Welcome to the Mass Media and Crime Research Guide

This guide is intended to provide resources for CJ 360: Mass Media and Crime class.  

After reviewing this guide you will be able to:

• define media literacy
• identify the four parts of the SIFT acronym
• locate different types of mass media using library and internet resources

What is Media Literacy?

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The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) defines media literacy as "the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act using all forms of communication." Media refers to any method electronic, digital, or print used to communicate information. 

 NAMLE identifies core principles of media literacy as:

• active inquiry and critical thinking about information 
• media literacy education develops informed, reflective, and engaged participants 
• recognizes that media is a part of culture
• recognizes that how people view media is shaped by our experiences, skills, and beliefs

Key Questions you should ask when reviewing media messages:

• who is the author?
• why was this made and what does it want me to do?
• who is the intended audience?
• who paid for or sponsored this?
• what ideas, values, information, or points of view are overt or implied?
• what techniques are used to to convey the message?
• how might different people interpret the message?
• when was this created? 
• how credible is the message?
• what are the sources of the message?

Information on this page is taken from the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). (link opens in a new window)