Global Media and Information Week is Organized by UNESCO

New Delhi/ NCR, October, 2021: Global Media and Information Week is organized by UNESCO every year in October to review and celebrate the progress achieved towards ‘Media and Information Literacy for All’. The book titled Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages authored by Prof Art Silverblatt, Professor Emeritus of Media Communications at WebsterUniversity, St. Louis, Missouri, Prof. Anubhuti Yadav, Professor of New Media at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, India and Dr Vedabhyas Kundu, Programme Officer at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti is a contribution towards global MIL celebrations from India. This Indian Edition was developed under The Digital International Media Literacy Education Project (DIMLE).

Media Literacy: Keys to Interpreting Media Messages offers a critical approach that will enable students to better understand the information, messages, ideologies and entertainment factors conveyed through the channels of mass communication—print, photography, film, radio, television, and digital media.

One of the principal goals of Media Literacy is to enable students to develop a healthy and critical independence from the influence of the media, all the while maintaining their ability to enjoy interacting with the media and to develop their abilities to create media content.

The emphasis is on student’s empowerment through education. This edition includes case studies from the Indian Media Industry which is very vibrant and complex.

Prof. Art Silverblatt, Prof. Anubhuti Yadav and Dr. Vedabhyas Kundu with their rich experiences in the field of Media and Information Literacy decided to bring out this print edition when we are all surrounded with misinformation, disinformation and rumors of various kinds.

During the pandemic the world has recognized the importance of Media and Information Literacy to combat infodemic. This timely initiative is steeped in the Indian Media Literacy theoretical perspective and Initiatives taken in the field of Media literacy by the government and non-government organizations in India where the focus is on the construction as well as deconstruction of media messages.

“It is a dream come true. I have been working on media literacy for the last 20 years. This book is coming at a time when it is needed the most. We are all surrounded with misinformation and disinformation and the only way to combat it is Media Literacy. It was a great pleasure working with Prof Art Silverblatt and Dr Vedabhyas Kundu, both renowned names in Media Literacy,” says Prof. Anubhuti Yadav.

The Part I of the book presents a theoretical framework for the critical analysis of media text.

The Part II gives students an opportunity to apply this methodological framework to a variety of media formats: journalism, advertising, and political communications.

The Part III consists of a brief consideration of mass media issues (violence in the media, media and children, media and social change, and global communications), as well as a discussion of potential outcomes once people become more media literate.
The team is also contemplating language editions in Hindi and Bengali.