Blog Response 8

The media exploits and explores difference constantly and most of the time, it isn't intentional. The example Hobbs gave of the educator in Seattle who used Egypt Today and Newsweek to look at the two articles on the Israeli-Lebanese is a perfect illustration of the media portraying difference without meaning to. These two different news sources covered the exact same event and portrayed them very differently. The students were able to see how the media shapes public opinion by observing which information was chosen to be highlighted. 

Difference can also be seen in the quality or tone (as opposed to content) of the information that the media presents. What is the news like in France or Germany as compared to The United States? What is the difference in films? YouTube videos? Newspapers? Popular songs? Books? etc. etc. Difference is a theme that can be taught and talked about with any form of media, merely because the nature of media emphasizes difference. If you are creating media, you certainly don't want to copy exactly what someone else has done, therefore, difference is already being created from the get-go.

Our personal responsibility as teacher advocates when it comes to media and media messages is to be "a passionate teacher, armed with a good idea" because we can be "tremendously inspiring to other colleagues." , in short. I believe what Hobbs has been saying throughout the whole book, and more specifically in chapter 9, is that we need to infuse as much media literacy into our schools, units, and lessons as possible. Hobbs talks about the two ways of integrating media literacy: one, to integrate it into existing curriculum, and two, to create a separate course for media literacy.She argues the strengths and weaknesses of both, but regardless of which way it is done, it needs to be done. I've said it before in my blog posts, and I'll say it again, we truly do need to educate our students in how to interact with the media around them. The world is becoming too digitized to allow our students to leave our classrooms without these skills and this knowledge.