"Literacy" originally meant the ability to read, write, and comprehend the written word. Now, in our media-saturated world, the need for a new type of literacy has arisen--"media literacy," a gauge not of one's ability merely to read the written word, but to understand messages carried through various media formats.

Astronomically priced name-brand apparel and a slender model-like figure have been held up by the media in recent years as things to be envied and coveted by the general public.

As early as 1930, European and American academics were already making inroads into what would come to be called "media literacy," but it was only in the 1990s that such concepts began to sprout in Taiwan. Chen Shih-min of National Chengchi University's Department of Journalism and Sophia Wu of its Department of Radio and Television were its greatest advocates.

Chen says that the core concept in media literacy is empowerment--when the people have abilities, they can also have rights. That's why the first aim of media literacy is to teach people how to approach and use media.

The mass media actually has three main functions: to inform, to entertain, and to educate. It plays an especially important role in education in third-world countries where people have little access to formal schooling, opening new windows of education for the people. However, for it to be able to do so, people must first learn how to "read" the media.

In America, a study found that many middle-school graduates were unable to read a newspaper. Accordingly, a program called Newspapers in Education, or NIE, was founded in the 1930s. Through the program, newspaper publishers donate their papers to elementary and middle schools for use as teaching materials. Students receive lessons in reading and a supplement to their textbooks, while the publishers get the opportunity to cultivate future readers.

Another interesting example is that of Japan. Japan has 47 prefectures, and each has its own privately owned and operated newspaper. This was one of the demands of General Douglas MacArthur during America's post-war occupation of Japan. The idea was that the proliferation of papers would inspire free and open debate on public matters among the Japanese people and keep them from falling back under the spell of cliques with militarist aspirations.

For education to reach its maximum effectiveness, it should engage people's personal experiences. That is why community and local media have a special place in keeping the public informed. In the case of Japan, those local newspapers have reached deep into communities in the 60 years since WWII. Chen remembers how, after a visit to a community newspaper publisher's office in Japan, he was featured in its pages wearing an overcoat. The next day, readers called the office to ask if the heater was broken--otherwise, why would a distinguished guest have to wear an overcoat? He was truly amazed by the level of interaction between the paper and the community.

Japanese newspapers are also unique in that they derive most of their business from subscriptions--ad revenue and newsstand sales are secondary. That means they don't have to run sensational headlines and colorful graphics to attract casual readers, and they feel less editorial pressure from advertisers. Also, since their worth is determined by long-term subscribers, they take great over the quality of their reporting, to maintain readers' trust.

Chen laments the current state of Taiwan's media. "Every news organization, no matter how bad it might be, wants to be a national news source. The result is that they all fumble over the same stories while they let many key local stories fall through the cracks."

Even in America, home of global media giants like CNN and the New York Times, the most influential news sources are still local newspapers and TV stations. Chen says, "The structure of their media is like a pyramid. The base, which is close to the people, is wide and multifaceted. It is what interacts with local readers firsthand, and at the same time it functions as support for global media empires."

With stiff competition in recent years, it's become inevitable that media outlets go to any length to grab an audience. That's triggered a drop in public trust in the media. Recently, veteran CBS news anchor Dan Rather failed to fully investigate documents concerning President Bush's National Guard service. It turned out that the documents were forgeries, and the reputation Rather had worked a lifetime to gain suffered a serious blow. Also, surveys of American society showed that while in 1972 27% of Americans believed what they read in the newspaper, by 2005 only 6% did.

In such a situation, "media literacy" takes on a different sense--people's ability to see past the funhouse mirror effect the media has on reality, and to consume media with a critical eye to its underlying assumptions and agendas.

In Taiwan, this sort of cooking up sensational news to grab audiences has reached the point of absurdity. For example, during every summer's typhoon season, TV reporters are always shown reporting live from "flooded" areas, describing the scene breathlessly as they seem to stand in water up to their chests. After the report is finished and they are off the air, they stand up--the water is really only up to their knees, and it was all a show for the camera.

There was also an instance where a reporter described a scene by saying, "Angry relatives of the deceased are beating the drivers who caused the accident and throwing them out of the funeral parlor!" The struggle shown on the screen, however, was actually between the family members and a number of reporters who had squeezed in to cover the story. The reporters had caused a ruckus and knocked over items belonging to the deceased that had been laid out in remembrance, causing the family members to go into a frenzy and go after them.

Yu Yang-chou, a lecturer in Shih Hsin University's Department of Journalism who has promoted media literacy courses in community colleges for many years, exhorts students who've been "picked on" by the media to stand up bravely--not only to protect themselves but also to demand improvements in the media.

He points to a case from late 2004 in which Scoop Weekly published a tragic story about a foreign bride named Hsiao Feng. The photos accompanying the report, however, were taken at a meeting of a group of foreign brides called Trans-Asia Sisters Association Taiwan. The tabloid claimed they were of Hsiao Feng. The pictures caused turmoil in the life of the woman actually pictured, as a succession of worried friends and relatives contacted her to express their concern.

After members of the Trans-Asia Sisters Association Taiwan brought the matter up in a class, it became a hot topic of discussion. In the end, the entire class decided to hold a press conference at the Legislative Yuan as a form of protest. After media reports and legal action, a court finally handed down a decision against Scoop Weekly in 2006 for defamation.

In addition to these cases of employing unreliable sources and dressing up stories, there are even more cases of the media simply stretching the truth purposely, or twisting the words of an interviewee to make a story seem more dramatic.

Sophia Wu has had such an experience. She was asked by the Ministry of Education to tour schools and lecture on media literacy. Though she stressed that "media literacy" does not mean teaching people to lambaste or criticize the media, nor does it mean advocating that everyone switch off their TV sets and cancel their newspaper subscriptions, reporters still attacked her in their coverage. They stuck to their preconceived notions, saying, "Before the Ministry of Education criticizes the media, it should take a good look at itself!" Wu could only swallow her frustration.

"Don't be lazy!"

Another aspect of media literacy is raising people's awareness of the ideologies and value judgments that run beneath the surface in the media--things like sexist stereotypes, glorification of violence, and the omnipresence of advertising.

For example, people have different body types through genetics and upbringing, but the media insists on pushing its notion of the "normal" body. With the media setting "standards" for height, weight, measurements and body mass index, people are pushed toward superficiality and those who don't make the cut are deemed to be "not working hard enough." The media's insistence that "there are no ugly women, only lazy ones" creates deep, widespread anxiety among women.

Again, look at the "model mania" that has swept Taiwan in recent years. Many idolize these famous models, and covering anything they do is a surefire way to boost ratings or sell papers. But what people don't realize is that the tall, slender bodies these models possess are the result of many years of malnutrition and severe dieting to a point that is close to illness. On top of that, they wear designer brands that are out of the price range of most people, and when they are on the catwalk they wear super-thin high-heel shoes that are harmful to the body, and overly heavy jewelry. Gossip news reports about their affairs with playboy businessmen cause young girls to mix beauty, money, love, and happiness in their minds, playing havoc with their value systems.

Another goal of media literacy is to raise people's understanding of the process by which the media is created, and bring them to the point where they can create their own media.

For example, some schools encourage students to create and present reports on a topic. They then compare the results to see their different perspectives. Reporters often simply make mistakes, and many of those mistakes come from deeply ingrained social conditioning. Without careful analysis and self-awareness, it is very difficult for reporters to realize and correct such mistakes.

Around two years ago, a movement on the Internet toward greater collaboration and sharing came to be known as Web 2.0. Weblogs, or blogs, in which users express their ideas and interact with others, have been spreading like wildfire--there are now an estimated 30 million worldwide. The age of DIY media in which everyone is a reporter is now upon us, but it has a dark side.

Chen Shih-min says reporters in the mass media are self-aware and cautious so as to stay responsible. Bloggers need to be as well. It's a long road from being able to "read" the media well through demanding good media sources to creating good media sources independently, but it's one well worth following.