Article 13). in providing users, particularly youth, with more tools A consequence of providing youths with the to manage their privacy and remove unwanted contact, means and the right to express themselves, of course, our research showed that young Canadians either have is the likelihood that some of that expression will take little knowledge of or little confdence in these tools: the form of prejudice, hostility and harassment. Tis, just over one in six of the students surveyed said they though, shows the value of taking a rights-based ap-

48 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY proach: so many issues online are about fnding an 3 Te Intersection of Digital and Media Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved August 12, 2016, from http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media- appropriate balance of rights, such as the right to free literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/ expression and the right to be free of harassment—a intersection-digital-media-literacy balance that models based on either technical skill or 4 Stordy, P. (2015). Taxonomy of Literacies. Journal of Documentation, on safety and good behaviour cannot help us fnd. 71 (3). pp. 456-476. ISSN 1758-7379. Te Convention is only one lens through which 5 Ribble, M. (n.d.). Nine Elements. Retrieved August 12, 2016, from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html we can look at young people’s rights, of course. Many 6 Ofsted, Te Safe Use of New Technologies (Ofsted, 2010), http:// nations have their own guarantees of human and civil www.ofsted.gov.uk/sites/default/fles/documents/surveys-and-good- rights: the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, practice/t/Te%20safe%20use%20of%20new%20technologies.pdf (accessed November 11, 2014). for example, guarantees similar rights, such as security 7 Johnson, M., Riel, R. and Froese-Germain, B. Connected to Learn: of the person, freedom from discrimination, and free- Teachers’ Experiences with Networked Technologies in the Classroom. dom of expression.23 Whatever the particular context, Ottawa: MediaSmarts/Canadian Teachers’ Federation, 2016. framing digital literacy in this way respects young peo- 8 Jones, L. M., Mitchell, K. J., & Walsh, W. A. (2012). Evaluation of Internet Child Safety Materials Used by ICAC Task Forces in School ple’s agency by giving them the right and the respon- and Community Settings, Final Report (Rep.). Durham, NH: Crimes sibility to participate in fnding that balance as full- Against Children Research Center, 201 2. https://www.ncjrs.gov/ fedged digital citizens. To do this, though, we need to pdfles1/nij/grants/242016.pdf. again draw on media literacy, which, with its emphasis 9 Ofcom (2009). Report of the Digital Britain Media Literacy Working Group: 27 March 2009. Ofcom; Martin, 2005. DigEuLit —a on empowerment and critical thinking, is ultimately European framework for digital literacy: a progress report. Journal of about helping youth understand their rights—their ELiteracy. v2. 130-136; Jenkins et al., (2006) Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. http:// right to be well-informed, their right to be heard, and www.newmedialiteracies.org/fles/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf their right to their own opinions and conclusions—not 10 Digital Literacy Fundamentals (MediaSmarts). http://mediasmarts. by leading them to a “right” answer but giving them the ca/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals tools to critically engage with the media they consume. 11 Te United Nations. “Convention on the Rights of the In the fnal analysis, all forms of literacy can be Child.” Treaty Series 1577 (1989): http://www.ohchr.org/en/ professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx viewed in terms of rights because they enable us both 12 Darragh, I. “SchoolNet.” Te Canadian Encyclopedia, frst published to fully understand and engage with content and be- December 3 2012, last edited December 16 2013. < http://www. cause they provide a means of expressing ourselves in thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/schoolnet/> the same way. Indeed, it was the archetypal literacy, 12 Steeves, V. Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Life Online. Ottawa: MediaSmarts, 2014. reading and writing print, that made possible the idea 13 Johnson et al. of rights, by overturning “the legal commonplace… 14 Steeves, V. Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: that a live witness deserved more credence than words Encountering Racist and Sexist Content Online Ottawa: MediaSmarts, on parchment”24 and giving citizens access to a rule 2014. of law that could counter the weight of tradition and 15 Steeves, V. Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Online overrule the whims of kings. Just as print literacy was Privacy, Online Publicity. Ottawa: MediaSmarts, 2014. for so long taught as a suite of purely mechanical skills, 16 Ibid. though (and too ofen still is), so too must digital lit- 17 Ibid. eracy broaden its focus to include helping youth un- 18 Steeves, V. Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Experts or Amateurs. Ottawa: MediaSmarts, 2014. derstand and know how to exercise their rights, and at 19 Ibid. the same time accept that doing so means letting them 20 Pew Research Center, June, 2016, “State of the News Media 2016” draw their own conclusions about right and wrong. i 21 Johnson et al. 22 Steeves, V. Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Experts or Amateurs. Ottawa: MediaSmarts 2014. FOOTNOTES 23 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the 1 Media Literacy Resource Guide. (1989). Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 Education. (UK), 1982, c 11. 2 Poyntz, S. and Hoechsmann, M. (2011) Teaching and Learning 24 Burke, J. (1995). Te day the universe changed. Boston, MA: Little, Media: From Media Literacy 1.0 to Media Literacy 2.0. Wiley-Blackwell Brown and Company. Publishers.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 49 Marshall McLuhan on Agency in Education and Technology Use

By Alexander Kuskis, Ph.D.

Alex Kuskis, Ph. D. (Toronto) has divided his career between higher education and the media businesses of book publishing and computers. He has taught at several universities in Canada and the USA and presently teaches online Communication courses for Gonzaga University from his home in Canada. He is working on a book on Marshall McLuhan as Educationist and publishes the McLuhan Galaxy blog at https://mcluhangal- axy.wordpress.com/.

[McLuhan] [media literacy] [efects] [pedagogy] [active learning]

hroughout his career in university teaching, re- “If we persist in a conventional approach to search, writing and public intellectual activity, these developments our traditional culture T Marshall McLuhan advocated agency in user will be swept aside as scholasticism was in interactions with technology, especially communica- the sixteenth century. Had the Schoolmen tion media, and on another level, in student learning with their complex oral culture understood in formal education. He did so indirectly, not ofen the Gutenberg technology, they could have using the word agency per se, through his teaching, created a new synthesis of written and oral lecturing and writing advocacy and occasional con- education, instead of bowing out of the pic- sulting about the social efects of the burgeoning elec- ture and allowing the merely visual page to tronic media environment of his time. An English lit- take over the educational enterprise. Te oral erature professor by education and profession, he was Schoolmen did not meet the new visual chal- fascinated by the pop culture of the 1960s—television, lenge of print, and the resulting expansion advertising, movies and rock-and-roll music—and or explosion of Gutenberg technology was in pop culture became equally fascinated with him. many respects an impoverishment of the cul- ture…” (McLuhan, 1964, 71) The Subliminal Environments Created by New Media Concerned about a new cultural displacement of reading, writing and print by the new electric and During the 1950s and ‘60s he became increasingly electronic media of his time, which he called the “new aware and concerned about the cognitive and social ef- media” (McLuhan, 1959, 1), he probed those new fects of the media transition from a print-based culture media environments to perceive their efects on the to an electronic-based culture, one which displaced human sensorium and cognition, as well as the social text with images and discourse as the dominant sym- sphere, borrowing fgure-ground analysis from Ge- bolic forms for communication. He had encountered stalt psychology for his analyses. such a cultural shif before in his study of the trans- Te fgure-ground problem deals with the per- formation of culture by the Gutenberg printing press, ceptual defciency caused by our inability to perceive which gradually overrode a rich oral-based communal the totality of a scene equally; instead of taking in the culture with a print-based individualistic one: whole, we visually tend to focus on a central or domi-

50 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY nant fgure, or sometimes one that is in motion, which krieg, for there is, quite literally, no place to arrests the eye, while the background, which is the hide. But if we diagnose what is happening ground of the fgure, recedes and escapes our notice. to us, we can reduce the ferocity of the winds Tis tendency can be corrected, or at least compen- of change and bring the best elements of the sated for, through training and practice, providing the old visual culture, during this transitional pe- viewer with a sense of confguration, which McLuhan riod, into peaceful coexistence with the new claimed that “an artist brings to bear on painting, a sat- retribalized society.” (McLuhan, 1969b) irist on situations” (McLuhan, Hutchon & McLuhan, 1977, 10). It is this perceptual incapacity that renders Understanding is critical for people to avoid us blind to the environments created by new media, becoming what McLuhan called “servomechanisms” McLuhan noting that, “It is one thing to spot a new to the technologies originally created to serve them. product but quite another to observe the invisible new McLuhan used a startling metaphor to illustrate how environments generated by the action of the product on humans are used by their technological creations: a variety of pre-existing social grounds.” (McLuhan & “Man becomes, as it were, the sex organs of the machine Nevitt, 1972, 63) He used the metaphor of people be- ing as oblivious of their ubiquitous electronic media In general, McLuhan advocated active learning environments as fsh are of their environmental water pedagogies, which can be defned as instructional surround: “Media efects are new environments as im- perceptible as water to a fsh, subliminal for the most methods that engage students in the learning part.” (McLuhan, 1969, 22) process through meaningful activities and refection (Prince, 2004). Marshall McLuhan’s Pedagogical Project

It became McLuhan’s ambitious pedagogical project world, as the bee of the plant world, enabling it to fecun- (Marchessault, 2005, 47) to raise the public conscious- date and to evolve ever new forms.” (McLuhan, 1964, ness to the harmful efects of electric and electronic 46) Although this seems to confrm the technological media, hidden by their subliminal environments, determinism that he was ofen accused of, he insisted wanting to train public awareness to those disservices that technology could only have its way with us if we of media that he perceived with his probing observa- lack awareness of its efects and how to counter them: tions, integral awareness and pattern recognition ca- “Nothing is inevitable provided we are prepared to pay pabilities. In the quotation below from the 1969 Play- attention.” (McLuhan, 1967, 25) boy Interview of McLuhan, which is worth quoting at We need to remember that the electronic media length, he explains that understanding media is the of McLuhan’s time were not of the interactive kind of frst step in gaining control over it: digital media we have today; one-way mass media was the norm and the only level of agency that the mass “Te frst and most vital step of all … is sim- audience was capable of was that of understanding, as ply to understand media and its revolution- responses to radio, TV and movie programming were ary efects on all psychic and social values limited. Teaching media understanding was the major and institutions. Understanding is half the aim of McLuhan’s for society at large, which is why he battle. Te central purpose of all my work is titled his most important book Understanding Media, to convey this message, that by understand- while Terrence Gordon subtitled his ofcial biography ing media as they extend man, we gain a of McLuhan, Escape into Understanding (1997). measure of control over them. And this is a vital task, because the immediate interface Agency in Student Learning between audile-tactile and visual perception is taking place everywhere around us. No Te editors of this special issue on agency provided a civilian can escape this environmental blitz- range of defnitions of agency, from the broadly gen-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 51 eral (“agency is knowledge in action”), to the highly he meant incomplete aspects of any subject, because: specifc context of media literacy education (“agency “… aphorisms, representing a knowledge broken, do in- is exercising media literacy and education to support vite men to inquire farther; whereas Methods, carrying learning, which might mean using media and media the show of a total” do not. (Molinaro, McLuhan, & literacy to learn more efectively or more deeply, about Toye, 1987, 444) Whether using aphorisms or other either media or other knowledge areas”). McLuhan’s means, teachers should resist presenting the totali- ideas relating to agency in learning of course are not ty of any subject, but rather just enough to generate specifc to the context of media literacy education per curiosity in students sufcient to make them want to se, for the simple reason that such education did not seek out the rest of the information using their own yet exist in McLuhan’s time. His ideas about agency in agency. education are related to institutional learning in gen- Te pedagogy that has the most student inactiv- eral, to every subject in the curriculum, not just the ity is the lecture, which is a hot medium that requires subject of media literacy. But his ideas on education, passivity, rapt attention, usually note-taking and dis- and specifcally the kind of pedagogy that he deemed cipline to learn from. But, retention is poor and a re- to be desirable for the post-literate electronic era, are cent study published in the Proceedings of the National foundational for media literacy education today. In Academy of Sciences concluded that students in classes general, McLuhan advocated active learning pedago- with traditional stand-and-deliver lectures were 1.5 gies, which can be defned as instructional methods times more likely to fail than students in classes us- that engage students in the learning process through ing more stimulating active learning methods. (Bajak, meaningful activities and refection (Prince, 2004). 2014) McLuhan and his collaborator George Leonard wrote in a LOOK Magazine article (1967) that: “Cool” Pedagogy and the Elimination of Lectures “Lectures, the most common mode of instruc- tion in mass education, called for very little Te idea of “cool” pedagogy derives from McLuhan’s student involvement. Tis mode, one of the distinction between a hot medium and a cool one, least efective ever devised by man, served which he explained thus: “… a hot medium excludes well enough in an age that demanded only and a cool medium includes; hot media are low in a specifed fragment of each human being’s participation, or completion, by the audience and cool whole abilities. Tere was, however, no war- media are high in participation.” (McLuhan, 1969) Ap- ranty on the human products of mass educa- plied to pedagogy, it is not a term that McLuhan him- tion.” (McLuhan & Leonard, 1967) self used, except to describe lectures as a hot medium, and has been appropriated by the author of this article In his short book titled Counterblast two years later, because, like cool media, cool pedagogy invites partic- McLuhan concluded that: “Te lecture is fnished in the ipation, interaction and involvement. He was follow- classroom.” (1969, p. 72) But that conclusion was prema- ture, as only during the last decade or so has the oppo- Teachers should resist presenting the totality of any sition to lecturing become more insistent and although active learning alternatives like the “fipped classroom” subject, but rather just enough to generate curiosity in have been advocated and used as alternatives, lecturing students sufcient to make them want to seek out the in institutional education is still all too prevalent. rest of the information using their own agency. Discovery Learning and the Probe as Pedagogy

ing John Dewey in this, whom he cites in his writings, Active learning methods that were advocated by Mar- believing that inactivity undermines learning. In one shall McLuhan include discovery learning, using a of his letters, McLuhan quoted Francis Bacon on the unique research method that he devised for himself desirability of teaching “broken knowledge,” by which called probing, as he wrote in 1966:

52 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY “Education on all levels has to move from move education out of classrooms into the surround- packaging to probing, from the mere convey- ing community and landscape. His reasoning was sim- ing of data to the experimental discovering ply that in the Electronic Age, the world outside the of new dimensions of experience. Te search classroom was much more information-rich than any will have to be for patterns of experience and classroom could be: discovery of principles of organization which have universal application, not for facts. … It “We have to realize that more instruction is is the orientation of the society that matters, going on outside the classroom, many times and our whole world, in shifing from the old more every minute of the day than goes on mechanical forms to the new electronic feed- inside the classroom. Tat is, the amount back forms, has already shifed from data of information that is embedded in young packaging to probing of patterns.” (McLu- minds per minute outside the classroom far han, 1966, 38) exceeds anything that happens inside the classroom in just quantitative terms now.” Te Book of Probes defnes the probe as: “… a (McLuhan, 1966, 38) means or method of perceiving. It comes from the world of conversation & dialogue… Like conversation, the ver- And elsewhere he suggested that: “Education must bal probe is discontinuous, nonlinear; it tackles things always concentrate its resources at the point of major in- from many angles at once.” (McLuhan & Carson, 2003, formation intake.” (McLuhan, 1969, 119) To him, that 403) Despite his considerable output in written form, was not in classrooms. He called this information-rich McLuhan revelled in interactive dialogue with his col- environment outside of schools the “classroom without laborators and students, engaging in what came to be called brainstorming at a later time. Discovery learning is an approach originated by Jerome Bruner in the 1960s, but previously advocated by John Dewey, which he defned as “all forms of obtain- ing knowledge for oneself by the use of one’s own mind.” (1961, 22) He saw this as a matter of “rearranging or transforming evidence in such a way that one is enabled to go beyond the evidence so assembled to additional new insights.” (1961, 22) Students engage in problem-solv- ing assignments where they utilize their own past ex- periences and existing knowledge to discover informa- tion and relationships that lead to new knowledge to be learned. Both discovery learning and research probes represent active learning methods in a student-centered manner that give agency to learners, enabling them to walls” and named the media that were the sources of develop initiative and research skills. It was essentially its information: “Te movie, radio, and TV: classroom McLuhan’s own method of research, which he advocat- without walls.” (McLuhan, 1964, 283) Elsewhere, he ed for institutional learning at all levels. added advertisements to this urban media ecology, while indicating his disdain for conventional place- The City as Classroom and Classroom without based education: “Te metropolis today is a classroom, Walls the ads are its teachers. Te traditional classroom is AN OBSOLETE DETENTION HOME, a feudal dungeon.” Always aware that the ground or environment of any (McLuhan’s emphasis) (McLuhan & Carson, 2003, 126) entity or activity has a transformative efect on the Marshall McLuhan’s fnal book published during fgure or fgures within its midst, McLuhan wanted to his lifetime, City as Classroom: Understanding Lan-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 53 guage and Media (1977), co-authored by his son Eric mediate their experiences…Tese inquiry McLuhan and Toronto high school teacher Kathryn activities take students’ media experiences Hutchon, demonstrates how the city could be used from being taken for granted, to being open as an extension of the classroom while still using the to refective examination.” latter as a home base. Taking learners from the high- ly-structured and supervised classroom and into the Related Pedagogical Reform Ideas city could not help but give greater agency to students, It is clear from the descriptions of the collaborative Taking learners from the highly-structured and team assignments in City as Classroom, where teach- ers are scarcely mentioned at all as part of the educa- supervised classroom and into the city could not help tional process, that teacher roles would have to be re- but give greater agency to students, especially if the defned in the new media ecology. Today, this teacher kinds of probing exercises related to media described by redefnition is sometimes described as a shif from a the authors are used. “sage-on-the-stage” role to a “guide-on-the-side” role; teachers must focus on guiding, leading and support- ing learners, rather than subjecting them to “chalk- especially if the kinds of probing exercises related to and-talk” lectures and teaching to the test. Teachers media described by the authors are used. Students would lead students to a discovery learning/team would be assigned to separate research teams to em- project approach that gives greater agency to learn- ploy fgure/ground analyses in determining the prop- ers: “… teacher can go from team to team, giving direct erties and efects of a wide variety of media within the help… as needed, focusing his or her attention on the city: cars, newspapers, books, light bulbs, TV, audio aptitudes and difculties of individuals, and performing tape, clocks, satellites, money, and a lot more; several the teacher’s essential function of charting the course of weeks of outside discovery and analysis would be fol- student’s explorations.” (City as Classroom Teacher’s lowed by class discussions. Guide, 1977b) Clearly, such a “guide-on-the-side” ap- For example, news stories presented in print, proach afords much greater agency to learners than radio and TV that describe the same news, but afect the traditional controlling “sage-on-the-stage.” diferent sensory organs, would be compared for their McLuhan also insisted that the practice of emotional impacts. Conducting a word count of print grading student assignments, based as it is on com- news stories compared to that of a 22-minute TV news petition, is useless and even harmful, although it is program would reveal that the word count of the lat- unclear what he would have substituted. He wanted ter would ft onto one page of a newspaper (Mason, the book-centric educational world to adopt other 2016, 88). Te role of flm footage for TV news stories forms of instructional media to refect the current might be considered to determine if the availability media ecology: TV, flms, records, audiotapes, video, of flm footage by itself justifed the story’s inclusion and other media. And he advocated the teaching of and whether it was included more for its mere enter- media literacy, without using that term, treating in- tainment value. Students might be asked to examine dividual media as new languages, because, “Without how objectivity in news reporting has changed over an understanding of media grammars, we cannot hope time by comparing current stories to similar ones in to achieve a contemporary awareness of the world in the distant past. In his recent study of City as Class- which we live.” (McLuhan & Carpenter, 1960, ix-xii) room, Mason (2016, 94) summarizes his detailed anal- Finally, he wanted schools to train the perceptual ysis with the comment that the book ofers students capabilities of students using Figure/Ground analy- opportunities: sis to discover the meanings of things in our world of technological extensions, which is what City as “…to become active participants in under- Classroom is about. All of these proposals would standing the psychological and social reper- enhance learner agency and lead to learner-centric cussions of technologies that increasingly educational system.

54 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Final Thoughts REFERENCES Bajak, A. (2014). Lectures aren’t just boring, they’re inefective, too, study fnds. Retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/ McLuhan has ofen been criticized for promoting a news/2014/05/lectures-arent-just-boring-theyre-inefective-too-study- vision of technological determinism, the idea that fnds . technologies are “the sole or prime antecedent caus- Bruner, J.S. (1961). Te act of discovery. Harvard Educational Review, es of changes in society, and technology is seen as the 31, 31-32. fundamental condition underlying the pattern of social Chandler, D. (2014). Technological or media determinism. Retrieved from http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/tecdet/ organization.” (Chandler, 2014) Such critics complain tdet02.html that McLuhan denies much, if any, agency to users of Kuskis, A. (2011). Marshall McLuhan as educationist: Institutional the media technologies that he wrote about (Marshall, learning in the post-literate Era. Explorations in Media Ecology, 10 (3&4), 313-333. 2004). But as his earlier quote (“Nothing is inevitable Logan, R.K. (2010). McLuhan misunderstood: Setting the record provided we are prepared to pay attention.” ) suggests, straight. Toronto: Key. he believed that technology users are—or at least can Marchessault, J. (2005). Marshall McLuhan: Cosmic media. London: be—active agents. But the proviso in that statement is SAGE. a big one—that people are capable of and prepared to Marshall, D.P. (2004). New media cultures. London: Arnold. pay attention to more than just the content of media Mason, L. (2016). McLuhan’s challenge to critical media literacy. Te messages, their capability being dependent on their ‘City as Classroom’ textbook. Curriculum inquiry, 46(1), 79 - 97 abilities to perceive the subliminal environments of McLuhan, M. (1959). Electronic revolution: Revolutionary efects of new media. In S. McLuhan & D. Staines (Eds.), Understanding me: their technologies and their efects, especially the Lectures & interviews, (1 – 11). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. harmful ones. McLuhan, M. (1976). What TV does best – NBC Tomorrow Show Further support for McLuhan’s belief in human Interview by Tom Snyder. In S. McLuhan & D. Staines (Eds.), Understanding me: Lectures & interviews, (244 – 255). Toronto: agency is his idea of the user as content of any medium McClelland & Stewart. s/he’s contending with: “Te user is always the content McLuhan. M. (1964). Understanding media: Te extensions of man. of any situation, whether it’s driving a car or wearing New York: McGraw-Hill. clothes or watching a show. Te user is the content.” McLuhan, M. (1966, April). Electronics & the psychic drop-out. THIS (McLuhan, 1976, 250) As Robert Logan (2010) parses Magazine is about SCHOOLS, 1(1), 37-42. the latter aphorism, “…each reader or viewer brings his McLuhan, M. (1969). Counterblast. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. or her own experience and understanding to a medi- McLuhan, M. (1969b, March). Playboy interview: Marshall McLuhan. Playboy. 53 – 74, 158. Available online at http://www.digitallantern. um and transforms the content according to his or her net/mcluhan/mcluhanplayboy.htm . own need and abilities.” (76) He goes on to write that McLuhan, M., & Agel. J. (1967). Te Medium is the massage: An information has no inherent meaning independent of inventory of efects. Corte Madera: CA. Gingko Press. the consumer of it. (77) However, though active us- McLuhan, M. & Carpenter, E. (1960) (Eds.). Explorations in ers create meaning for themselves, technology is not communication: Anthology. Boston: Beacon Press. neutral and has intrinsic biases designed and built into McLuhan, M. (1972), & Nevitt, B. (1972). Take today: Te executive as dropout. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. it from initial conception through the design process McLuhan, M., & Carson, D. (2003). Te book of probes. Corte Madera: (VanderLeest, n.d., para. 1). So, there is a technologi- CA. Gingko Press. cal limitation on a user’s agency. Despite this, McLu- McLuhan, M., Hutchon, K., & McLuhan, E. (1977). City as classroom: han continued to express the view that understanding Understanding language and media. Agincourt, ON: Book Society of Canada. was the key to user control of technology and main- McLuhan, M., Hutchon, K., & McLuhan, E. (1977b). City as classroom: tained an optimistic view of his/her ability to do so: “I Teacher’s guide. Agincourt, ON: Book Society of Canada. have deep and abiding belief in man’s potential to grow Molinaro, M., McLuhan, C. &, Toye, W. (Eds.). (1987). Letters of and learn, to plumb the depths of his own being and Marshall McLuhan. Toronto: Oxford University Press. to learn the secret songs that orchestrate the universe.” Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the (McLuhan, 1969b) i research. Journal of engineering education. 93(3). 223-231. VanderLeest (n.d.). Te Built-in Bias of Technology. Retrieved from http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engineering/aseeled/program/ abstracts2004/2004-1670_Abstract.pdf

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 55 Maneuvering Entrenched Structures of Arab Education Systems: Te agency of Arab media literacy educators and activists

By Jad Melki, Ph.D., and Lubna Maaliki, M.A.

Jad Melki, Ph.D., is associate professor of the journalism and media studies and chairperson of the De- partment of Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University (LAU), where he also directs the Institute of Media Research and Training. Melki is also a visiting faculty at the Salzburg Academy and an afliated researcher with ICMPA at the University of Maryland. His research is at the intersection of digital media literacy, journalism, war, and gender studies, and focuses on Arab media education. Previously, Melki was founding director of Media Studies at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and has taught at the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and Towson University. In 2015, he won the UNESCO-UNAoC Inter- national Media and Information Literacy Award for advancing media literacy education in the Arab region through founding the Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB). Lubna Maaliki, M.A., is the director of the Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB) and a media literacy researcher and trainer. The Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB) aims to develop, advance, and promote media and digital literacy education in the Arab region through the training of Arab teachers and research- ers and the development of locally rooted curricula. www.mdlab.center

[activism] [Arab media education] [Arab spring] [MDLAB] [global media literacy]

ow do you introduce media literacy to a whole In 2010, a small group of Arab academics and region where top-down government struc- university students devised to introduce the concept H tures control educational systems? …where to the Arab academic community. Members of this war, confict, and terrorism occupies vast areas? … group had become passionate about media literacy where decrepit public education systems are domi- afer learning about it during their graduate pursuits nated by nepotism and archaic curricula? …where in the US and Europe and through study-abroad pro- extremist ideologies and fundamentalism increasing- grams, such as the Salzburg Academy. With the help of ly defne the political culture? …and where social and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the Arab-US economic injustice, military occupation, political per- Association of Communication Educators (AUSACE), secution, and authoritarianism are the chronic norms a media literacy-themed conference was convened in of the past half-century? Beirut, Lebanon, in 2011. Te idea of building gener- Before 2009, media literacy simply did not exist ations of critical thinkers and digitally savvy and civi- in the Arab region, neither as a university or school cally engaged citizens resonated widely with the con- program, nor even as a concept discussed by the aca- ference attendees. Tis was not surprising, given the demics and scholars of the region. With the exception event’s coincidental timing with the debut of the “Arab of a handful of individual initiatives at a couple of elite Spring” and the spirit of hope that it carried during the private universities, media and digital literacy were early stage of the uprisings that swept the region and alien terms that guaranteed confusion and dismissal toppled authoritarian regimes. whenever broached in academic conferences. But not all was rosy. Te conference also brought

56 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY to the fore the tedious challenges of promoting and UAE, Morocco, and Lebanon. While all theoretically developing media literacy in the region. Meetings are “Arab,” each cohort looks more like a hodge-podge with faculty at the conference unveiled the three most of contradictory cultures and political orientations, daunting obstacles: heterogeneous linguistic clusters, and a wide range of religious, ideological, ethnic and national identi- 1.T e lack of qualifed faculty able and will- ties. Tey included Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish Iraqis; ing to teach media and digital literacy. pro-government and pro-opposition Syrians; Chris- 2.T e dearth of media literacy curricula in tians and Muslims from throughout the region; Jor- Arabic that address Arab priorities. danians and Yemenis who mastered the Arabic lan- 3.Entrenched political structures that have guage but barely understood any foreign language and subjugated the academic systems to serve Lebanese and Algerians who couldn’t seem to put an as propaganda instruments of the state. Arabic sentence together without it being riddled with French and English terms; religiously conservative And soon afer, the obstacles increased, as the and traditionally dressed men and women who don’t optimism of the frst stage of the Arab uprisings shake hands with the opposite gender and secular turned into desperation and hopelessness. As several liberals who spent most of their free time exploring peaceful uprisings turned violent and plunged their the Beirut pub scene and its hypersexualized beach societies into brutal civil wars, and the few successful resorts; digitally illiterate veteran academics whose movements faced cooption by fundamentalist groups perception of media education echoes antiquated the- and counter-revolutionary military juntas, the impor- ories from the 1960s and multitasking junior faculty tance of introducing media literacy to the region did and graduate students who can’t seem to unplug from not feature high on anyone’s priority list, and its future their mobile devices and social media apps. seemed bleak. But plans were already underway and it Te only matter they seemed to have in com- was too late to turn back. mon was the tedious and ofen treacherous journeys Te Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB) launched in summer 2013 with the aim of addressing the aforementioned three obstacles. MD- Te hope was that these same participants will return LAB’s mission is to advance digital and media literacy to their countries equipped to teach media literacy education in the region through training Arab media at their colleges and schools and create a multiplying educators and developing curricula—not only in Ara- efect by advocating the merits of media literacy in bic, but more importantly grounded in Arab cultures their societies and training more compatriots to carry and concerns, and helping academics maneuver their the media literacy torch forward. countries’ higher education bureaucracies and obsta- cles to introduce media literacy to their societies. Te idea was to bring together—every summer for three they made to reach Beirut. Each academy, partici- intensive weeks—50 academics, graduate students, pants share their fascinating travel stories: the partic- and activists from various Arab countries and train ipants from Palestine who braved the agony of cross- them through lectures, workshops, and TOT sessions ing Israeli checkpoints—including a guy who snuck on media and digital literacy concepts and competen- through a Gaza tunnel to make it into Egypt—only to cies. Te hope was that these same participants will face even more discriminatory treatment by the Leb- return to their countries equipped to teach media lit- anese border police; the woman from Northern Iraq eracy at their colleges and schools and create a multi- who had to drive for 12 hours through dangerous mi- plying efect by advocating the merits of media litera- litia-held towns to reach Baghdad Airport afer ISIS cy in their societies and training more compatriots to occupied her region and shut down the nearby air- carry the media literacy torch forward. port; the cohort from Damascus who dodged mortar MDLAB participants come from Iraq, Syria, Ye- attacks on their drive to Beirut and spent eight hours men, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Oman, at the Lebanese-Syrian border; the Yemeni participant

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 57 who, afer Sana’a Airport was bombed, had to board a to engage local academics and activists and get their cattle-ship from Aden to Djibouti, where he spent 48 buy-in, while simultaneously guiding MDLAB’s strat- hours in detention, then few to Jordan to face anoth- egy and long-term goals. er 8 hours of interrogation and abuse before arriving Key to MDLAB’s mission is the building of cur- three days late to Beirut; the Egyptian cohort, each of ricula rooted in the region, and the programs included whom had to prove that they carry $2,000 in cash at several TOT sessions focused on devising media liter- Beirut airport before being allowed in; and the Pal- acy syllabi and lectures. Each national group worked estinian professor from Ramallah who spent over 12 together on outlining the topics and objectives of the hours maneuvering Israeli checkpoints and Jordanian ideal media literacy course they hoped to introduce to their countries, and each individual developed a short More importantly, the participants had ownership of lecture focused on one of these topics. Te end result these curricula and did not perceive them as foreign was a diverse archive of curricula built by locals who programs descended upon them from the West. understand their cultures and educational systems and posted online in an open environment for anyone to use. More importantly, the participants had own- security only to be turned back home at Beirut Air- ership of these curricula and did not perceive them port afer the border ofcials noticed an Israeli stamp as foreign programs descended upon them from the on his passport. Somehow these stories of Arab coun- West. In addition, post academy analysis of these cur- tries discriminating against their own peoples unifed ricula and focus groups with participants over the past the diverse mixture of participants, especially given four years revealed important overlapping themes and the irony that the International speakers who mainly needs for the region, including: came from the US and the EU had the easiest time entering the country. 1. Adding topics and lectures relevant to the But these diferences were not the main challenge Arab world, such as media and religious during the inaugural year of MDLAB. With every lec- sectarianism and fundamentalism; pro- ture and workshop, participants grew more excited yet paganda used by violent extremists; the more skeptical about the relevance of media literacy relationship between media and terror- to the Arab world at a time when the whole region ism; political propaganda during con- seemed to be plunged into every political, military, so- ficts; rumor management in war times; cial and economic crisis humanity can ofer. Te issue media and social movements; media was that media literacy in the US and Europe mainly and religious and racial minorities of the deals with problems of the developed world. Because Arab world; representation and stereo- the Arab region had a dearth of media literacy experts, types of Arabs in Arab media (not only MDLAB invited renowned international media edu- in Western media). cators, such as Renee Hobbs, Henry Jenkins, Susan 2. Providing examples, illustrations, and Moeller, Stephen Reese, Paul Mihailidis, Sut Jhally, case studies from the region to support and Moses Shumow. Te hope was that, with time, lo- lectures and workshops, for instance: cal capacity would become sufcient. Te topics they ownership trends in the Arab media covered, such as news construction, visual culture, the industry; media uses of Arab youth; political economy of news, advertising and propagan- cases of online surveillance and privacy da, representation of gender, race and sexuality, are risks from the region; dominant imag- standard topics in most US media literacy curricula. es of women in local Arab media and While most participants agreed about their impor- advertising; examples of racism and tance, they did not see them as sufcient for the region sectarianism on Arab TV; examples of during this period. Tis provided an early challenge cyberbullying and other media efects for MDLAB to establish its legitimacy as a local orga- on children; case studies of propaganda nization, but it also ofered an important opportunity used by violent extremists, such as ISIS;

58 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY local examples related to civic engage- faculty—the most passionate and energetic advocates. ment and participatory culture. During the second year of the academy, at the 3. Developing advanced technical capaci- suggestion of former participants, MDLAB invited ties, such as social network analysis and senior professors, chairpersons, deans and even repre- data literacy, which go beyond the basic sentatives of education ministries from various Arab digital production skills. countries, as well as representatives from internation- 4. Ofering malleable curricula and exercis- es that can be easily injected into existing university courses and programs instead of stand-alone courses, and may be of- fered as workshops to activists, journal- ists, and civil society organizations. 5. Producing media literacy research, read- ing materials, and textbooks in Arabic.

While the list seemed quite long and partly dis- heartening, it nevertheless provided a roadmap for the future and helped MDLAB revise its strategy and focus on real needs for the region. More importantly, it provided participants with a sense of mission and concrete goals to pursue when they returned to their countries. However, the most daunting goal remained looming over everyone’s head: how to maneuver na- al organizations, such as UNESCO and UNAoC. Tey tional educational systems and introduce media litera- were invited to the last three days of the academy to cy to their countries at a time of turmoil and increased engage in high-level discussions and witness their state surveillance and anxiety? compatriots and students present what they learned. Te mission seemed impossible, especially for Te strategy worked. Tese senior participants pro- public universities that are directly controlled by the vided political clout and cover to the junior faculty whims of education ministers who are more interest- and graduate students who were doing the legwork. ed in political survival than in improving their coun- Ten news suddenly came from Syria: Damascus try’s educational systems. Te frst year of the academy University introduced a media literacy course. Tis ended and participants departed with doubt about the provided an enormous push to everyone and a turn- prospects of facing their countries’ infexible educa- ing point for MDLAB. If a public university in war- tion structures. Even MDLAB organizers were not torn Syria can do this, anyone can. A year later, Iraqi very hopeful. But news started trickling in over the participants celebrated the decision of their education next few months. MDLAB participants—the agents of change in their countries—were posting on social How to maneuver national educational systems and media news about workshops and seminars aimed at promoting the merits of media and digital literacy ed- introduce media literacy to their countries at a time of ucation for their communities. Soon enough, several turmoil and increased state surveillance and anxiety? private universities succeeded in introducing media literacy courses and modules into their programs. ministry to require media literacy in all Iraqi public However, no advances were reported at public uni- universities. By the fourth year of the academy, over versities, which happen to enroll the vast majority of 30 Arab universities (and a handful of schools) had Arab students—in many cases over 95% of all college introduced media literacy courses and modules. All students in the country. Administrators did not see its this was achieved by passionate local academics and merit and ministries were largely inaccessible to junior activists determined to see media and digital literacy

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 59 tory and tolerant global culture; and fnally promoting locally rooted curricula and disseminating knowledge globally in an open and free environment.

Conclusion: Where do we go from here?

Despite all their magnifcent accomplishments, Arab media literacy educators still require massive support, and the nascent state of Arab media literacy remains vulnerable and threatened, especially by the same po- litical structures that hindered its advance. Te sce- nario of entrenched political interests co-opting media literacy to serve state propaganda and narrow political interests remain real, especially if the top-down edu- cational governance systems persisted. Te hope is to fourish in their countries. In the process, MDLAB build a critical mass of educators able to defend the managed to create a network of academics, activists, principles and values of media literacy and a resilient and researchers capable of developing and promoting culture that is able to resist any attempted perversion media literacy for their own societies. Teir agency of its mission. Tis requires generalizing media litera- overcame entrenched impediments and outmaneu- cy to the whole educational system and beyond. vered obstinate structures of the Arab world’s educa- Terefore, next on the list of challenges is to help tion systems. push media literacy into schools. While MDLAB has Te media literacy programs they introduced are been engaged in helping some Lebanese schools, such as diverse as the individuals who advocated for them. as International College (IC), Jesus and Mary, and Al Nevertheless, all carried some of the tenets of media Kawthar, to build their media literacy capacities, many literacy that have been advocated by MDLAB, which MDLAB alumni have been doing the same in other resonate with the approach of a group of international Arab countries. Te Jordan Media Institute—a key media literacy academics tied to the Salzburg Academy MDLAB partner—is working on schools (and uni- on Media and Global Change, and who are sometimes versities) in Jordan with the help of UNESCO, while referred to as the “Salzburg school of media literacy.” other initiatives have been reported in Qatar, Egypt, and the UAE. Still, enormous eforts remain, and MD- LAB hopes that by 2020 every Arab country will have Te hope is to build a critical mass of educators able to at least one university and one school teaching media defend the principles and values of media literacy and literacy and leading the efort to promote and develop a resilient culture that is able to resist any attempted it further in its own country. perversion of its mission. Simultaneously, MDLAB hopes to help bolster the production of local media literacy texts, studies, and other intellectual and pedagogical material. Tis Tese tenets include: integrating media literacy con- will require more time and major investment from cepts and critical theories with digital competencies internal and external players. A hopeful sign is the and production/composition abilities; contextualiz- increased number of graduate students interested in ing media literary pedagogies within global and local focusing their theses and dissertations on media lit- issues of social justice and human rights; developing eracy. A possible key strategy in this area would be teaching and learning methods that aim for individual the establishment of local MA and Ph.D. programs in and communal empowerment and emancipation; ty- media and digital literacy—a matter MDLAB and its ing media literacy to action through civic engagement, home university, the Lebanese American University, is political activism, and the development of a participa- considering seriously. i

60 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Fostering Agency Trough Media Literacy

By Martin Rayala, Ph.D.

Martin Rayala, Ph.D. is the co-founder and Chief Academic Ofcer for Design-Lab High School, an XQ Super School award recipient in Newark, Delaware. While he was a Curriculum Supervisor for the Wisconsin De- partment of Public Instruction, he worked with Marieli Rowe to develop the Journal of Media Literacy from a small newsletter to the journal it is today. After retiring from the State Education Agency Dr. Rayala taught at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and then retired to develop Design-Lab Schools with CEO Dr. Cristina Alvarez. His numerous honors include NTC’s 2015 Jessie McCanse award.

[Meliorism] [Design Thinking] [critical thinking] [Visualization] [collaboration] [communication]

gency is the capacity to be autonomous and digital age, our ability to produce and distribute our exercise personal power to achieve one’s own media has increased drastically. Today, growing A own goals. Many people feel powerless and numbers of people not only watch movies but produce lack agency when confronted with large, complex and distribute their own videos. Students not only play problems. Students feel they live their lives under but create their own video games. the will of parents and teachers. Teachers feel they lack agency in determining what and how they Embracing Meliorism teach. School administrators feel constrained by state and national mandates. Many parents feel they I fnd it curious that the words “meliorism” and “me- have little power at work and scant input into how liorist” are not common terms in our vocabulary. schools educate their children. Voters sometimes “Meliorism” is the attitude or belief that the world can feel they have little real say in how their country is be made better through human efort. Tere are no run. A feeling of lack-of-agency is an ongoing chal- synonyms or other terms commonly used that mean lenge to progress. quite the same thing. “Optimism” is a term that gets close in regard to believing that things are going to Gaining Agency Through Media Literacy turn out okay or get better, but it lacks that extra un- derstanding that this can happen through human Media Literacy is one of the skills to enable us to gain agency or efort. agency over some aspects of our lives. Media litera- Meliorism would seem to be a prerequisite to cy has traditionally meant the ability to access, ana- having agency in one’s life. You have to believe that you lyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms. have some control over the direction your life takes or Te ability to read and write gives people some power how things are going to turn out. One has to be conf- in their lives. Freedom to express oneself is a power dent in one’s ability to be the captain of one’s own ship. granted to Americans by their Constitution. Being a media-wise citizen gives one powers over scammers, Becoming Design Thinkers liars, charlatans and cheats. Being media literate pro- vides agency in the afairs of our lives. Once we are convinced that we can improve our lot in It was only a few decades ago that we had little life through our own eforts, there are some skills to be agency or control over the media we consumed. Pro- developed to help us become confdent in our prob- ducing newspapers, magazines, radio, television and lem-solving abilities. An invaluable tool in the path to movies required considerable resources, and media becoming a problem-solver is Design Tinking. was controlled by a handful of (usually male) power- Design Tinking is an iterative process that in- ful producers and distributors. With the advent of the volves a variety of actions. It is useful to break the De-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 61 sign Tinking process for problem solving into four drafs, or any number of tangible, testable examples. basic steps: Toroughness and diligence in prototyping can save a 1. Identifying and defning the problem. great deal of time, money and resources later. 2. Generating alternatives and potential solutions. It is important to distinguish two diferent uses 3. Prototyping and testing promising possibilities. for the terms prototype, model and design. In this case 4. Presenting results to others to be evaluated for we are using the terms in their verb—rather than potential implementation. noun—forms. To prototype, to model or to design is to ask questions, investigate and test hypotheses. Tese Identifying the Problem terms are used later in the design process as nouns be- cause they are answers to the questions and presenta- As strange as it may sound, people spend a lot of time tions of possible solutions. and energy trying to solve the wrong problems. For Prototyping in design is related to a hypothesis in example, if we take on a complex problem like im- science. It is a supposition or proposed explanation proving student learning in elementary and secondary made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting schools, where do we begin? Is the solution to be found point for further investigation and testing. In the next by examining how students learn, how teachers teach, step of the design process where we present our ideas, how parents parent, how schools school, how society the terms prototype, model and design become nouns values education, how the costs of education are paid, where they are more related to the concept of “theory” or some other factor we might not even have thought in science accepted as a valid explanation of a phe- of? One of the keys to successful problem-solving is nomenon. As a verb in the design process, prototyping to take a little extra time, to dig deeper, to ask more is a set of questions or a hypothesis to be tested. As a questions and really develop the most efective and noun, the model, prototype or design is a proposed powerful statement of the problem. answer to the question, like a scientifc theory.

Generating potential solutions Presenting Viable Solutions

Te world famous design frm, IDEO, calls the next In school settings it is desirable—but not always possi- step in the Design Tinking process “Ideation,” the ble—to actually implement solutions in the real world. process of generating, developing and communicat- For this reason, we expect students to be able to pres- ing new ideas. Some use brainstorming, a group prob- ent their solutions to others in a clear and compelling lem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous manner for the purposes of feedback and evaluation. contribution of ideas from all members of the group. Tis is sometimes referred to as “pitching an idea.” I call this step Visualization because it is important to It is ofen as difcult to convince someone of get the ideas out in the open in a tangible, visible form the quality of an idea as it is to generate an innovative where people can see them, add to them, build on idea. With the advent of TED Talks and TV shows like them, elaborate and generate more and better ideas. Shark Tank, the bar has been raised for the ability to Here again, stopping this process too soon is the rea- present ideas. It is important to present ideas in the son many problems are not efectively solved. form of stories that are engaging, personal and illus- trate a larger point with a specifc, relatable example. Prototyping Promising Solutions Creating Design-Lab High Some ideas might sound and look good on paper but don’t hold up in real life. Tat’s why it is important to In 2013, Dr. Cristina Alvarez and I wrote the charter prototype ideas and develop preliminary models to for an innovative high school called Design-Lab High try out potential solutions in quick, easy, inexpensive that was approved by the Delaware Department of Ed- ways. Prototypes can take the form of models, story- ucation and opened in 2015. Tis school was designed boards, concept drawings, samples, templates, rough specifcally to give students a sense of agency and em-

62 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY powerment and provide them with the tools and skills to become problem solvers. In 2016, Design-Lab High was named a Winner in the XQ Super School Challenge created by Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers, to rethink high schools for the 21st century. Mrs. Jobs created the XQ Super School Challenge because most schools contin- ue to follow a century-old model developed for a time when students were being prepared to enter factories Design-Lab High received a $10 million XQ Super School Award at a ceremony and work on farms. Today, conformity and consisten- in Washington D.C. The award was presented by musician MC Hammer (3rd from cy are being replaced by new skills in creativity, critical left) on behalf of Laurene Jobs (2nd from left) and Executive Director Russlyn Ali (3rd from right). Design-Lab founders Dr. Cristina Alvarez and Dr. Martin Rayala thinking, collaboration and communication. (center) along with students, Board members, school leaders. parents and Students and teachers at Design-Lab High are community supporters who attended the ceremony. challenged to use 5 fundamental tools for thinking and communicating ideas: words, numbers, images, ing the environment or any segment of the population. sounds, and movement. Tey develop linguistic, nu- Progress toward that goal has been pretty disap- merical, visual, acoustic and kinesthetic skills. Tradi- pointing but there has been some. In a world still held tional schools focus only on the frst two areas and back by racism and sexism, the United States elected concentrate on reading, writing and arithmetic at the Barack Obama as the frst African American President expense of the others. Te goal at Design-Lab High is and nominated Hillary Clinton as its frst woman Pres- to motivate learning by engaging students’ brains and idential candidate. People are healthier and live longer bodies fully and more comprehensively. than at any time in history. Te standard of living for people around the world is improving at a painfully Preparing for an Uncertain Future slow pace but is improving nonetheless. Contrary to current perceptions, the rate of violent crime contin- Design-Lab High was designed to teach students ues to decline. problem-solving skills through Design Tinking and Tere is no guarantee, and things can still go ter- provide them the skills to take on the challenges of the ribly wrong, but as Design Tinking, problem-solving 21st century. No one knows the form the future will meliorists, it is our responsibility to apply our creativ- take but it is clear that the next 30 years will be a most ity and critical thinking skills to communicate with amazing time in the history of our planet. the global community and continue to collaboratively Te future will be greatly infuenced by the ex- solve problems. i ponential growth of technology and artifcial intelli- gence. Tere will be some form of trans-humanism or REFERENCES post-humanism in which human intelligence and ma- Buckminster Fuller https://bf.org/ chine intelligence work together to create extraordi- Decline of Violence https://www.amazon.com/Better-Angels-Our- Nature-Violence/dp/0143122010 nary natural, built, augmented, simulated, virtual and Design-Lab High http://design-labschools.org imagined realities beyond our current imaginations. Frog Design http://www.frogdesign.com/work/frog-collective- action-toolkit.html A Future of Agency, Autonomy and Spontaneous http://www.historyliteracy.org/scripts/search_display.php?Article_ID=249 Collaboration IDEO http://www.ideo.com/about/ Prototyping https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/ prototyping.html In 1970, Buckminster Fuller declared that we have the Shark Tank http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank necessary resources for everyone to live in peace and TED Talks https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_teds_secret_ to_great_public_speaking?language=en abundance if we—through spontaneous collabora- Te Singularity is Near http://singularity.com/ tion—employ Design Science to develop a future that Visualization https://www.ted.com/topics/visualizations works for all in the shortest time possible without harm- XQ Super School Challenge www.xqsuperschool.org

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 63 Newspapers in Education: Acquiring Future Customers, or Serving Future Citizens?

On the suitability of Japan’s Newspapers in Education as agents for promoting media literacy

By Yoshimi Uesugi, Ph.D.

Dr. Yoshimi Uesugi is an Associate Professor at the Curriculum Center for Teachers, Tokyo Gakugei Univer- sity. In 2008, she published Media Literacy Education in Canada (Akashi Shoten, in Japanese) which was based on her dissertation. Her recent research interests include school commercialism and teaching about advertising in consumer education. She teaches undergraduate and graduate media literacy courses.

[Japan newspaper industry] [journalism Japan] [Japan media education] [journalism bias] [Newspapers in Education Japan]

1. Why utilize newspapers in schools in the newspapers in Japan belong, Japan has one of the larg- Digital Age? est number of newspaper issues published per 1,000 adults in the world.1 Nevertheless, the ongoing trend In this article, I focus on NIE, which stands for “News- of losing subscribers to Internet news sites is the same papers in Education” in Japan and refers to educational in Japan as it is in other countries. Te other respect is activities chiefy led by a newspaper industry group, that newspapers’ role in monitoring authority, i.e. their and examine NIE’s suitability for promoting agency watchdog role, is weakening. Unfortunately, in Japan, through media literacy. there is not much evidence of attempts on the part of Taking up educational activities involving news- newspaper publishers, who are facing declining circu- papers may seem outdated in the Digital Age. In fact, lation, to win back subscribers by reasserting that role. we can see how the newspaper industry in Japan right Rather, one can ofen see examples of newspaper pub- now is stagnating in two respects. lishers attaching great importance to maintaining and developing friendly relations with the government for Rather, one can ofen see examples of newspaper their own survival. publishers attaching great importance to maintaining Despite this stagnation at the core of the news- paper industry, newspaper publishers have been and developing friendly relations with the government working to ofer assistance to schools. Tere has been for their own survival. a surge in the publication of NIE-related books as well as in educational activities carried out by newspaper publishers, spurred on by the explicit mention of the First, newspaper circulation is on the decline. use of newspapers in classes—chiefy in Japanese-lan- According to statistics published on the website of guage classes—in the 2011 Course of Study. Te low- the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Associa- ering of the voting age from 20 to 18, which went into tion (Nihon Shinbun Kyokai, NSK), to which nearly efect in the summer of 2016, calls for a more thor- all newspaper companies that publish daily general ough education in politics in schools, and the use of

64 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY newspapers in that education is an issue that has re- the Allied occupation ended and the momentum of de- ceived much attention. Furthermore, although Japan’s mocracy seen in the years immediately following the Course of Study does not provide for systematic me- war waned in the new Cold War order, mention of us- dia literacy education for all years, the notion of media ing newspapers disappeared from the Course of Study, literacy is introduced in textbooks in several subjects. giving way to a long period in which a small number For this reason, we can conclude that NIE makes use of passionate teachers continued to use newspapers in of newspaper staf who are experts in obtaining and their teaching, independently of the ofcial curriculum. thoroughly checking information, editing and pub- Te 1980s saw the beginning of organized news- lishing, to function as an agency that promotes the paper education led by the newspaper industry. Tis attainment of media literacy by students. was the start of NIE in Japan. More specifcally, it began In the following, by tracing the history of NIE in 1985 with a proposal by NSK for an NIE program. in Japan and by substantiating the issues faced by According to Akira Seno, who had a background in the newspaper industry in recent years, I explore the the sales division of a newspaper publisher and was dual nature of NIE as an agent, namely that NIE is si- serving as the frst head of NSK’s special committee multaneously a means of acquiring future customers on NIE, the impetus for the program came when as well as a means of encouraging agency in future citizens. Lastly, I identify the conditions under which It is apparent that using schools to make overtures NIE can play a healthy role in promoting media lit- to the younger generation also appealed to the sales eracy education. personnel at Japanese newspaper publishers as a

2. A shift in the purpose of newspapers in the means of increasing future subscriber numbers. classroom: From democratization to promoting sales members of NSK’s Circulation Committee joined a convention of the International Circulation Managers Te educational use of newspapers in Japanese schools Association and also visited newspaper publishers in had already begun in the 1870s, when the country’s the United States, where they were exposed to NIE in modern educational system was established.2 It was theory and practice. Seno writes in his book that in the only in the immediate years afer the conclusion of the U.S., newspaper publishers and fgures in the world of Second World War, however, that newspapers came to education had been cooperating to promote the use be incorporated extensively in classrooms, specifcal- of newspapers in education out of a sense of urgency ly as part of the democratization policies instituted at caused by the phenomena of children and other young the time. For example, in the 1947 Course of Study (a people reading less printed matter, including newspa- tentative plan at the time) published for the newly-es- pers.5 It is apparent that using schools to make over- tablished classes in social studies, it was proposed that tures to the younger generation also appealed to the newspaper articles relating to the administrative au- sales personnel at Japanese newspaper publishers as a thorities and assemblies be used as materials for ninth- means of increasing future subscriber numbers. year students in their political studies unit, and that they Subsequently, beginning at the end of the 1980s, learn about the relationship among newspaper editors, prefectures throughout Japan began to establish NIE political power, and advertisers. It has also been noted promotion councils.6 Tese councils are made up of that around this time it became common throughout companies that publish newspapers in the commu- the country for middle- and high-school students to nity, the local boards of education, and schools with edit and publish school newspapers.3 A certain national an interest in NIE. A leading program ofered jointly newspaper publisher supported teachers who were in- by these prefectural councils and NSK is the designat- terested in utilizing newspaper in their classrooms.4 ed NIE school system. Schools that apply to become However, the prominence of the above blending designated NIE schools are provided with one copy of of journalistic and educational democratization lasted every national newspaper issued in that area as well only until the frst half of the 1950s. Following that, as as one copy of the local newspapers (generally a to-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 65 tal of fve to ten newspapers) free of charge for sev- their own independent activities, they cannot expect to eral months. Tis system was created on the general see a spread in the use of newspapers in schools, much principle that the individual publishers would not use less the resulting increase in overall circulation. the program as a means to promote sales.7 Conversely, however, this clearly demonstrates that the publishers 3. Contribution by weak journalism to the are very interested in fnding out whether their partic- cultivation of civic-minded citizens? ipation in NIE programs lead to increases in the circu- lation of their respective papers. When schools consent to programs that provide in- As for the extent of the development of media structors and educational materials from corporations literacy education in Japan around this time, the very whose intent is clearly to advertise products and ser- notion of media literacy itself had yet to take hold. It vices, there is the danger of undermining an educa- was not until the coming century that interest came to tion rooted in impartial information, upon which be shown in NIE as an agency of media literacy pro- democracy is predicated. Tis is because corporate motion. sponsored educational programs are ofered as part of In recent years there has been a growing trend for publicity and advertising campaigns for the respective publishers to ofer educational programs to schools on companies, and as such, for the most part those com- their own, independent of NSK frameworks. Special panies essentially provide information that is conve- nient for them. Alex Molnar and Faith Boninger of the Tis is to say, in classes led by corporations, one cannot University of Colorado Boulder, who are known for expect them to go out of their way to point out the their research in school commercialism, write that, “It is never in a sponsor’s interest for children to learn to weaknesses of their product. identify and evaluate its points of view and biases, to consider alternative points of view, or to generate and classes taught by reporters visiting schools, the cre- consider alternative solutions to problems.”10 ation and provision of teacher lesson guides, and the If we look at the practices of NIE in terms of its sponsoring of teacher seminars are the focus of the appropriateness as an agent promoting media literacy publishers’ educational programs. More specifcally, from a perspective that is critical of such education- reporters give lectures and such to students and teach- al activities by corporations, we inevitably encounter ers on the process of producing a newspaper, or on a number of questions. Specifcally, in NIE classes, topics taken up by their newspaper (environmental there is a tendency to portray the role that newspapers issues, for example). Such educational programs by play in society in a favorable light. Conversely, ideas newspaper publishing companies—particularly the that are critical of them—for example questions as to school visit programs—are in part an extension of whether a newspaper is properly fulflling its role as the CSR activities that became prevalent among pri- a watchdog of authority—are rarely made the topics vate-sector companies in the 2000s and the years since. of classes. It is reasonable to conclude that, as stated In school visit programs, companies refrain from con- above, the historical motive of promoting newspaper spicuously advertising their products, but they do dis- sales, which was one of the reasons that NIE was be- close the names of their companies in the classroom gun, has had an efect on this trend. Tis is to say, in and work to foster a sense of familiarity with and trust classes led by corporations, one cannot expect them in their brands.8 to go out of their way to point out the weaknesses of Te current practice of corporations seeking ac- their product. cess to students and teachers on their own, and try- In a class for elementary school students spon- ing to cultivate them as customers in this manner is sored by a certain publisher, an employee of the pub- antithetical to the principle of fairness in NIE set out lisher teaches students about the process of producing by NSK, but under the pretext of spreading the use of newspapers, e.g. how to collect information, how to newspapers, it is accepted as an NIE policy.9 Te reason write articles, how to lay out a newspaper page, etc. is likely that newspaper publishers know that, absent Tis employee says that she views that class as “the

66 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY work of instilling in the minds of the children the no- a high school setting in the example described above tion that ‘even though they are children, they are still lacks the critical step of evaluating the quality of in- members of society, and newspapers are windows to dividual newspaper articles as bases for making deci- society.’”11 Put diferently, the aim of the class was get- sions. Newspapers each have their own political lean- ting elementary school students, who had little prior ings, which are refected in how their articles represent familiarity with newspapers, to understand the im- the policies of the respective political parties. Or it portance of reading the newspaper in leading proper, may well be that these leanings afect the standards civic-minded lives. While that aim in itself may be a by which newspapers choose which among the many reasonable one, we cannot but conclude that an inter- policy issues to take up in their pages. Put diferently, ested party, namely an employee of the newspaper, is laying out only the positive aspects of that newspaper, We cannot read election coverage properly without and this amounts to a lack of fairness. paying attention to the distance between the political In classes taught by school teachers as well, the focus is typically on teaching students how to use parties and the newspaper publishers. newspapers, rather than on critically discussing the quality of articles with them. In the following, I wish to look at a specifc example of newspapers being used it is also possible that newspapers are serving as the de in teaching civics to high school students. facto public relations arms of specifc political parties. In 2015, revisions were made to the law in Japan We cannot read election coverage properly without so that the voting age was lowered from 20 to 18 years, paying attention to the distance between the political which has encouraged the development of education parties and the newspaper publishers.13 in politics in schools, especially high schools. An NIE Te fact that the political administration and website presented a practical project, which took place major media corporations are close in distance in Ja- before the legal revisions were made, that combined pan right now has been noted by freelance journalists mock voting with newspapers in the classroom. Ac- active in Japan and correspondents for foreign media cording to the account, during general elections held alike. One example ofen pointed to in this context is following the dissolution of the House of Represen- that the executives and experienced political report- tatives in late 2014, a civics teacher at a prefectural ers of major media corporations sometimes dine with school in Chiba, which had been designated as an NIE school, conducted a class project that consisted of mock voting for third-year students taking the Poli- tics and Economics course.12) During the class project, newspapers were used as materials to give students an understanding of the various parties’ policies, to com- pare those policies, and to engage in group discus- sions on the issues. Te students relied on newspaper articles to decide on which party to vote for, which in efect let them learn ways of utilizing newspapers in making decisions as voters. It is true that newspapers do attempt to provide readers with in-depth, easy-to-comprehend explana- tions of and commentaries on the policies of the var- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with their conversations ious parties, and as such are an efective resource for treated as of the record. One political reporter who has comparing and considering policy in the classroom, participated in these dinners answered his colleague in as well as being attractive to teachers, as they are easy one of his own paper’s articles: “As a political reporter, to use as educational materials by virtue of being print I want to make the most of news-gathering opportu- media. However, the method of using newspapers in nities in which I can ascertain with what sort of con-

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 67 victions the prime minister, who is the most powerful lishers is not over fdelity to journalistic principles or person [in the country], conducts politics.”14) Because the desire to satisfy readers’ needs for quality report- comments at such dinners are all of the record, expla- ing, but over quid pro quo “leaks” from the political nations to the efect that it was a normal news-gath- administration. ering, journalistic encounter are not very convincing. Returning to the discussion on the topic of the On the other hand, Waseda University’s Akihiro Non- use of newspapers in civics education, as a practical matter it may be difcult to discuss the distance between the government and the media—which is likely to be seen as cru- cial for the education of the citizenry—es- pecially at the elementary level. Further- more, it would also take a certain amount of time for them to understand what is involved in each and every political issue, such as employment and national securi- ty policies. With their already overloaded class schedules, it may prove extremely difcult to have them not only learn the political issues but also examine the na- ture of newspaper reporting. To this end, we must understand that, in the interests of developing civic-minded citizens, the facts of our advanced information society means that examining the role of the me- dia in political and election reporting— aka, who is engaged in journalist education and who namely whether that reporting is monitoring the gov- is himself a journalist, has leveled sharp criticisms of ernment or advertising for it—is an inescapable task. these dinners, writing, “If executives of media institu- tions did have confdential meetings with politicians 4. Toward the cultivation of a reasonable ability at restaurants, that is not ‘news-gathering.’ Contact of to monitor the media that nature, in which readers are not informed of what was said, and which leads to suspicions of collusion, is As we have seen so far, when students try to form an act of journalistic suicide.” 15 opinions about the problems that society faces, news- Media reporting that may invite suspicions of papers are a convenient source of detailed information collusion with the political administration at times and points of contention, and for that reason they have takes on the tinge of manipulation of public opinion been useful as educational materials at schools. Nev- by the government, which is the polar opposite of ertheless, one can hardly conclude that these newspa- media as a watchdog. For example, instead of giving pers are sufciently fulflling their roles as watchdogs intensive coverage to the major policies of the admin- of power. Hence, when utilizing newspapers, the task istration, the media may refrain from reporting issues of evaluating the performance of newspaper publish- that are damaging to the administration or underes- ers and their reporters is a necessary one. timate such issues. In return for cooperating with the One conceivable measure to improve civics ed- administration, newspapers are given information to ucation as addressed in the previous section is to in- fll their pages. As a result, newspaper publishers are troduce the practice of comparative reading using able to advertise to people their own ability to report op-ed pieces published in diferent newspapers on the on political developments accurately and in depth. same day, and articles on the same topic from diferent Te reality is that competition among newspaper pub- newspapers, a practice that has already been incor-

68 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY porated into NIE. In mock voting, it is true that the FOOTNOTES central activities are to compare and discuss the poli- 1) Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from http:// cies of the various political parties, but an essential el- www.pressnet.or.jp/data/circulation/circulation04.html ement of comparative reading would be that students 2) Yanagisawa, S. (2009). Shinbun Kyouiku no Genten: Bakumatsu Meiji kara Senryouki Nihon no Jaanarizumu to Kyouiku (Te Origins learn that depending on the publisher, the assessments of Newspaper Education: Journalism and Education in Japan from of parties’ manifestos and the issues they focus on dif- the Bakumatsu/Meiji Periods to the Period of Occupation), Kyoto: Sekaishisosha, pp. 208-214. fer. Furthermore, it is likewise important to use the 3) Ibid., pp. 276-278. diferences among newspapers to gauge the distances 4) Ibid., pp. 321-325. between the administration, the political parties, and 5) Seno, A. (2004). NIE no 20-nen (Twenty Years of NIE), Tokyo: the newspaper publishers, and to discuss the propri- Bansei Shobo, p. 18. ety thereof. Trough this process, by including in their 6) Ibid., p. 46. comparisons non-newspaper sources, i.e. news arti- 7) Ibid., p. 44. cles by media companies that only make their news 8) For example, when employees from a potato chip manufacturer available online, students could also learn the charac- visit an elementary school to give nutrition classes, they tell to teristics of online news. students that potato chips are not unhealthy as long as one does not eat too many of them at a time. See Uesugi, Y (2009) e Corporate In addition, afer completing the above tasks, Presence in Japanese Classrooms, Our Schools/Our Selves, 18(4), pp it would also be possible to create opportunities, for 163-165. example, to invite reporters with experience covering 9) Uchino, T. (2008). Kyouchou wo Juushi shita ‘Nihon Gata’ (Te Japanese Model that Stresses Harmony). In Jouhou Dokkairyoku wo politics into classrooms, where students learn about Sodateru NIE Handobukku (NIE Handbook for Developing Information methods of political and election reporting, and dis- Literacy), edited by Nihon NIE Gakkai (Japan Society for Studies in “Newspaper in Education”), Tokyo: Meiji Tosho, pp. 289-290. cuss the appropriateness of such reporting with the 10) Molnar, A. and Boninger, F. (2015). Sold Out: How Marketing reporters. Trough such methods, it is hoped that NIE in School Treatens Children’s Well-being and Undermines Teir has the potential to develop in students the ability to Education, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefeld, p.130. think about and practice ways of monitoring the me- 11) Kimura, Y. (2015). Kisha to Gakkou Kouryuu: Kisha Haken dia in a reasonable manner. deno Jissen (Academic Exchange with Reporters: In Practice in Sending Reporters). In Shinbun de Hagukumu, Tsunagu (Fostering Moreover, the purposes of NIE in its present state and Connecting with Newspapers), edited by Nihon NIE Kenkyuukai, constitute two sides of the same coin, i.e., “acquiring Tokyo: Toyokan Shuppansha, pp. 76-79. future customers” and “serving future citizens,” yet 12) Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from http://nie.jp/report/selected/archive/20150308_009878.html it is possible to conceive of new mechanisms whose 13) Te website that describes this endeavor does not indicate the purpose is only the latter as alternatives to NIE. More number of newspaper brands used in the classroom. Tis fact itself specifcally, I mean mechanisms by which journalists could be said to show that the teacher is not sufciently aware of the and media editors give support to the fostering of civ- problem of distance between political parties and newspapers. ic ideals at schools, regardless of the corporation or 14) Fujiwara, S. (2015, January 14). Shushou no Shokujidai, Dare ga Shiharau? (Who pays for the dinner with prime minister?). Asahi type of media with which they are afliated, or even as Shimbun (morning), p.4. individuals. For the development of civic society, it is 15) Nonaka, A. (2015). Jaanarizumu no Kiki to Rekkasuru Shakai (Te not only necessary to have newspapers and a citizenry crisis of journalism and a degrading society). In Iigakari: Genpatsu ‘Yoshida Chousho’ Kiji Torikeshi Jiken to Asahi Shimbun no Meisou who utilizes them in the context of political partici- (False Accusation: Te Incident Involving the Deletion of Articles on pation, but also to have media outlets and journalists the ‘Yoshida Report’ on Nuclear Power Plant and the Straying of Asahi Shimbun), edited by “Genpatsu ‘Yoshida Chousho’ Kiji Torikeshi Jiken that serve as watchdogs of power and a citizenry that to Asahi Shimbun no Meisou” Henshuu Iinkai, Tokyo: Nanatsumori needs them. It is anticipated that a citizenry, including Shokan, p. 303. students, that check the work of the media and engag- es in dialogue with journalists, has ultimately exer- cised its agency through media literacy. i English titles of books, book chapters and articles in parentheses in notes were translated by the author.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 69 Promoting Media Literacy in China: Te Agency Efort

By Alice Y. L. Lee

Professor Alice Y. L. Lee is the Head of the Department of Journalism, Hong Kong Baptist University. Her research interests include online news media, media education, media and information literacy (MIL), and Net Generation. She is the vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Media Education and has been promoting media education movement in Hong Kong and mainland China.

[Children’s Palace] [media literacy] [Giddens] [structuration theory]

hinese media literacy celebrates its 20th an- zation which helps children to be engaged in extra- niversary in 2017. Over the years, media curricular activities, such as playing games, learning C education has gradually grown. Although music, doing sports, joining cultural programs and the Chinese Government has no objection to the attending various kinds of courses. development of media education, there are no gov- ernment measures or special funding schemes. Te Social Agency promotion of media literacy in China mainly de- pends on the efort of enthusiastic media educators. Social scientists identify two major determinants of Teir agency eforts bring media education to many social phenomena: social structure and individual schools and children’s centers. Based on Anthony actions (human agency). Social structure is the ob- jective complexes of social institutions within which Individuals go through a socialization process and people live and act while agency refers to the purpose- are regulated by the existing social structures, but at ful nature of human activity (Little, 2011). Giddens’ the same time social structures are being altered by (1984) structuration theory suggests that neither the their activities. existence of any form of control from the social sys- tem nor the act of the individual actor determines the social outcome. It is the structuration process of social Giddens’ (1984) Structuration Teory, this paper in- practices that very ofen produces results. Tat means troduces a case in China of how individual media the structure and individual’s behavior are intertwined educators can contribute to the development of me- during the interaction of social activities. Individuals dia education. go through a socialization process and are regulated Te case under study is the media literacy initia- by the existing social structures, but at the same time tives in Guangzhou. In the past decade, media edu- social structures are being altered by their activities. cation programs have been rapidly developed in this Tis paper follows Giddens’ idea and focuses on the city. Helped by the Guangzhou Children’s Palace, many role of agency in promoting and practicing media ed- young children are now participating in media litera- ucation in Guangzhou. cy activities. Te Guangzhou Children’s Palace Media In Giddens’ work, “structural principles” means Education Project has become one of the biggest and the use of rules and resources to regulate social rela- most sustainable media literacy programs in China. tions. Agency refers to the capacity of individuals to Children’s Palace is a government-funded organi- act independently to accomplish tasks. To Giddens,

70 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY social agents are knowledgeable beings and purposive Zhang and his team, as knowledgeable agents, actors who know what they are doing. Teir acting published eleven books on media literacy, including process is characterized by their motivation, rational- some textbooks for primary school children, referenc- ization of action and refexive monitoring of action. es for teachers and parents, and books on online safety When they conduct their projects, they will exercise education for children. One of the books is entitled their “practical consciousness” to transform rules and Te Apple Generation: Study in the Media Life and Me- reallocate resources (Turner, 1986). dia Literacy Education for Millennials. Terefore, agency efort means that autonomous individuals bring changes in society under a certain Getting Endorsement from the Educational social structure. Tese individuals need to negotiate Authority with the establishment to introduce change. Tey con- According to structuration theory, agents con- duct purposeful and goal-directed activities. Giddens stantly monitor the social context in which they take believes that structure and rules are not permanent action. Te Guangzhou media education team was and external, and they can be modifed by human ac- aware of the socio-political setting in which they op- tion through the structuration process. erated. In Canada or Hong Kong, advocates can set up media literacy associations on their own in the civil Motivation and Goals: Nurturing Media Literate society to launch a media education movement. For Chinese Youngsters example, Canada set up the AML (Te Association for Media Literacy) and Hong Kong established the In Guangzhou, the deputy director of Guangzhou HKAME (Hong Kong Association for Media Educa- Children’s Palace, Zhang Haibo, and his team have tion). In China, it is not easy to set up a non-govern- run a media education program since 2006 (Zhang, ment association. Moreover, any educational initia- 2016). Zhang studied journalism and communication tives have to get an endorsement from the government at university and worked for the news industry as a re- and operate within the ofcial system. Te team fully porter, editor-in-chief and publisher. He was inspired understood that there was a need to meet the educa- by a Japanese newspaper counterpart who organized tional expectation of the Authority, and that it had to news-reading workshops for readers to help them carry out the program in a legitimate institution. better consume news so that readers can know more about the world and have critical understanding about In the digital era, the educational authority social issues. Afer he came into contact with media hopes that Chinese citizens can be educated to literacy materials from Hong Kong and overseas, he constructively understand and use the media, know started to conduct research on media literacy and be- the world, rationally express opinions and positively came an expert. When he became the deputy director conduct self-development. of Guangzhou Children’s Palace, he built his media literacy team by recruiting university media studies graduates and part-time media practitioners as in- Although media literacy is a foreign concept in structors. He also applied for educational funding for China, the Chinese educational authority regards me- conducting media literacy research projects. dia education as useful for cultivating quality citizens. Aware of the enormous infuence of the Inter- In the digital era, the educational authority hopes that net and mobile technologies on young people’s lives, Chinese citizens can be educated to constructively un- he sought to promote media literacy in the city and derstand and use the media, know the world, ratio- to nurture media literate youngsters. His team’s goals nally express opinions and positively conduct self-de- were to help Chinese children grow up healthily in the velopment. A high-quality citizen is understood as a digital age and make constructive use of new media person who is knowledgeable about the society, liter- in their everyday lives. Enhancing citizens’ quality and ately competent and socially responsible. In particu- empowering young people were also important objec- lar, the educational authority is concerned with better tives of their media education programs. guidance for preventing Internet addiction and rumor

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 71 spread. Besides, cultivating high-quality citizens is re- understanding photography, and under- lated to the training of a competent workforce. With standing broadcasting & anchoring. knowledgeable and media literate citizens, it is ex- 2. Media education was introduced into 13 pected that China can enhance its international com- schools in Guangzhou. petitiveness. Hence, the Guangzhou team was able to Te curriculum includes class lectures, successfully seek support from the Guangzhou Educa- student projects, media organization tional Bureau and to set up a Taskforce on Media Lit- visits and community participation. eracy Education for Adolescents in Guangzhou. Shortly 3. It promoted children’s media literacy afer, they established the Guangzhou City Children’s education to become national programs Palace Media Literacy Education Centre. with extracurricular characteristics. Guangzhou is an afuent and technological- Tere are 18 Children’s Palaces in dif- ly-advanced city. Guangzhou people have access to ferent cities in China. A promotion was launched to hold media-literacy activ- ities in these institutions annually. An innovative program entitled “new-media arts education” has recently been devel- oped for children between three and six. 4. A series of media education textbooks and references for schoolteachers, stu- dents and parents was published. Te curriculum covered a wide variety of topics, such as news, advertising, video games, music, animation, mobile phones, and online security. It also intro- duced diferent kinds of media and their format characteristics. 5. Family media education has been devel- oped and promoted. In China, many families have only one various kinds of new media devices. Tere are great child. Terefore, the parents care very concerns about the social infuence of the Internet and much about the healthy development of of digital media on children and adolescents. Training their child. Tey are particularly con- young people to be media literate and nurturing them cerned about the impact of new media as knowledgeable citizens fulflls the expectation of on the youngsters. Family media educa- the Guangzhou educational authority. tion is well-received in the city. 6. It organized children to participate in an Media Education Action international Internet conference and to voice their views on Internet develop- Te Guangzhou team has conducted a series of pro- ment. grams in the past ten years: 7. It established the Children’s Media Lit- eracy Education Research Center of the 1. It established a number of interest China National Youth Palace Association groups and courses at the Guangzhou and conducted children’s media literacy Children’s Palace. research. Courses include media literacy elemen- tary studies, young reporters’ workshop, When the above-mentioned programs were car- learning news reporting and editing, ried out, the Guangzhou team, as media literacy agent,

72 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY Overall, the media literacy curriculum in Guang- zhou focuses more on guiding the students to con- structively use the media and ethically communicate through the media. Te media literacy programs also encourage young students to learn to discriminate in- formation, select information, and refect on the au- thenticity of media messages. In particular, the teach- ers lead the students to question, explore and evaluate media and information obtained by the Internet. In China, the educational authority has very tight control on the school curriculum and pedagogic issues. Tere is little critical thinking in other school curricula. But the media literacy educators were able to show to the educational authority that in the digital age, enhancing students’ critical thinking and refec- exercised practical consciousness to make sure every tive skills are essential for cultivating rational citizens move was rational and practical. It is what Giddens as well as competent knowledge workers. Only the refers to as the rationalization of action. Moreover, they would constantly practice “refexive monitoring.” Te teachers lead the students to question, explore Tat means they would honestly refect on what had and evaluate media and information obtained by been done and see what could be improved and how to move forward. For example, as the digital and mo- the Internet. bile technologies intensifed their infuence on young people, the Guangzhou team sensed concern from Chinese Net Generation young people have the ana- parents and even government ofcials. Terefore, they lytical skills and media literacy competency necessary began to put more efort and resources into family me- to participate in the global networked society. dia education to encourage parents to work with their In China, there is no educational policy on and children to understand the new media environment. little support for media literacy programs. Te Guang- zhou team demonstrated that agency could make Agency Makes Change media education possible in China. With motivation, knowledge, a refective mind, rational action and Applying the structuration theory to examine the me- practical consciousness, media advocates and educa- dia literacy initiative in Guangzhou, we can see that tors can bring media literacy to many Chinese young the program there, on the one hand, follows the state’s people and help them meet the challenge of the digital educational principles; and on the other hand, pro- age. i motes an innovative media literacy program. In Guangzhou, most of the schools are used to adopting the traditional way of teaching, which is REFERENCES teacher-centered. But the media literacy educators ad- Giddens, A. (1984). Te constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Cambridge: Polity Press. vocate the student-oriented pedagogic approach. Te Little, D. (2011). New ideas about structure and agency. Understanding media literacy curricula in Guangzhou put emphasis Society. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from http://understandingsociety. on encouraging active learning and experiential learn- blogspot.hk/2011/03/new-ideas-about-structure-and-agency.html ing. Te teachers take the students outside the cam- Turner, J. H. (1986). Review on the constitution of society: Outline pus to visit media organizations, conduct community of the theory of structuration. American Journal of Sociology, 91 (4), 969-977. interviews and hold interesting media activities. Te Zhang, H. (2016). Research and practice in media literacy education media literacy programs have contributed to the pro- for the Apple Generation. Paper presented at the Sixth West Lake motion of pedagogic reform. Media Literacy Summit, Hangzhou, May 7-8, 2016.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 73 Producing and Building My Citizenship: Media Education and the Human Rights of Young Women

By Raquel Ramírez Salgado

Raquel Ramírez Salgado holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Communication, and is a doctoral candidate, at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She has been a teacher, workshop leader and speaker on the subjects of women’s rights, the feminist gender perspective, and the media. She has collaborated with various public institutions in the training and development of awareness in public servants. Currently, she is part of the website ALEC: “Gender relations and social practices in Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean”. In addition, she collaborates with the mujeresnet.info site.

[gender perspective] [gender violence] [Mexico missing women] [feminism Mexico] [Nelly Stromquist] [Giddens]

Introduction: Why it is important to talk about the group of people who work in domestic services, violence against women and sexual harassment 90.42% are female. Also, according to the National Survey on Time Use (2009), women spend an aver- efore describing the workshop it is crucial to age of 42 hours and 18 minutes a week on domestic understand the context of inequality and gen- work, compared to men at 15 hours and 18 minutes. B der violence in Mexico, as well as the relevance Te National Institute for Women (INMUJERES, in of addressing and building, in formal and informal Spanish) has stated that “this increased workload for educational spaces, alternatives to the promotion of women has an impact on their opportunities for ac- gender equality. cess to paid work.” Te report on the Millennium Development Goals But the most dramatic expression of gender 2010 (July 7, 2011) noted that the political participation inequality in Mexico is refected in acts of violence of women in Mexico had barely reached 28 percent. (In against women. In July 2012, Amnesty Internation- November 2011 the Federal Electoral Tribunal—TEP- al submitted to the United Nations Committee on JF in Spanish—had issued a ruling that requires parties the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women to be comprised of female candidates for federal depu- (CEDAW) numbers refecting a high rate of violence ty or senator to a minimum of 40 per cent.) against women in Mexico: it is estimated that more than 74,000 violations were committed in 2011 (Am- At least 34,000 women and girls were murdered in nesty International, 2012: 10). Te Committee of Mothers and Relatives of Miss- Mexico from 1985 to 2009. ing Women states that from January 2008 to February 2012, more than 180 women and girls disappeared Another important indicator refecting gender in Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua), and based on the re- inequality in Mexico are the conditions in which search of this civil organization and others like Our women work. Occupational segregation persists, i.e., Daughters Back Home (Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a women and men continue to derive their activities Casa), there is information that proves the involve- from the sexual division of labor and gender roles. ment of organized crime in the kidnapping of wom- Tis information is based on results from the National en and girls in the center of Ciudad Juárez in order to Survey of Occupation and Employment (2010): 99.20% make them sex slaves—in the face of the indiference of workers as drivers or carriers are men, while of of the authorities.

74 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY During the LIX Legislature, the Special Commis- Laboratory of Digital Citizenship Project sion To and Follow Up Research on Femicide in Mexico and the Attorney General of Linked Justice estimat- Tis project is an initiative of the Cultural Center of ed that 1205 women and girls were killed across the Spain in Mexico, Foundation Telefonica of Mexico and country in 2004 and more than 6,000 women and girls were killed in 6 years, from 1999 to 2005. In Novem- ber 2011, a joint report by the former United Nations According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development Fund for Women, the National Institute and Development (OECD), in 2014 Mexico ranked for Women (INMUJERES, in Spanish) and the Special frst worldwide in sexual abuse, physical abuse and the Commission for Monitoring Femicides, concluded murder of children under the age of 14. that at least 34,000 women and girls were murdered in Mexico from 1985 to 2009. Te General Law on Access of Women to a Life the Spanish Ateneo of Mexico, which aims to create Free of Violence, published in 2007, defnes violence a platform for training in arts, culture and science against women as: “Any action or omission based on through the use of Information Technology and Com- gender, which causes harm or psychological, physi- munication (ICT). Te Laboratory Digital Citizenship cal, patrimonial, economic, sexual sufering or death operates in several locations in Mexico City, like the in both the private and the public space.” Tis legal Net of FAROS (Factories of Arts and Crafs) of Mex- instrument includes sexual harassment as a form of ico City. Tis workshop was carried out in the FARO psychological and sexual violence, which can occur Milpa Alta, located to the southeast of Mexico City. It within the community as well as in the school envi- was selected during the 2015 call (in April) from the ronment and the workplace. Tus, the law indicates Laboratory of Digital Citizenship, in accordance with two exercises of domination over the victims: the objectives of the project.1 I chose Producing and Building my Citizenship • Sexual harassment in schools and in the as the name of the workshop because it refects the workplace: the exercise of power, in a re- dual objective of producing media as well as exposing lationship of subordination of the victim inequality and gender violence. As mentioned in the to the aggressor. It is expressed verbally summary at the beginning of this article, the prelimi- or physically (or both), related to lewd nary results of my thesis led me to reconsider the the- behavior with a sexual connotation. oretical basis of the workshop, resulting in “women´s • Sexual harassment at the community or empowerment” as my central research concept. family level: a form of violence in which, Psychologist Nelly Stromquist defnes women´s while there is no subordination, there is an empowerment as “a process to change the distribution abuse of power that leads to a state of help- of power, both in interpersonal relations and institu- lessness and risk to the victim, regardless if tions” (Stromquist, 1997, p. 78). She identifes four ba- it were performed one or more times. sic components of women´s empowerment: cognitive, psychological, economic and political: Sexual harassment in Mexico is an emerging a) Cognitive component: “refers to the un- concern. A study by the Jurist Association (2012) re- derstanding that women have over their vealed that 1.4 million women in Mexico experience conditions of subordination and the sexual harassment in their workplaces. causes of this in the micro and macro Mexican young women and girls are a particular- levels of society” (Stromquist, 1997: 80). ly vulnerable group. According to the Organisation for b) Psychological component: “includes the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in development of feelings that women 2014 Mexico ranked frst worldwide in sexual abuse, can implement a personal and social physical abuse and the murder of children under the level to improve their condition, as well age of 14. as the emphasis on the belief that they

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 75 can succeed in their eforts to change” A number of processes, internal and exter- (Stromquist, 1997: 80-81). nal, individual and collective, that will pro- c) Economic component: “requires that mote the understanding of the role of media women have the ability to engage in as an ideological extension of the patriarchal a productive activity that will provide system. Trough these processes, the partici- some degree of fnancial autonomy, no pants will learn to analyze media discourse matter how small the beginning, and and identify gender stereotypes, biases of how difcult it is to reach” (Stromquist, sexism, and misogyny. Also, participants will 1997: 81). have the chance to become active producers d) Political component: “involves the abil- of content free of gender bias, that is, with ity to analyze the surrounding environ- a new and critical perspective on the roles ment in political and social terms; this and values of women and men. In addition, also means the ability to organize and Media Education with a feminist gender mobilize social change. Consequent- perspective can motivate the participants to ly, a process of empowerment must generate projects that promote the empower- involve individual consciousness and ment of women and girls. collective action, which is essential for the purpose of achieving social change” It is noteworthy that MEFGP can promote active (Stromquist, 1997: 82). and critical participation based on the understanding that inequality and gender violence result from histor- My workshop, “Building and producing my cit- ical, economic, political, social and cultural processes, izenship”, was focused on the cognitive and political not from the decisions and individual characteristics components, attemping to reveal the factors that acti- of people. vate, legitimize, and engender violence against women In addition, MEFGP might be able to restore and girls. Based on Stromquist’s political component women´s basic human rights, to coordinate actions (above), during the workshop we refected on how hu- within the legal framework of each region, and thus mans beings can progress from an initial change in con- link with State representatives. Similarly, Divina Frau- sciousness of social relations to a powerful mobilization Meigs (2011, p. 342) notes that Media Education and that challenges the stability of an entire social structure. a model of human rights can be united in a process It is worth remembering that the sociologist An- of mutual reinforcement. Te tool of critical thinking thony Giddens (2001) refers to agency as the ability of the actors or subjects to transform social relations that structure a society at a social, cultural, political, historical and economic level. Tat is, citizens can self-monitor and understand themselves and their so- cial world, which allows them to rationalize what they are doing; they not only possess the intention to do something, but the ability to do it. So, in this sense, women´s empowerment is an obvious and valuable goal in the promotion of social agency.

Media Education with a feminist gender perspective (MEFGP)

In my doctoral research I have proposed the following defnition of Media Education with a feminist gender perspective (MEFGP):

76 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY But, what is the relation amongst women´s empowerment, agency and MEFGP? Te following table suggests the convergence amongst these three elements:

Women´s Empowerment Agency MEFGP

Cognitive component: Political component: We are capable of:

Gender inequality has Along with recognizing Analyzing the content of the mass media historical, social, cultural, the levels of individual and and, therefore, changing the symbolic political, economic collective oppression, comes representations of the social world. backgrounds. It is not a the commitment, ethical natural process. and political, to promote Generating gender messages that are free changes in the distribution of stereotypes, and that promote the rights of power. An empowerment of women and girls. process aims at the social transformation and assertion Being aware of the role of the mass media of the rights of historically as institutions that reproduce content and excluded groups (in this messages that naturalize and reinforce case, women and girls). gender inequality. Empowerment does not seek only benefits on an individual It is understood that gender inequality is level, but it involves the not a natural process but has historical, community, one of the most social, cultural, political and economic important keys of feminist roots, and therefore is reversible. action.

promoted by Media Education can be a way to create the General Law on Access of Women to a Life Free of a free and informed citizenry, as well as providing an Violence, an instrument that defnes and characterizes education in human rights. In addition, Media Edu- sexual harassment in two dimensions: in the commu- cation can help mainstream the rights of specifc so- nity and school, and the workplace context. Tis law cial groups: “Women can use international deals and is based on international conventions of women´s hu- declarations created by the United Nations to require man rights as signed by the Mexican State. Member States to take measures, such as the Conven- Te methodology of the workshop consisted of tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination discussion /refection groups about violence against against Women (CEDAW, 1979) or the Beijing Plat- women. Media literacy education was also employed form for Action (1995)” (Frau-Meigs, 2011, p. 108). in the acquisition of photographic and image-editing Let us not forget that agency is the ability to do skills. Te workshop was attended by eight people - fve something, possessing the knowledge and skills that women and three men between 16 and 25 years, for a can change the distribution of power. Tat’s why total of 25 hours. Te participants developed two video MEFGP must include the specifc skills for executing scripts which represented the following fve topics: concrete actions. • Sexual harassment takes place in both The workshop experience public and private spaces. • Sexual harassment is a matter of public Te workshop assumed that women’s access to a life interest, which implies that all people free of violence is a human right, based on the exist- must be involved in prevention, concern ing legal framework in Mexico. I refer specifcally to and complaint.

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 77 • Tere should be zero tolerance against In this experience, MEFGP worked as a process this abuse of power. in which people were able to represent an everyday • In most cases, the victims are women situation through a critical and refective lens that re- and girls. vealed abuses of power over subjects that have histor- • Sexual harassment is a crime. ically been portrayed as weak, i.e., women and girls. Te workshop not only provided the participants with Insofar as a process of theoretical and conceptu- technological tools, but a new perspective, albeit un- al training takes time, in several stages, this workshop fnished, with the potential to promote other aware- provided basic defnitions of violence against women, nesses, either as perpetrators or receptors of gender which allowed participants to identify sexual harass- violence. ment as an act of gender violence. Te fact that some of the participants were able to recognize violence against women also represents Revealing oppression allows the agent to build an example of agency, and this is translated into the ability to recognize themselves as subjects who are ex- alternatives, ie, to understand that there are periencing diferent levels of oppression due to their possibilities for emancipation, that destiny is not and gender. Revealing oppression allows the agent to build cannot be marked only by virtue of being part of an alternatives, i.e., to understand that there are possibil- excluded and violated social group. ities for emancipation, that destiny is not and cannot be marked only by virtue of being part of an excluded and violated social group. Tis example of agency po- It is noteworthy that two participants were able sitions women not just as victims but as agents capable to identify personal experiences of gender violence, of efecting signifcant power shifs. specifcally sexual harassment by teachers and acts of control and jealousy by their former and current part- Conclusions: challenges and questions ners. Tis is poignant because before participating in the workshop, no one had had access to information While, as mentioned, access to information can pro- about women´s human rights and violence against vide tools to assess social, cultural, economic, politi- women. cal and historical phenomena, the great challenge of MEFGP, and any proposal for Media Education, is to promote processes in which people position themselves as social agents. In his theory of struc- turation, the English sociolo- gist Anthony Giddens (2001) refers to agency as the ability to do something, that is, the practical awareness of the agents and their ability to transform social structure. I suggest that this defnition prompts the following ques- tion: Can Media Education promote agency in people? Te proposed defnition of MEFGP in my project was

78 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY “to generate a process of awareness, and to take basic REFERENCES action to transform societal structure.” But, if people Comisión Ejecutiva de Atención a Víctimas (2016). Resultados preliminaries del Diagnóstico sobre la atención de la violencia sexual do not read themselves as historical subjects confg- en México. Available in: http://www.ceav.gob.mx/wp-content/ ured by their gender, they cannot identify the oppres- uploads/2016/03/Resumen-Ejecutivo-diagnóstico-violencia- sions that they experience. If we don´t make visible Sexualcreditos2.pdf those political, social, cultural, economic and histori- Comisión Especial para la Investigación del Feminicidio (2006). Investigación sobre violencia feminicida en la República Mexicana. cally constructed oppressions, they will be reafrmed. México, LIX Legislatura de la Cámara de Diputados. MEFGP encourages women and men to under- Frau-Meigs, D. (2011). “Media matters in the cultural contradict of stand that what happens in their lives not only hap- the “information society.”” Towards a human rights-based governance. Council of Europe Publishing. pens to them, but has an origin in structural factors. Ley General de Acceso de las Mujeres a una Vida Libre de Violencia My project, Producing and building my citizenship, (General Law on Access of Women to a Life Free of Violence). revealed that sexual harassment is an exercise of dom- Available in: http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/ ination that has limited the freedom and security of LGAMVLV_171215.pdf (mainly) women and girls, and is not caused by the Giddens, A. (2001). La constitución de la sociedad. Bases para la teoría de la estructuración. Amorrortu editores, Buenos Aires, Argentina, clothing or behaviour of the victims, but by unequal segunda edición. power relations between women and men. Tis re- Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (2011). Feminicidio en México. fection can lead people to question the defnitions of Aproximaciones, tendencias y cambios, 1985-2009. México. Available in: http://www.unifemweb.org.mx/documents/actividades/ femininity and masculinity imposed by media insti- feminicidios/libro.pdf tutions and the State itself, which not only include the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (2008). Las mujeres en media institutions framework, but political action as México. Estadísticas sobre igualdad de género y violencia contra las mujeres. México. an exercise of citizenship. Juárez, J. (2012). Desaparecidas en Ciudad Juárez. Madrid, Ediciones Finally, this experience suggests that interna- Amargord. tional organizations and international cooperation Stromquist, N. (1997). “La búsqueda del empoderamiento: en qué agencies, such as groups that promote the Laboratory puede contribuir el campo de la educación.” In León, M. Poder y of Digital Citizenship, can be very infuential in de- empoderamiento de las mujeres. TM Editores: Colombia. veloping media education experiences in informal United Nations (2010). Informe sobre los Objetivos del Milenio. Available in: http://www.un.org/spanish/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_ spaces that can function as afrmative actions to Report_2010_SP.pdf#page= complement the contents of formal educational in- stitutions (which, at least in Mexico, means lack of FOOTNOTE human rights training). Nevertheless, access to edu- 1 To see more information about the project, go to web site: http:// cation, despite being guaranteed in its Constitution, ccemx.org/labciudadania/ is still hampered by inequalities of gender, class, race and ethnicity in Mexico. i

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 79 Canadian Agents

by Neil Andersen

Neil Andersen, M. Ed., @mediasee, is president of The Association for Media Literacy (Ontario) and a board member, Journal of Media Literacy. He has taught primary to post-secondary media studies for over 30 years, including media studies additional qualifications courses for Mount Saint Vincent University, York University and the University of Toronto. He has given keynotes and workshops across Canada, in the US, Japan, India, China, Australia, England and Sweden. He has made movies and videos, authored student textbooks, journal articles, teacher resource books, blog posts, over 200 study guides, and designed T-shirts, posters, interactive CDs, websites, and computer programs. His awards include the Jessie McCanse Award (National Telemedia Council) and The Magic Lantern Award (The Association for Media and Technology in Education). His writing includes “Media literacy’s gifts to literature study” in English Teaching: Practice and Critique (edlinked.soe.waikato. ac.nz/research/files/etpc/files/2010v9n1nar1.pdf), “Why Social Media Literacy?” (co-author) in Forum Magazine (https://www. osstf.on.ca/~/media/.../spring-2013-vol-39-issue-02.ashx?...), “Media Literacy Education in Ontario” for Media Literacy in Action (Routlege), and “The Future of Media Literacy Education” (Journal of Media Literacy, Volume 62, #1&2)

[activism] [media environments] [Canadian media] [culture jamming] [branding]

ome media pundits enthuse that there has been many of these agents. Tey are smart, focused and use a signifcant democratization as a result of dig- media efectively and deliberately. Teir media literacy S ital media afordances. Tere are certainly new is strong. players. PewDiePie is a YouTube sensation earning Marshall McLuhan, the resurrected Canadian millions of dollars a year from his videos. Netfix pro- prophet of media studies, used media so efectively duces original content, with Amazon, Te Verge, and that some suggest he sacri- YouTube joining it. Justin Beiber owes his career to his fced himself in the process. careful and strategic uses of social media and Youtube. McLuhan could have been Others wonder if media environments are as a brilliant but unknown lit- oppressive as ever. Tey suggest that the prolifera- erature professor, but his tion of self-expression is certainly evidence of action curiosity and insights into but not necessarily agency. Tey suggest that posting emerging electronic efects blogs, photos and videos ofen just recapitulates hege- caught the 60s zeitgeist and monic forces. In other words, what might appear as he rode the cultural wave via individualistic self-expression is activity that reafrms provocative media studies. He pre-existing power structures and forms rather than seemed to have answers to the challenging them (Buckingham, this issue). most compelling questions, Like David Buckingham, I prefer the both/and and agreed to TV, magazine position to either/or, meaning that while people might and radio interviews, a famous appearance in Woody work within established structures, they can still be Allen’s Annie Hall, and a Playboy interview (widely agents of change. I believe that it is possible to exer- circulated today as one of the most approachable en- cise agency within established media structures that capsulations of his ideas). Te primo TV show of the results in signifcant change and I submit proof in the day, Laugh-In, (the 60s’ version of Saturday Night Live) form of several Canadian agents. I know or have met asked, “Marshall McLuhan, What’re you doin?”

80 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY McLuhan used his appearances to provoke crit- journalism department and a wonderful community ical thinking about efects that many either couldn’t relationship. While he was only at MuchMusic for two perceive or understand. He wrote books and articles years, Mr. Lewis was able to produce several critical and established the McLuhan Program in Culture and examinations of music and pop culture. Communications at the University of Toronto. As he was courted by pop culture celebrities and big busi- nesses, he continued to pontifcate on media efects, using clever and now-famous aphorisms to probe so- ciety’s relationships to all media. While he capitalized on his celebrity to advance his ideas beyond academia into the mainstream, he was attacked by a jealous and disdainful universi- ty culture that thought pop culture was profane and that his ideas lacked pedigree. He was famous abroad, but marginalized at home. Te University of Toron- Mr. Lewis is also no stranger to social justice is- to treated him like an embarrassment, shuttering his sues. His grandfather, David, was the leader of Cana- Centre. Te Academy discredited his ideas. He died da’s New Democratic Party and advocated for social from a massive stroke in 1980, with little fanfare. justice throughout his time in ofce. Mr. Lewis’ father, A small group of loyal students and friends (in- Stephen, was the leader of Ontario’s New Democrat- cluding Te Association for Media Literacy’s Barry ic Party during the same period, later Canada’s am- Duncan) kept his ideas alive; and time, personal com- bassador to the United Nations, then the head of the puters, the internet, smartphones and social media Stephen Lewis Foundation, which advocates support have emerged as manifestations of the very ideas he for AIDS victims in Africa. Michelle Landsberg, Mr. sufered for. With each new technological innovation, Lewis’ mother, is a long-time feminist and social jus- McLuhan’s theories become more profound and use- tice advocate. Ms. Landsberg wrote and campaigned ful in helping us understand ourselves in the evolving regularly against “sexual harassment in the workplace, media ecosystem. Without his firtations with pop cul- racial discrimination in education and employment ture, they might have faded. opportunities, and lack of gender equality in divorce Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) spoke at an As- and custodial legal proceedings.” (Wikipedia) sociation for Media Literacy Symposium just as No Mr. Lewis has worked in social justice endeav- Logo (1999) hit the bestseller lists. It was the frst of ours alone and with his wife, Naomi Klein. When Mr. her string of powerful books, movies and speaking Lewis was a VJ at Toronto’s MuchMusic, Ms. Klein engagements in which she critiqued power structures, consulted on several of his media literate documen- specifcally capitalism. Tis Changes Everything (2014), taries. One was Smokes and Booze (1997), a one-hour examines capitalism’s role in climate change and advo- video exploring the tobacco and alcohol industries’ cates that we drop everything and do what we can to sponsorship of popular music. Te video deals with mitigate coming climate-caused catastrophes. several key questions: Is it ethical for tobacco and Ms. Klein is no stranger to media literate agen- alcohol producers to use teen-oriented music in the cy. Her mother, Bonnie, directed several social-jus- promotion of their products? Does such promotion tice-themed movies at the National Film Board of result in increased teen consumption of tobacco and Canada. Bonnie Klein’s best-known flm is Not a Love alcohol? Are artists ‘selling out’ their fans and them- Story (1982), a documentary that explored pornog- selves to tobacco and alcohol companies by associat- raphy’s negative efects on women’s self-esteem and ing their works and their brand with them? Te video social status. bears strong similarities to those he has more recently Avi Lewis (@avilewis) has had a long career in co-produced with Ms. Klein. television, starting as a MuchMusic VJ. MuchMusic Afer MuchMusic, Mr. Lewis moved to the Cana- was Canada’s version of MTV, but had a pioneering dian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), where he was

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 81 involved in several TV shows, each of which stressed guests holding oppositional ideological positions with social justice and/or critical thinking. I appeared on respect and candor, but with no submissiveness or an episode of counterSpin, which involved Mr. Lewis condescension. His most contentious conversations listening to pro and con arguments addressing a par- should be case studies in positive dialogue for stu- ticular issue, then summarizing and explaining why dents of journalism, public policy, law and political he favoured one or the other position. Mr. Lewis pro- science. Canadaland represents the kind of radio that vided great thinkaloud modeling of critical thinking. the CBC, which has lost its way if not its nerve, could Mr. Lewis then moved to Al-Jazeera, where he and should be. hosted Faultlines, a news documentary show that ex- Jesse Hirsh (@jessehirsh) is a self-acclaimed pub- plored social issues such as the Detroit Auto industry lic intellectual and a critical thinker at large. He ap- collapse, South American debt, oil spills and the Tea pears weekly as a technol- Party’s ideology. ogy reporter on CBC radio, Most recently, he directed Tis Changes Every- has given TED Talks and thing (2015), a flm that complements Naomi Klein’s many keynotes. I met Jesse book of the same name. Naomi Klein and Avi Lew- over 20 years ago when he is continuously advocate for social justice online, in was a member of the Media print, in video and in personal appearances at social Collective, a group of activ- justice and climate change related conferences. Both ists who maintained a loose provide strong examples of working within structures afliation with one another (TV, publishing, public speaking, movies) to push for to use media to afect social change. Tey personify both/and agency in action. change. Jesse studied at the Jesse Brown (@JesseBrown) had apprenticed at University of Toronto’s McLuhan Program in Culture CBC radio, but I became a fan when he launched Can- and Technology. adaland (canadalandshow.com/), a listener-supported Jesse is best known as a tech commentator and podcast. Canadaland has taken an futurist, but his real passion is civic engagement and unfinching look at corruption, gov- the ways in which new technologies are infuencing ernment interference and weak or political discourse and human relationships. He uses compromised reporting in the rap- his media and live appearances to encourage people idly-evolving journalism industry. to think very carefully and critically about their tech Canadaland is not just fearless when uses, a direct connection back to the work of Marshall searching for truth, but has invited McLuhan. its fercest critics to be guests, lis- Jesse has made a very deliberate media literate tened to their criticisms, and some- choice in his presentations. He studied the professional times modifed its actions as a result. speaker landscape and decided that the rarest of forms It has also sufered the disafection of fellow journal- in a screen-dominated culture is the live speech. He of- ists, businesses, legislators and news organizations fers precisely that to his clients, speaking without the that comes with honest and transparent reporting. usual projected slides and even without notes. Audi- Mr. Brown has ofen modeled excellent critical ences experience him live, spontaneous and modeling thinking and media literacy. He asks strong ques- critical media literacy thinking. Tey get his full eye tions and follows them up for in-depth exploration. contact and attention and don’t have to read or view But most importantly—and timely— he has modeled any slides. Just Jesse; a compelling and unusual—possi- measured, respectful and articulate argumentation. If bly unique—media experience. His format choice puts there is a lost or endangered skill in public discourse pressure on Jesse because he has no ‘audiovisual aids’ in the 21st century, it is the ability to dialogue re- to occupy audience attention or time, but his delivery spectfully, efectively and extendedly with someone is cogent, coherent and compelling. espousing an oppositional ideology. Mr. Brown does One of Jesse’s greatest strengths is his disarming that ofen and brilliantly. He has ofen conversed with afability. He always seems to be in a positive mood,

82 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY celebrating the careful skepticism that he encourages and easy to identify with. It is easy to see his fction as people to share. His demeanor is interpersonal (the polemical because his heroes explain their positions oldest medium), yet it translates well to his radio and on oppression, repression and human rights in direct video representations. Again, agency within structures. address. (Pride and Prejudice and Macbeth are polem- Jesse created his own structure in addition to ics for the same reasons.) Te stories are compelling, working within existing structures. He established well-crafed, quirky and funny. While Homeland and Te Academy of the Impossible (impossible.ws) in a Little Brother are his best-known novels, my favourite Toronto storefront as a think tank and laboratory to is For the Win for at least two reasons. First, the nov- develop and encourage community involvement and el is excellently crafed, weaving multiple story lines innovation in public policy. Te Academy of the Im- occurring in China, South Asia and America culmi- possible —‘impossible’ was very deliberately chosen— nating in a powerful conclusion. Second, the novel ex- ofered free or low-cost courses to support social ac- plores the socio-politics of the sweatshop experience tion, personal development and self-awareness. Jesse in the clothing, art and gaming industries. also hosted a variety of evening discussions relevant to Cory has also written a large body of non-fction, social change. Te Academy was supported by donors. and his essays and books advocate for egalitarian ide- It ran efectively for a few years, then faltered. Jesse als in online environments. Many of his essays are also closed the bricks and mortar Academy, but its spirit worthy of classroom study. lives on in pop-up fashion as needed. In his other lives, Cory is a Cory Doctorow (@doctorow) is a writer, speak- co-editor of Boing Boing (boing- er, blogger and activist. He has spent much of his ca- boing.net) and a Fellow of the reer working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation Electronic Frontier Foundation. In and has travelled extensively promoting his books. both cases, his activism and agen- Cory was born and raised in Toronto, but has spent cy promote free speech, privacy much of his adult life in London and Los Angeles. and sharing. Putting his money He has focused on writing Young Adult fction, where his mouth is ideologically, yet his novels are appropriate and compelling for Cory sells his novels as paper and adults. I want Cory’s novels to be featured on high e-books and ofers downloads free school English curricula because they are appropri- of charge on his website. He is a ate for high school readers big fan of independent bookstores, and entirely worthy of liter- making personal appearances at ary study. In support of that them and promoting them in in his wish, I created a popular sig- e-books’ chapter interstitials. nifer of scholastic validity Who’s watching the watchers? for Cory’s bestseller Home- Ron Deibert (@RonDeibert), the Di- land: a study guide (aml.ca/ rector of the Citizen Lab at the Munk homeland-study-guide/). School of Global Afairs, University of Cory’s prequel to Home- Toronto. Ron’s group surreptitious- land, Little Brother, has ly invades the networks of oppressive been optioned for a fea- governments, cyber-saboteurs and industrial spies, ture movie, so will have to then watches as they work. When they have gathered have its own study guide comprehensive evidence, the Citizen Lab publishes addressing the novel and their fndings, outing the black hats. movie versions of the story. Ron is especially concerned about human rights Cory’s writings ad- violations, both on and ofine. He was a principal cre- dress near-future social ator of Psyphon, a cloaking app that allowed dissidents justice issues. His heroes to communicate online without detection. He con- are teens or young adults, stantly warns us of security risks through his lectures,

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 83 tweets, books, articles and blog posts. Te Citizen Lab Steph used her agency in the TED Talk to suggest not only identifed a signifcant IOS exploit but also a list of ways that others might exercise agency online. provides a kit for those who want to request their data Again, agency within struc- from their ISPs. Agency within structures. tures, this time advocating and Dave Meslin (@meslin) was another member describing additional agency of the Media Collective. When I frst met him he was within structures. protesting unsightly billboard ads by splattering them David Suzuki (@David- with paint. Suzuki) has practiced media Dave has an unfagging commitment to civic agency for decades. He has duty and pride, and has been involved in 16 diferent produced and/or appeared on civic projects in as many years. Tese have ranged from numerous television and ra- organizing community events to dio programs, written books, co-founding Spacing Magazine spoken publicly, established a foundation, and even (spacing.ca/) to trying to change appeared in advertising promoting energy-efcient the ways that municipal politicians light bulbs. Agency within structures. “Suzuki’s aim are elected. Dave is a public speak- is to stimulate interest in the natural world, to point er and has presented a TED Talk out threats to human well-being and wildlife habitat, on the systemic causes of apathy and to present alternatives to humanity for achieving a (ted.com/speakers/dave_meslin). more sustainable society.” (Wikipedia.org) Again, a set of wide-ranging Since 1970, Suzuki’s consistent goal has been acts of agency, all aimed at improv- to help people understand and appreciate the trans- ing citizenship, within structures. actional roles between humans and the environment I frst met Steph Guthrie (@ so that they might behave more responsibly. He uses amirightfolks) when she inter- his voice efectively, employing a careful balance be- viewed me for her Master’s thesis. tween easygoing and vociferous. He makes his cases She wanted to know more about straightforwardly, without overstatements or whining, media literacy. We met again when but leaving no doubt about the need for better global we took a course together from stewardship. Jesse Hirsh. Steph has since sought John PungenteSJ is a paragon of tireless agency. social justice infuence, specifcally An enthusiastic high school flm studies teacher, then in the treatment of women in virtual environments. principal, he became Manitoba’s Head of Film Classi- Tis is a sorely-needed goal, as women are historically fcation. He formed the Jesuit Communications Project abused online. She is now a free-lance gender-equity afer a year’s sabbatical studying media literacy educa- consultant (stephguthrie.com/). tion around the world. When I say ‘around the world,’ Steph took a stalker to court for harassment. I mean it literally. John spent a year travelling and She lost the case because the judge was not convinced visiting media literacy educators in their classrooms. that she felt physically threatened by the defendant’s Tis was an especially-harrowing sacrifce for John be- Tweets. Win or lose, the case put the issue of online cause he does not like to fy, and some of his landing sexual harassment on the public agenda. (hufng- and take-of experiences were literally death-defying. tonpost.ca/2016/01/22/steph-guthrie-twitter-harass- ment-bullies_n_9055828.html) Since the case, Steph has received online abuse that more than validates her concerns about women’s online experiences and done a TED Talk about her court experience, again placing sexual harassment into the public agenda, where it needs to remain until stalking and trolling of wom- en—online and ofine—cease.

84 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY John distilled his sabbatical learning into Get- be an asset to their agency. Tis is telling news for ting Started in Media Education, a book that provided universities: change agents do not need academic a recipe for implementing successful media literacy qualifcations to be efective; in fact, academic studies education. He then followed his book’s own guide- might drain energy and skills that make them efective lines and resettled from Winnipeg to Toronto, where agents. It is certainly true that academic environments he strategically liaised with Te Association for Media encourage esoteric/arcane language and concepts that Literacy because he thought this organization was the might be buzzkill for popular audiences, so that agents likeliest to succeed. John exposed us to important who wish to engage the largest possible audience and books and educators, many of whom we invited to To- have the largest possible infuence fnd academia con- ronto to share their knowledge and experiences, each stricting. Tese Canadian agents’ messages are popu- of which was life-changing. list, using social media and live appearances as well John also contributed to Ontario’s Media Literacy as video, interviews, books and editorials to exercise Resource Guide and taught media education strategies their agency. Agency within a variety of structures. to teachers through Faculties of Education and librar- Teir agency has also been risky. Many of them ies. He liaised with CHUM Television, an innovative have sufered attacks, personal and professional, be- maverick organization with a strong social justice eth- cause their ideas and agency are provocative and dis- ic. CHUM became a regular supporter of AML activi- comfort audiences. ties and, later, a producer/distributor of John’s monthly Te Journal of Media Literacy is itself an example Scanning the Movies show. Tis show advanced media literacy learning by exploring the themes and qualities We are experiencing the most rapid social of frst-run feature movies for 11 seasons. John includ- changes ever recorded, largely as a result of rapid ed me as a writer on the show scripts and the study technological innovations. It is understandable that guides that were produced for each movie. some people are bewildered, discouraged—even Also in collaboration with CHUM and Vancou- ver’s Face-to-Face Media, John produced Scanning threatened—by some of those changes. Television, a large video compendium with Kathleen Tyner and I writing the teachers’ guide. Scanning Tele- of this populist decision. Its editorial board has de- vision became a best-selling resource, modeling media liberately decided to avoid the refereed-paper condi- literacy education for teachers across North America, tion applied by other media literacy journals because then in Japan when he negotiated a Japanese transla- it wants to be inclusive of both writers and audienc- tion of the guide. es. Te JML wants everyone to be as media literate At intervals between these projects, John wrote as possible, to apply critical media literacy skills that two more books: More Tan Meets the Eye: Watching will maximize their and their society’s health. Tis has Television Watching Us to encourage people to be more been its goal for over 60 years. aware viewers; and Finding God in the Dark to support We are experiencing the most rapid social chang- Catholics who wanted to deepen their faith through es ever recorded, largely as a result of rapid technolog- refective movie viewing. ical innovations. It is understandable that some people During these activities, John received two hon- are bewildered, discouraged—even threatened—by orary doctorate degrees and used his commencement some of those changes. Some believe that the new en- speeches to advocate for more media literacy agency. vironments and afordances ofer greater opportuni- John’s agency continues as he runs the Jesuit ties for infuencing those changes while others believe Communications Project and teaches media studies at we are oppressed. Both are true, but there is yet room St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. for negotiation. At least 11 Canadian agents (12 if I in- Signifcantly, these agents started—but almost clude Barry Duncan, referenced elsewhere) have sur- none completed—post-secondary education. Tey veyed the media landscape and found ways that they were either too impatient to begin their activism or can exert infuence and enjoy self-expression, both were unconvinced that academic qualifcations would within and beyond structures. i

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 85 End User License Agreements in Plain Language

By Neil Andersen

[end user license agreement] [internet privacy]

Agency is knowledge in action. therefore know their risks. Knowing our risks, how- ever, will help us behave ethically and safely, as well as or most of us, End User License Agreements know when our rights have been violated. (EULAs) provoke conficted responses. On In support of understanding and appreciating F one hand, we appreciate that media companies the risks of electric communications, Te AML has must protect themselves to stay in business. On the worked with two sets of students to produce an on- other hand, we know that most media companies col- going series of EULAs in Plain Language. Te AML lect and sell records of our online activities—with our wants to provide these guides to anyone who wants to permission but without any compensation. Each us- know and avoid the risks of using electric media. er’s activities are monetized to the extent that many Our frst step was to identify the most-used me- media companies are valuated in the billions, yet al- dia apps or services. Te second was to ask volunteer most no money fows to any user. As one pundit told law students (Pro-Bono Students of Canada) to identi- me, “I hate Facebook, but I have to use it because ev- fy EULA passages that put users at risk, then translate eryone is on it.” these passages into plain language. Te passages were So when faced with the ‘agree’ button on a sign- then re-written in Q&A formats. Te Q&As were de- up page, we ofen have an unpleasant ‘I-feel-so-cheap’ signed as posters by graphic arts students at Toronto’s feeling, knowing that we are surrendering most of our Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts. online privacy and right to protest to exercise the util- Seven posters (see samples below) are now ready ity of online activities. We don’t really know if such for distribution (www.aml.ca), with more to come. surrender is worth it, but we hope so. Te AML hopes that the posters will travel far and All apps and services have EULAs. A few are wide, sparking conversations and behaviours that will written in concise, friendly language delivered in raise users’ awareness and agency in their uses of elec- well-organized categories. Most, however, run several tric communications. i pages in arcane legal language. Sometimes, users must re-agree every time a new update releases. Small won- der that even those of us who endeavor to read the EULAs give up and mindlessly click the ‘agree’ button. Te Association for Media Literacy believes that people cannot be too media literate, and that some of that media literacy includes understanding and avoid- ing the risks of using electric communications. Te AML wants everyone to beneft the most from media uses—personally, educationally, civically—while risk- ing the least. Te AML knows that people are com- pelled, for a variety of reasons, to use electric media; that they will use them even though they know there are risks; and that they will not read the EULAs and

86 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY 2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 87 88 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY 2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 89 Barry Duncan: A Radical Agent for Media Literacy Education

By Carol Arcus

Carol Arcus is retired from a twenty-year career of teaching secondary school media studies as well as Ad- ditional Qualifications courses in Media Education for the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE). She has published articles in the Journal for Media Literacy and given many workshops on how to integrate media literacy into curriculum. Carol is the Vice President of The Association for Media Literacy, a volunteer organization that wrote the media component of the Ontario curriculum and advocates for media literacy.

[Barry Duncan] [AML] [Freire] [agency] [McLuhan] [City as Classroom]

“[T]he more radical the person is, the more fully he or cultural, corporate, and technological onslaught. If she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she you fnd this statement overly “protectionist,” bear can transform it. Tis individual is not afraid to con- in mind that when that electric environmental shif front, to listen, to see the world unveiled. Tis person is was happening, education was far less aware of the not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue repercussions, if it was aware of a shif at all. Te with them. Tis person does not consider himself or her- classroom needed to be challenging assumptions self the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liber- about attentionality, media messages , and industry ator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself in order to be freed from the perils of an ignorant or herself, within history, to fght at their side.” curriculum. It wasn’t and Barry worked tirelessly for —Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed forty years to see that it did. When he was generating support in 1978 for n the 1970s, Barry Duncan—radical, mentor, media curriculum and an activist media literacy ed- and former student of Marshall McLuhan - un- ucation organization (later Ontario’s Association for I derstood better than anyone that until Ontario Media Literacy), Barry also understood more about curriculum included media education, it would con- the true meaning of agency than most educators. As tinue to ofer learners nothing about their contem- an agent acting on behalf of teachers and students, Barry embodied Paolo Freire’s idea of the radical who sees him/herself not as a liberator but one who per- As a mentor of young teachers and a classroom teacher suades others that they already possess the power to himself, Barry modeled teaching as a kind of personal liberate themselves and others in turn. Once they feel action research project in which agency is mobilized and know it, they activate change for themselves. As by both teacher-practitioner and student, and where my colleague Neil Andersen has described it, Barry students become colleagues in learning. tapped into energies.

“Te teacher is of course an artist, but being an porary electronic environment, leaving them with- artist does not mean that he or she can make out the necessary skills to navigate that environment the profle, can shape the students. What the critically. He fought for media literacy as a libera- educator does in teaching is to make it possible tion agenda—the liberation of young minds from a for the students to become themselves.”

90 JOURNAL OF MEDIA LITERACY —Paulo Freire, We Make the Road by Walk- ing: Conversations on Education and Social Change

When I made the midlife decision to embark on a career in education, I picked up the threads of a de- cades-old interest in Marshall McLuhan and found my way very quickly to Barry Duncan. I remember eager- ly standing in line to speak with him on the frst day of a summer Additional Qualifcations teacher course at the School of Experiential Education in Etobicoke, Ontario. I wanted to know if I could observe and vol- unteer in his fall semester classroom if I did not have a Barry—the first international recipient —accepts the Jessie job by then. He was very enthusiastic, and I was hum- McCanse award from NTC president Dr. Marti Tomas Izral bled and nervous. As it turned out, I did get a tempo- rary position, but in retrospect I might have learned more by working with Barry that frst year than by wrestling 14 year olds in a portable classroom north of Toronto. Barry invited me to serve on the Executive of the AML in 1993. During the years until his death in 2012, he pushed me tirelessly to move beyond the in- sidious Ministry restrictions on teacher creativity that subordinated teachers’ and learners’ best talents to the ofcial curriculum. He helped me to understand and develop my best strengths as a teacher. He ofered me countless opportunities to try, fail, and build and re- fect on my experience. In fact—and I did not recog- nize this at the time—he was modeling best practice through agency. The AML Executive Board (l-r) Carol Arcus, John Pungente, Neil Andersen, Maureen Baron, Barry Duncan, Carolyn Wilson

“Teachers and students (leadership and peo- ple), co-intent on reality, are both Subjects, the best talents of teachers by imposing strict curricu- not only in the task of unveiling that reality, lum expectations, discouraging free agency. A mutual and thereby coming to know it critically, but community of practice amongst teachers and students in the task of re-creating that knowledge. As does the opposite: it nurtures passion for learning, thus they attain this knowledge of reality through allowing all to move freely within the structure – and common refection and action, they discov- er themselves as its permanent re-creators.” Media literacy is a literacy of agency, afording —Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed agency through the process of critical inquiry, As a mentor of young teachers and a classroom application, and refection. teacher himself, Barry modeled teaching as a kind of personal action research project in which agency is indeed to provoke it into becoming a more transparent mobilized by both teacher-practitioner and student, system, freeing for both student and teacher. Barry’s and where students become colleagues in learning. home turf, the School of Experiential Education, is a Tis mutual community of practice confers a power- school designed expressly for students who are chal- ful agency on both. Educational institutions suppress lenged by a mainstream environment. Its mandate is

2017 • VOLUME 64, NUMBER 1 & 2 91 “to value and foster the development of [among other been taught. So I was mentored through the encour- traits] self-discovery; self-reliance; maturity; self-gov- agement of the expression of my best self, without ran- ernance; self-expression; and collaboration.” In this cor, without criticism of what might be better; rather, type of system, transparency is key. Trough open in support of what I did best. Trough this experience, dialogue and lively discussion, the generation of in- I learned how to teach from my best self. It started dependent student inquiry (action research) develops with me and my students, not with the institution. He passionate learners/students: passion generates pas- was the most radical person I have known. sion. Teacher agency begets student agency. He was an activist in the purest sense, confer- ring agency on and through the creation of Te As- “Liberation is a praxis : the action and refec- sociation for Media Literacy and the support of media tion of men and women upon their world in teachers in his AQ courses. He took overseas visitors order to transform it.” —Paulo Freire, Peda- into our classrooms, knowing that it is not enough to gogy of the Oppressed talk about what we do, but to show it. He liaised with as many organizations as possible, including making Ministry documents are built around what extensive international connections. In AML, he chal- someone thinks is best practice. A sense of agency lenged our right to agency and tapped our energies allows teachers to ask what best practice can do for through tireless prodding questions designed to moti- themselves and their students. It is a form of liberation vate our awareness of social justice and self-advocacy. in which teacher and student move away from a con- I have neither taught nor used the word “agen- strained, stratifed system toward an organic, recur- cy” in my teaching and advocacy career, and yet it has sive ecosystem of learning. Te teacher moves beyond probably been its single most consistent theme. And rote teaching and learning within their institution—a agency was what Barry was all about. Media literacy necessary step in the evolution of the teacher and the is a literacy of agency, afording agency through the system as a whole. Te efect is an outward radiation process of critical inquiry, application, and refection. across the institution toward permanent change. So As media literacy educators, the nurturing of agency is the system gains its own agency: it works to confer our mandate. It fulflls McLuhan’s notion of enabling agency upon its active members. In other words, agen- citizens to become active social participants, empow- cy works recursively. ered agents within their own media environments. i Barry Duncan knew that the trick for an educa- tor is to understand her own range of agency and its possibilities before infuencing her students’ under- standing of their own potential. Tis is the hallmark of an efective teacher: not to improve on what is weak, but to strengthen what already forms the foundation of a passion. To nourish the seed of curiosity. Agency is conferred in the act of encouragement; in the act of opening doors you say, ‘Why not do this?’ It is con- ferred through conversation designed to prod more of what is being done well—out of a natural tendency. It is a tentative moving through possibilities. Tis is not just telling someone they can do better and giving them the tools to do so, but enabling endemic change within the whole system by seeding agency through both teachers and learners. Barry gave me permission to grow through the personal action project which was my daily classroom for twenty years, rather than sticking to what I had Barry closes a conference with his signature loon call

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