Title
Media and information literacy and the right of access to information
Speakers
Nikos Panagiotou1 and Anthi Baliou2
1Associate Professor at the Department of Journalism and Media of the Aristotle University.
2PhD Candidate at the Department of Journalism and Mass Media of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a Senior Researcher at the Peace Journalism Lab.
Abstract
Media and Information Literacy is about accessing news, analyzing information to determine if it’s true or false, reflecting on one’s own media behavior and creating media content. But it is also about acting. This is a major threat for the liberal democracies, which are based on information. Democracy is a system that is based on the information that people have, because they made their choices – their political choices – according to their own perceptions and information that they receive. If the information is toxic, democracy cannot work. If information is manipulated, people don’t have a clear idea of what is going on. So, their choices are biased, and the information is a vital component of of democracy. Media and information literacy should include the right to access to information as well as the quality of the information provided. MIL critical component is the protection of digital rights.
Short cv
Nikos Panagiotou is Associate Professor at the Department of Journalism and Media of the Aristotle University. He has been a Visiting Professor of Deutsche Welle Academy, Japan International University (APU) Scholar, Chevening Scholar of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office UK, fellow of Google, DAAD at Deutsche Welle, APU Universities RCAP Scholar University (Japan), Beijing Foreign Studies University, Sabanci University as well as international scholarships at the University of Luxembourg. He has important research project, with the most special one funded by Google (Digital News Initiatives). . He is in charge of Thessaloniki International Media Summer
Academy, member of Task Force General Secretariat of Information and Communication for Security Journalist and Scientific Advisor of the Center for Foreign Design Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His research interests focus on International Journalism, Media Literacy, Security Journalists, Crisis Management.
Anthi Baliou is a PhD Candidate in the field of “Literacy in Digital Mobile Media” at the Department of Journalism and Mass Media of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a Senior Researcher at the Peace Journalism Lab. At the same time, she works as a Librarian at the Library of the University of Macedonia. She holds a Master’s Degree in “Management of Cultural Units” (Hellenic Open University). She has participated in various research projects as a Research Assistant and as Project Manager (EUFactCheck, JRP, Refugees Fact-checking, DCN Global) on the field of news cross-referencing, disinformation and media literacy. Also, she teaches as an Academic Scholar at the School of Library and Information Systems, International Hellenic University. Her research interests include: Information, News and Media Literacy, Misinformation, Propaganda and Fake News, Social Influence of the Media and Social Media, Community Engagement.
