A taxonomy for Media Literacy in Portugal

Characterization of actors, initiatives, and intervention lines

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS18520242439

Abstract

Media literacy, which encompasses skills and knowledge considered essential for civic participation in social, political, and professional life, is an area that has been growing steadily. In Portugal, there is a wide range of entities that have developed media literacy initiatives, from public entities, universities, research centers, training centers, media organizations, among others. These actors are adopting different approaches and media literacy is being promoted through training, academic publications, social projects, and learning platforms. These actions, carried out in more or less formal environments, are aimed at different target audiences, from pre-school children to the elderly.

Based on the multiplicity of theoretical approaches to the concept of media literacy, this study seeks to understand the extent to which this diversity is reflected in the multiplicity of actors, approaches and target audiences involved in promoting media literacy in Portugal.

To achieve this goal, using two analysis grids, one dedicated to the actors and the other to their interventions, a mapping of Portuguese entities dedicated to media literacy was carried out, seeking to identify the types of organizations and the professional areas to which they belong, their target audiences, the incidence of literacy promoted, and the pedagogical tools used. The results are presented in the form of a taxonomy of the actors involved in the operationalization of media literacy initiatives in Portugal, making it possible to characterize the landscape of this literacy promotion and its constituent networks, as well as to identify areas to be explored and the types of target audiences in need of initiatives aimed at their needs. The identification of empirical practices to promote media literacy in Portugal also makes it possible to contribute to the global theoretical-conceptual debate on the subject, particularly in terms of the volatility of the concept, its propensity for change and its readaptation according to the contexts in which it is used.

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Published

2024-02-13

How to Cite

Paisana, M., Foá, C., Vasconcelos, A., Couraceiro, P., Ferro-Santos, S., Margato, A., & Crespo, M. (2024). A taxonomy for Media Literacy in Portugal: Characterization of actors, initiatives, and intervention lines. Observatorio (OBS*), 18(5). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS18520242439

Issue

Special Issue (2024) Uses of Media Literacy to tackle disinformation: the multiple roles of different stakeholders

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Copyright (c) 2024 Miguel Paisana, António Vasconcelos, Paulo Couraceiro, Sofia Ferro-Santos, Dina Margato, Miguel Crespo, Caterina Foá Observatorio (OBS*) has an academic journal profile. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of its contents, and freely available to individuals and institutions without charge or formal permission. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes free of charge and without permission. Authors will not be charged for publication or submission to this journal. Authors who publish in Observatorio (OBS*) will release their contributions under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-2.0 generic. This licence allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given - being the author the copyright holder. This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may: • Collect and preserve currently accessible materials; • Use material consistent with original license terms; • Provide copies to other LOCKSS appliances for purposes of audit and repair. Fair use of a copyrighted work, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include: 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2. the nature of the copyrighted work; 3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; & 4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. In accord with these provisions, the OBS journal believes in the vigorous assertion and defense of Fair Use by scholars engaged in academic research, teaching and non-commercial publishing. Thus, we view the inclusion of “quotations” from existing print, visual, audio and audio-visual texts to be appropriate examples of Fair Use, as are reproductions of visual images for the purpose of scholarly analysis. We encourage authors to obtain appropriate permissions to use materials originally produced by others, but do not require such permissions as long as the usage of such materials falls within the boundaries of Fair Use.