ABSTRACT
This research examines the media literacy practices news consumers use to inform their news consumption and creation decisions. The author used a sociocultural framework of media literacy to conduct a qualitative analysis of hundreds of discussion board posts from participants in a digital media literacy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Using a grounded theory approach, the author identified major themes and examined growth related to participants’ feelings of empowerment to make informed decisions about their media use. Findings emphasize that media literacy is personal and contextual, with users drawing from their backgrounds and lived experience to make sense of media, and that those factors must be addressed to ensure the success of an online media literacy education program.
