CML C*O*N*N*E*C*T #3: July 2000

Center for Media Literacy: Empowerment Through Education

CML C*O*N*N*E*C*T #3: July 2000
Your online connection to resources, news and ideas for media education.
A periodic e-letter published by the CENTER FOR MEDIA LITERACY.

Note: All URLS mentioned were current at the time of original publication.

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INDEX TO THIS EDITION:

CENTERpieces
Download This
Around the Media World
New in the Reading Room
Spotlight On Resources
TV to Tape
Calendar
Talkback
Subscribe / Unsubscribe

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CENTERpieces
A. ISSUE THEME: REPRESENTATION

Issues of Re-Presentation - race, ethnicity, gender, class - seem to be high on our radar screen this month. We have some excellent new books and best-selling video resources (#5 below), links to superb lesson plans and articles (#4) plus a series of summer workshops here in Los Angeles, sponsored by CML's Felton Media Literacy Scholars Program (#7).

B. LEADING CHANGE IN THE NEWS MEDIA

CML President Elizabeth Thoman has been selected to participate in a prestigious Aspen Institute Conference on "Leading Change in the News Media: Closing the Press-Public Disconnect" this month in Aspen, Colorado. With funding from the Ford Foundation, the conference of 25 select representatives of US media organizations will explore ways to improve the standards and practices of journalism and the public's knowledge of and support for quality journalism. Couldn't be more timely!
Download This!
A. WHO GETS TO TELL A BLACK STORY?

This provocative question is the theme of a superb lesson plan from The New York Times Learning Network that goes behind the scenes of the production of "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood," which is airing this summer on HBO. Even non-teachers will find the Times article a fascinating look at how media gets made. For teachers, the Learning Guide is a goldmine. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/000612monday.html

B. HURT BEWEEN THE LINES: Exploring News Coverage of Race in the US

Another thoughtful lesson probe looks at newspaper coverage of race through the story of two reporters -- one white, the other black - at the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal. After winning a Pulitzer Prize for a series on race in their city, they found themselves on two sides of a roiling racial debate in the core of their newsroom. More fine work from the Times Learning Network. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/000629thursday.html

C. FROM THE GHETTO TO THE BARRIO. . .

Not far from CML offices is the national headquarters of the Writers Guild of America, West, an organization of "America's Storytellers" who are quick to remind us that for every memorable media experience we have, "Somebody Wrote That." Their monthly magazine, Written By, always contains interesting interviews with writers, tips on screenwriting and provocative columns from the best writers in the business. Much of it is also on-line. Start this month with comic Paul Rodriguez's rant on the scarcity of Hispanics and Latinos on prime time and what the WGA ought to do about it. http://www.wga.org/aboutwriters_index.html
Around the Media World
A. WANT TO BUY A SUPER BOWL AD?

Better have some big bucks lined up if you want a commercial spot in Super Bowl XXXV in January 2001. Prices for 30-second spots have been set at $2.4 million and may hit $3 million by January. And that doesn't include the cost of writing and producing the commercial itself!

B. MORE FAMILIES PREFERRING THE NET TO NEWSPAPERS It was bound to happen. Studies released last week from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania indicate 53% of American families with children are connected to the Internet while only 44% subscribe to a daily newspaper. That's just one of the interesting findings in a trio of studies made public at their annual conference in Washington. Another headliner is that while 85% of parents worry about what their children watch on TV, only 40% have sets equipped with V-chips or other blocking devices. And only half of them actually use them! The three studies are filled with fascinating insights about growing up in a wired America and are accessible in full or in a shortened press release version at: http://www.appcpenn.org/
New in the Reading Room
A. MEDIA WATCH: THE BEST OF BILL WALSH Our high-school-English-teacher-turned-columnist has three perceptive new articles now on-line:
- Understanding Media Literacy
- What is news with teenagers today?
- To Know the Media is to Rate the Media
http://www.medialit.org/ReadingRoom/Walsh/walsh.html

B. RISE OF THE IMAGE CULTURE: RE-IMAGINING THE AMERICAN DREAM

It is the search for "something-more-than-what-we've-got-now that is at the heart of the consumer culture we struggle with today. This classic Media&Values essay by CML president Elizabeth Thoman is now on-line along with thoughtful sidebars by Todd Gitlin, Sut Jhalley and Stuart Ewen. http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article79.html
Spotlight on Resources:
NEW RELEASES FOR JULY

A. < href="http://gpn.unl.edu/cml/cml_redirect.asp?catalog%5Fname=GPN"uct%5Fid=1271" target="_blank">GOOD GUYS DON'T WEAR HATS: Children's Talk about the Media

One of the most quoted researchers in media literacy is England's David Buckingham. Now one of his U.S. students has published HIS first book and it's a winner! Joe Tobin of the University of Hawaii has written a wonderfully accessible, funny, wise and engaging analysis of conversations with 6 to 12 year olds talking about their understandings of race, sex, violence, family and class in Disney's classic "Swiss Family Robinson." Finally, the USA has a media researcher who explodes traditional media "effects" theory and opens up a whole new perspective on how children make sense of the media in their lives.

B. < href="http://gpn.unl.edu/cml/cml_redirect.asp?catalog%5Fname=GPN"uct%5Fid=1268" target="_blank">THE CHILDREN ARE WATCHING: How the Media Teach about Diversity

Once in a great while a book comes along that establishes the frame for other works to follow. With wisdom, humor and an invaluable command of the relevant literature, acclaimed multicultural educator Carlos Cortes deftly defines the questions and establishes the categories for inquiry around the many issues of how and what media teach about diversity. This is a groundbreaking book that can help move us all to deeper inquiry beyond stereotyping.

C. < href="http://gpn.unl.edu/cml/cml_redirect.asp?catalog%5Fname=GPN"uct%5Fid=1287" target="_blank">COLOR BY FOX

This small but mighty book provides a fascinating look at the explosion of black television programming by the Fox Network in recent years: Living Single, Roc, Fresh Prince and many others. Though often criticized in their time for being "trivial" or "buffoonish," Kristal Brent Zook reveals the shows' deep-rooted ties to African-American protest literacy and how these productions reveal complex and contradictory politics of gender, sexuality and class not found in mainstream shows. "A seriously important book," says Bakari Chavanu.

D. < href="http://gpn.unl.edu/cml/cml_redirect.asp?catalog%5Fname=GPN"uct%5Fid=1269" target="_blank">GROWING UP GIRLS

Subtitled "Popular Culture and the Construction of Identity," this powerful book of interesting and thoughtful essays and case studies examines the messages mainstream media gives girls about romance, sexuality, body image and cultural identity. It will disturb, haunt and inspire hope in those ready to work with young women to become the adult women they were born to be. An excellent companion to Reviving Ophelia video (below).

E. < href="http://gpn.unl.edu/cml/cml_redirect.asp?catalog%5Fname=GPN"uct%5Fid=1032" target="_blank">GENDER, RACE AND CLASS IN MEDIA

This wonderful book of over 60 short classic essays edited by Gail Dines and Jean M. Humez covers every possible aspect of the broad topic of "representation." Authors represented include almost everyone who has anything to say on the subject: Sut Jhally, Gloria Steinem, Jean Kilbourne, Jackson Katz, Elayne Rapping, Herman Grey and dozens more. You'll find much food for thought as well as usable essays for high school and college classes to explore.

E. VIDEOS: < href="http://gpn.unl.edu/cml/cml_redirect.asp?catalog%5Fname=GPN"uct%5Fid=1252" target="_blank">TOUGH GUISE and < href="http://gpn.unl.edu/cml/cml_redirect.asp?catalog%5Fname=GPN"uct%5Fid=1244" target="_blank">REVIVING OPHELIA

These two videos are fast becoming best-sellers to help high school students explore gender issues in media today. Both are richly illustrated with movie and TV clips, commercials, ads and stimulating cultural analysis by Jackson Katz (Tough Guise) and Mary Pipher (Reviving Ophelia). Innovative, enlightening and dynamic discussion starters for kids -- and parents as well. Short segments make them classroom-friendly. http://www.medialit.org/Catalog/healthprevention.htm
TV to Tape:
A. AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY: A CENTURY OF IMAGES (PBS: July 13, 20,27)

This outstanding three-hour series is being repeated this month by most PBS stations on Thursdays (July 13, 20 and 27) at 10:00 ET (but check local listings). . The series traces the profound effect photographs have had on Americans -- influencing what they buy, how they dress, how they get the news -- and in matters of life and death, medicine, science and war. The images are mesmerizing but so are the stories of how they came to be taken and their significance to their time. This is a keeper! And to go with it check the following sites:
1. The PBS site that accompanies the series: http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/content.html
2. An exciting project in North Carolina called LITERACY THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY. Students photograph scenes from their lives and the images become the catalysts for writing about self, community, family, and dreams. Great ideas for kids of all ages! http://www-cds.aas.duke.edu/ltp/index.html
B. NUREMBERG (TNT: July 16-17)

This 4-hour original drama scheduled on Turner Network Television (8 p.m. ET) already has "Emmy" written all over it. Although rated TV14 V for graphic scenes of Holocaust violence, the production can challenge older students to place current events, such as the recent trials for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, in historical context. An excellent educator's guide includes media literacy focus questions -- exploring the decisions made by the producers, directors and actors in interpreting this famous historical event for today's generations. http://www.turnerlearning.com/tntlearning/nuremberg/index.html
Calendar
A. CML'S SUMMER SEMINARS:

Registrations are still available for the 2-day July conference on GENDER ISSUES IN THE MEDIA as well as the August seminar on MULTI-CULTURAL EDUCATION. Each workshop is $50. To register, call 800-226-9494 x12 or go to http://www.medialit.org/mlsemsslist.htm
B. AND NOW THE NEWS . . . . .. UNDERSTANDING A CHANGING WORLD OF INFORMATION

CML is pleased to collaborate with the Museum of Television & Radio's Education Department and the LA Times-in-Education Program to offer this two-day workshop to help K-12 students appreciate the meaning and importance of news today. Explore how to analyze the news, ethics in journalism, the art of the interview, the history of news, comparing news in different media: radio, television, print and the internet. Monday, July 31 and Tuesday, August 1, 2000. Cost: $60. Call Museum of Radio/TV in Beverly Hills at 310-786-1047
Talkback
Do you have any questions about the media literacy field or comments to share about your own experiences? Feel free to e-mail us at cml@medialit.org
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The CENTER FOR MEDIA LITERACY is a non-profit organization established to promote critical thinking about the media and to provide leadership, training and resources for media education in schools, religious and community organizations. In the global media culture of the 21st century, we believe in "empowerment through education" for children, young people and adults.

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