Media Are Constructions
Introduce students to the idea that media are constructions that re-present reality – every part of a media text is the result of a decision made consciously or unconsciously, regarding what to include and exclude as well as how to present what is included, and audiences perceive media texts – correctly or not – as representations of reality. This is particularly true of news, which we generally accept as an accurate and objective reflection of reality. (You may wish to give students the example of a documentary: we accept it as a representation of reality, but the director had to make decisions about what footage to include and what to leave out, what music to use on the soundtrack and even where to point the camera – pointing a camera in one direction automatically means you’re leaving out everything that camera isn’t pointing at.)
Note to Teacher
This lesson is based on the media literacy key concept that all media are constructed. To familiarize your students with these concepts, you may want to show this Media Literacy 101 video. You may choose to project it for the class to watch together, or students can watch it individually in the Media Are Constructions Student Material.