Media education initiatives by media organizations: The uses of media literacy in Hong Kong media

As more media organizations have engaged in media education, this paper investigates the goals and practices of these activities. This article coins media education initiatives by media organizations with the term media-organization media literacy (MOML). Four MOML projects in Hong Kong were selected for examination. Built on critical theory of literacy, it argues that the meaning of media literacy cannot be separated from the social institution in which it is practiced or the social processes whereby practitioners acquire it. The article conceptualizes the “use” of MOML through taking account of both the structural principles of the media organizations and the agency effort of the media practitioners. Findings show that how the MOML programs are used is the result of the structuration process conducted in the media organization setting. It rejects the simple notion that MOML programs are generally dominated by media organizations’ commercial motive.