This report is intended to give an overview of the state of media literacy and media literacy education in an era
where the field is finally coming out of the shadows and taking its place as an important global discipline. Because media literacy addresses cognitive processing, including decision making and the resulting expressions
or actions that follow such thinking and feeling, it is a difficult arena to describe easily. Media literacy processes
– the abilities to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate through media -- apply to all content, anytime,
anywhere – which can be an elusive idea in a world where more concrete subject matter is typically the focus of
study. Technology, too, plays a major role in the field, since it is through technology that most media messages
today are channeled, affecting all who engage with it.
Although the media literacy field is more than 50 years old, it is very new to most people. For that reason, this
report provides a bit of history on the development of media literacy, as well as where media literacy currently
stands and where it seems to be going at present. Snapshots of current activity, and resources for the field, are
also included.
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