In need of media literacy: Hogwarts
A new Baylor University study finds serious issues with journalism in Harry Potter books, with government pressure and ethical issues at work. How seriously you want to take the study is up to you. Potter fans already have some criticism. "Neither the Ministry of Magic nor The Daily Prophet were available for comment on the study," Baylor says.
Salzburg students are digging into their media literacy lesson plans again this morning, aiming to solidify their concepts by day's end. Their prospective case studies vary — from the Detroit automaker splintering to President Obama's African visit to language used in swine flu coverage. But the greater themes could seemingly benefit wizards and muggles alike: how to identify news, how to monitor and compare coverage, how to defend media from oppression, and much more.
Where exactly does Hogwarts need help in understanding good global journalism? Baylor's release dives into the issues. Emphasis is Baylor's:
In the Harry Potter books, government control of the media was seen primarily in the wizard world between the Ministry of Magic and the newspaper The Daily Prophet. The Daily Prophet appears to pressure the government and go around official sources, and several characters feel that the Ministry of Magic "leans heavily" on The Daily Prophet.
In other instances, The Daily Prophet contains misleading journalism – information that, while accurate in fact, leads readers to the wrong conclusion. In this category, the study also includes occasions when the newspaper contained inaccurate or libelous content. Attacks by the media on the character of a protagonist and speculation on the media's motivations are cited by the study.
The study's third category - unethical means of gathering information – encompasses activities that would be deemed illegal by U.S. law, as well as unethical in the profession.
For disagreement with the study, popular Harry blog TheHogsHead.org has already drawn substantial rebuttals from commenting fans. "Rowling makes the point that most major news conglomerates are essentially organs of the political system," revgeorge writes.
One commenter suggests the series actually promotes media literacy. "So, the study may be right in that HP could promote a negative view of journalism, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing," says Danae, mentioning her current work toward a master's in journalism. "The fact is, you can't believe everything you hear on the news today and the earlier you learn that the better IMO. I think JKR does a great job of showing the importance (and difficultly) of separating truth from lies, particularly in the last book."
Here in Salzburg (where the local tourism board might make a case for its magical educational environment), students are working with both positive and negative examples of journalism to help explain issues.
You can read the full Harry report, with plenty of excerpts, in American Communication Journal. Hat tip on this item to new NPR digital news chief Mark Stencel, who tweets, "OK, but is the Daily Prophet hiring?"
Crossposted with some editing from Salzburg Global E-Media blog.
