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The Media Education Manifesto
In the age of social media, fake news and data-driven capitalism, the need for critical understanding is more urgent than ever. Half-baked ideas about 'media literacy' will lead us nowhere: we need a comprehensive and coherent educational approach. We all need to think critically about how media work, how they represent the world, and how they are produced and used.
In this manifesto, leading scholar David Buckingham makes a passionate case for media education. He outlines its key aims and principles, and explores how it can and should be updated to take account of the changing media environment.
Concise, authoritative and forcefully argued, The Media Education Manifesto is essential reading for anyone involved in media and education, from scholars and practitioners to students and their parents.
In this manifesto, leading scholar David Buckingham makes a passionate case for media education. He outlines its key aims and principles, and explores how it can and should be updated to take account of the changing media environment.
Concise, authoritative and forcefully argued, The Media Education Manifesto is essential reading for anyone involved in media and education, from scholars and practitioners to students and their parents.
- GenresNonfiction
140 pages, Paperback
Published August 12, 2019
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12 people want to read
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February 15, 2021The Media Education Manifesto – The book you wished your teacher had
The MEM is a relatively short and easy read. In 128 pages, Buckingham touches briefly upon various topics like a student’s media consumption, Media Literacy as a life skill, and different approaches to media education from the 1970’s until now.
The reality of the student’s (and everyone’s) lives is that they are constantly connected through various devices. They consume social (and other forms of) media on an everyday basis. So, what I appreciated about his book is that he doesn’t demonize the fact that students are consuming media, like most of our teachers might have done. Many teachers still keep a cynical and distrustful attitude towards social media, for example. However, he sees the mediatization as a great opportunity for the teachers to engage their students and to teach them how to reflect on their personal media usage.
Something you wished your teacher knew: Teaching Media Literacy is not just about teaching your subject through media like a teaching tool, but more about teaching *about* media. Teaching about media means teaching critical thinking. A critical media analysis – and I know I use the term ‘media’ in a very broad way – can be applicable to various forms of media, including social media. Critical thinking includes knowing about the platforms you’re using. Media Literacy is a life skill that enables you to know that you don’t use Google in the same way as you would ‘use’ the library. It enables you to have a certain distance and to identify hate speech, disinformation and to distinguish them from reliable sources, and this is only one small part of Media Literacy he mentions.
To sum it up in a few words: For Buckingham, media education enables us to understand how “the media” work, it teaches us to cope with a massively mediatized world, but above all, it should encourage us to be critical thinkers, to recognize ‘The Bigger Picture,’ to ‘Make It Happen’ and to demand change.
The MEM is a relatively short and easy read. In 128 pages, Buckingham touches briefly upon various topics like a student’s media consumption, Media Literacy as a life skill, and different approaches to media education from the 1970’s until now.
The reality of the student’s (and everyone’s) lives is that they are constantly connected through various devices. They consume social (and other forms of) media on an everyday basis. So, what I appreciated about his book is that he doesn’t demonize the fact that students are consuming media, like most of our teachers might have done. Many teachers still keep a cynical and distrustful attitude towards social media, for example. However, he sees the mediatization as a great opportunity for the teachers to engage their students and to teach them how to reflect on their personal media usage.
Something you wished your teacher knew: Teaching Media Literacy is not just about teaching your subject through media like a teaching tool, but more about teaching *about* media. Teaching about media means teaching critical thinking. A critical media analysis – and I know I use the term ‘media’ in a very broad way – can be applicable to various forms of media, including social media. Critical thinking includes knowing about the platforms you’re using. Media Literacy is a life skill that enables you to know that you don’t use Google in the same way as you would ‘use’ the library. It enables you to have a certain distance and to identify hate speech, disinformation and to distinguish them from reliable sources, and this is only one small part of Media Literacy he mentions.
To sum it up in a few words: For Buckingham, media education enables us to understand how “the media” work, it teaches us to cope with a massively mediatized world, but above all, it should encourage us to be critical thinkers, to recognize ‘The Bigger Picture,’ to ‘Make It Happen’ and to demand change.
May 17, 2025
A small book that packs a mighty punch. An excellent examination of what media education is and could be, with a clear argument for the importance of its place in literacy in general. While it’s clearly written with an eye to suggesting how media education could be framed, it is grounded in reality and experience, and the history of the subject and media. Some practical suggestions on how media studies could be implemented in a more holistic, conceptual way. A clear, concise definition of critical thinking, and a reminder that issues surrounding the media are far more complex than we often present.
September 7, 2020
I’ve counted the times the author uses the words ‘broader’ and ‘wider’.... Yes, we do need to look at the bigger picture. Agreed. But we do not need to read this statement over and over in the span of a few pages.
Repetitive, poor in insights and often a little trivial.
You can read only the conclusion (the most interesting part indeed) and be done with it.
Repetitive, poor in insights and often a little trivial.
You can read only the conclusion (the most interesting part indeed) and be done with it.
July 23, 2019
A timely and well written call to arms. As a media teacher it gave me lots of good ideas and also reaffirmed my current practice. I would have found it just that bit more helpful if it had more examples of teaching in practice. Media Studies can be and needs to be the fourth pillar of education.
May 18, 2025
An easy to read book I think everyone should spend some time on, in this day and age at least. Makes great points and I learned a whole lot and gained some new perspectives.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews