Equitable Media Literacies: Reflections on New Book by Dr. Srivi and Shannon Burth as part of the MIML Project Team

By Alison Lihanda, Economics Undergraduate & Sofia Gutierrez, Landscape Architecture Graduate | March 16, 2026

Dr. Srividya “Srivi” Ramasubramanian (Director of CODE^SHIFT and Newhouse Professor)  and Shannon Burth (PhD student and a member of the CODE^SHIFT team), recently collaborated on the book Equitable Media Literacies: Pedagogies and Practices for Healthy Civic Futures ( 2026; Routledge) along with Drs. Paul Mihailidis (lead author, Emerson College), Patrick R. Johnson (Marquette University), Bobbie Foster (University of Arkansas), and Melissa Tully (University of Iowa). The book introduced a new equity-centered framework for educators, scholars, and practitioners that shifts media literacy from an individual skill-building focus to community-oriented, justice-driven practice. 

Talks of creating the book began in February 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was intensifying across parts of Europe and New York City. Dr. Srivi Ramasubramanian and two other co-authors of the book, Paul Mihailidis and Melissa Tully, were part of a select group of twelve media literacy scholars invited by the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) to attend a day-long workshop on the “Future of Media Literacy.” It was through this process that they were selected to lead a funded project, which ultimately supported the research and writing of the book. “While our team in the U.S. decided to use the funding to study equitable media literacy practices, our counterpart in Australia focused more on adult media literacy, especially gaps in news literacy. These were the original conversations that inspired this collaboration and eventually this book,” Dr. Srivi explains. After the group decided to collaborate on publishing the book, it took 3-4 years to complete all data collection, analysis, and journal publications. With that foundation in place, they then began assembling the book and decided that the Routledge Media Literacy Series was the perfect match for the topic. 

Ramasubramanian explained that social justice serves as the primary lens through which she approaches all of her work, including media literacy. She connects this perspective to her positionality as anIndian  immigrant and woman of color, which has led her to question the role of culture in shaping hegemony, power, and intersectionality. “Much of mainstream media and also mainstream academic scholarship leaves out the experiences of people like me who are on the margins," she adds. Early on in her career, she was surprised by how media literacy conferences tended to emphasize individual skill attainment and gave far less attention to critical consciousness, community, and collective agency. This book, she explains, was especially meaningful because it allowed her to bridge her lived experiences with her scholarly work. 

Reflecting on the most challenging aspect of writing the book, Ramasubramanian shared that collaboration itself was not the difficulty many might expect. Although the book brought together half a dozen authors, the team worked cohesively. Each member took responsibility for specific chapters while collectively reviewing the full manuscript to ensure clarity and unity. She noted that the process fostered lasting professional relationships among the co-authors. Instead, the greatest challenge was conducting research during COVID-19, as much of the data collection had to take place virtually, which required significant adaptation and flexibility. Beyond the practical challenges of producing the book, Dr. Srivi emphasized that the project was especially valuable because it provided a timely and necessary framework for understanding how media literacy can create meaningful, equity-based change. 

It’s important to communicate the impact of media literacy practices if we’re thinking about making media literacy compulsory for K-12 education or seeking funding for community-based media literacy initiatives. However, impact is not easily defined in such a broad, layered digital landscape. Burth noted that Chapter 3, The 6 E’s of Media Literacy Impact, and another publication by the same research team, Mapping media literacy impact in the U.S.: a review of literature and call for equity, tackle this issue of measuring impact. “We argue in [Chapter 3] that media literacy initiatives and their impact needs to center equity more squarely, so that we are not thinking about media literacy only as an individual skill, but something at a community-engaged level,” Burth shares. She highlights that media literacy initiatives often use comparative pre- and post-testing, where students are taught a lesson, and subsequently, researchers hope to notice a change in relevant knowledge. This method only measures impact at the individual level, but it’s important to consider a broader scale. Other means to successfully evaluate learning can include hands-on media production, such as creating a podcast, role-playing, using photo-poetry, and more. “In these examples,” Burth says, “impact is less about quantifying the impact, and more about the final product, raising critical consciousness, and community connections made along the way.” 

In Dr. Ramasubramanian’s experience, the responsibility is more often placed on individuals to be media literate, rather than on digital ecosystems to act conscientiously. Digital learners are constantly soaking in information, shaping their formal and informal learning spaces. The responsibility is presently shared across multiple stakeholders, including learners, educators, parents, influencers, platforms, and policymakers. For her, it is important that Equitable Media Literacy “goes beyond individual agency to also include community-based, equity-minded media literacy interventions.” She emphasizes that the book also interrogates how media literacy can “move beyond individual learners to also empower communities and strengthen democratic practice.” An excess of information held by discrete individuals, as Burth points out, “is not going to lead us to be more informed citizens,” rather, “exposure to multiple viewpoints and frames” can help round out a story, especially if done with consideration for intention and context. Media literacy aids digital learners' ease of finding information, assessing sources, and questioning bias — skills which are essential to collecting reliable sources. 

Turning to the role of media literacy in today's climate, Dr. Srivi Ramasubramanian argues that “in an era defined by artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes, and the creator economy, grounding media literacy in social justice, civic engagement, and equity is more urgent than ever. She explains that the book, “intentionally situates itself within a rapidly evolving digital landscape marked by polarization, civic fragmentation, mental health crises, declining trust in media, and widespread online activity. The book raises critical questions within this context: Who has access to media, technology, and information? How should messages be evaluated and assessed? Who benefits politically or financially from the circulation of certain narratives?” Dr. Srivi maintains that equitable media literacies offer a timely and necessary lens for education, providing practical pedagogical tools for navigating today’s mediated world. “Thus, we anchor our approach in prioritizing marginalized communities, being guided by ethics of care and relationality, encouraging risk-taking and play, and being supportive, nourishing, and inclusive,” she adds. 

Another hot topic in today’s digital landscape is the rise of influencer culture and the creator economy, and how these factors shape young adults’ understanding of credibility. Ramasubramanian explains that “as AI increasingly overlaps with influencer culture, the need for equitable media literacy becomes even more critical. She explains that influencers face pressure to accumulate followers for both profit and political influence, and this makes them powerful actors in shaping public discourse. She says that “while influencers and content creators can spark meaningful conversations about media bias, misinformation, and responsible content creation, they also require support in navigating disinformation, declining trust, and the toll that digital spaces can take on mental health. “ She notes that many LGBTQIA+ content creators, for example, provide affirmation and community for queer youth, which illustrates the positive potential of online platforms. However, she warns that “marginalized young people’s vulnerabilities can also be manipulated through the gamification of their interests, anxieties, and identities.”  In her view, media education should not simply give students skills to grow audiences and increase profits, but instead center care, agency, and relationality in ways that strengthen communities and democratic engagement.

Burth similarly acknowledges the unprecedented level of access young adults now have to the media. In her teaching, she encourages students to examine both the opportunities and the risks of today's digital environment. She commemorates influencer culture in many respects, particularly for lowering barriers to entry for creators from historically marginalized communities. She gives the example of TikTok, “Now, access to TikTok, or an equivalent, and a willingness to be on camera are among the few inclusionary criteria to start sharing your story with a mass audience. We can connect with these creators, comment on them, and sometimes get a reply, and importantly, be exposed to different lived experiences without the gatekeepers of the entertainment industry.” At the same time, Burth notes that influencer culture is deeply shaped by capitalist incentives. She notes that “brand partnerships, monetized views, and algorithmic visibility encourage the curation of idealized, marketable personas.” She argues that strengthening media skills enables students to wrestle with these complexities and question transparency, credibility, and authenticity rather than accepting content at face value. 

Looking beyond the present challenges of digital culture, Burth and Dr. Srivi reflect on where we are headed next. In discussing what “Imagining Inclusive Futures” means in today’s digital world, Dr. Srivi explains that the concept is central to her work as Director of CODE^SHIFT. For her, “imagining inclusive futures requires prioritizing relationality, collaboration, and social justice, while shifting focus from individual skill acquisition to community-based intervention. This vision also includes critical AI literacies, algorithmic justice, and ethical storytelling within a digital ecosystem where even vulnerability and authenticity can be commodified.” She advocates for a “ human-first approach: one grounded in empathy, connectedness, and holistic well-being as a pathway toward a more equitable media future”. 

Reflecting on future conversations she hopes the book will inspire, Burth describes the project as a meaningful connection between her research and her teaching. As she works on her dissertation, which focuses on equitable media literacy within collegiate classrooms, she plans to interview both faculty and students  to better understand how inclusivity, accessibility, and diversity take shape in educational spaces. She intends to use information from the book, specifically its examination of the barriers and challenges educators face when implementing equitable media literacy. Her work will also incorporate DisCrit, which focuses on critical disability studies and the work of media scholar Stuart Hall on identity, reviewing how lived experiences can shape classroom motivations, teaching practices, and learning outcomes. Burth already integrates equitable media literacy into teaching her upper-level communication course on Race, Gender, and Media (COM 346), where students critically analyze media to understand its broader cultural impact. She applies equitable pedagogical practices in her teaching, which models the framework the book pushes. 

Dr. Srivi Ramasubramanian and Shannon Burth hope that the book “reaches educators who are interested in bringing media literacy and equity into the conversation in their classrooms.” The book includes resources such as a field guide, created mindfully using research, data, and field-testing with K-12 educators (see Chapter 5). Centering relation and universal humanity is important for teaching media literacy — Ramasubramanian and Burth found this to be especially true when field-testing the guide. Educators noted feelings of knowing less about the media being taught than their students do, and struggling to get their attention in the classroom while distracted by the media itself. Burth shares that “there are serious barriers to teaching media literacy from an equity perspective in [...] classrooms. At the same time, our findings show a positive disposition to media literacy practices that focus on relation, empathy, and community engagement with and through creative media practices.” Thus, for educators of all grades and skill levels, the book is a helpful starting point for integrating equitable media literacy into their curriculum.

Equitable Media Literacies: Pedagogies and Practices for Healthy Civic Futures is available through Routledge and Amazon using the following links: Equitable Media Literacies: Pedagogies and Practices for Healthy Civic Futures & Pedagogies and Practices for Healthy Civic Futures (Routledge Research in Media Literacy and Education)