Episode 0: What do you need to know?

Ever been in a situation where you've found yourself in an argument with someone (in person or in a comments section) about a topic you're totally convinced on, except you find out that a quick Google proved you wrong? Ever had ChatGPT feed you bad information you then proceeded to hand in for an assignment? Worse - ever spent all the money you were saving for a random microtrend? (Labubus, Crumbl, pick your poison).

As any financial advisor, journalist or anyone with any media and financial know-how will tell you, the first step to making sure that you're safe with your money, conscious about the world and working to make better decisions (and avoid those sticky situations) is to stay informed. But how can you stay informed if you don't know the basics of media and financial literacy?

Media literacy is critically thinking about media. And media? It's everything:

• Every Insta, X/Twitter/Bluesky, Tiktok, WeChat, Facebook or other social media post
• Every news article, YouTube video, movie, song or cartoon you see
• Every book, poem, lyric or rap you listen to

Any form in which somebody tries to communicate information (factual or belief-based) is media. We're constantly exposed to a barrage of media through the little glowing boxes we sit in front of for hours on end (like I'm sitting now!) and are simply blasted with information from all sides.

Media literacy, according the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), is the ability to analyze, evaluate, access, create and act with all forms of communication. Let's break that down:

• Analyzing - being able to break down the messages found in media
• Evaluate - understand the effect of media messages on our beliefs and values
• Access - being able to use and manipulate
• Create - being able to form your own messages
• Act - being able to respond to media messages

Media literacy essentially allows you to be conscious about how the information around you affects your beliefs and worldview, and form critical opinions about what you perceive as true or false. This means being aware of media bias, reliability and factuality in information and knowing when you're being intentionally (or unintentionally) deceived, as well as how you can respond to potentially inaccurate content.

Financial literacy expands on the same idea of being a critical consumer - but this time, it's about making effective decisions with your money. Financial Literacy is defined by the OECD as is defined by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) as the ability to handle financial aspects of life and make meaningful and informed decisions about money. A.K.A not ending up in hundreds of dollars in debt and having the career and income you want.

Don't know where to start? We at Momentum are here to help! In the course of the episodes of the Foundational Knowledge guide, you'll be able to work through the key skills and knowledge you need to keep yourself financially afloat. Whenever you're confused about something in the newsroom, there'll be a link to a particular article we've referenced so you can find out more.

Each article can be a self-contained Wikipedia-style page which you read when you need specific, topical information. You can also work through the episodes in order to get an overall picture for media and financial literacy.