Media Creation and Media Literacy

Media creation and media literacy are mutually reinforcing concepts. To understand the connection between the two, we must first define each. Media literacy refers to the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages. It involves understanding the role of media in society, critically engaging with media content, and being able to effectively communicate through various media forms. Media literacy empowers individuals to navigate the complex media landscape, identify biases, assess credibility, and make informed decisions as media consumers and creators. Meanwhile, media creation is the process of producing and sharing media content, whether it be through articles, blogs, videos, music, etc.

One of the connections I’ve made between the two concepts is creating media broadens your media literacy. For example, I took a course in which we studied misinformation. We learned to analyze, evaluate and broaden our knowledge of how to verify what we read on the internet. I would then use that knowledge to create my own media, where I would share a claim made online or source and write an analysis of the credibility of the source and/or claim. As I write the articles, I consider the five key questions and core concepts of media literacy.

While it is not necessary to become media literate, engaging in the process of creating media enhances one’s media literacy knowledge. The two essentially go hand-in-hand, as media literacy skills are necessary to creating media and creating media strengthens media literacy skills. Even as I write this blog, I am thinking about the techniques I am using, audience I am appealing to, value of the content and overall purpose behind it. The two concepts are completely interconnected and each skill compliments the other.