This chapter argues that the news media does not occupy a realm separate from the concerns of contemporary education; indeed it is important, for students and adults alike, to understand the pervasive, corporate, global and continually developing nature of our news media, and how this impacts upon education in a wide range of ways, both directly and indirectly.

Myth #1 We do not need pointless subjects like ‘media studies’ in our already-crowded curriculum

Children need to learn to read and write, and until they can do that properly, we can do without media studies; it doesn't add anything.

On the contrary, understanding the media represents a new and important form of literacy for the twenty-first century. In addition to contributing to their critical thinking skills, it contributes to the production of active, global citizens, and it helps them understand the workings of one of our most important contemporary institutions.

Myth #2 With the news media, you don't need to think, you just need to read and listen

You don't need to ‘decode’ the news media; there's nothing mysterious or ambiguous about it. It tells us what's going on, nothing more, nothing less.

The news media is not simply the objective and transparent communication of current events to a unitary audience. News gathering and selection is a subjective process, and those items selected generally have specific elements – negativity and conflict ranking high among them – and these stories can often support a given agenda, The Australian's campaign against progressive education providing a good example.