IDENTIFYING MEDIA CONSUMPTION HABITS AND MEDIA LITERACY SKILLS IN COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES by KRISTEN PHILLIPS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN COMMUNICATION THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON May 2012 Copyright © by Kristen Phillips 2012 All Rights Reserve ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to whom I would like to extend my sincere gratitude. First, I would like to thank the graduate faculty of the communication department at The University of Texas at Arlington, who have actively engaged me in my studies for this graduate program. I wish to specifically thank Dr. Andrew Clark, my thesis advisor, for dedicating his time to proofing this paper, as well as his advice and encouragement through this process. His guidance has helped me shape an idea into a complete study. I would also like to extend thanks to Dr. Charla Markham Shaw and Dr. Mark Tremayne for serving on my thesis committee. Each one of these faculty members has helped strengthen my research interest of media literacy into a complete study. Also, I want to extend thanks to Dr. Donna Simmons, who was my undergraduate faculty adviser at CSU Bakersfield and who also helped recruit communication students for this study. My family has also played an important role in this process by being my emotional support system. To my parents, Rick and Karen, without the two of them I would not be where I am today. I am thankful that they have been there every step of the way inspiring me to do my best. This study is dedicated to them. I was also lucky to have the additional support of many friends and previous faculty mentors along the way. Also, I am sincerely grateful for the all the undergraduate students who participated in the study. Thank you all very much. April 5, 2012 iii ABSTRACT IDENTIFYING MEDIA CONSUMPTION HABITS AND MEDIA LITERACY SKILLS IN COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATES Kristen Phillips, M.A. The University of Texas at Arlington, 2012 Supervising Professor: Andrew Clark In the United States, media literacy education is not as advanced as in other English speaking regions such as, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia. Most teachers and students in the US are unaware of issues involved in media literacy education (Kellner & Share, 2005). Due to the fragmentation of today’s news environment, the artificial division between news and entertainment has been blurred. In addition, news broadcasted through these mediums have become fragmented as well, with issues being reduced into small sound bites. The significance of this study is to juxtapose the viewing habits of undergraduate college students who have had a media literacy component in their academic curriculum and those who have not. Based upon the literature tracing the impact of an evolving media environment, this qualitative study consists of an interactive activity and follow-up interview with undergraduate participants. This study revealed how undergraduate students view media outlets as sources of information. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................. x Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………..………..….. ...................................... 1 1.1 Fragmented News Environment ....................................................................... 1 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................................ 6 2.1 Theoretical Frame Work ................................................................................... 6 2.1.1 Critical and Cultural Studies ............................................................. 6 2.1.2 Social Responsibility Theory ............................................................ 8 2.1.3 Agenda Setting ............................................................................... 10 2.1.4 Media Gatekeeping ........................................................................ 11 2.2 Media Literacy ................................................................................................ 14 2.2.1 Defining Media Literacy .................................................................. 14 2.2.2 Media Literacy in Education ........................................................... 16 2.2.3 Plan of Action: Media Literacy ........................................................ 18 2.2.4 Influences and Effects on Political Opinion .................................... 23 2.3 Political Comedy Shows ................................................................................. 23 2.3.1 The Daily Show ‘Fake News’ Program Format .............................. 26 2.3.1.1 The Daily Show Usage of Inter-Media Agenda Setting ................................................................................ 28 2.3.2 Influences of Political News Coverage on Youth ........................... 29 v 2.4 Research Questions ....................................................................................... 30 3. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 33 3.1 Justification of Research Approach ................................................................ 33 3.2 Participants ..................................................................................................... 33 3.3 Creating Interactive Activity ............................................................................ 36 3.3.1 Creation of Word Press Blog .......................................................... 37 3.3.2 Selection of Media Outlets ............................................................. 38 3.3.3 Selection of News Stories .............................................................. 39 3.4 Creating Question Guide ................................................................................ 39 3.5 Conducting Interviews .................................................................................... 41 3.6 Procedure ....................................................................................................... 41 3.6.1 Implementation of Study ................................................................. 42 3.6.2 Thematic Analysis .......................................................................... 42 4. RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 44 4.1 Overview of Participant Responses ............................................................... 44 4.2 Research Question One ................................................................................. 45 4.2.1 RQ1a .............................................................................................. 45 4.2.1.1 Bias ............................................................................. 45 4.2.1.2 Straightforward ............................................................ 48 4.2.1.3 Word-of-Mouth ............................................................ 48 4.2.2 RQ1b .............................................................................................. 49 4.2.2.1 Familiarity .................................................................... 49 4.2.2.2 Straightforward ............................................................ 50 4.2.2.3 Balance ....................................................................... 51 4.2.3 Media Outlets Selected .................................................................. 52 4.3 Research Question Two ................................................................................. 53 vi 4.3.1 RQ2a .............................................................................................. 54 4.3.1.1 Understanding ............................................................. 54 4.3.1.2 Awareness .................................................................. 54 4.3.2 RQ2b .............................................................................................. 55 4.3.2.1 Understanding ............................................................. 55 4.3.2.2 Awareness .................................................................. 55 4.4 Research Question Three .............................................................................. 56 4.4.1 RQ3a .............................................................................................. 56 4.4.1.1 Entertainment .............................................................. 56 4.4.1.2 Bias ............................................................................. 59 4.4.2 RQ3b .............................................................................................. 59 4.4.2.1 Entertainment .............................................................. 59 4.4.2.2 Bias ............................................................................. 60 4.4.3 Unaware ......................................................................................... 61 4.5 Open-ended Questions .................................................................................