Mass-media controls our lives more then ever before But we don‘t know more about it today then at the time it startet to gain power!

technical details remain with a few we don‘t know why certain report make the news we don‘t know anything about the working process in news-agencies we don‘t know how information is distributed on the internet

statistics 300.000 newspapers worldwide 30.000 radio-stations 3.000 TV-stations 400 Mio. people are surfing the internet – figures rising!

What does this mean? we are controlled by media without media we would have no information other than our very own proximity media informs, entertains and controls all of us „Out of TV, out of mind.“

All these so called facts are simply absorbed by us, nobody questions them Who is the one to citicise? The consumer!????? We were never taught to! society of mass-communication all we know about the world ist what we get from the media

Media is an instrument of communication and power elections are won by the media not the officials society‘s most powerful instrument is TV what role the internet will play in future

compare radio needed 38 years tv 13 years internet only 4 years to reach 50 Mio. people worldwide

The influence by media Choose a different route if you happen to hear about a traffic jam Put on a warm coat if the weather channel forecasts a chilly day A politician owns illegal shares, or sexually harassed women, he will have a hard time during elections or exactly the opposite.

Without mass media this information would not influence our choices To talk about public opinion today equals media opinion Reality equals media reality Media creates reality!

Are we really the victims of media? Media educationalists think that we are hardly able to differentiate between reality and media reality But why is there no fundamental media education in Austrian schools??? There is a cry for competent media – consumer but not supported

This task is up to our schools Point out the pros and cons of mass media Make them aware of technical details Teach them how to select, differentiate and structure their own needs concerning mass media The most important task of media ecucation should be to make clear that media does not represent reality

This „reality“ does not exist Media only represents a small part of it Every media consumer should know that it is the journalist who chooses which part we receive

Example: September, 11th The day the world trade center was target of a terror attack A tragedy – but a feast for media! Reality was constructed Only 3 minutes after the first attack CNN was broadcasting live from NY What is there to report objectively??? Nothing but assumptions!!

CNN was reporting live only 15 minutes after the first attack and millions of people witnesses those horrid scenes which they thought to be reality. Even the Austrian TV was on air for 48 hours to report, CNN for 4 days!

What followed this so called „reality“ were assumptions, „who is the blame“ possible culprits, speculations, threats of retaliation We watched people jump out of the upper floor windows until they banned the scenes. Too tragic, too brutal to show

Media does not represent reality – it can not – it doesn‘t want to!

The way of information It takes 3 steps to create an article First there is the idea Followed by the research Then the journalist writes the article and shapes it.

Research is fundamental for journalistic work We distinguish Active research: is about answering questions with the help of people or documents. Part of that are routine calls and interviews, for example with the police or fire-fighters,.. Passive research: the editing office is being informed from the outside through calls or the supply with material or documents

Details appointments: in most cases those are press-conferences agency-reports: not all news will be part of the program, but in most cases they are the basis for further research archive: is there for you to witness what happened to a story you did some time ago

informants: calls, letters, contacts, local editiors can be really useful sources of information

The choose After research you have to choose, because not everything the journalist knows by now is fit to be printed or put on air It depends on the time available and the broadcast medium

Journalistic selection-principle proximity: not only describes the proximity of location, but also how it affects the listener or reader benefit: how a report can be of service for society. News you can use! news: is secondary to the above

Headline news in radio or TV don‘t leave a lot of possibilities to go on you make an announcement write an article do a report

Very important for radio and TV you have to create attention the contents must be easily understandable

Basic ruling – media education media education is not a subject on it‘s own it should be integrated with other subjects like music, arts and German Media education acts like a mediator in the lives of students. Life at school and life outside of school

The basic ruling „media education“ has set the foundation for that in Austrian schools concerning the importance of media in areas such as profession, leisure and education it analyses the contents and functions of media

The entire subject of media-education is subdivided in the following media-didactics: is about functions and effects of media on learning and teaching processes -> it‘s all about education through media media-education: how we use media in a critical and reflexive way -> this is education about media

The goal of media education is to use media maturely! to be able to use all the technical opportunities to be able to select, differentiate and structure to be able to use all for the individual benefit

To be mature about media is also a way how to deal with communication in general and the ability to use it as a tool pupils also have to learn to see media as an economical factor and to comprehend mass media as an institution and they have to learn how to create media by their own.

To sum it all up the goal of media education is to educate people who are able to communicate and judge – to be exact to live in a society where people are critical towards media and are able to handle those tools positively

A critical consumer should be able to understand judge distinguish between what media has to offer.

The future should be a society of people who do not uncriticaly think that what we hear and see in the media is reality.