MATSEC SEC Media Literacy Education case studies
MATSEC SEC Media Literacy Education · Put your knowledge to work in context.
SEC Media Literacy Education is a Maltese secondary-level certification examined by written paper, aimed at students who have studied how media texts are constructed, circulated, regulated and interpreted. It suits candidates who want formal recognition of their ability to analyse media critically rather than produce it professionally, and it often sits alongside English, Social Studies or vocational media subjects. The MATSEC SEC Media Literacy Education case studies are 5 cases and about 3,155 words.
1The 'Based on a True Story' Clip
Ms Borg's Year 11 class is analysing a 78-second TikTok clip that promotes Episode 4 of a true-crime podcast. The clip opens with a slow push-in on a blurred house at dusk, a low synthesised drone, and a whispered female voice: 'She trusted the wrong man.' On-screen text reads 'BASED ON A TRUE STORY' and 'SHE CALLED 999 - NO ONE CAME.' At 0:42 there is a three-second burst of a distorted emergency call, then a black frame with 'Listen now - not for the faint-hearted.' The class is split: one group says it is 'basically news' because it says based on a true story; another says it is 'just entertainment'.
683 words, about 3 min2The Party-Linked Phone-In
Radio Ħal-Qamar is a community station owned by a foundation whose chair is also the treasurer of a local political party. It holds a community licence and runs a daily live phone-in, 'Il-Leħen tal-Pjazza'.
659 words, about 3 min3The 'For You' Body-Image Survey
After a pastoral lesson on body image, the school council surveys 120 students aged 14-16. Results: 68% say they 'often compare their bodies' with people on TikTok; 22% say they have 'seriously considered' a cosmetic procedure; 41% say TikTok is 'just entertainment'.
599 words, about 3 min4The Dialect Drama
A Maltese-language TV drama set in a fictional fishing village casts a lead actor who speaks standard Maltese. The supporting characters - a father and son - speak a broad Gozitan dialect, and the son is the comic relief.
600 words, about 3 min5The Beach Warning Voice Note
A school news club receives a 47-second WhatsApp voice note forwarded 3,000 times. A woman says: 'They're dumping waste at Għadira tonight - it's a foreign company, the water is brown, the council is covering it up.' The club has: a photo of brown water near a drain, with no location metadata; a screenshot of a tourism ministry post saying 'no evidence of pollution'; and an anonymous source who says a friend saw a tanker.
614 words, about 3 min