The First Step is the Hardest: Finding Connections in Media Literacy Education

Through a series of focus groups, this study explores how students, at the conclusion of a university-level media literacy course, see media’s necessary role in democratic society. It is a narrative inspired by the core belief of the media literacy discipline that if people are effectively taught the critical skills to access, evaluate, analyze, and produce media1 they will better understand media’s roles and responsibilities in civic life. Initial findings show that while media literacy may indeed enable for critical analysis skills, it carries the potential to breed cynical outcomes if not taught in a holistic manner