Developing Media Literacy and Media Criticism in Canada

For citation: Levitskaya A.A. (2016) Formirovanie mediynoy gramotnosti i mediakritika v Kanade [Developing Media Literacy and Media Criticism in Canada]. Mediaskop 1. Available at: http://mediascope.ru/?q=node/2087

© Anastasia A. Levitskaya

PhD, Associate Professor at the Chair of Humanities, Taganrog Management and Economics Institute (Taganrog, Russia), a.levitskaya@tmei.ru

Abstract

The experience of Canada, for several decades a leader in media education at schools, is discussed from the standpoint of using media criticism potential in fostering mass audience media literacy. To date, there are some works in Russian that deal with the history of media education in Canada and the related issues but no research effort has been undertaken to look at media criticism in that country. The author endeavours to describe the current state of media criticism in Canada, to pinpoint the problem areas and to identify the ways to further progress as a synthesis of personal (journalistic/civic) self-expression and response to today’s challenges through enhanced media literacy of the audience. Various kinds of the Canadian media criticism including its academic, intracorporate and mass varieties are discussed and the most influential organizations and personae are noted. Some specific examples are given to show the practical mechanism of collaboration among the university journalism faculties. On the whole, it is shown that Canada, though a world leader in media literacy at the school curriculum level, does not fully realize the developing potential of media criticism as a means to upgrade media competence of mass audience.

Keywords: media criticism, media education, media literacy, journalism, Canada.

Notes

Anderson N., Duncan B., Pungente J. (2001) Media Education, Canadian Stories. Australian Screen Education Online 25. Available at: http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=731870938017218;res=IELHSS

Baluja T. (2014) Jesse Brown dishes on Canadaland and why we need more media criticism. 8 October. Available at: http://jpress.journalism.ryerson.ca/jsource/jesse-brown-dishes-on-canadaland-and-why-we-need-more-media-criticism/

Dao С. (2015) Whitewashing in Media Made Me Self-Conscious About Being Chinese. HuffPost Living,31 March. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/calvin-dao/whitewashing-in-media_b_6970892.html

Douara D. (2012) The CNN Bubble: Where America Is the World. HuffPost Living,3 May. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/deena-douara/cnn-represents-whats-wron_b_131776

http://www.canadalandshow.com/

Gallant A. (2015) The Media Needs to Address Suicide. HuffPost Living, 30 July. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/arthur-gallant/reporting-on-suicide_b_7900754.html

Global Media Journal, Canadian Edition. Available at:http://www.gmj.uottawa.ca/

http://jpress.journalism.ryerson.ca/jsource/about-us/

Labrecque P. (2014) Why It's Important To Watch Middle Eastern News Coverage With a Critical Eye. HuffPost Living,9 November. Available at:

 http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/philippe-labrecque/middle-east-news_b_5800256.html

Liem S. (2015) Jesse Brown punctures Canada’s media bubble. Columbia Journalism Review

January/February. Available at: http://www.cjr.org/feature/jesse_brown_punctures_canadas.php

Media Awareness Network. 2009. Available at:http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_education/media_education_chronology.cfm

Surganova E. Vsem prizhal khvost. Kak HuffPost stal amerikanskim onlayn-izdaniem nomer odin [The Top Dog. How the HuffRost Has Become America’s Number One Online Publication]. Lenta.ru. 2014. 21 January. Available at:http://lenta.ru/articles/2014/01/21/huffpo/

http://mediasmarts.ca/

http://www.projectcensored.org/

http://www.sfu.ca/cmns/research/newswatch/intro.html

http://caj.ca/category/awards; http://cjf-fjc.ca.

http:// nnn-ccj.ca

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