The Broadcasting Act 2009 provides a new role for the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) (
http://bai.ie/
) in promoting Media Literacy. Under the Act the BAI are given ancillary functions to encourage and foster research and to undertake measures and activities which are directed towards the promotion of media literacy.
The Act also provides that the Broadcasting Funding Scheme may support new television or radio programmes to improve media literacy.
Media Literacy is formally defined as follows;
“media literacy” means to bring about a better public understanding of:
(a) the nature and characteristics of material published by means of
broadcast and related electronic media,
(b) the processes by which such material is selected, or made available, for publication by broadcast and related electronic media,
(c) the processes by which individuals and communities can create and
publish audio or audio-visual material by means of broadcast and related
electronic media, and
(d) the available systems by which access to material published by
means of broadcast and related electronic media is or can be regulated”
Under the Audiovisual Media Services Directive the EU Commission is required to report on the levels of Media Literacy in all Member States by December 2011. Further information is available on the Audiovisual and Media website of the European Commission at (
http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/index_en.htm
)