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Displaying 226 - 250 of 607Tony Schwartz: The Man Who Invented Political Spots
An exclusive M&V interview with a Media Pioneer By Ira Rifkin
Tony Schwartz jokingly calls ABC, NBC and CBS the new political parties. Invariably, the remark draws a chuckle. But Schwartz isn't kidding. He's making a point about just how central the role of the media – particularly the electronic media– has become to the electoral process.
Shaking hands and kissing babies and getting out among the voters no longer means much to politicians. Today, says Schwartz, campaigns are won or lost in the living room, courtesy of the media. And he should know. He played a large part in shaping the current state of affairs. "Tony Schwartz, as much as any person,... Read More
Regardless of the candidate/issue covered or the medium covering it, the 1988 presidential election represents journalism at its worst. Each television news broadcast appears to be campaigning as hard as the candidates for its share of the audience. Except for independent community stations, radio concentrates "all the news" in five-second bursts and rarely deals with substantive issues. The daily newspapers are all caught up in the headline/deadline syndrome. Although some magazines have managed intelligent discussion of election issues, most concentrate on pseudo-psychoanalytical... Read More
Democracy and Dissent: Three Days to Insight
From Israel comes a creative model for a class unit or workshop to explore the challenge of airing dissent in a democratic media culture.
A major challenge in democratic education is teaching young people about the need to air opposing views and provide channels of expression for dissenting voices.
In the highly charged atmosphere of modern Israel, communications researcher Elihu Katz searched for a method to make tangible to young people the legitimacy of opposition at each level in the democratic process. A brief description of the three-day workshop he and his colleagues developed may provide tips for other teachers and educational leaders around the world.
Day One: Workshop is announced as a communications seminar (a more... Read More
Any reader who has or even glanced through the previous 39 pages of this magazine can hardly fail to be impressed with the wealth of thinking, action suggestions and reflections that represent the best of our television criticism and analysis over the past 15 years.
As activities and commentary, they stand alone. But as a means of actually dealing with the impact of TV in our lives, the articles in this issue are barely a beginning. Just thinking or reading about television is only the first step toward media literacy. True media literacy results primarily from a process in which the media... Read More
Among media insiders, the continuing debate on television and violence has focused most recently on a 1982 report from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) entitled Television and Behavior. Among its findings was the controversial conclusion that a causal relationship does exist between television violence and aggressive behavior.
In testimony before the NCCC Commission David Pearl, Ph.D., Chief of Behavioral Science, Department of Health and Human Services, NIMH, reported: "The unanimous consensus was that there is a general learning effect from television viewing which is... Read More
A funny thing happened on the way to our cable television studio. We were talking about lining up guests for our new fall programs and the main topics that kept coming up were sex and violence. Oh, we covered it over with program titles like Religion and Sexuality, Sexual Child Abuse, Dealing with Family Violence and so on. But the bottom line was that we knew, and were acting on, what everyone else acts on – that sex and violence are good television. Even good religious television. Good in the sense of good for business, good for drawing and/or holding an audience. They sell. Whether on... Read More
The perennial battle against degrading images of women in the media has recently seized upon a new weapon: the power of the state. With great fanfare, the Reagan administration has established a commission that will bold hearings to look for ways to 'control' pornography. And in several cities, anti-pornography laws have been drafted although, so far, only Indianapolis, Indiana has adopted one. It seems to me that this law and order approach is simply a sign of people's growing impatience with other responses to this increasing social issue. There are serious problems, however, with proposals... Read More
From an ethnic perspective, there is another dimension to the issue of sexual violence in the media. It is not just a question of what and how screen sexual violence occurs. It is also a question of who perpetrates that violence and against whom.
If a recent media feeding of sexual violence has affected contemporary viewers, how has a century-long diet of selected ethnic groups committing media sexual violence helped shape public beliefs and attitudes about those groups?
Black pimps beating up their prostitutes. Cartoonish super macho Hispanic men physically dominating the opposite sex.... Read More
The trend today in media is exploitation and violence. And I must warn you that this issue of Media&Values is not easy to read. Just about a year ago, I attended the first of three public hearings held by a National Council of Churches committee investigating the proliferation of violence and sexual violence in mainstream media. The experience unleashed an editorial determination to create a resource that would contribute significantly to public understanding of this serious issue. We're grateful to the N.C.C.C. not only for identifying the parameters of the problem but also for selecting... Read More
As one of the founders of the growing "Common Good" movement, philosopher, author and social activist Robert Bellah has been a prime exponent of the need to tackle personal and public problems from the context of a community based on moral and spiritual values. These connections transform the interplay between self-interest, democracy and politics. In an interview with journalist Bill Moyers, Bellah spoke of interdependence and the failure of personal freedom and technological advances to provide meaningful solutions to social ills. The following excerpts provide a timeless critique:
..."... Read More
No News Is Women's News
Women's emerging role in society is not reflected in the nation's news media. By Junior Bridge
In bold, large letters, the August 7, 1989 issue of Time magazine asked: "Is She Worth It?" The she was Diane Sawyer, prime-time newscaster, who had just landed a plum of a job with ABC. Can you remember any instance where the headlines read: "Is He Worth It?" In a field overwhelmingly dominated by men, many of whom are making enormous salaries, it took the rise of this one woman for a corporate media giant like Time magazine to question high media salaries. Why?
Consider, too, how Time described Sawyer. First, she "has it all" because of her "blond-haired good looks." Second, Time... Read More
Middle School Performance Group Challenges Media Violence
Students show media savvy in assembly program developed for younger grades. Students at the Brown School in Newburyport, MA were asked whether they have ever seen someone get hurt. All of them - nearly 300 kids in kindergarten through fourth grade - raised their hands.
Later they were asked if they have ever felt deceived by something they brought that had been advertised on television. The response was the same.
Using slides, music, dramatic skits and a cup of household glue, a group of Newburyport preteens, calling themselves "Kids Enlightening Kids," spent last Friday trying to teach younger kids about television, violence and advertising, and how it might be... Read More
"Fun is fun, but enough is enough and I've had enough!" This familiar piece of mother-wisdom was the final waning to my brothers and me that our fun, frolic and horseplay had escalated beyond the limits of parental toleration.
The growing chorus of concerned citizens – feminists, parents, churches and synagogues, congresspersons, media people– about the escalation of sexual violence in the media seems to flow from that same kind of mother-wisdom.
But does it? "Fun is fun," you know. "Boys will be boys." From locker room humor, to stag parties to sexual and verbal harassment, we have a bemused... Read More
"I'm going to show you a five-minute clip from a video called Toolbox Murders. It's very popular in our local video store so think of it in terms of being readily available to 14 or 15-year-old young males. This is at the end of the film and the lead character has already killed four women with drills and hammers. His next victim is a lovely woman who first appears in a very sensual scene in a bubble bath. Note the sound track which is a beautiful country music love song. Listen to the words of the song. It will end when the killer bursts into the bathroom, armed with a nail driver, and it... Read More
A recent gathering of communicators from over 80 countries at the first international congress of the World Association for Christian Comunication in Manila, Philippines provided an opportunity for Media&Values to learn first-hand what media issues women face in other countries and what they are doing about them.
A field trip one day to the MediaWatch Collective provided an opportunity to meet with both peasant women and city women who came together following a comprehensive 1985 project to monitor the images of Philippine women in radio and television shows and commercials, newspapers,... Read More
For decades, Aunt Jemima, the Quaker Oats' pancake syrup symbol, has been one of the most-recognized trademarks in the world. A hefty figure in her red bandanna, she has also represented a stereotypical portrayal of the black woman.
In late 1989, Aunt Jemima turned 100. In an attempt to keep pace with the '90s and beyond, Quaker Oats celebrated her birthday with a facelift. They discarded the bandanna, subtracted a few pounds, and gave her a new makeup job. Adorned with a pretty lace collar, a Betty Crocker hairdo and small, feminine pearl earrings, she now looks like the "after" photo in a... Read More
This article examines the political, economic, historic, and cultural explanations for why the United States lags behind other major English-speaking countries in the formal delivery of media education. The research relies on formal documents and newsletters, interviews with leading media education researchers and teachers from numerous nations, and site visits to five countries. Among the many factors explored are the sheer physical size of the U.S., its highly heterogeneous population, resistance to the federal government's making central educational or broadcasting policy, the fact that... Read More
Skills & Strategies for Media Education
A pioneering media literacy leader outlines the core principles and key components of this new educational agenda. By Elizabeth Thoman
Editorial Note: First published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in 1993, this article provided for many years a succinct introduction to the core concepts and basic pedagogy of media literacy education. When the CML introduced the Five Key Questions in 2001, the article became outdated and is therefore not available for reuse or duplication For a more current overview see Literacy for the 21st Century.
In the movie Avalon, Barry Levinson's film portrait of an immigrant family before and after World War II, the delivery of the family's first TV set is... Read More
Assignment: Media Literacy
Final Report By Robert Kubey, PhD and Gina Serafin, Center for Media Studies, Rutgers University
Executive Summary
Overall, we found solid and strong evidence that the Assignment: Media Literacy (AML) curriculum can help students in fulfilling the goals of media literacy instruction as well as reaching the curricular objectives of the Maryland State Content Standards. The curriculum addresses a wide range of important, fundamental media literacy goals.
The curriculum is well designed in its linkage to state curricular frameworks and it was very well designed for ease of use by teachers. Teachers who used the curriculum were very pleased with the curriculum and expect to use it in the... Read More
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the most famous speech in broadcasting, the Federal Communications Law Journal dedicated its May 2003 issue to a collection of essays revisiting former FCC Chairman Newton Minow's "vast wasteland" speech to the National Association of Broadcasters.
Called a "shot across the bow of television complacency," his speech helped to shape 40 years of thinking about the public interest, broadcast violence and the special needs of children. CML Founder Elizabeth Thoman is among the list of distinguished contributors to the special issue which also includes Zoe... Read More
Early Experiments in School Television Production
In his foreword to Kate Moody's Children of Telstar, the noted TV historian recounts overlooking a revolution in his own backyard. By Eric Barnouw
The postwar decades, when television was on the rise and bringing dislocation and mini-revolutions to many aspects of American life, were a painful time for school systems. Administrators and teachers, sensing erosion of their traditional status - and of their influence over students - groped for ways to cope with the monster. As one observer put it: "Television is like a strange animal that has come to live with us. We cannot domesticate it; it domesticates us."
Attempts to hold the creature at bay used various strategies, including indictment - which tended to follow earlier indictments... Read More
An innovative afterschool program in three Kansas City, Kansas neighborhoods is one of the early "success stories" for the CML's Beyond Blame: Challenging Violence in the Media.
Using a peer counseling model, high school seniors and college students were trained by consultants from University of Missouri/Kansas City to conduct the eight sessions of the Beyond Blame Middle School curriculum with groups of younger students. The three afterschool sites included a Boys and Girls club in central Kansas... Read More
Abstract
For three years, from 1999 to 2001, a media literacy pilot program was successfully instituted at Our Lady of Malibu School and Parish (OLM) in Malibu, CA. Components included: grade-specific lesson plans in Consumerism, Representation and Violence Prevention; a 7th grade video project, newspaper article production and an animation workshop for 5th to 8th-grade students. This case study describes how media literacy supports values-oriented education and outlines key steps toward creating a solid roster of instruction and activities. OLM is presented as a model for all schools for... Read More
When Dekalb County, Georgia's Office of Prevention and Intervention began planning a media violence training, they decided CML's Beyond Blame: Challenging Violence in the Media filled their need just perfectly. The county-wide office – funded through the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act – selected a two-person team from each of the twelve county middle schools to participate in the ten hour workshop.
The county was granted a Substance Abuse Block Grant which they used to purchase... Read More
Where Media Literacy Fits in the World of Education
CML Proposes a model for integrating media literacy across the curriculum. By Tessa Jolls
How timely that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is publishing its framework and requesting a response! We applaud your effort and hope that it will help spawn the intense national conversation and research necessary to deliver effective education for our citizens. We at the Center for Media Literacy (CML) stand ready to do our part.
A Simple and Intuitive Model: Formally Teaching Process Skills as well as Content Skills
To be embraced successfully, an education framework must be as simple and intuitive as possible, to keep the confidence of citizens and to be executed effectively... Read More