In Seven Skills of Media Literacy, best-selling author and renowned scholar W. James Potter provides readers with the practical guidance they need to make substantial improvements on seven major skills required to increase their media literacy. For each of these seven skills, Potter provides easy-to-follow algorithms and heuristics that structure the process of using the skill. Chapters also offer many exercises to help readers practice using these algorithms and heuristics while avoiding traps in thinking. The book is organized to guide readers progressively through the sequence of media literacy skills, starting with the most fundamental and building to the more complex skills. This book is a must read for those people serious about becoming more strategic in using the media to satisfy their own needs for information and entertainment and thereby avoid being exploited by media messages.

About the Author
W. James Potter, professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, holds one PhD in Communication Studies and another in Instructional Technology. He has been teaching media courses for more than two decades in the areas of effects on individuals and society, content narratives, structure and economics of media industries, advertising, and journalism. He has served as editor of the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media and is the author of many journal articles and several dozen books, including: Media Effects; Media Literacy, 10th edition; The 11 Myths of Media Violence; Major Theories of Media Effects; Becoming a Strategic Thinker: Developing Skills for Success; and 7 Skills of Media Literacy.

Reviews

"The term "media literacy" is as difficult to define as the term "critical thinking." This textbook makes the concept a lot less abstract by viewing media literacy in terms of seven essential skills."

-- David L. Shabazz

"The book provides a thorough exploration into all aspects of media literacy, by an author well-known for his expertise in the subject."

-- Donna L. Halper

"This is a text that's great for helping students develop the kind of critical thinking skills we all talk about wanting students to achieve. As a text for analyzing messages...it seems as though it would be an excellent source."

-- Margaret Haefner

"This textbook is an excellent opportunity for students to better understand media literacy and the skills required to critically think about how media influences their lives. Not only does the author discuss these ideas, but he introduces the skills that students can develop to use these skills in the real world."

-- Nancy Bressler

"I would describe Potter's book as a tool that would be useful in taking what we often make complex and potentially simplifying the subject matter to make it less intimidating for the learning process."

-- Richard T. Craig

"A welcome addition to the literature on media literacy as a skills-based orientation that clearly outlines how audiences may recognize, interpret, and judge media influences across various planes of their lives."

-- Scott A. Mitchell



Book Information
ISBN 9781544378565
Author W. James Potter
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint SAGE Publications Inc
Publisher SAGE Publications Inc
Weight(grams) 290g