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• Every minute 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube.6
Of course, from other perspectives such self-disclosure is not alarming, but instead the essential content
of a new economic model. In 1999, as consumers raised concerns about their privacy in the emerging
market of online transactions, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy (who stood to gain from broad
acceptance of e-commerce) dismissed worries about Internet privacy: “You have zero privacy anyway.
Get over it.” While we consent to our self-invasion of privacy, we might also wonder what choice we
have. If we don’t agree to reveal ourselves publicly, we can’t participate in the social media and
communication culture of our times, right?
Yet we probably don’t know what exactly we did agree to when we signed up for Facebook,
Twitter, e-mail service, mobile phone service, or a Google, Amazon, Apple, or LinkedIn account. Is there
an invasion of privacy that we did not consent to (or at least did not knowingly consent to)? What
happens when corporations have our data?
A number of recent cases have called other privacy matters to the foreground. For example, the
FTC obtained court orders against Google, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to require the companies to
#
obtain their customer’s consent before changing their data privacy practices and to adopt stronger privacy
standards. Auditors will monitor compliance at each company for twenty years.9
Since that agreement with the FTC, Facebook has also agreed with the California Attorney
General’s office that all apps in the Facebook App Center would include written privacy policies. The
agreement will likely benefit Facebook app users beyond California, too. Illinois passed, and several other
states are developing, legislation to prohibit employers from demanding social media passwords of
applicants and employees so they can screen their profiles. (Amazingly, this has happened. Some colleges
and universities have also demanded the same information from NCAA athletes.) The laws also prohibit
retaliation if the applicants or employees decline to provide passwords. Employers can still look at
publicly available profiles.10
As detailed in Chapter 1, a media-literate perspective involves mastering five overlapping critical
stages that build on each other: (1) description: paying close attention, taking notes, and researching the
subject under study; (2) analysis: discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the
description stage; (3) interpretation: asking and answering the “What does that mean?” and “So what?”
questions about your findings; (4) evaluation: arriving at a judgment about whether the news coverage is
#
good, bad, poor, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal views to the critical
assessment resulting from the first three stages; and (5) engagement: taking some action that connects our
critical interpretations and evaluations with our responsibility to question the privacy practices of digital
companies.
Step 1: Description
For the description phase, you will need to research and take notes on two or three privacy statements. If
you are like us, privacy statements are probably the last thing you would want to read. But reading them
can be empowering, since it’s the only way you’ll find out how they will use your personal information
and data.
• Respect for Context: Consumers have a right to expect that companies will collect, use, and
disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the
data. (For example, do they provide greater protections for children and teenagers?)
• Security: Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data. (Does the
company make clear its policy for making your account data safe from accidental disclosure or
hacker attacks?)
#
• Access and Accuracy: Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable
formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse
consequences to consumers if the data is inaccurate. (Do customers have a right to access all of
their data and correct their records if they are wrong?)
There are a number of places you might look to find privacy statements. The easiest way is to do
a search of the company name and the word “privacy”—for example, “Google privacy,” which takes you
to http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. (Other companies you might check include Amazon, Apple,
AT&T, Facebook, Hulu, Microsoft, Netflix, Pandora, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, Verizon, Yahoo!, and
Zynga.)
Step 2: Analysis
In the second stage of the critical process—analysis—you will isolate patterns that emerged from these
statements that call for closer attention. For example:
• Which companies require that users must opt out if they don’t want to receive marketing
communications?
• Which companies explain their policy on cookies and other tracking technologies?
• Which companies share their customers’ information with other subsidiaries of their large
corporation?
#
• Which companies explicitly state that their customer information is a business asset, so if they
are part of a business merger or acquisition, customers’ personal information may be sold to the
new company? Which companies don’t address this scenario?
• Which companies state they may collect users’ geolocation by tracking their mobile device?
Step 3: Interpretation
In the interpretation stage, you will determine the larger meanings of the patterns you have analyzed. The
most difficult stage in criticism, interpretation demands an answer to the questions “So what?” and “What
does this all mean?” For example, after analyzing the privacy statements, what might the similarities and
differences say about these companies’ fundamental dilemma in treating customer information as both a
business asset to be monetized and as the private information of real people to be carefully protected?
Does the privacy statement read like a dry legal document for the company to ward off potential
lawsuits? Or does the policy appear to be a genuine attempt at communicating with consumers? (Keep in
mind that nice design isn’t everything and can be deceiving. It is possible that a privacy policy could be
badly designed but offer more protections than one that has a friendly design but doesn’t provide strong
privacy protections to users.) Do you feel more concerned or less worried about the state of personal data
after reviewing the privacy statements? Ultimately, for each company’s privacy statement you analyzed,
does the company seem to be more focused on profiting from personal information (and then obscuring
what it actually does), or does the company seem to have made a legitimate effort to bring a useful service
to consumers and take responsibility for their personal information?
#
If you looked at the privacy statements of Facebook, Google, Twitter, or MySpace, did the fact
that the Federal Trade Commission is monitoring them seem to have an effect on their privacy policies
being better than others?
Step 4: Evaluation
The evaluation stage of the critical process is about making informed judgments. Building on description,
analysis, and interpretation, you can better evaluate the fair information practices of digital corporations.
Consider each privacy statement, and judge whether it offered fair information practices that
balanced the company’s need for customer information against the rights of customers. Did the statement
meet, exceed, or fall short of the general objective of the FTC for privacy to be the “default setting” and
for simplified choices and increased transparency for consumers?
Overall, to return to our initial question, is the convenience of our digital ecosystem worth the
increasing invasion of our privacy? Is it possible to truly control our privacy within Facebook, Twitter, and
other companies, even if we agree to their terms? Does privacy really matter, or should we just “get over it”?
Step 5: Engagement
The fifth stage of the critical process—engagement—encourages you to take action, adding your own
voice to the process of shaping our culture and environment.
#
At a higher level, consider corresponding with agencies like the Federal Trade Commission. The
FTC received only about 450 public comments as it worked toward its 2012 recommendations on
consumer privacy. That’s a lot for an FTC proposal but surprisingly low for how important this global
issue is. You can comment publicly through an online form for any policy the FTC develops. Be inspired
by the public comments made by others on the FTC Web site at http://ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm.
ENDNOTES
1. Marsha ll McLuhan, Counterblast (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1969), 103.
2. Somini Sengupta and Kevin J. O’Brien, “Facebook Can ID Faces, but Using Them Grows Tricky,”
New York Times, September 21, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/technology/facebook-
backs-down-on-face-recognition-in-europe.html.
3. Twitter, “Twitter Stats,” accessed September 23, 2012, https://business.twitter.com/en/basics/what-is-
twitter/.
4. Michael O’Grady, “SMS Usage Remains Strong in the US: 6 Billion SMS Messages Are Sent Each
Day,” Michael O’Grady’s Blog, June 19, 2012, http://blogs.forrester.com/michael_ogrady/12-06-19-
sms_usage_remains_strong_in_the_us_6_billion_sms_messages_are_sent_each_day.
5. Mark Hachman, “Email Will Never Die: The Man Who Invented It Reveals Why,” Huffington Post,
September 6, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/email-will-never-die_n_1860881.html.
6. YouTube, “Statistics,” accessed September 23, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/t/press_statistics.
7. Federal Trade Commission, “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change,” March 2012,
http://ftc.gov/os/2012/03/120326privacyreport.pdf, p. 7.
8. Edward Wyatt, “F.T.C. and White House Push for Online Privacy Laws,” New York Times, May 9,
2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/business/ftc-and-white-house-push-for-online-privacy-
laws.html.
9. Julia Angwin, “Google, FTC Near Settlement on Privacy,” Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2012,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303567704577517081178553046.html.
#
10. Jason Keyser, “Illinois Facebook Password Law Bars Employers from Asking for Social Media
Logins,” Huffington Post, August 1, 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/illinois-
facebook-passwor_0_n_1730396.html.
11. Sengupta and O’Brien, “Facebook Can ID Faces.”
12.The White House, “Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy
and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy,” February 2012. 15 Feb. 2017. Internet
Archive.
< https://web.archive.org/web/20170109174017/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/privacy
-final.pdf >.
#
Mass Communication Video Resources
ADVERTISING: HISTORY
Sell and Spin: A History of Advertising (2000, 100 minutes). Explores the techniques that have pushed
everything from patent medicines to Volkswagens; revisits the slogans, jingles, and catch lines that have
become part of our culture; and presents comments from some of the biggest names in the business.
Available at vimeo.com/95813029.
The Ad and the Ego (1997, 57 minutes). This video traces advertising’s development as a mass medium,
offers a comprehensive examination of ads in American consumer culture, and critically analyzes the
impact of ads and consumerism on society. Distributed by California Newsreel,
http://theadandtheego.com/AE000.01.html.
the Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org). Type in the keywords “classic television commercials,”
and choose to download or stream the identical collection.
Vintage Commercials II (1950s and 1960s, 60 minutes). Features Buster Keaton, the Three Stooges, Jack
Benny, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Louise Lasser, Steve Allen, Jay North, Anita Bryant, Lucie Arnaz,
Vivian Vance, Ernie Kovacs, John Cameron Swayze, Jack Somack, the Flintstones, Bugs Bunny, Bucky
Beaver, and a peanut butter commercial that suggests spreading it on baked ham. Also includes some
foreign commercials and a special segment from the 1960s featuring Josephine the Plumber, Mr.
Whipple, and Mrs. Olson. Distributed by Shokus Video, 800-SHOKUS-1; http://www.shokus.com.
Vintage Commercials III (1950s, 60 minutes). Features Andy Devine, Hilary Brooke, Lucille Ball and Desi
Arnaz, and Dwayne Hickman, and includes famous jingles (e.g., “You’ll wonder where the yellow went,”
“Nothin’ says lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven,” “You get a lot to like with a Marlboro”). Also
includes a 1939 newsreel depicting America’s first glimpse of television at the 1939 New York World’s
Fair. Distributed by Shokus Video, 800-SHOKUS-1; http://www.shokus.com.
Vintage Commercials IV (1950s and 1960s, 60 minutes). Features an assortment of classic commercials and
series promos from the 1950s and 1960s. Distributed by Shokus Video, 800-SHOKUS-1;
http://www.shokus.com.
Vintage Commercials V (1950s and 1960s, 60 minutes). Features advertisements for cars, cigarettes, cereal,
and toys, including the very first Certs commercial, the very first Rolaids ad, and early Brylcreem spots,
plus the famous pizza-roll commercial and a public service commercial about a “social disease.” Also
included is “Fire at the Mine,” a ten-minute promotion piece for the new 1956 Dodge. Distributed by
Shokus Video, 800-SHOKUS-1; http://www.shokus.com.
Vintage Commercials VI (1950s and 1960s, 60 minutes). Features Mystery Date, Racko, and Easy Money
games, the very first “Jolly Green Giant” spot, the famous Kodak “turn around” ad, a Swinger camera
ADVERTISING: PRODUCTION
New Suits: Profile of an Ad Campaign (1996, 14 minutes). This video follows a young, hip ad agency as it
develops a campaign for a clothier client. Distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 800-322-
8755; http://films.com.
Commercials from around the World (date not available, 60 minutes). An international collection of amusing
and creative commercials. Distributed by Facets Multimedia, 800-331-6197;
http://www.facetsmovies.com. See also Ads of the World, http://adsoftheworld.com.
ADVERTISING: CULTURE
Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood (2007/2008, 67 minutes). With virtually no
government or public outcry, the multibillion-dollar youth marketing industry has been able to use the
latest advances in psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to transform American children into one
of the most powerful and profitable consumer demographics in the world. Distributed by the Media
Education Foundation, 800-897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies, and Alcohol (2004, 45 minutes). A critique of the role that contemporary popular
culture plays in glamorizing excessive drinking and high-risk behaviors. Distributed by the Media
Education Foundation, 800-897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Captive Audience: Advertising Invades the Classroom (2003, 45 minutes). This documentary is about
marketers who wish to reach the lucrative youth market. It shows how the relatively uncluttered school
environment represents the final frontier and provides access to a captive audience of millions of students.
Distributed by the Media Education Foundation, 800-897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Deadly Persuasion: The Advertising of Alcohol and Tobacco (2003, 60 minutes). Jean Kilbourne exposes the
manipulative marketing strategies and tactics used by the tobacco and alcohol industries to keep
Americans hooked on their dangerous products. Distributed by the Media Education Foundation, 800-
897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
BOOKS: HISTORY
Library of Congress: Not an Average Library (2000, 5 minutes). An exploration of the Library of Congress
with PBS Newshour host Ray Suarez. Transcript available online at
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics-july-dec00-library_08-04/.
BOOKS: PRODUCTION
Book Industry (1997, 28 minutes). This program provides a detailed look at how trade and
educational/reference books are made, sold, and marketed (part of the Film, TV, and Media Today series).
Distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 800-322-8755; http://films.com.
THE INTERNET: HISTORY
The Internet: Behind the Web (2000, 50 minutes). This documentary from the History Channel ventures back
to 1969 when ARPAnet, the precursor to today’s World Wide Web, first went online. Includes Ray
Tomlinson, the man who wrote the software for the first e-mail program, as well as Vint Cerf and Robert
Kahn, who developed the TCP/IP protocols that make the modern Internet possible. Available on
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=SDucuVi5FrI.
THE INTERNET: TECHNOLOGY
Moyers on America: The Net @ Risk (2006, 90 minutes). In this program, Bill Moyers and journalist Rick
Karr report on the struggle for the soul of the Internet as lobbyists and legislators reshape the telecom
laws for the broadband era. Distributed by WGBH, 617-300-5400, http://www.wgbh.org; available for
streaming at http://video.pbs.org/video/1475883951/.
Hackers (2002, 55 minutes). A look into the subculture of computer hackers. Educational videotapes of
Hackers are available for purchase by schools, libraries, and other educational institutions through Shop
PBS (http://shoppbs.org). View video excerpts at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/etc/video.html.
THE INTERNET: CULTURE
Did You Know? (2007, 6:06 minutes). This quick YouTube video puts into words and music the drama and
impact of globalization, demonstrating the fast pace of technology, the awesome potential of China, and
the humbling place the United States has in our technologically rich world. Available at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHWTLA8WecI&mode=related&search=. For the narrated version,
go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q.
Web 2.0 . . . The Machine Is Us/ing Us (2007, 14:31 minutes). A YouTube video response to Web 2.0 about
digital technology, the meaning of hyperlinks and XML, the blogosphere, and humans’ relationship to
technology. Available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE&eurl.
JOURNALISM: HISTORY
The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords (1998, 86 minutes). The first film to chronicle the history of the
black press, with coverage from 1827 through the 1960s. Distributed by California Newsreel, 877-811-
7495; http://newsreel.org/video/THE-BLACK-PRESS-SOLDIERS-WITHOUT-SWORDS.
The Dawn of the Eye: The History of Film and TV News (1997, 50 minutes each). A six-part series that traces
the evolution of film and television broadcast journalism and the impact they have had on our perception
of world events. Distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 800-322-8755; http://films.com.
JOURNALISM: VALUES
Constructing Public Opinion: How Politicians and the Media Misrepresent the Public (2001, 32 minutes).
This documentary—an interview with Professor Justin Lewis—discusses how the media regularly use
public opinion polls in their reporting of important news stories and investigates the way polling data is
used by the media to not just reflect what Americans think but instead to construct public opinion itself.
Distributed by the Media Education Foundation, 800-897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Project Censored: Is the Press Really Free? (1999, 57 minutes). Five stories ignored by the mainstream news
media are reported and discussed by journalists and media scholars. For more than twenty years, Project
JOURNALISM: ETHICS
Free Speech for Sale: A Bill Moyers Special (1999, 57 minutes). An excellent Bill Moyers documentary on
how news coverage reflects well-funded corporate interests and how big media corporations failed to
cover how they themselves stood to benefit under the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Distributed by
Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 800-322-8755; http://films.com. Also available at Amazon.com.
The Date Rape Backlash: Media and the Denial of Rape (1994, 57 minutes). A cultural critique of how the
topic of date rape shifted from a shocking piece of news to a trivial aspect of violence against women.
Distributed by the Media Education Foundation, 800-897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Journalism and Justice: The Media and the O. J. Simpson Case (1994, 123 minutes). This video features a
conference panel discussion that explores the ethical issues in the media coverage of the O. J. Simpson
case. Distributed by C-SPAN, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/60906-1.
When Good Journalists Do Bad Things (1993, 107 minutes). This video takes a look at the questionable
ethics involved in NBC’s Dateline report on GM trucks and in USA Today’s front-page photo and story
about gang mood in Los Angeles. Distributed by C-SPAN, http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/39746-
1.
Reporters and Reporting (1989, 3 hours, 38 minutes). A four-part program that explores the important moral
questions that plague journalists. The video features interviews with many leading journalists across the
globe. Distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 800-322-8755; http://films.com.
JOURNALISM: DEMOCRACY
Democracy on Deadline (2006, 114 minutes). The Global Struggle for an Independent Press follows teams of
journalists into some of the most dangerous and secretive corners of the world to show how they obtain
their stories in the face of suppression, lies, imprisonment, and threat of physical harm. Distributed by
Beyond the Frame: Alternative Perspectives on the War on Terrorism (2004, 146 minutes). A series of stand-
alone interviews with some of the most prominent scholars, experts, and activists in political and social
thought that critique mainstream media’s coverage of the war on terrorism. Distributed by the Media
Education Foundation, 800-897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Veronica Guerin (2003, 98 minutes). Starring Cate Blanchett, this feature film is based on the story of a
devoted Irish journalist who wrote about organized crime and was ultimately gunned down in her car.
Directed by Joel Schumacher.
Constructing Public Opinion: How Politicians and the Media Misrepresent the Public (2001, 32 minutes).
Professor Justin Lewis demonstrates the way in which polling data are used by media to not just reflect
what Americans think but instead to construct public opinion itself. Distributed by the Media Education
Foundation, 800-897-0089; http://www.mediaed.org.
Fear and Favor in the Newsroom (1996, 57 minutes). A documentary about corporate control of the press that
asks the question, “How do journalists report on the environment, business, and issues of war and peace
when these same issues touch on the interests of the people they work for?” Distributed by California
Newsreel, 877-811-7495; http://newsreel.org.
Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press (1996, 111 minutes). This video illustrates the
career of foreign correspondent and media critic George Seldes and raises important questions about the
