On Challenging Your Assumptions With the Right Principles and Integrity

Since that I have started a new semester for my Master's degree, I went back to various lessons from certifications I took up before I finally decided to get on board for (even) higher education. Quite surprisingly, I found past assignment, notes, and even exams, helpful - as it gives me more idea and insights as to make a good argument and ask the right questions.

Last year, I took up a certification on Media Literacy in believing that in this era, we all need to be media literate. Media is already acting like oxygen in our daily lives hence it is very important to put it on the priority list of something we need to understand or learn more.

I found my Media Literacy Week 6 Blog Post activity yet again and I think it is worth sharing here.

-------

www.mediactive.com
Don't Just Consume Media. Use it.

To my colleagues, friends, student assistants and to the student publication, I am very pleased to be with you all in every step of the way as we, individuals in the educational institution, stand up for our advocacy in education. To correspond, I wanted to share the principles I have learned and beliefs I am now communicating to provide information and relevance.

In this regard, I am very keen to the details of life and media and that there’s always going to be more; thus, changes are to be always expected. But in accordance of these issues and discussions, it is very much important to know our stand and our responsibilities as well as our obligations in spreading the word and in creating it.

Challenge your assumptions

In issues circulating the social media about almost everything that’s happening in our environment, it is so easy to judge and speculate.

One great example might be the viral video [1] that our students and your fellow classmates have uploaded as to submitting of a social experiment that was said to be a requirement to one of their major courses. There are so many assumptions that have been made; and indeed our responsibility in creating media with integrity and righteousness has been affected.

By challenging our assumptions to those uploaded materials on social media including other platforms, we can hone our skill set of making the right verdict on things. Thus, it can create a visible change that will make a domino effect in promoting ‘thinking’ before ‘clicking.’

One thing that I have learned in challenging my assumptions was that: we are the product of our backgrounds, world news and much more. Hence, we must apply this in our everyday lives, digitally or traditional; in or out of the media.

Principles of Creating Media with Integrity

We, at this point in time, are all media creators. The presence of our social media accounts and smartphones are the evidences why we are called media creators of today. In this light of post-modern technology era, we are capable of creating, tweaking and spreading news, current affairs or even our personal stand on things easily – in just one click, in just one touch.

My professor in Media Literacy, Dan Gillmor, was able to explain his given principles of creating media [2] that can be of use not just in journalistic point of view but in our everyday ordinary lives.

To enumerate:

1. Be Thorough

2. Be Accurate

• There's no stupid questions, including checking that you have it right.
• Mistakes happen, but you should always honourably correct them

3.  Be Fair

• Fairness is implicit
• On blogs and works: offer comments on your work and keep the conversation going
• Foster civility and be respectful
• Listen - it's the first rule of conversation

4. Be Independent

• Challenge your own assumptions

5. Be Transparent

• Tell people what you're doing and why you're doing it 

Footnotes:

[1] www.facebook.com/FEUdiliman

[2] http://www.cmsimpact.org/future-public-media/public-media-showcase/dan-gillmors-mediactive-provides-clear-overview-new-media-