Crime news is a highly developed sub-genre that reflects organizational priorities, audience preferences and systemic biases. This is because “the news media does not cover systematically all forms and expressions of crime and victimizations. It emphasizes some crimes and ignores other crimes. It sympathizes with some victims while blaming other victims.”
The tropes and industry practices of crime news have profound societal impacts, ranging from distorting public opinion to influencing policy and causing tangible harm to individuals and communities.
The Manitoba Mathematics curriculum includes digital and media literacy expectations at several grade levels, mostly in connection with an representations of probability and statistics in the media.
In this section, we examine some concerns related to the movies kids enjoy and we offer tips for talking about problematic film content such as violence and gender and racial stereotyping.
According to the 2023 Elementary English Language Arts and Literature curriculum, “Language is a uniquely structured system that forms the basis for thinking, communicating, and learning.” The curriculum is built around the six strands of language learning: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and representing, with each strand touching on aspects of digital media literacy. The K-6 curriculum notes that English Language Arts and Literature “[helps] students develop deep understandings of others and themselves, build and strengthen interpersonal relationships, and engage in responsible citizenship,” integrating digital citizenship within citizenship education. To that end, digital media literacy education is integrated into elements of ethical citizenship, critical analysis of literature, differentiation of fact from opinion, access of information, and citation of sources.
The Nova Scotia social studies curriculum includes expectations that incorporate media education themes. The curriculum document Foundation for the Atlantic Canada English Language Arts Curriculum: Social Studies (1999) includes a section that demonstrates the complementary relationship between media literacy and arts education:
In 2017, a research group discovered that what boys are seeing in the media and what they actually believe are vastly different.
In the Saskatchewan elementary English Language Arts curriculum, media-related objectives are provided under foundational outcomes of Comprehend and Respond, Compose and Create, and Assess and Reflect.
Many curricular expectations in B.C. English Language Arts courses relate to media and digital literacy. Media and digital literacy skills and concepts can be found in the Core Competencies of Communication, Thinking and Personal & Social, as well as many of the Big Ideas, Curricular Competencies and specific course content.