Media Literacy 101: WBBM (CBS) Criminalize 4-Year-old Child

bobbutler7 (Maynard Institute):

 

CBS Television Station WBBM in Chicago is being criticized for airing a misleading the video of a 4-year old boy saying he wanted a gun. The boy made the comment, after being asked loaded questions by a freelance photographer, because he wanted to be a police officer.
 

The Society of Professional Journalists says the decision to edit the video "reveals a lack of understanding of the very basic tenets of journalism."

FAAN Mail Talk Back: "It's Free Swipe Yo EBT"

In this talk back, FAAN Mail responds to "It's Free- Swipe Yo EBT" a controversial music video produced by emerging artist, Chapter. The music video has reached over 400K views and received over 3,000 comments on youtube, including many charged reactions.

In this conversation, we consider key media literacy questions about this piece:

Who is the AUTHOR and TARGET AUDIENCE?
What is the MESSAGE?
How might different audiences INTERPRET this message?
What TECHNIQUES are used to attract audience attention?
In what CONTEXT does this message exist?
What are the EFFECTS? (i.e. who benefits or is harmed by this message?)

We also ask--is this music video an effective attempt at SATIRE?

If you would like to hear artist Chapter's commentary about her piece, see here:
http://www.rightthisminute.com/story/its-free-swipe-yo-ebt

FAAN Mail is a media literacy and media activism project based in Philadelphia designed to promote critical dialogue about the media.
 

https://www.facebook.com/FAANMail
 

Twitter: @faanmail