13 November 2019 MSI-JOQ(2018)10
Supporting Quality Journalism through
Media and Information Literacy
DRAFT STUDY
Prepared by the Committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital age
Martina Chapman and Markus Oermann
Contents
3. MIL as open multi-dimensional concept
3.1 Knowledge and skills necessary for a self-determined interaction with media
3.2 Development of cluster of MIL skills
4. Summary of results from the online survey
4.3 Categories of MIL projects and initiatives
4.4 Budgets for MIL projects and initiatives
4.5 Target groups for MIL projects and initiatives
4.6 Evaluation of MIL projects and initiatives
5. A Framework of Models of MIL projects and activities
5.1 The ‘MIL in schools’ model
Promising Practices from ‘MIL in Schools’ model
Promising Practices from ‘Public facing’ model
Promising Practices from ‘Strategic’ model
Promising Practices from ‘MIL Training’ model
Promising Practices from ‘MIL Tools’ model
This report provides the findings of a study on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) that was conducted in support of the work of the Committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital age (MSI-JOQ), as well as a series of recommendations from the authors of the study to be considered by member states and other stakeholders.
The purpose of this study is to provide context and evidence to MSI-JOQ, member states and all other relevant stakeholders on media literacy activities in Europe supporting quality journalism.
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) include the cognitive, technical and social knowledge and skills which enable citizens to effectively access media content and critically analyse information, empowering people with the knowledge and skills to understand how media is produced, funded and regulated as well as confidence and competence to make informed decisions about which media they use. MIL is the key to understanding the ethical implications of media and technology, and to communicate effectively, including by interpreting, creating and publishing content. |
Regardless of age or socialisation, MIL skills help people to manage information properly by empowering them to make informed and self-determined decisions in their private, social, and work life.
Democracy based on human rights and the rule of law presupposes public debate and free opinion-forming. Social progress and economic prosperity are based on a spirit of innovation and the competition of ideas. Shared knowledge and shared history is critical for social cohesion. While MIL skills increase the contribution and share of each citizen on these public goods, quality journalism is crucial for a media ecosystem providing information that citizens can rely on.
As the Draft Recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for quality journalism in the digital age points out, quality journalism, resting on the common standards of professional ethics while taking different forms according to geographical, legal and societal contexts, pursues the shared goal of acting as a public watchdog in democratic societies and of contributing to public awareness and enlightenment. Quality journalism, with its unwavering commitment to the pursuit of truth, fairness, and accuracy, to independence, transparency and humanity, and a strong sense of public interest in promoting accountability in all sectors of society, remains as essential as ever to the health of democracies.[1] |
For organisations, institutions, and individual coaches engaged in the dissemination of MIL there is a strong need for an evidence- and empathy-based understanding of how people think and decide when dealing with digital media - including awareness of irrationalities, biases, inaccuracies and falsehoods.
In addition, MIL practitioners must also consider the changing media environment as well as asymmetries of economic power and political interests of the actors in the field and adapt their strategies accordingly. So, MIL is a demanding task for everyone involved.
The landscape of MIL programmes and projects in Europe is very diverse. Key findings of an analysis of 68 MIL activities as part of this study were as follows:
· Different groups of people will require different MIL interventions at different points on their learning journeys and no single organisation or sector can be expected to achieve this range of MIL support on their own. Strategic coordination to ensure that a broad range of stakeholders are encouraged to work together and use their collective networks to reach people where they are is often missing.
· Some of the MIL knowledge and skills required for people to recognise and value quality journalism in the digital age relate to knowing how the media is regulated and how the media is funded, understanding rights and responsibilities in relation to data and privacy, and having knowledge of how social media and search platforms operate. However, these were also the skills and knowledge least likely to be addressed by the MIL projects analysed.
· Over 65s may be at risk of being under-served by MIL initiatives. A significant obstacle to reaching an older audience with media literacy tools and training may be the absence of a readily available dissemination network (such as schools operate as a dissemination network for younger people).
Based on the findings of this study it is highly recommended that all key stakeholders involved in MIL activities, especially member States:
· recognise and support the role the MIL has in promoting and protecting quality journalism in the digital age,
· create media literacy programmes that help citizens of all age groups to develop the MIL skills and knowledge that will support quality journalism,
· learn from existing practices,
· foster collaboration,
· and evaluate and refine projects on an on-going basis.
With the on-going radical transformation of modern societies driven by digitalisation and changing normative structures, practically all aspects of our lives nowadays have a digital dimension.
In particular, communication on a personal, professional and public level has fundamentally changed with this transition marked by trends such as ‘mediatization’ and ‘datafication’. Today, citizens of all ages and all walks of life are confronted by an abundance of information and media content and often rely on digital media to meet their daily informational needs.
These needs stretch across all aspects of life – social, political, economic, domestic and professional - from individuals seeking information on international, national, local news or events to networks of family and friends keeping in touch; from searching for information on products, services, health, etc. to participating in civic activities or public discussions.
With todays ‘Always On’ media environment, there is often an expectation that every piece of information is instantly available. However, what is far from certain is the quality and the reliability of the information or content received. For example, in the present fragmented and complex media environment, it’s very easy to find information and content that reinforces pre-existing beliefs or opinions resulting in confirmation biases.
In today's fully mediatised society, media and information literacy (MIL) is essential as part of the skillset and knowledge required by every individual citizen to participate in political, economic and social life.
The wide-ranging impact of MIL means that it is a transversal issue addressed in various contexts by different bodies and departments of the Council of Europe. In terms of enhancing media pluralism, guidelines were included on provision and promotion of media literacy in Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on media pluralism and transparency of media ownership. These guidelines are aimed at (i) developing citizens’ ability to access, understand and use information and ideas propagated by the media, and (ii) enabling them to make an informed and critical evaluation of those ideas based on the awareness of many different influences impacting the production and dissemination of media content.
For that purpose, Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)1 recommends that states:
· adopt/develop appropriate legislative provisions;
· adopt coordinated national media literacy policy and implement it through multi annual plans involving a wide range of stakeholders;
· include media literacy in school curricula at all levels and in lifelong learning cycles;
· encourage media to promote media literacy through their policies, strategies and activities;
· ensure that national regulatory authorities have the scope and resources for the promotion of media literacy.
Furthermore, Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment points out that digital literacy encompasses MIL and encourages member states to fully promote these capabilities for children as well as for parents and carers.[2]
For member states which are also members of the European Union (or being part of the European Economic Area), the revision of Directive 2010/13/EU on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the provision of audiovisual media services (Audiovisual Media Services Directive) by Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of 14 November 2018 in view of the changed market situation must be taken into account. Art. 33a of the Directive now stipulates an obligation of the member states to promote media literacy along with an obligation to report to the EU-Commission[3] on media literacy activity.
In view of the central role played by video-sharing platforms in giving access to audiovisual content and the resulting societal responsibility, the revised AVMSD also obliges video-sharing platforms to provide for effective media literacy measures and tools, and to raise users’ awareness of these measures and tools (Article 28b).
The European Commission also brings together media literacy stakeholders in an Expert Group on Media Literacy[4] which meets annually to:
· identify, document and extend good practices in the field of media literacy;
· facilitate networking between different stakeholders, with the aim of cross-fertilisation;
· explore synergies between different EU policies and support programmes and media literacy initiatives.
Other media literacy activities from the EU include the 2019 European Media Literacy Week[5], and the European Media Literacy Awards[6], an open call to create an EU Digital Media Observatory to help fight disinformation[7].
Elements of media literacy are also addressed in the Communication on tackling online disinformation: a European approach (European Commission 2018). Adopted in April 2018 it outlines four strands for tackling disinformation online at a European level. One of these actions relates to fostering education and media literacy.
Another action is the development of an EU-wide Code of Practice on online disinformation[8], which outlines support for an independent network of fact-checkers and tools to stimulate quality journalism which was signed by Facebook, Google, Twitter and Mozilla as well as the trade association representing online platforms and trade associations representing the advertising industry and advertisers.
Under this Code the signatories give a commitment to partner with civil society, governments, educational institutions, and other stakeholders to support efforts aimed at improving critical thinking and digital media literacy.
Given that MIL is already addressed in various contexts by different bodies and departments of the Council of Europe, the purpose of this study is to continue to inform the development of policies and strategies in the areas within the remit of the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI), especially those that give impetus to the process of implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)1 and further development of its guidelines.
This study has been conducted in parallel to the work on the Draft Recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for quality journalism in the digital age by the Committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital age (MSI-JOQ) and provided context and evidence for the media literacy guidelines in the recommendation focusing on audience engagement with quality journalism and on upskilling and continuous professional development of journalists.
As a result, when referenced in this study the term ‘quality journalism’ refers to the concept used and exemplified in the Draft Recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for quality journalism in the digital age, that states that quality journalism, resting on the common standards of professional ethics while taking different forms according to geographical, legal and societal contexts, pursues the shared goal of acting as a public watchdog in democratic societies and of contributing to public awareness and enlightenment.
As the Draft Recommendation further points out, quality journalism, with its unwavering commitment to the pursuit of truth, fairness, and accuracy, to independence, transparency and humanity, and a strong sense of public interest in promoting accountability in all sectors of society, remains as essential as ever to the health of democracies.[9]
MIL evolves in response to a changing technological, social, cultural and political environment. As a result, the development of MIL is a life-long individual learning journey, requiring regular updating of skills and knowledge.
In this context, this study is also intended to identify the possible need for further research and/or policymaking to ensure a favourable environment providing incentives for sustainable development of MIL.
Section three of this study illustrates the complexity of MIL as a concept and explores the MIL skills and dimensions of knowledge required to recognise and value quality journalism and by extension to foster an environment favourable to quality journalism in the digital age. To be aware of this conceptual complexity is a precondition for the development of integrated and effective MIL policies and measures.
A summary of the key findings from the survey is provided in section four, providing a snapshot of MIL activities and projects across Europe.
In section five a framework of MIL models is proposed that may provide guidance for future development of MIL policies, research, activities and projects. Each of these models contains illustrative examples of the different types of programmes, projects and activities being developed and conducted by different actors across Europe.[10]
Finally, in section six selected key findings are presented and in section seven a series of recommendations are made on how to sustainably promote MIL in the medium to long-term.
Methodically this study is based on a combination of desk-based analysis of existing research and policy papers and a relatively small-scale, non-representative open online survey.
It is also worth noting that the range of policy priorities, funding and delivery infrastructures for MIL varies dramatically from country to country. As a result, there is no central platform or database that could be accessed in order to provide comparable, up-to-date information on the MIL landscape in Europe, making comparative studies complex, time-consuming and potentially expensive to conduct.
Therefore, we created a map of MIL skills that could be reasonably seen to help people recognise and value quality journalism. This map was used as that basis for the construction of the online survey (see appendix 2) following consultation with the multidisciplinary expert group of MSI-JOQ (cf. MSI-JOQ(2018)11).
Conducted via the online survey tool, ‘Surveymonkey’, the purpose of the online survey was to collect comparable data on case-studies of promising practices. Due to time and resource restraints the survey was only published in English and and survey responses were limited to English. This may have had a limiting effect on response rate.
The survey was in the field from 7.1.2019 to 16.2.2019 and was open to any MIL project owner. The survey was circulated via institutional mailing lists to public service media, media regulators, community media, digital intermediaries and media literacy experts across Europe. Stakeholders were invited to use their professional networks to disseminate the survey.
Given the challenges named, we were pleased to note that a total of 73 complete submissions were collected, of which 68 were deemed to be in scope and included in the final analysis. One project was deemed out of scope as it was not submitted in English, and two other projects were out of scope as they did not meet the criteria of demonstrating that they promoted relevant MIL skills or knowledge.
Previous research (European Audiovisual Observatory 2016) indicated that the audio-visual sector (including public service media) and online intermediaries were not as active in the promotion of media literacy as civil society, academia or public authorities. As such, it was agreed that this study, where possible, would focus on projects and activities involving these sectors in the hope that it will also provide inspiration for the development of future activities by these sectors. Therefore, there is a deliberate skewing of results to favour projects led by, or involving, these particular sectors and it is important to recognise that this study is not intended to provide a comprehensive matrix of all MIL projects and activities taking place in Europe.
Using the MIL skills map as a filter, data on projects promoting the development of the MIL skills and knowledge[11] needed to recognise and value quality journalism was collected. This included data such as a description of the project or initiative, the target audience, the media literacy skills promoted, stakeholders involved, budgets and funding structure for the project, key outcomes and results.
For many years, the need for greater promotion of media and information literacy has been regularly widely recognized at debates and discussions with and among journalists about the future of public communication. The critical importance of MIL was also, and still is, acknowledged by a very diverse range of actors across a broad spectrum of sectors including academia, civil society, online safety and security sector and public authorities.
However, despite the near unanimous agreement about the need for MIL, there continues to be an apparent lack of a coherent or effective overarching plan to put in place the funding and the infrastructure to achieve the MIL outcomes so desperately desired by so many actors.
One of the reasons for this inertia may be because if all of the dimensions of MIL are to be reflected, then as a concept it becomes very complex and unwieldy with an almost overwhelming range of capacities and subjective resources that an individual has to bring along in the digital age for a self-determined handling of media, especially journalistic contents.
The professional debate on media and information literacy spans decades of history and has produced a correspondingly rich pool of contributions. The requirements and characteristics of media and information literacy named in these contributions in course of the debate are subject to change, as the debate reflects the changing environmental conditions with regard to technology and communication behaviour.
What can be said is that - in accordance with the Enlightenment's view of man - the individual subject is the starting point and point of reference for all reflections on the concept of media and information literacy. So, the question is asked (and differently answered) as to which abilities are required so that the individual can deal freely and self-determinedly with media, act communicatively and decide on information.
From this shared starting point, the concept of MIL was repeatedly enriched with new aspects that were recognised as requirements in the analysis of the relationship between the individual and the media (cf. Potter 2013, Grizzle et al. 2013, Livingstone 2005, Buckingham 2005). The debate branched out over time into ever new ramifications.
As a result, MIL is now understood as more of an umbrella expression than a sharply defined scientific term and this also applies to this study.
In order to present a snapshot that captures as much as possible of the current state of the debate while still providing a structured and concise overview and operationalization of MIL, stratifications, dimensional differentiations and individual aspects of MIL were extracted from literature. These were then clustered thematically, classifying, summarizing and assigning them to wider categories.
Following a consultation process with the members of MSI-JOQ (cf. MSI-JOQ(2018)11, recital 8), a number of extremely valuable additions, sources and further conceptual inputs were integrated.
One distinction that was identified during this process was the difference between knowledge, i.e. existing cognitive resources that can be relied upon, and skills, i.e. abilities that can be activated in specific situations on the basis of cognitive resources and used for self-determined action and decision-making.
Knowledge and skills are almost inextricably connected but a differentiation of these MIL dimensions was necessary to identify the cognitive conditions for certain skills that could be overlooked otherwise.
A first constitutive part of active and passive knowledge essential for self-determined dealing with media is language. In the broadest sense what means the cognitive resources necessary to decipher and create narrative, rhetoric, text, signs, symbols as emojis and any kind of pictures.
Technical knowledge is required on at least one side of mediated communication or media production processs as in case of the printed press. However, with modern media, and in particular with digital media, technical knowledge is often required on both sides e.g. in case of internet-based communication. So, technological knowledge is required as to how content for the medium is produced and shaped by selection and design, how it is distributed and by which services and tools the individual can gain access to it or share comments and content herself. Furthermore knowledge regarding further steps of unbundling, aggregation, structuring and sorting, processes that are carried out by intermediaries on the way between both sides of the communication, is gaining more and more importance.
Knowledge of the application of norms and rules for media and the handling of information is another asset named as essential for a self-determined dealing with media. That includes standards and professional code of conducts addressing the production of (journalistic) content as well as basics of the legal framework for public communication and the powers and options of all actors involved to take legal action, especially of the citizen herself.
In addition, it is knowledge of the criteria for assessing a source of information such as how the content is presented, the motivations of the communicators or deliverers, as well as the communicative acts being undertaken (e.g. presentation of facts vs opinion), that allows the individual to classify and evaluate them, provided that the necessary transparency is given and the characteristics of the source are recognisable.
This is first and foremost the question of who communicates, who is responsible for a particular piece of information or content. It’s followed by the question of the purpose for which the content is provided and disseminated. Is it news or sponsored content or advertising for example? This is closely related to the question of financing. What is the business model behind a certain piece of content or a certain media outlet? And not least of all, it is crucial for the evaluation of an information source to know the characteristic features of editorial processes. What criteria do journalists and newsrooms use to make their decisions in contrast to users who provide content, for example?
In relation to skills, three main goals were identified which are served by the different skills that we extracted and identified as of importance especially with regard to journalistic media offerings.
The first goal relates to being able to understand, the second to critically analyse and to evaluate and the third relates to appropriation and use of media in a self-determined way.
These three goals are closely connected to the respective function of media, public communication and information for citizens and democratic society namely to integrate the individual and to enable free formation of opinion via public discourse.
Self-determined understanding of mediated messages asks for en-/decryption skills that enable the individual to de-/reconstruct media messages by reading, listening, comparing etc.
Valuation and critical analysis of media and information rests on the awareness for (public) value of freedom of expression and media freedom in general and of independent media for democratic society, but also of the (economic) value of content that legitimately asks for return. To be able to value and critique is impossible without sound analysis skills, i.e. to recognise different content types such as advertising, editorial, fact and opinion and assess the motivations of the content producer and the context in which the content is presented, but also to recognise media ownership, business models and their implications.
Furthermore, MIL analysis skills encompass the capacity to assess content, outlets and services for trustworthiness and reliability. To do so, the individual has to be capable of understanding (at least broadly) the editorial processes involved in producing different content types and the regulatory structures which apply to media content and services.
Self-determined media appropriation and usage as third goal points us directly to technical skills. This includes the ability to understand and manage devices, operating systems and applications, to understand and manage how social media services and networks are formed and function. These skills also involve recognising (and managing as far as possible) how devices, standards, protocols, applications, and intermediary services can influence media choices, patterns of behaviour, diversity of content/views and personal privacy/public exposure.
Autonomous media use also requires participation skills: to be able to construct messages and media by using text, images, audio, video, and code, to engage in private and public mediated discourses by expressing personal opinions and respond to the opinions of others while regarding human rights and legal and social responsibilities.
Participation skills also include having the ability, and confidence, to recognise, manage and appropriately challenge inappropriate behaviour as well as disinformation across all media. This touches on a range of issues including negative stereotyping, unfair portrayal, biases, lack of pluralism, discriminatory content, propaganda, and hate speech.
This aspect of MIL is essential in terms of empowering media users to be able to effectively respond to inappropriate behaviour, as well as fostering successful public debate and countering mass dissemination of disinformation and mass inappropriate behaviour.
In order to create a set of easily understandable MIL skills that could be integrated into the online survey and used as a filter to identify the MIL projects that were most likely to help people recognise and value quality journalism, a cluster of fourteen MIL skills was identified.
Respondents were asked to select all aspects of MIL that were or still are supported by their activity or project. If the submission did not address at least one of the named MIL skills, it was deemed out of scope. Only three submissions were deemed out of scope for this reason.
In addition to the clustered MIL skills, respondents had the opportunity to select the option "other" – which about one in ten did. When prompted to explain further what “other” MIL skills were promoted, “copyright and content ownership” and to foster “respect for content ownership” were noted. This may point to the capacity to understand and deal with the demands of the legal/regulatory framework for public communication.
In addition, some respondents reported that their activities were linked to raising awareness about the skills and resources needed to produce journalistic content and to raise awareness of the value of journalism in general.
As Figure 1 below illustrates the cognitive resources and abilities associated with MIL, based on the results of the literature review undertaken and further input from the expert committee MSI-JOQ and refined by the additional responses to the survey.
What this picture reveals is that MIL is a fluid and dynamic concept encompassing a broad and diverse range of skills and knowledge that are likely to evolve again in the future and presenting further conceptual challenges.
Figure 1: Mind map of MIL skills linked to recognising and valuing quality journalism
From the 68 responses analysed, MIL practices or initiatives from 31 countries were identified, including 14 trans-national projects and covering practices from member states as well as non-member states such as India, Kenya, and China. The inclusion of non-member states is a result of collaborative international projects that were delivered across a number of countries.
Table 1 below illustrates the countries represented. An explanation for the apparent prominence of some CoE member states could be that the survey was only available in English and distributed via a range of networks from individuals and sectors which naturally have a geographic bias.
Table 1: Geographic spread
Austria (12) |
Greece (7) |
Norway (2) |
Belgium (6) |
Hungary (1) |
Poland (2) |
Bulgaria (3) |
India (1) |
Portugal (3) |
China (1) |
Ireland (9) |
Romania (3) |
Croatia (1) |
Italy (1) |
Serbia (2) |
Cyprus (1) |
Jordan (1) |
Spain (8) |
Denmark (4) |
Kenya (1) |
Sweden (2) |
Finland (1) |
Morocco (2) |
Switzerland (5) |
France (1) |
Netherlands (4) |
UK (9) |
Germany (9) |
North Macedonia (2) |
Ukraine (2) |
Reflecting the clusters of MIL skills identified by the researchers, Table 2 below shows the frequency of each of MIL skills being promoted across the 68 projects or initiatives.
At an overall level, all of the MIL clusters identified are being addressed at some level.
Almost 9 out of 10 respondents reported that "understanding how content is created and edited" and “being able to distinguish between different types of content such as fact, opinion and advertisements” were skills promoted as a result of their MIL activities.
At the other end of the frequency scale, it is notable that the least frequently promoted MIL skills are all particularly important in terms of helping citizens understand how media is funded, regulated and distributed – key issues in terms of promoting quality journalism in the digital age - such as the understanding of the influence of social media on the use of media content or to gain basic knowledge of the legal framework for public communication.
Table 2: Frequency of MIL skills addressed by projects and initiatives
MIL Skill |
No. of projects addressing this MIL skill out of 68 |
Understanding how content is created and edited. |
60 |
Being able to distinguish between different types of content such as fact, opinion and advertisements. |
57 |
Understanding the role that independent media plays in a healthy democratic society, e.g. presenting different points of view, promoting informed debate, holding power to account etc. |
54 |
Understanding media messages by reading, listening, comparing etc. |
53 |
Evaluating content and services for truthfulness, reliability, independence and impartiality. |
53 |
Understanding of how the presentation of content (style or context) can influence how the content is perceived. |
51 |
Recognising influencing factors such as stereotyping, bias, unfair portrayal, inappropriate content or context, lack of evidence etc. |
50 |
Creating content using text, images, audio, video and code. |
43 |
Recognising and managing inappropriate behaviour across all media. |
39 |
Participating in the public sphere by expressing opinions and responding to the opinions of others. |
38 |
Confidence about knowing your rights and responsibilities in relation to data and privacy and competence in managing your data and privacy/public exposure while using (social) media services. |
37 |
Knowledge of how different media is regulated, or not. |
36 |
Understanding of how social and search services operate and how technology can influence media choices, patterns of behaviour and diversity of content/views (e.g. use of algorithms). |
36 |
Knowledge of who owns different media outlets and how content is funded (e.g. private ownership, public funding, advertising, sponsorship. |
35 |
Other |
7 |
Q.10 Does/did your project or activity help to promote any of the following? Please tick all that apply. Base = 68
As shown in Figure 2 below, 54 of 68 projects involved the development of resources. This is notable for two reasons. Firstly, the development of resources can be time consuming and costly, and the effectiveness of resources is dependent on a number of factors, including how the target audience can gain access to them and how they are used.
Secondly, as a number of key MIL issues are universal, there may be potential in sharing and adapting resources across regions and countries. This may also be the case with campaign concepts, although campaigns are often developed as behaviour-change interventions and as such are designed for specific target groups, so caution should be exercised if adapting campaign concepts or resources for delivery across borders.
The category of project or activity that was least common was the provision of funding at 6 out of 68 projects.
A significant minority of the projects and activities were categorised as ‘policy development’. While it is possible that some aspects of policy development might benefit from a harmonised approach as all actors could then rely on a common framework for their measures and decisions, factors such as varying definitions, differing ministerial responsibilities as well as funding structures and priorities would make it challenging to harmonise policy development.
Figure 2: Categories of MIL projects and initiatives
Q.11 Please classify the project or activity using the categories below. Please tick all that apply. Base = 68
Respondents to the survey were asked to indicate the budget range for their projects or initiatives. 61 of the 68 submissions analysed provided this information.
As Figure 3 below shows, budgets varied greatly across the projects and initiatives.
Figure 3: Budget ranges for MIL project and initiatives
Q.12 Please indicate the annual budget for this project or activity. Base = 61
The majority of the projects analysed (51 of 61) operate on budgets of over €10,000 with the most common budget range being €10,000 - €50,000, accounting for 15 of the 61 projects.
These findings reflect the findings noted in the European Audiovisual Observatory media literacy mapping study (European Audiovisual Observatory 2016). Of the 145 ‘case-study’ projects analysed for that study, information on the project budgets was provided for only 69 projects. Across those projects, budgets varied dramatically, ranging from €2000 to over €10 million. However, the most common budget grouping was also between €10,000 and €50,000 with 21 of 69 projects falling into that category.
The projects in this budget category include the development of resources such as the HTML Heroes videos and the i-create platform or those produced by EducCAC. Community media projects also feature in this budget range with projects such as Radio LoRa and Freies Radio Oberösterreich and outreach projects such as the #MediaMinded workshops.
Also included in this budget category are strategic initiatives such as the Media Literacy Ireland network, and public-facing projects such as Djeca medija, Factfindr and 55 Differences - Value for Money as well as training initiatives such as Critical Media Literacy in adult education and the School of Social Mindfulness.
Initiatives designed to support the promotion of media literacy in schools are also well represented in this budget category such as Que no te la cuelen, Digitaler Kompass, and Move your community.
The next notable budget range was €100,000 to €250,000 which accounted for 12 of the 61 porjects. Projects in this budget category range from media literacy tools such as Newsdesk.dk, the European Media Literacy Toolkit for newsrooms, and the PPI platform to strategic and policy initiatives like the Childrens Charter on Fake News and the Child protection and MIL conference in Morocco.
Youth orientated projects such as the Danish Newspapers in Education initiative, The Burnet News Club as well as training and educational initiatives like The Academy of Ukrainian Pressand the Crithink project also feature here, as do broadcast media-led projects such as Freies Radio B138, and WDR Studio Zwei and WDR Kinderwelt.
Four projects reported a budget of €1,000 or less including the public information website MediaDesk.ie, the research projects ANLite:Audiences, news and literacies and Exploring the impact of a Media Literacy Intervention on Advertising Literacy, Materialism and Wellbeing in Children, the White Paper on Media & Information Literacy in Greece.
Of the eight projects that reported a budget of between €250,000 and €500,000, two of these projects were directed at younger people – Newswise and Digitale Medienkompetenz durch die Mobile Medienakademie.
Interactive platforms and tools like Provenance and mediamanual.at also feature in this budget category as well research, evaluation and information projects such as Media performance and democracy, Yearbook Quality of the Media Switzerland and Swiss Media Quality Rating and thePublic Service Media led project The Opinionpanel.
There were also eight projects reporting a budget of between €500,000 and €1,000,000 including youth orientated initiatives such as Young Digital Leaders, Lie Detectors, and Ouvrir mon quotidien and a range of initiatives from the Media Diversity Institute.
Media-led projects feature heavily in this budget category including Radio Orange 94.0 Das Freie Radio in Wien, Kanal K, the independent radio station and the RTBF Strategic Plan for media literacy as well as the Trust in Journalism mark to publishers from IMPRESS: The Independent Monitor for the Press.
The only project reporting a budget of over €1,000,000 was Okto Community TV, however it is worth noting that this budget relates to the entire running of the Community TV station, not just specific media literacy projects or initiatives because the concept of media literacy is central to what Community Media does.
The sources of funding reported for MIL projects and initiatives was also very wide-ranging and included:
• Annual budget allocation – funded directly from by the organisations running the project or initiative.
• EU funding
• Corporate / commercial funding and sponsorship – e.g. Google, Facebook or paid for activities
• Association funding – funded by members of an association
• Research grants / academic funding – University departments
• State funding - e.g. national or federal government or foreign government funding such as U S State Department or UK Foreign Office
• Public support – donations
• Private funding - fees
• Charitable/ foundation grants / partnerships
• Self-funded – no formal funding / voluntary effort
Figure 4 below illustrates the range and frequency reported for sources of funding for MIL projects and initiatives.
Figure 4: Range and frequency of funding sources for MIL projects and initiatives
Q 12 Please indicate how the activity was funded, for example, E.g. EU grants, annual budget allocation, sponsorship etc. Base = 62
Table 3 below provides additional detail on the main sources of funding within each of the recorded budget categories.
Table 3: Main sources of funding across budget ranges
Budget range |
Main sources of funding |
€0 - €1,000 |
1 X project = EU, National Government funding, Federal funding, Foreign Government funding 1 X project = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding 2 projects = no formal funding/self-funded |
€1,000 - €5,000 |
2 X projects = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding 1 project = no formal funding/self-funded |
€5,000 - €10,000 |
2 X projects = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding 1 X project = charitable/ foundation / philanthropic grants |
€10,000 - €50,000 |
6 X projects = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding 8 X projects = EU, National Government funding, Federal funding, Foreign Government funding 2 X projects = charitable/ foundation / philanthropic grants 1 X project = membership fees |
€50,000 - €100,000 |
2 X projects = EU, National Government funding, Federal funding, Foreign Government funding 1 X project = charitable/ foundation / philanthropic grants 4 X projects = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding |
€100,000 - €500,000 |
6 X projects = EU, National Government funding, Federal funding, Foreign Government funding 5 X projects = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding 1 X projects = Corporate / commercial funding and sponsorship. |
€500,000 - €1,000,000, |
3 X projects = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding 2 X projects = EU, National Government funding, Federal funding, Foreign Government funding2 X projects = charitable/ foundation / philanthropic grants 1 X project = membership fees 1 X project = Corporate / commercial funding and sponsorship |
€1,000,0000 + |
1 X project = annual public allocation of funding/ internal funding + EU, National Government funding, Federal funding, Foreign Government funding+ commercial funding / sponsorship |
As shown in Figure 5 below, the majority (52 of 65) of the projects analysed indicated that ‘Teachers’ were part of the target audience for the project.
The next best served audience group were those aged 16 – 18 with 44 of 65 projects catering for them, followed by those aged 12 – 15 with 39 projects targeting this age-group. Only 25 of the 65 projects analysed included aged 65+ as one of their target groups, however in all cases people over 65 were a target group as part of a general adult audience or a general public audience. The projects targeting older people also tend to be of a strategic nature such as policy documents and reports and community media projects, rather than bespoke projects or resources targeting this group. As a result, there appears to be a lack of media literacy training and tools aimed at older people.
Less than a third of the projects analysed (19) were aimed at third level students.
This data appears to suggest that there is a risk that while teachers and students are being well-served, possibly even over-served by these projects, the group of people most likely to share disinformation online and least likely to be familiar with how the economics and the online infrastructure operates (over 65s) are the being under-served by these projects.
Figure 5: Target groups for MIL projects and initiatives
Q 15 Please indicate the target audiences for this project or activity. Please tick all that apply. Base = 65
In relation to evaluation of MIL projects and initiatives, one third (22 of 66 projects) reported that no structured assessment or evaluation had taken place.
Of the 44 projects and initiatives that did undergo a structured assessment or evaluation, the majority were internal assessments with only 13 projects or initiatives undergoing an external or third-party assessment or evaluation. Table 4 below contains the names of these projects or initiatives.
Table 4: Externally evaluated MIL projects or initiatives
Name |
Country |
Description |
HTML Heroes: An Introduction to the Internet |
Ireland |
Online safety resource for primary school children |
Newsdesk.dk |
Denmark |
Newsdesk.dk is an interactive educational tool run by the media house JP/Politikens Hus A/S. The platform enables schoolchildren and students to produce and print their own newspapers. |
NewsWise |
UK |
NewsWise is a free programme teaching news literacy skills to 9-11 year old children in the UK. |
i-create platform |
Greece |
The i-create platform encourages student-generated content across a series of thematic categories and events with contests, social responsibility and awareness-raising campaigns. |
Kanal K |
Switzerland |
Independent Radio Station |
55 Differences - Value for Money |
Austria |
Public Value report that fosters an understanding for "media for the common good". |
Djeca medija |
Croatia |
A voluntary extracurricular media education programme designed to educate teachers, parents and children in media literacy. |
Internews Ukraine |
Ukraine |
Internews Ukraine provides training and consulting on digital security for local journalists, civil society, and human rights organizations. |
Eurovision Social Newswire Agile Newsroom |
European (events took place in Vienna and Sarajevo) |
Bringing journalists together from across the European Broadcasting Union to discover, verify and clear the most engaging social media content from the real time web. |
The Academy of Ukrainian Press (AUP) |
Ukraine |
Inspires media education, key initiatives and professional re-training of journalists in Ukraine |
Exploring the impact of a Media Literacy Intervention on Advertising Literacy, Materialism and Wellbeing in Children |
Ireland |
A research project exploring the positive impact that media literacy education can have in relation advertising literacy, materialism and subjective wellbeing in children. |
IMPRESS: The Independent Monitor for the Press |
UK |
The regulator for news publishers. |
BadNews |
Netherlands |
An online game designed to use ‘pre-bunking’ to help people learn about disinformation. |
Of the 13 projects that underwent external or third-party assessment or evaluation, 6 reported that the project was ‘mostly successful at achieving its stated aims’ and 7 reported that the project was ‘very successful at achieving its stated aims’. In addition, 10 of the projects reported that the findings were used to refine or improve the offer. All thirteen of the projects or initiatives reported that they could be replicated in other regions or countries.
Figure 6 below compares the number of externally evaluated projects against the number of internally evaluated projects within each budget range. These results indicate that it is not necessarily the case that the higher the budget, the more likely that an external evaluation will take place.
Figure 6: Budget range of MIL projects and initiatives (internal vs external evaluation)
Of the 31 projects and initiatives that were evaluated internally, 30 reported that the project had the potential to be replicated in other regions/countries and/or scaled up.
When asked about the success of the project or initiative in terms of meeting their stated aims, 14 of 31 internally evaluated projects reported being very successful, 16 reported being mostly successful and 2 reported having medium success in achieving their aims.
In this chapter, we present a framework of models of media literacy projects and activities which may assist practitioners and policy makers in developing future MIL policies, infrastructure, activities and projects that help to promote quality journalism in the digital age.
This framework was created following an analysis of the data provided by 68 of the submissions to the online survey. It is intended to provide an overview of the range of MIL projects and initiatives in Europe that are promoting skills that help people recognise and appreciate quality journalism, with a view to identifying potential gaps in provision and possible areas for further research and/or project development.
The submissions examined were predominantly from non-state actors such as private media companies/organisations/associations, public service media, local and community media and digital intermediaries. While this deliberate skewing of sectors does give us a particular insight into how the sectors most closely involved with quality journalism are promoting MIL, it does mean that this framework of models does not provide a comprehensive matrix of all MIL projects and initiatives taking place in Europe.
Within this framework we also highlight a range of ‘promising practices’ from a number of different actors across Europe. We opted for ‘promising practices’ rather than ‘best practices’ as there is no common framework against which to ‘measure’ these projects. So, it is not possible to make an informed value judgement about whether they could be described as ‘best’ practice.
Instead, we have opted to highlight examples that are prototypical for the models presented and which offer exciting starting points for adaptation or further development of MIL initiatives, programmes and projects supporting quality journalism[12] in other contexts.
In addition, these ‘promising practices’ were selected to present a geographic spread, diversity of approaches and where possible, projects or initiatives that had undergone some kind of assessment of evaluation. Once the promising practices had been identified, project owners were contacted to check the accuracy of the information provided.
As illustrated in Table 5 below, five broad models of MIL activity were identified.
Table 5: The five broad models of MIL activities
Name |
No. of projects in this model |
Prominent sectors |
Main Funding Sources |
MIL in Schools |
22 |
Journalists, media organisations, youth organisations, charities, NGO’s and the education sector. |
Annual Budget Allocation Academic funding Corporate funding Grants/Partnerships EU funding State / Foreign State funding Private funding |
Public-facing |
17 |
Community media sector, public service media, media institutions |
Annual Budget Allocation Association Funding Academic funding Public Support Corporate funding Grants/Partnerships EU funding State / Foreign State funding Private funding |
Strategic Model |
14 |
Academia, Media regulators, and Government Authorities |
Annual Budget Allocation Association Funding Academic funding Public Support Corporate funding Self-funded Grants/Partnerships |
Training Model |
10 |
Community media, libraries, and the adult education sector |
Annual Budget Allocation EU funding State / Foreign State funding Association Funding Grants/Partnerships |
Tools Model |
5 |
Academia and NGOs. |
Annual Budget Allocation EU funding State / Foreign State funding Private funding Academic funding Corporate funding Self-funded |
A summary of the MIL skills most frequently promoted within each model is illustrated in Table 5 below.
Table 5: Frequency of featured MIL skills addressed by each of the models
MIL Skills |
Model 1 MIL in Schools (22) |
Model 2 Public-facing (17) |
Model 3 Strategic (14) |
Model 4 Training (10) |
Model 5 Tools (5) |
Understanding the role that independent media plays in a healthy democratic society, e.g. presenting different points of view, promoting informed debate, holding power to account etc. |
19 |
16 |
11 |
8 |
4 |
Understanding media messages by reading, listening, comparing etc. |
20 |
14 |
8 |
7 |
4 |
Understanding how content is created and edited. |
21 |
17 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
Being able to distinguish between different types of content such as fact, opinion and advertisements. |
21 |
16 |
9 |
8 |
4 |
Understanding of how the presentation of content (style or context) can influence how the content is perceived. |
17 |
15 |
6 |
8 |
4 |
Evaluating content and services for truthfulness, reliability, independence and impartiality. |
19 |
14 |
8 |
7 |
3 |
Recognising influencing factors such as stereotyping, bias, unfair portrayal, inappropriate content or context, lack of evidence etc. |
18 |
14 |
8 |
8 |
4 |
Knowledge of how different media is regulated, or not. |
10 |
11 |
7 |
8 |
1 |
Knowledge of who owns different media outlets and how content is funded (e.g. private ownership, public funding, advertising, sponsorship. |
9 |
9 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
Understanding of how social and search services operate and how technology can influence media choices, patterns of behaviour and diversity of content/views (e.g. use of algorithms). |
10 |
9 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
Confidence about knowing your rights and responsibilities in relation to data and privacy and competence in managing your data and privacy/public exposure while using (social) media services. |
12 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
Recognising and managing inappropriate behaviour across all media. |
16 |
12 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
Participating in the public sphere by expressing opinions and responding to the opinions of others. |
13 |
11 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
Creating content using text, images, audio, video and code. |
18 |
10 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
The ‘MIL in Schools’ model includes a range of projects that bring media professionals into the classroom and/or provides teachers with (often free) teaching resources, lesson plans (often but not always linked to the curriculum), and in-school workshops and activities.
22 of the 68 projects and activities analysed as part of this study fall within this model.
A common objective of these projects and initiatives is to reach young people in a school setting and engage them in learning about the media, often using real-life content and examples and hands-on activities and experience with a view to encouraging the development of critical media literacy skills.
The prominent actors involved in this model include journalists, media organisations, youth organisations, charities and NGOs working directly with education sector.
Budgets across this model vary greatly, from €1,000 to over €1,000,000. Even within projects that are similar such as the Newspapers in Schools project, the annual budgets vary between €50,000 to €1,000,000, which are mainly funded by the publishing sector with Government support on some projects.
Figure 7 below illustrates the range and frequency of funding sources identified for the MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘MIL in schools’ model.
Figure 7: Range and frequency of funding sources for MIL projects and initiatives within ‘MIL in schools’ model
Q 12 Please indicate how the activity was funded, for example, E.g. EU grants, annual budget allocation, sponsorship etc. Base = 22
Newspapers in Schools: Within the ‘MIL in Schools’ model, there was one project type which appears to have been successfully rolled out across a number of countries. Of the 68 projects analysed, four projects were variations of ‘Newspapers in Education’ project (Finland, Denmark, Netherland and France). However, this model is also in operation in a number of other countries not covered by the responses to the survey.
At the most basic level, this project involves newspapers being delivered to schools free of charge for children to read and discuss the news as part of their school day. Most projects have now evolved to include lesson plans, teaching resources, competitions and campaigns.
In terms of scalability, the continuation of this kind of project in so many countries indicates that it could be replicated in more regions and countries.
This project has been running in Finland for more than 50 years and now involves the majority of newspapers in Finland. The level of media education delivered by these newspapers has increased over the years and has expanded to include the annual “The Newspapers Week” campaign which takes place in late January or early February. In 2020 Newspaper Week have the 25th anniversary.Each year there is also a campaign on the International Literacy Day (8th September).
In Finnish schools there appears to be a strong appetite for media education provided by local news media and a recent Finnish Newspapers Association survey found that felt that “understanding how media works” was one of the most important aspects of media education and that they would like to have more support and practical tools for it. The co-operation with schools continues throughout the year with media educational lesion tips provided for schools every second week and training organized for teachers.
The initiative is funded via an annual budget of around €200,000 and between 1 and 5 people work on the project with key target groups of those aged 8–18, teachers and journalists. Teachers are reached through direct contact and through social media and events for the education and training sector.
Up until recently, this initiative was focused on helping children and young people but in 2020 there are plans to expand the work to reach adults also. https://sanomalehtiopetuksessa.fi
In Denmark, until recently this project was operated by the newspaper organisations of the Association of Danish Media with additional funding by the Government. Employees at more than 25 local, regional and national dailies were involved in the project and the key target groups were students aged 12 – 18, teachers and journalists. Now the major dailies have taken over complete ownership of the project themselves operating campaigns individually. In terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project was reported to have been mostly successful. www.aiu.dk
In the Netherlands, this project has been running since 1976 and is funded via an annual budget allocation from the news companies. Between 1 and 5 work on this project and the key target groups were those aged 8 – 18 and teachers. The project was assessed internally and the results were used to refine or improve the project. In terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project was reported to have been mostly successful. www.nieuwsindeklas.nl
In Norway, ‘Newspaper in the school’ (now called the Media Compass) was set-up on a national basis in 1971 in order to distribute learning materials and for educating and training teachers. Media Compass provides teaching materials with the series "Avis – a mass media" as the main booklets. Member newspapers of the National Media Companies ' Association (MBL) are behind the media compass and member papers appoint a contact person between their own paper and the school. Different newspapers have different offerings including class visits and free class sets for a limited period of use in the classroom.
Free digital resources are also provided in the form of more than 100 videos, lesson plans, teaching resources and competitions and there is also a free app for apple and android giving access to all the resources.
A cost per shipment for handling, packaging, packing and shipping is charged at NOK 300. In 2019, 75, 600 pupils aged 8 – 14 years of age were involved (national newspaper week) and 8-18 for all other teaching resources.
This initiative operates on a budget of €90,000 per annum and has between 1 and 3 people working on it. In terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project underwent an internal evaluation and was reported to have been mostly successful. www.mediekompasset.no https://www.medielabben.no/ https://skoleaviser.no/
In French-speaking Belgium, this is a large-scale project, with newspapers being delivered to all schools every day. https://www.lapresse.be/
HTML Heroes: Developed by Webwise, the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre, theHTML Heroes Programme is an online internet safety programme comprising of 8 lessons for Irish primary schools students aged 7 – 10. HTML Heroes is specifically designed to support primary school teachers when teaching students about the safe and responsible uses of the internet and focuses on skills needed for browsing the web such as effective and safe searching, determining what online content can be trusted and managing screen time. The programme also deals with the skills required to safely and effectively communicate online and addressed issues relating to sharing personal information online, treating others with respect, and gaming online.
All lesson content is free to access on www.webwise.ie/html-heroes.
In terms of reaching the audience, Webwise launched the programme in an Irish Primary School. Key stakeholders from education centres and teacher training colleges, internet safety and youth charities, the Department of Education and industry attended the launch. The launch of the resources was covered in the online and national media with coverage extending to all mediums - tv, print, radio and online.
In addition, a HTML Heroes Pack was issued to each primary school in Ireland - over 3,300 schools. The pack included HTML Heroes Teacher booklets, information on accessing the programme and a USB stick with the programme animations and a free online safety talk for parents for schools wishing to host a parents evening. Webwise also promoted programme via paid social media campaigns on facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The annual budget for HTML Heroes is in the region of €80,000 and is co-funded by the Department of Education and Skills and is co-financed by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility. Between 6 and 10 people worked on this project and the key target groups are children aged 8 – 12, parents and teachers.
This project underwent an external or third-party evaluation or assessment and was reported to have been very successful in terms of meeting its stated objectives. A very positive response was noted in the evaluations with educators welcoming the creative approach to the topic through the use of the characters and online safety raps.
The HTML Heroes Programme went into development in March 2018 and was launched in February 2019. Webwise developed an additional animation on cyber-bullying which was added to the programme in August 2019.
Future plans include the development of a series of children's books which schools can send home to parents to encourage ongoing engagement around digital media literacy and online safety. The programme could be further developed in a full series of animations.
The online delivery of this project could mean that it has the potential to be replicated in other countries/regions and the animated videos accompanying the lessons could be re-voiced or and use subtitles for translation.
https://www.webwise.ie/html-heroes/
Newswise: NewsWise is a free programme designed to teach news literacy skills to primary children in the UK.
Free lesson plans and resources are offered to schools, as well as training sessions for teachers and workshops which are delivered in schools across the UK. There are also opportunities to hear from real journalists as a means of showing transparency and building greater trust in the media.
Workshop numbers are limited but the lesson plans and resources are free for every primary school in the UK to download from the Newswise website.
The project, which is a collaboration between The Guardian Foundation, the National Literacy Trust, the PHSE Association and currently funded by Google, is a result of the belief that education is one of the most important solutions to the spread of misinformation and defending democracy, public health, exposing biases and healing divisions in society.
Since April 2018 Newswise has worked with over 3000 teachers and children, travelling to communities across the UK and there have been over 3500 downloads of the online resources.
Newswise is funded through corporate sponsorship and the budget for year 1 was approximately £300K. Between 1 and 5 people work on this project which targets children aged 9 – 11, parents and teachers.
This project underwent an external or third-party evaluation or assessment. In terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project was reported to have been very successful. The majority (86%) of pupils rated the NewsWise workshop as good or very good, and after taking part, more than three quarters of pupils (76.3%) said they had a better idea of why news stories might be created. More children were confident about their ability to spot fake news, with more than three quarters (76.2%) saying it was ‘easy’ or ‘quite easy’ (compared to four in ten before taking part in a NewsWise workshop). In addition, focus groups have shown that the NewsWise lessons are having a broader impact on children' behaviours: changes identified included "being more considered about their opinions and exploring both sides of an argument" and "gossiping less".
Year 2 of NewsWise sees the programme expanding with more workshops in schools and teacher training being made more accessible across the UK. The lessons and resources have been updated to reflect specific issues facing this age group: understanding and managing feelings (worry, anxiety, confusion) about the news, and understanding that information is targeted. NewsWise will launch additional resources for 7-9 year olds in the spring of 2020. NewsWise has also launched family news literacy workshops, allowing children and adults to work together to navigate the news. The aim of these workshops is to upskill adults in critical thinking skills, particularly focusing on areas identified as having low literacy levels in the UK, and to support critical news engagement outside of the classroom.
In terms of replicating this project, this approach could be rolled out in other countries.
https://www.theguardian.com/newswise
The ‘Public facing’ model includes a broad range of projects and initiatives that bring media literacy to the general public.
Seventeen of the 68 projects and initiatives analysed are categorized as ‘public facing’, including public information campaigns, community media programmes and national training programmes.
A common objective of the all of these projects and initiatives is to target the general public. Unsurprisingly perhaps, the prominent sectors represented in this model include community media and public service media represented by eight and four projects respectively in this model. Media institutions such the Media Diversity Institute are also active in this model.
A notable feature of some projects and initiatives in this model is their reliance on voluntary effort, such as the DKMK Djeca medija project presented in detail below or the initiatives led by community media.
A common feature of the community media initiatives is to provide alternative media for local people and, in particular for minority communities, and to provide them with the opportunity to actively participate in creating media and by extension learning about the media and developing critical media literacy skills.
In general, the budgets for the projects highlighted in this model are relatively modest (between €50,000 and €100,000), but a number of projects have far greater budgets, up to €1,000,000 in some cases.
Figure 8 below illustrates the range and frequency of funding sources identified for the MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘Public-facing’ model.
Figure 8: Range and frequency of funding sources for MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘Public-facing’ model
Q 12 Please indicate how the activity was funded, for example, E.g. EU grants, annual budget allocation, sponsorship etc. Base = 17
Djeca medija: The Association for Communication and Media Culture (DKMK) is the biggest voluntary media education association in Croatia. It was established in 2011 by a group of student volunteers from University of Zagreb led by professors Lana Ciboci, Igor Kanižaj and Danijel Labaš.
The concept was to build new voluntary extracurricular media education program in order to educate teachers, parents and children in media literacy: Djeca medija.
Djeca medija delivers a range of activities including face to face training activities for children, parents and teachers, research activities and publishing activities. They have also produced a special media literacy radio program for local radio. Since 2011, Djeca medija has delivered 1000 workshops, lectures and conferences on media education for more than 22,000 people in Croatia, primarily on a voluntary basis. Djeca medija also produces content for their public facing website: www.djecamedija.org
The Association works in four main areas:
1. Developing and delivering interactive media literacy workshops and lectures for children, parents and teachers.
2. Raising awareness activities through Social Networks
3. Producing a monthly radio program on media literacy
4. Researching and publishing activities
Most of the activities are based on intensive workshops for children, parents and teachers. In last year, Djeca have also introduced new webinars with limited numbers of participants and new interactive models.
The annual budget is between €50, 000 ad €60,000 depending on the number of projects and partnerships with private sector and public sector.
The funding for this voluntary NGO comes from a variety of sources including public sector and private sector funding. Over 20 people work on this project and the key target groups are children aged 4 - 18 and all adults including teachers, parents and journalists.
This project underwent an external or third-party evaluation or assessment. In terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project was reported to have been very successful. Based upon evaluation of more than 1000 workshops a huge need for media education programmes was noted. Workshops on cyberbullying, propaganda and disinformation were of most interest to children, parents and teachers. In line with the existing scientific research more than 80% of parents ask for media education to be included in educational system.
Over seven years the project has visited 70 cities, more than 200 public institutions and there is potential to replicate this project on a national and international level.
In 2017 DKMK was awarded the Evens Foundation Special Jury Prize for Media Education. The Jury recognised “the way the project involves both academics and volunteers, how it approaches the media as part of lived experience, its importance in the context of Croatia, and the impact it has on both participants and volunteers”
In the next two years Djeca plans to intensify their online activities and introduce new webinars and establish new international partnerships. One of the goals is also to focus on a small group workshops bringing together parents and children.
There is potential for this model to be replicated in other countries with communication science and journalism study programmes and students motivated to share their knowledge and experience with the goal to empower target audience.
Ethical Media for Active Citizenship (EMAC): Delivered by community media organisations in Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria and Belgium, the aim of this project is to provide citizens, journalists and media activists with the skills to face editorial challenges like fake news/alternative facts, infomercials vs. information, freedom of speech and hate speech and also to promote diversity and pluralism in media.
The project consists of a modular training course manual on ethical media skills with very clear learning outcomes (including accuracy of reporting, independence of media work, fairness and impartiality of news reporting and journalistic accountability). To do so, training activities designed are compiled to help journalists in different stages of qualification and experience to report more fairly about minorities of all kind. The project also provides terminology sheets / glossaries with suggestions for using fair language in terms of minorities. The activities are along general guidelines for reporting. Some examples of fair reporting and further information in audio form are provided in three languages as well.
The target groups include all ages from 15 years to 65+ and the project reaches these audiences through workshops, seminars and presentations. Once the online resource in completed, there is a plan to accelerate dissemination through Journalists organisations, training bodies, national community media federations, regulatory bodies, target group organisations and AMARC Europe will promote the resources to UNESCO.
The project was funded by the Erasmus + programme from the European Union with a total budget of just over €92,000. Between 11 and 20 people worked on the project. The project lasted 26 months and concluded on 31 October 2019.
The project owners are currently seeking European funding that would allow them to implement international training with the materials produced.
During the four pilot trainings, there was the opportunity for reflection and supplementary exchange with participants.
A set of structured evaluation questions looking at progress so far, expectations and satisfaction with the course created spaces of discussion and helped to look at things like impact, dissemination activities, and further cooperation from a different perspective. This was felt by the partners as a helpful and vital part for adapting milestones and the working process within the EMAC project as a whole.
In terms of potential to replicate in other countries or regions, some of the activities and resources created have been piloted in Austria, Germany, Ireland and Iraq with very positive feedback. One of the project partners is AMARC Europe, the European branch of the World Association of Community Broadcasters. Some of the materials were used during a workshop with Kurdish communicators in Northern Iraq, and existing online resources have been shared also with the community media network in Cameroon. Also, transferability reports are being created for the terminology / recommendation document and the activities / training path.
https://www.ethicalmediatraining.eu
RTBF MIL Strategy: RTBF is the public service media for the French speaking part of Belgium. Each year, RTBF adopts a Strategy for Media Literacy.
The objective is to help audiences access all kinds of media platforms and be able to analyse and sort all kinds of information/data/images/sounds/news they encounter through the press, radio, television, cinema and online. The goal is also to empower citizens and help them to become active, creative, critical and participative in media and in the society.
Through the annual strategy, RTBF commits to promoting MIL to citizens in the following ways:
· Producing or coproducing MIL-related content for broadcast and online platforms (Inside, Les décodeurs, Empreinte digitale, Surfons tranquille, Media 21…).
· Encouraging quality journalism
· Supporting MIL-related events and activities such as Global Media and Literacy Week (Unesco), La semaine numérique, le Salon de l’éducation, Safer internet day, Difference day, etc
· Developing partnerships with other stakeholders active in MIL such as le Conseil supérieur de l’éducation aux medias, EBU, Media Animations, Action Média Jeunes, AJP, schools, high schools or universities.
· Encouraging the audience to participate in the media by collaborating to the production of contents and by giving his opinion by phone, on air or social media or via guided visits and interactive workshops in RTBF
· Helping the audience see how media programmes are made by attending radio or television recordings
The budget for the development and implementation of the RTBF MIL strategy comes from the internal RTBF budget. It’s impossible to determine a precise sum and the right number of people who are working to the strategy, because the actions are not only specific but also transversal. The strategy involves at least over 20 people. The target groups include everyone from aged 8 to 65+, as well as parents, teachers and journalists.
This project is evaluated internally with CSEM[13] and is recorded as being mostly successful in achieving the aims of the project. The results of the evaluation are used to refine and improve the project. There is the potential to replicate this approach with other Public Service Media organisations.
https://www.rtbf.be/entreprise/education-aux-medias”
The ‘Strategic’ model includes a broad range of projects and initiatives that provide some strategic direction or structure for MIL activities.
Thirteen of the 68 projects and initiatives analysed could be categorized as ‘strategic’.
Common objectives of these projects and initiatives include developing policy documents, fostering national and international discourse around MIL, developing and operationalizing coding schemes for analyising content and structural processes, commissioning and disseminating MIL research, coordinating MIL networks for sharing information and resources.
The prominent sectors represented in this model include media regulators, governmental authorities and academia. As with the other models, budgets vary with in this model but on the whole, these ‘strategic’ projects tend to enjoy significantly higher budgets than projects from some of the other models.
Figure 9 below illustrates the range and frequency of funding sources identified for the MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘Strategic’ model.
Figure 9: Range and frequency of funding sources for MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘Strategic’ model
Q 12 Please indicate how the activity was funded, for example, E.g. EU grants, annual budget allocation, sponsorship etc. Base = 13
Children’s Charter on Fake News: In the UK, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Literacy and the National Literacy Trust launched the Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills in Schools in 2017. The aim of the commission was to explore the impact of fake news on young people in the UK and establish what approaches might be most successful in addressing this issue, focusing specifically on how best to support the teaching and learning of critical literacy skills in schools.
The report examines how – with the support of the media industry and other organisations – schools, families and young people can work together to develop the critical literacy skills needed to interpret today’s much more participatory digital news environment, where people can create and share news easily, and in which there has been a proliferation of news sources. It presents recommendations to government for meeting the challenge of fake news by empowering schools, families and young people to navigate online news effectively. The recommendations were established in partnership with young people, resulting in the ‘Children’s Charter on Fake News’. Building on the findings from the commission a number of pieces of work have followed including:
Funding for this commission came from corporate sponsorship from Facebook. The commission involved about 50 people including representatives from media organisations and charities, as well as academics and policymakers. It also drew on evidence from 2,250 children aged 8 to 16 and 420 teachers.
The National Literacy Trust continues to monitor and evaluate activity that achieves the recommendations from the final report. There is the potential to replicate this approach in other countries.
https://literacytrust.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/all-party-parliamentary-group-literacy/fakenews/
Swiss Media Quality Rating (MQR): This large-scale project was developed and applied by the University of Zurich and the University of Fribourg and pursues a multi-method, longitudinal approach for measuring the quality of news media outlets from the perspectives of scholars and audiences. It takes between 400’000 and 500’000 francs to finance the project every two years.
The MQR is edited by the Donors’ Association for Swiss Media Quality (Stifterverein Medienqualität Schweiz) and promoted by reputable companies and foundations.
The project distinguishes four dimensions of media quality: relevance, diversity, contextualization, and professionalism. These dimensions serve as common ground to develop and operationalize coding schemes for a content analysis as well as a survey questionnaire.
The quality of the news media outlets with the highest reach is evaluated biennially both from the audience perspective (measured by surveys) and the content perspective (measured by content analysis). The ratings are published on the project's website on regular basis and their insights are widely covered by the specialist as well as news media.
The empirical research on 50 news media outlets in Switzerland involved repeated content analysis (N=18,365 and 20,931 news articles and broadcasting items) and a repeated representative online survey (N=1,613 and 2,169 respondents) between 2015 and 2018.
This project was evaluated internally and was recorded as being very successful in achieving the aims of the project. The results show that, despite the prophecies of doom, high quality news media still exist and their recipients appreciate them, at least in Switzerland. Moreover, considering the worrying trend that people in democracies might be losing trust in the media (“Fake news”, “Lügenpresse”), the results of the online survey may be surprising.
The results of the evaluation were used to refine and improve the project and the next MQR will be conducted in 2020.
Although the project‘s data relate to Swiss news media, the project is not limited to Switzerland, because its theory and methodology are applicable to other countries and media systems.
http://www.medienqualitaet-schweiz.ch
Media Literacy Ireland (MLI): Facilitated by the media regulatory body in Ireland, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), Media Literacy Ireland[14] (MLI) is a network of volunteer members working together to empower people to make informed media choices about the media content and services that they consume, create, and disseminate across all platforms. MLI was formed in response to a gap identified during the development process of the BAI’s Media Literacy Policy[15]. As a result, the BAI committed to supporting the development of a media literacy network in Ireland that would focus on connecting MIL activities, fostering collaboration between MIL stakeholders, maintaining communication between members and coordinating media literacy campaigns and activities .
The network has over 135 members, with individuals and organisations representing a broad range of sectors including the media (public service, commercial, print and online), academia, social and search platforms and civil society.
Membership is free of charge but members are expected to share skills, knowledge, experience and resources in relation to MIL with other members. MLI members can contribute in a variety of ways, including but not limited to:
· Participating on a voluntary basis on the Steering Group which provides the network with the strategic guidance or on a number of Working Groups and Project Groups. There are over 30 members contributing their time and expertise in this way.
· Providing practical support such as hosting meetings or events such as the annual conference or ad-hoc training or networking events where MLI members can share experiences and knowledge.
· Woking in collaboration on initiatives such as the Be Media Smart campaign.
Be Media Smart is a public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to Be Media Smart and Stop, Think, and Check that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable.
The Be Media Smart campaign concept was based on the idea that, in the same way that there are ways to check the provenance of our food, there are ways to check the provenance of our information. This message was delivered via TV, radio, social media and press – all signposting people to the Be Media Smart campaign microsite[16] which provides consumer advice in the form of top tips and resources from partners in Ireland and abroad.
A key objective of MLI is to facilitate cross-sector collaboration and help MLI members identify the most appropriate role that they can play to promote media literacy in line with their own priorities. The Be Media Smart campaign was an excellent example of what can be achieved with this kind of collaborative approach.
Over 20 MLI members were actively involved in the campaign including the regulator (BAI), public service broadcasters (RTE and TG4), commercial broadcasters (SKY, Virgin TV and all national and regional commercial radio stations), community media, news publishers (Newsbrands), social and search platforms (Facebook, Google and Twitter), the Library Association of Ireland and Webwise, the Irish Internet Safety Awareness Centre.
A small core team of 3 people (part-time) coordinate MLI with an annual budget of €30,000 - €50,000. For the Be Media Smart campaign, a wide range of people worked on the campaign on a voluntary basis. By combining the key skills, experience and resources of MLI members, almost all aspects of the campaign were covered. As a result, there were an estimated 140 days of voluntary effort provided by MLI members and that the combined estimated value of the ad campaign was in the region of €180,000 with another €110,000 estimated value in campaign content and resources. In summary, the monetary value of the support that MLI members provided for the Be Media Smart campaign has been estimated at €380,000 while the core funding required to deliver this campaign was less than €20,000.
Ten projects and initiatives fall into the ‘MIL Training’ model, and these projects and initiatives can be split into two further sub-groups. Five of the projects or activities target MIL trainers or teachers and five of the projects or activities are aimed at media professionals or other related professions.
The types of training activities include workshops, conferences, seminars, meetings, online and offline forums.
The projects and activities targeting MIL trainers that were explored in this study were led by community media, libraries, and the adult education sector with target audiences including young people, teachers, parents and librarians.
Projects and activities explored in this study that targeted media and other professionals (such as journalists, civil servants and NGOs) were led by academia, government agencies, NGOs and media associations.
Budgets vary greatly across this model ranging from €1,000 to €250,000 with the bigger budgets funded from federal grants and EU grants.
Figure 10 below illustrates the range and frequency of funding sources identified for the MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘MIL Training’ model.
Figure 10: Range and frequency of funding sources for MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘MIL Training’ model
Q 12 Please indicate how the activity was funded, for example, E.g. EU grants, annual budget allocation, sponsorship etc. Base = 10
Eurovision Social Newswire Agile Newsroom: The Agile Newsroom initiative bringsjournalists together from across the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to form the biggest collaborative eyewitness media newsroom - working together to discover, verify and clear the most engaging social media content from the real time web.
Primarily, the driver behind the Agile Newsroom is the Eurovision Social Newswire, a collaborative 2000-member newswire created in 2017 which delivers cleared and verified content from the social web in real-time to EBU members.
Two Agile Newsroom events - both lasting three days have been held. The first in Vienna in 2017 and the second in Sarajevo in 2018. The EBU is currently in discussions about holding the next Agile Newsroom in Morocco in early 2020.
The Agile Newsroom events fostered knowledge and skill-sharing between members as they worked in a real time newsroom environment to deliver content for the Eurovision Social Newswire and their own home organization and attendees developed new skills around clarifying social media content.
By putting beginners and experts in the same room and having them work on the same stories, all participants ‘learned by doing’. Supporting this initiative was a team from Dataminr, who were on hand to provide technical support and advice. Those trained return home more confident and with a peer network.
The success of the event hinged on the collaboration of over 70 public service media members of the EBU wanting to improve their newsroom skills. By attending the Agile Newsroom, they saw the rewards in being able to increase media trust in their outlets.
The project was funded by the EBU and EBU members with an annual budget of 30,000 CHF and 10 people were involved in organising this project. The key target group was journalists with 55 journalists attending the event in Vienna in 2017
and 65 journalists attending the event in Sarajevo in 2018.
This project underwent an external or third-party evaluation or assessment and the results were used to refine or improve the project. In terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project was deemed to have been very successful. For the 2017 Agile Newsroom event[17] in Vienna, 100 per cent said they would like to attend again and rated the event 4.7/5.
For the 2018 Agile Newsroom event[18] in Sarajevo, 100 per cent of participants said they would like to attend again and rated the event 4.8/5.
In terms of replicating or scaling up this project, the idea of bringing the Agile Newsroom to the MENA region is being discussed. Costs are an issue for all public service broadcasters, and the EBU is committed to bringing the experience of training, knowledge and skill-sharing that the Agile Newsroom offers to all of our members.
The EBU has developed the Agile Newsroom model to be lightweight - meaning it can be deployed very quickly should an opportunity for the event arise. This allows for both first-time and more experienced journalists to be able to work together without being bogged down by paperwork - allowing all in attendance to focus of the knowledge and skill-sharing in a real-time work environment.
Because of the model, scaling the event to reach more granular topics, an increase in participation or deviating to a different topic or industry is quite easy. What is important is oversight and strong leadership throughout the event to ensure the overall objective is achieved.
Reflecting the reality that more and more journalists, and other industries are working remotely - showing a very agile approach to social newsgathering, the EBU predicts that the next step for the Agile Newswroom will be where teams from across the world can partake in the event from their own countries.
In addition, the EBU is aiming to bring the Agile Newsroom to colleges and schools to give students real on-the-job experiences but also expose them to best practices in journalistic principles and ethics, and to build on media literacy through the promotion of critical thinking.
In terms of reaching the target audience, the EBU community is strong, and each member was informed through word of mouth, emails, and video promos about the benefits of the Agile Newsroom programme.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=agile+newsroom
The Academy of Ukrainian Press (AUP): The Academy of Ukrainian Press (AUP) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation that inspires media education initiatives and professional re-training of journalists in Ukraine. It spreads media literacy and the European standards of journalism and actively informs Ukrainian society by means of publishing its research findings and literature on media topics.
The mission of AUP is to promote critical and informed media consumption by Ukrainian society and to encourage the following the standards of socially responsible journalism in Ukraine.
AUP has four main objectives:
· Foster a culture of consumption of media which follow journalistic standards and journalistic ethics.
· Cultivate critical thinking and media literacy skills among civil society by means of media education.
· Encourage the improvement of quality journalism and loyalty to the journalism standards by means of training.
· Implement media education as the obligatory component of Ukrainian educational system.
The AUP targets a diverse range of audiences including Journalists and the media community of Ukraine; International organizations; Educational establishments; Public libraries; Ministries and Offices; Internally displaced people; Public committees and associations (in the domain of media, journalism and education); and, Ukrainian civil society.
The AUP undertakes a broad range of activities including training and consultations for teachers who deal with media education in higher and secondary schools; public representation and advocacy of media education in Ukraine; preparation of publications and editorials relating to mass communication and journalism; information campaigns on the basis of media monitoring data; research on media and media law; providing training for journalists and teachers; and, public representation of international journalistic standards in Ukrainian media environment.
In relation to media information literacy, the AUP’s primary goal is implementation of media education in the learning process through creation and encouragement of a leading media teachers’ network and applying international experience for implementing media education in Ukraine.
The AUP’s work in the field of media education includes the preparation of teacher’s handbooks and the preparation of curricula for academic courses. It has prepared more than 20 media literacy editions and training programs recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for teaching in primary, secondary and high schools as well as holding about 60 training sessions for media education teachers and media education coaches every year.
Another key area of work for AUP is building the ‘Library of Mass Communication and Media Literacy’ with the best examples of practical handbooks on journalism, media education and mass communication to help Ukrainian journalists and teachers to improve their level of proficiency.
A Media Education and Media Literacy online platform was launched in September 2013 to facilitate the exchange of ideas between teachers and promote transparency in media education. As well as a section for teachers and third level tutors with lesson plans, there is also a section for the general public / media consumers.
Since 2002, the Academy of Ukrainian Press and the Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine, research teams have been realizing projects dedicated to TV program, radio, central and regional printed media and online-media content analysis with the aim of improving the balanced coverage of political news in Ukraine. Currently, AUP has conducted more than 60 monitoring research streams on the basis of content analysis, the results of which are highlighted on the platform.
The AUP is funded through grants and an annual budget allocation from US AID. Between 6 and 10 people work on the project, targeting all ages from 4 to 65+ as well as teachers, parents and journalists.
This project underwent an external or third-party evaluation or assessment and the results were used to refine or improve the project. In terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project was deemed to have been mostly successful.
http://www.aup.com.ua/en/history-of-the-project/
The ‘MIL Tools’ model includes five projects which have resulted in the creation of tools, platforms or games to help promote MIL.
While no sector appears to dominate within this model, academia and NGO’s feature heavily. Budgets also vary greatly but some of the more complicated tools have annual budgets of over €100,000.
Figure 11 below illustrates the range and frequency of funding sources identified for the MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘MIL Tools’ model.
Figure 11: Range and frequency of funding sources for MIL projects and initiatives within the ‘MIL Tools’ model
Q 12 Please indicate how the activity was funded, for example, E.g. EU grants, annual budget allocation, sponsorship etc. Base = 5
Badnews: This is a freely accessible online game which aims to help people better understand how and why disinformation spreads. The project was designed to complement debunking and media literacy education as a counter-measure to disinformation by employing psychological methods.
As a collaboration between DROG[19] and the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab, the Badnews game is rooted in the socio-psychological theory of inoculation, and was created to act as an intervention, or mental vaccine: it invites the player to spread disinformation themselves, and walk a mile in the shoes of the “bad guy”. In doing so, the player builds mental antibodies, and will thus be able to recognise deceptive information in the future without increasing scepticism about journalism and media in general.
Based on a concept of ‘pre-bunking’, this gamified psychological intervention helps participants to familiarise themselves with the most common strategies used in the production and spread of disinformation (e.g. polarisation, discrediting, emotional language). The game also employs an adaptive research engine which continuously adjusts to different social network platforms as well as cultural contexts.
The Badnews game has been played by more than 400,000 people and is available in 12 European languages (including German, Polish, Swedish, Romanian and Greek) and is currently in the process of being translated into new languages (including French, Estonian, Russian and Ukrainian). In addition, DROG is developing a tool to make translating the game simpler and more accessible, in order to encourage new translations and increase its impact.
Funding for this project came from a range of sources including the Erasmus+ programme from the European Union, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, WhatsApp, Economic Social Research Council, SVDJ (Stimuleringsfonds voor de Journalistiek, Netherlands).
Aided by these different forms of funding, the original Badnews game was developed on a budget of €80.000. Currently, in order to maximize its impact and to expand upon the original game, new translations are being developed on a budget of €10.000 per translation. This budget has been calculated taking into account the costs of translation, adaptation of the game scenario into the country-specific cultural context and quality control.
Between 6 and 10 people are involved in this project and the key target groups include everyone from aged 15 and upwards. Initially, the target audience was recruited through a press release from Cambridge University (the headline read; “Fake news ‘vaccine’: online game may ‘inoculate’ by simulating propaganda tactics). The release explained the research programme and provided a link to the game. The release was quickly picked up by different European news outlets, including the BBC, which also provided a link to the game. In disseminating the game, DROG did not have to spend any of its initial budget on marketing and targeting the right audience. Instead, many Badnews players shared the game on social media, quickly gaining more online attention. After sharing a link to the game on online social platform Reddit, Badnews went viral, leading to a dramatic increase of players from all over the world.
In order to reach an even wider target group, and to really make a difference at a crucial stage in developing media-literacy skills, DROG has extended the original Badnews game with a Junior version, specifically tailored to a younger audience of 8-11 years of age. This new game is actively disseminated amongst primary schools, especially during specific media-literacy awareness events, such as “Week van de Mediawijsheid” in the Netherlands.
An external assessment of the project was carried out by Cambridge University and results suggest that players of the game become significantly better at recognising several common strategies used in the production and dissemination of misinformation when compared to a control group. The results hold up across a range of demographic variables, including age, political ideology, and educational background.
The evaluation results were used to refine or improve the project and in terms of meeting its stated objectives, this project was deemed to have been very successful.
In terms of replicating or scaling up this project, the game is currently being adapted for younger audiences and translated to 12 other European languages. Additionally, the approach is being applied in a variety of contexts, ranging from disinformation on WhatsApp in developing countries to combating radicalisation in Europe and the Middle East.
Furthermore, the game is currently being adapted to be integrated in the curriculum of secondary schools and vocational education in various European countries. This means extending the functionality of the game to accommodate a multi-player version, developing a complementary programme of lessons to fit in the school curriculum and adapting the programme to the specific context of the countries involved in the project.
· Different groups of people will require different MIL interventions at different points on their learning journeys and no single organisation or sector can be expected to achieve this range of MIL support on their own. Strategic coordination to ensure that a broad range of stakeholders are encouraged to work together and use their collective networks to reach people where they are. For example, local media appears to be a good partner for schools to organise media educational projects and to raise awareness of the issues of reliability of media.
· Amongst the projects analysed as part of this study, the MIL knowledge and skills supporting quality journalism promoted least frequently relate to how the media is regulated, how the media is funded, knowing about rights and responsibilities in relation to data and privacy, and understanding how social and search platforms operate. This is an area of particular concern, as more people are finding their news online and the online infrastructure that facilitates this is not a level playing field, forcing quality journalism to compete with other types of content not subject to the same legal framework, stringent ethics and production values.
Despite the fact that this study did not specifically target formal educational authorities, organisations or networks in order to explore how non-state actors were engaging in the promotion of MIL knowledge and skills, the largest model with 22 of the 68 projects analysed was the ‘MIL in Schools’ model. This underlines the important role that schools and formal education has in the promotion of media literacy, not least perhaps because of the easy access to the target audience that formal education provides.
· The data show that over 65s may be at risk of being under-served by MIL activities though being the group of people most likely to share disinformation online (Guess et al. 2019) and least likely to be familiar with how the economics and the online infrastructure operates. A significant obstacle to reaching an older audience with media literacy tools and training may be the absence of a readily available dissemination network (such as schools operate as a dissemination network for younger people).
· A number of projects identified for this study had very similar approaches, for example journalists (print and broadcast) going into the classroom to help young people create news items the newspapers in classroom projects. It may be worth exploring how existing MIL resources and tools from these projects (such as presentation notes, how-to videos, lesson plans etc.) could be revised and re-used in other countries or regions.
· Many of the MIL skills addressed by the projects and initiatives in this study are as relevant to adults as they are to students. Therefore, it may also be worth exploring whether some of the projects and tools aimed at students could be replicated for use by the general public through citizen networks.[20]
· One third of the projects analysed did not undergo any form of evaluation or assessment. Although the nature of MIL can make evaluation of the outcomes difficult to measure, especially in relation to projects linked to cognitive skills such as applying critical analysis and making informed choices, it is essential that MIL interventions are assessed against their objectives and outcomes if they are to be replicated in other regions or countries.
· More transparency in relation to how MIL projects and initiatives are funded, and by whom could, may be helpful in terms of securing funding to target some of the groups who currently do not appear to be well served, such as older people.
· Recognise and foster the role the MIL has in promoting and protecting quality journalism in the digital age.
While the development of MIL is an empowering and critical pre-emptive action against disinformation and negative implications and for a free formation of opinion for individual citizens as well as for society as a whole, it would be a mistake to regard it as a general solution to the challenges emerging around the use and mis-use of digital media.
The range of challenges that MIL is expected to address is broad, often interconnected and fluid. Some of these challenges also require individuals to change behaviours which can be complex, expensive and time-consuming. MIL-related responses must take this into account.
In the past MIL was predominantly seen as the responsibility of the educational sector mostly targeting younger people in full-time education. This responsibility has to be extended to all stakeholders who are in a position to reach citizens of all age groups where they currently are and create new dissemination networks for MIL knowledge and skills.
All relevant stakeholders, especially member states, need to recognise their own roles and responsibilities in relation to media literacy and they should be prepared to lead on, participate in, and fund MIL projects on a long-term basis and fully implement the guidelines included in the Draft Recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for quality journalism in the digital age.
· Shape media literacy programmes to support quality journalism.
Given the changing media environment as well as asymmetries of economic power and political interests, there is critical need for users to better understand how the online infrastructure and economy is operated and regulated and how technology can influence choice in relation to media. Development of this knowledge should be prioritised and the development of these skills and knowledge built in by design into MIL programmes and activities.
Future MIL programmes to promote and protect quality journalism should also include empathy-based understanding of people’s assessment and decision-making processes when dealing with digital media - including awareness of irrationalities, biases, inaccuracies and falsehoods.
· Learn from existing practices.
The key learning objectives of many MIL projects and programmes are the same irrespective of the target group. What is likely to differ is the approach, the delivery and the partners involved. Key stakeholders should therefore consider how existing MIL models, campaigns and resources addressing universal topics might be adapted for use in other areas or for other target groups – with due respect given to national and cultural differences.
Given the universal obligation placed on most public service media to reach all parts of society, PSM could form part of a dissemination network for the general public and in particular for older people, potentially in partnership with other partners such as libraries and civil society organisations.[21] Member states should assess whether this requires adjustments to the legal obligations of PSM.
· Foster collaboration.
Better collaboration between stakeholders should be encouraged and fostered by member states. In particular, there appears to be gap in relation to understanding what MIL projects and initiatives already exist, where they are targeted, how they are funded and what the outcomes are. Mapping current MIL interventions and target groups may help to provide valuable information and data for MIL practitioners and researchers alike. In addition, more coordination may help to facilitate better utilisation of existing delivery infrastructures and exploration of new ones to reach all sections of society, especially those not in formal education and those with specific MIL needs.
The role of national regulatory authorities should not be underestimated in terms of providing leadership, coordination and funding for MIL related interventions, as identified in the 2018 council of Europe report entitled “Regulatory Authorities for Electronic Media and Media Literacy – Comparative Analysis of the Best European Practices”.
· Find out what works.
The development of a common framework for evaluation that will facilitate the comparison of projects outputs and outcomes is critical. This would enable the identification of successful projects or projects elements with the potential for replication and scaling up at national or international levels. In addition there is a strong case for carrying out further research how to measure and compare the outcome of MIL projects and initiatives.
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (2016): Media Literacy Policy p.p. 6-8, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Dublin.
Buckingham, D. (2005): The Media Literacy of Children and Young People - A review of the research literature on behalf of Ofcom. London.
COMMIT (2018): Spaces of Inclusion – An explorative study on needs of refugees and migrants in the domain of media communication and on responses by community media. Council of Europe report DGI(2018)01. Council of Europe. Strasbourg.
Council of Europe (2018): Regulatory Authorities for Electronic Media and Media Literacy - Comparative analysis of the best European practices. Strasbourg.
Council of Europe (2018): Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)1 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on Media Pluralism and Transparency of Media Ownership. Strasbourg.
Council of Europe (2018): Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment. Strasbourg.
Council of Europe (2017): Digital Citizenship Education, Volumes I and II. Strasbourg.
Council of Europe (2014): Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)6 and explanatory memorandum of the Committee of Ministers to member States on a Guide to Human Rights for Internet Users. Strasbourg.
Council of the European Union (2016), Council’s conclusions on Developing media literacy and critical thinking through education and training, Brussels.
European Audiovisual Observatory (2016), Mapping of media literacy practices and actions in EU-28, Strasbourg.
European Audiovisual Observatory (2011), Media Literacy, IRIS plus 2011-3, Strasbourg.
European Commission (2018): Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Social and Economic Comittee and the Comittee of the Regions: Tackling online disinformation: a European Approach, COM/2018/236 final, Brussels.
Gapski, H. (2001): Medienkompetenz. Eine Bestandsaufnahme und Vorüberlegungen zu einem systemtheoretischen Rahmenkonzept. Wiesbaden.
Grizzle, A., Moore, P., Dezuanni, M., Asthana, S., Wilson, C., Banda, F., Onumah, C. (2013): Media and Information Literacy Policy and Strategy Guidelines, UNESCO, Paris.
Guess, A., Nagler, J., Tucker, J.: Less than you think: Prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook, Science Advance 2019, Vol. 5, No. 1: eaau4586, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau4586
Livingstone, S., Van Couvering, E., & Thumim, N. (2005): Adult Media Literacy - A review of the research literature on behalf of Ofcom, London.
Potter, W. J. (2013): Review of Literature on Media Literacy: Media literacy. Sociology Compass, 7(6), 417–435. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12041
Schorb, B. (2005): Medienkompetenz. In: Hüther, Jürgen; Schorb, Bernd (Ed.): Grundbegriffe Medienpädagogik. kopaed: Munich, p. 262
Schorb, B. (2007): Zur Bedeutung und Realisierung von Medienkompetenz. In: Schorb, Bernd; Brüggen, Niels; Dommaschk, Anke (Ed.): Mit eLearning zu Medienkompetenz. Modelle für Curriculumgestaltung, Didaktik und Kooperation. kopaed: Munich, p. 19.
Wardle Cl. and Derakhshan H., Council of Europe report DGI(2017)09, Information disorder: Toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policy making,p.p. 68-70 & p.p. 80-85, Council of Europe, Strasbourg.
White A. (2016), Towards a Programme for Journalism and Media Literacy, Ethical Journalism Network. London.
Appendix 1 – Names of projects analysed |
||||
1 |
55 Differences - Value for Money |
Country Austria |
WWW zukunft.orf.at |
|
2 |
92.5 Phoenix FM |
Ireland |
phoenixfm.ie |
|
3 |
ANLite: Audiences, news and literacies |
Portugal |
anlitemedia.com |
|
4 |
BadNews |
Europe |
getbadnews.com |
|
5 |
BBC Young Reporter and Beyond Fake News |
UK, |
bbc.co.uk/news/education-41001549 |
|
6 |
Burnet News Club |
UK, Germany, Spain |
burnetnewsclub.com |
|
7 |
Child Protection and MIL conference |
Morroco |
- |
|
8 |
Children’s Charter on Fake News |
UK |
literacytrust.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/all-party-parliamentary-group-literacy/fakenews/ |
|
9 |
CONTACTO. Red de Educación Mediática y Competencia Digital |
Spain |
educacionmediatica.es |
|
10 |
Critical Media Literacy in adult education |
Austria |
commit.at |
|
11 |
CriThink - Critical Thinking for Mediawise Citizens |
Macedonia |
crithink.mk |
|
12 |
Digital Security School 380 |
Ukraine |
dss380.org |
|
13 |
Digitale Medienkompetenz durch die Mobile Medienakademie |
Germany |
jugendpresse.de |
|
14 |
Digitaler Kompass - Institut für Nachrichtenkompetenz und digitale Bildung |
Austria, Germany |
digitalerkompass.at |
|
15 |
Djeca medija - Association for Communication and Media Culture |
Croatia |
djecamedija.org |
|
16 |
eduCAC |
Spain |
educac.cat |
|
17 |
Ethical Media for Active Citizenship |
Belgium, Austria, Germany, Spain, |
ethicalmediatraining.eu |
|
18 |
Eurovision Social Newswire Agile Newsroom |
Austria, Serbia |
eurovision.net |
|
19 |
Exploring the impact of a Media Literacy Intervention on Advertising Literacy, Materialism and Wellbeing in Children |
Ireland |
safefood.eu/Education/Primary-(ROI)/MediaWise.aspx |
|
20 |
Factfindr |
UK |
- |
|
21 |
Fika with SVT |
Sweden |
svt.se/hyheter/amne_fikamedSVT |
|
22 |
Freies Radio B138 |
Austria |
radiob138.at |
|
23 |
Freies Radio Oberösterreich - Education and Training Department |
Austria, Germany, Hungary, Romania |
fro.at/category/mitmachen/ |
|
24 |
HTML Heroes - An Introduction to the Internet |
Ireland |
webwise.ie/html-heroes |
|
25 |
i-create platform |
Greece |
i-create.gr |
|
26 |
IMPRESS: The Independent Monitor for the Press |
UK |
impress.press |
|
27 |
Kanal K |
Switzerland |
kanalk.ch |
|
28 |
Lie Detectors |
Belgium, Germany |
lie-detectors.org/de |
|
29 |
L'opération "Ouvrir mon quotidien" |
Belgium |
lapresse.be |
|
30 |
Media Coach Initiative |
Greece, Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Netherlands |
mediacoacheurope.eu |
|
31 |
Media Diversity Institute |
EU, |
media-diversity.org |
|
32 |
Media literacy training for librarians |
Bulgaria |
- |
|
33 |
#MediaMinded |
UK |
shoutoutuk.org/2018/05/14/media-literacy-roadtour-2018/ |
|
34 |
Media performance and democracy |
Norway, Austria, Germany, Switzerland |
mediaperformance.uni-mainz.de |
|
35 |
MEDIA, POLIS, AGORA: JOURNALISM & COMMUNICATION IN THE DIGITAL ERA" |
Greece |
amiretreat2018.advancedmediainstitute.com |
|
36 |
Mediacamp |
Denmark |
Mediacamp.sdu.dk |
|
37 |
MediaDesk.ie |
Ireland |
mediadesk.ie |
|
38 |
mediamanual.at |
Austria |
mediamanual.at |
|
39 |
Mediekompasset |
Norway |
medielabben.no |
|
40 |
Media Literacy Ireland |
Ireland |
medialiteracyireland.ie bemediasmart.ie |
|
41 |
Move your community |
Denmark |
lenfestinstitute.org/solution-set/2018/11/01/how-a-local-danish-publisher-is-empowering-high-school-journalists/ |
|
42 |
Newsdesk.dk |
Denmark |
newsdesk.dk |
|
43 |
Newspapers in Education - Denmark |
Denmark |
aiu.dk |
|
44 |
Newspapers in Education - Finland |
Finland |
sanomalehtiopetuksessa.fi |
|
45 |
Newspapers in Education - Netherlands |
Netherlands |
nieuwsindeklas.nl |
|
46 |
NewsWise |
UK |
theguardian.com/newswise |
|
47 |
OKTO Community TV |
Austria |
okto.tv |
|
48 |
PPI Project |
Greece, |
- |
|
49 |
Provenance |
Ireland |
- |
|
50 |
Que no te la cuelen, media literacy hands-on workshop |
Spain |
Facebook: @quenotelacuelen Instagram: @tallerquenotelacuelen |
|
51 |
Radio LoRa - Training course on intercultural and community radio |
Sitzerland |
www.lora.ch |
|
52 |
Radio Orange 94.0 Das Freie Radio in Wien |
Austria |
o94.at |
|
53 |
RTBF Media Literacy Strategy |
Belgium |
rtbf.be/entreprise/education-aux-media |
|
54 |
Swiss Media Quality Rating (MQR) |
Switzerland |
medienqualitaet-schweiz.ch |
|
55 |
Taller Telekids |
Spain |
tallertelekids.blogspot.com |
|
56 |
Technical Table for Ensuring Pluralism and Correct Information on Digital Platforms - Subgroup on Media and digital literacy |
Italy |
agcom.it/tavolo-pluralismo-e-piattaforme-online |
|
57 |
The Academy of Ukrainian Press (AUP) |
Ukraine |
aup.com.ua/en/history-of-the-project/ |
|
58 |
The European Media Literacy Toolkit for Newsrooms |
France, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Germany |
globaleditorsnetwork.org/programmes/the-media-literacy-toolkit/ |
|
59 |
The Opinionpanel |
Netherlands |
eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/panels/opiniepanel/ |
|
60 |
The School of Social Mindfulness |
Poland |
ssu.com.pl |
|
61 |
The Week Junior |
UK |
theweekjunior.co.uk |
|
62 |
True or False '18. Media and Information Literacy |
Spain |
nccextremadura.org/alldigitalweek/ |
|
63 |
UNESCO GAPMIL European Sub-Chapter Mediterranean Group, run by EKOME SA |
Greece and the Mediterranean Countries of UNESCO GAPMIL |
ekome.media/education/cooperation-of-ekome-with-unesco-and-the-gapmil-network/?pag=cat |
|
64 |
Uppdrag MIK-samverkan |
Sweden |
statensmedierad.se/omstatensmedierad/uppdragochorganisation/regeringsuppdrag/samverkanformedieochinformationskunnighetmik.3091.html |
|
65 |
WDR STUDIO ZWEI & WDR Kinderwelt |
Germany |
schlauer.wdr.de studiozwei.wdr.de |
|
66 |
White Paper on Media & Information Literacy |
Greece |
ekome.media/wp-content/uploads/EKOME_White-Paper-_ENG-1.pdf |
|
67 |
Yearbook Quality of the Media Switzerland |
Sitzerland |
qualitaet-der-medien.ch |
|
68 |
Young Digital Leaders |
Greece, Romania, Bulgaria |
geyc.ro/2019/02/young-digital-leaders-second-edition.html isdglobal.org/programmes/education/young-digital-leaders/ |
|
Appendix 2 – Questionnaire
Supporting Quality Journalism through
Media and Information Literacy
- Questionnaire -
Introduction
With the following questionnaire we would like to ask you a few questions about your project on promoting media and information literacy. We are conducting this survey as part of a study by the Council of Europe MSI-JOQ Committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital age.
The objective of this study is to identify and analyse projects and activities which support the development of the skills and knowledge required to recognise and value quality journalism and by extension foster an environment favourable to quality journalism in the digital age.
What we will do with your data - Declaration of consent
As part of the survey, we will request some information about you so that we can contact you if we have further questions about your project. We may also inform you of the results of the survey and the corresponding final report.
We will not transfer or publish your name and contact data to third parties without your consent. We will only publish your other data in pseudonymised form, if at all. Your personal data will only be stored by us as long as it is necessary for the afore mentioned purposes.
Also after you have finally sent your answers, you have the opportunity to check them again and change them if necessary. Also in the case of a survey, you have the right to information, correction, deletion or restriction of the processing of your personal data as well as to object to the processing and the data portability right to the extent stipulated by law. You can withdraw your consent at any time without affecting the legality of the processing that has taken place up to then. After withdrawing you consent your personal data will be deleted immediately.
You can address your concerns to both of the responsible persons listed below. You also have the right of appeal to the competent data protection supervisory authority.
To conduct and evaluate this survey, we use services of the SurveyMonkey Europe UC and SurveyMonkey Inc. Data processing by SurveyMonkey Europe UC and SurveyMonkey Inc may cause a transfer of your data to the U.S. With regard to the data processing processes taking place under the responsibility of SurveyMonkey Europe UC and SurveyMonkey Inc., please note: https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/privacy-policy/
Responsible for the above mentioned data processing are:
Martina Chapman
11A Ban Milis, Fethard-on-sea, Co. Wexford, Y34 KW60, Ireland.
[email protected]
+44 7736481202
and
Dr. Markus Oermann
Max-Beer-Str., 25 10119, Berlin Germany.
[email protected]
+49 30 30882952
1. I agree and would like to participate in the survey and I agree that, if necessary, I can be contacted for the above-mentioned purposes via all points of contact I will provide in the survey
❏ Yes
❏ No
Overview of project or activity
In this section we will ask you to describe your project or activity. Please limit open answers to a maximum of 300 words.
2. What is the name of the project or activity?
3. Does the project or activity have a website or social media presence?
❏ Yes
❏ No
If yes, please give details.
4. In which country or countries does the project or activity take place?
5. Please name the main organisation(s) responsible for developing and delivering the project or activity, and the sector in which they operate (e.g. media, education, civil society, online platform, journalism etc.)?
Name and sector
Name and sector
Name and sector
Name and sector
Name and sector
6. When did the project or activity start?
Date
7. Is the project or activity still ongoing?
❏ Yes
❏ No
8. If the project or activity is not ongoing, when did it finish?
Date
Purpose of the project or activity
In this section we will ask about the purpose of the project or activity, as well as the aims and desired outcomes.
9. Please briefly describe this activity or project including why it was developed and what the aims and objectives were.
Please limit your response to 300 words.
10. Does/did your the project or activity help to promote any of the following?
Please tick all that apply.
❏ Understanding the role that independent media plays in a healthy democratic society, e.g. presenting different points of view, promoting informed debate, holding power to account etc.
❏ Understanding media messages by reading, listening, comparing etc.
❏ Understanding how content is created and edited.
❏ Being able to distinguish between different types of content such as fact, opinion and advertisements.
❏ Understanding of how the presentation of content (style or context) can influence how the content is perceived.
❏ Evaluating content and services for truthfulness, reliability, independence and impartiality.
❏ Recognising influencing factors such as stereotyping, bias, unfair portrayal, inappropriate content or context, lack of evidence etc.
❏ Knowledge of how different media is regulated, or not.
❏ Knowledge of who owns different media outlets and how content is funded (e.g. private ownership, public funding, advertising, sponsorship.
❏ Understanding of how social and search services operate and how technology can influence media choices, patterns of behaviour and diversity of content/views (e.g. use of algorithms).
❏ Confidence about knowing your rights and responsibilities in relation to data and privacy and competence in managing your data and privacy/public exposure while using (social) media services.
❏ Recognising and managing inappropriate[1] behaviour across all media.
❏ Participating in the public sphere by expressing opinions and responding to the opinions of others.
❏ Creating content using text, images, audio, video and code.
❏ Other
Please detail any other ways which your project or actvitiy helps people recognise and value quality journalism.
11. Please classify the project or activity using the categories below.
Please tick all that apply.
❏ Research (qualitative or quantitative)
❏ Resources (e.g. any print or audio-visual content such as information leaflets, videos, audio, lesson plans, curriculum modules, websites, TV or radio programmes or items)
❏ Campaigns (e.g. an awareness-raising initiative, perhaps with a call to action)
❏ Provision of Funding (e.g. via grants, open competition and invitations to tender)
❏ Networking opportunities including events, conferences, seminars, meetings, online and offline forums, newsletters, databases
❏ Policy Development (e.g. consultations, published reports and recommendations)
❏ Institutional based MIL learning (e.g. from primary through to university level)
❏ End-user engagement (e.g. grass-roots projects that provide support and information to end-users via face to face contact, phone contact or online contact.
Please detail any other category that your project or activity could be classified as.
12. Please indicate the annual budget for this project or activity.
❏ €0 – €1,000
❏ €1,000 – €5,000
❏ €5,000 – €10,000
❏ €10,000 – €50,000
❏ €50,000 – €100,000
❏ €100,000 – €250,000
❏ €250,000 - €500,000
❏ €500,000 -. €1.000,000
❏ €1.000,000 +
13. Please indicate how the activity was funded, for example, E.g. EU grants, annual buget allocation, sponsorship etc.
14. Please indicate how many people worked on the activity or project.
❏ 1 - 5
❏ 6 - 10
❏ 11 - 20
❏ 20+
15. Please indicate the target audience(s) for this project or activity. Please tick all that apply.
❏ Age 0 – 3
❏ Age 4 - 7
❏ Age 8 - 12
❏ Age12- 15
❏ Age16- 18
❏ Age19- 25
❏ Age26- 40
❏ Age41- 65
❏ Age 65+
❏ Third level Students
❏ Parents
❏ Teachers
❏ Journalists
❏ Socio-economic grouping ABC1
❏ Socio-economic grouping C2D1
❏ Socio-economic grouping D1EF
❏ Male
❏ Female
❏ Rural
❏ Urban
Other (please specify)
Measurement and evaluation
In this section we ask about the success of the project or activity and how it was measured or evaluated.
16. Do you think this activity or project has the potential to be replicated in other areas/regions/countries and/or scaled up?
❏ Yes
❏ No
Please explain your answer.
17. On a scale from one to five (one being not at all and five being very successful) how well did the activity or project achieve the aims outlined above?
❏ 1 - not at all
❏ 2 - minor successful
❏ 3 - medium successful
❏ 4 - mostly successful
❏ 5 - very successful
18. Was this project or activity assessed/evaluated in a structured procedure?
❏ Yes
❏ No
19. Was it an internal or external assessment (self-evaluation/evaluation by a third party)?
❏ Internal / self-evaluation
❏ External assessment /evaluation by a third party
20. If the evaluation was undertaken by an external or third party, please indicate who did it?
21. Please briefly describe the methodology used.
Please limit your response to a maximum of 300 words.
22. Were results of the assessment used to refine or improve the activity or project?
❏ Yes
❏ No
Results and outcomes
In this section we ask about the results and outcomes from the project or activity.
23. What were the main results or outcomes from this project or activity?
Please limit your response to a maximum of 300 words.
24. Do you have any additional comments, ideas, or thoughts about the success of the activity or project that you want to share?
Please limit your response to a maximum of 300 words.
25. If you were designing this project or activity from the start again, what would you do differently to make it better?
Please limit your response to a maximum of 300 words.
Respondent information
26. Please provide us with the following information in case we need to clarify any details about the project or activity.
Name
Role
Organisation
Email address
Point of contact for the activity or project (if different from above)
[1] Cf. Draft recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on promoting a favourable environment for quality journalism p. 2, 5.
[2] CM/Rec(2018)7, margin 41-49.
[3] For an overview on the EU-Commission's work on MIL see also https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/media-literacy.
[7] https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/commission-launches-call-create-european-digital-media-observatory
[9] Cf. CM/Rec(2019)##, p. 2, 5.
[10] The selection of the examples was based on the extent to which the initiatives or projects in our view are prototypical for the corresponding model and are suitable for adaptation or scaling in other countries or for other target groups. A central factor was whether an evaluation was carried out, which we consider central to quality assurance.
[11] Including ethical based decision-making, content creation and democratic participation in the public sphere, as well as literacy and language.
[12] Cf. 2.4.
[13] Le Conseil supérieur de l’éducation aux médias
[16] www.bemediasmart.ie
[19] DROG is a multidisciplinary team of academics, journalists and media-experts who conduct research, give talks, offer workshops and educational programmes and create tools to help build resistance to disinformation. DROG headquarters are in The Hague.
[20] For example, the topics addressed by the HTML Heroes videos are relevant to everyone who uses the internet. While the style of delivery and the dissemination networks would need to be very different, the learning objectives of these resources could be replicated for adults, cf. 5.1.
[21] The approach adopted by RTBF and some community media organisations may be a useful guide for other PSM, cf. 5.2. RTBF is the public media service for the French speaking part of Belgium.