Media literacy as liberator: Black audiences’ adoption of media literacy, news media consumption, and perceptions of self and group members

ABSTRACT Robust literature identifies news media’s sordid history of presenting disparaging depictions of Black identity and its subsequent influence on non-Black audiences. However, research addressing Black viewers, their varied group identities, and protective factors that minimize this influence, has received limited attention. Accordingly, this study examines the relationship between Black individuals’ political identities, news media consumption, critical media literacy skills, and their collective influence on audiences’ self and group esteem as well as news media’s perceptions of the group. Results posit a favorable relationship between variables, specifically, consumption of news media, increased media literacy, and Black viewers’ esteem.