“When people distrust media representations, they may seek out a wider range of information sources or they may ‘dismiss coverage’ altogether”.
A quote from a major literature review for the UK media regulator Ofcom (1). It pulls together a large body of research on media literacy amongst consumers.
While the report focuses on traditional broadcast media, it also mentions consumer comprehension of new media (web based, blogs, websites and chatrooms).
It says there is:
“an urgent need for investigation into the public’s understanding of innovative online news sources such as blogs.”
The researchers’ review of research literature found little understanding of how consumers understand the different ways in which web sites are funded – and how this may affect content.
Are consumers pretty savvy when it comes to spotting sites that are skewed by sponsorship and written by people with a vested interest? How do they make these kind of judgement decisions over what they can trust and can’t trust online?
Matt
(1) Livingstone, S., Van Couvering, E., & Thumim, N., (2004) Adult Media Literacy. A report compiled by the Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics, for Ofcom
Comments