INDEX TO THIS EDITION:

• CENTERpieces: news from & about the CML
• DOWNLOAD THIS!: new internet study, report on Diversity, the first amendment and media literacy, anti-smoking ads
• RESOURCES: resources for teacher in-service, book gets award
• CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS: PBS media literacy website, news media lesson plan
• AROUND THE MEDIA WORLD: new video game network
• CALENDAR: media literacy summer institutes
• SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

1. PROJECT ARTSMART FUNDED FOR SECOND YEAR BY U.S. DEPT. OF EDUCATION
CML is pleased to announce that "Project SmartArt," our collaboration with Los Angeles Unified School District (Leo Politi Elementary School), the Music Center of Los Angeles County and AnimAction, Inc., has been funded for a second year by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts. The primary goal is to train inner-city teachers and students in media literacy through the arts. First year successes include classroom instruction linking media literacy to the performing arts ending with a project to create :30 animation spots on violence prevention. Even kindergarteners got involved as well as special ed students! A recent celebration showcased students' work to parents, teachers and local district representatives.

2. NEW CML "RECOMMENDED RESOURCE" LOGO
Continuing our marketing and sales collaboration with educational distributor, GPN Educational Media, the Center now has a "recommended resource" logo associated with all CML-endorsed books, videos and curriculum available for purchase through the GPN website. This is just one more step in getting e-commerce up and running with an even greater depth of resource selections! Take a look at: http://gpn.unl.edu

3. FELTON SCHOLAR GIVES C.A.I.S. MEDIA LITERACY PRESENTATION
Felton scholar and high school video instructor, Kevin O'Malley, delivered a dynamic presentation on media literacy at the California Association of Independent Schools (C.A.I.S.)conference last month. Using student-produced works from his own classes to illustrate key points, the workshop ranged from basic media literacy tenets to product placement, news bias, and key questions for developing media awareness. The Center looks forward to extending Kevin's work in media education through a case study involving the progressive multimedia arts program at his North Hollywood-based school, Harvard-Westlake.

1. NEW STUDY SHOWS KIDS' PREFERENCE FOR THE INTERNET
Surprising new research reveals that our technology culture has advanced so rapidly in such a short period of time that given the choice, more children aged 8-17 now choose the internet over other media -- including television or radio. How children Use Media Technology is the title of this eye-opening study by Knowledge Networks/Statistical Research. We've obtained permission from them to post key findings on our website (for you to download freely and use in the classroom). Check it out at: http://www.medialit.org/keyarticles/kidspref.pdf

2. CHILDREN NOW TO RELEASE NEW PRIME TIME DIVERSITY REPORT
Children Now's third annual assessment of prime time diversity, "Fall Colors 2001-2002" will be released this month on their website. Offering a thorough assessment of network depictions of women, people with disabilities and persons of color, this report provides key information for anyone monitoring (or simply interested in)network progress in diverse portrayals. Great for use in media studies programs. Look for it at: http://www.childrennow.org

3. REPORT SURVEYS FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES IN MEDIA LITERACY
One of the thorniest issues in media literacy is the periodic dilemma between support for the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech -- while maintaining concern over media expressions involving violence, sex, language, etc. Media Literacy: An Alternative to Censorship, a new 56-page report from the Free Expression Policy Project, provides a detailed survey of the history and current state of media literacy education and illustrates why it is far preferable to censoring information available to the young. The Center collaborated with researchers in preparing the report and CML's Beyond Blame: Challenging Violence in the Media is cited as a model curriculum to help both adults and young people explore the many sides of the violence issue. The FEPP is a project of the National Coalition Against Censorship which is supported and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the Warhol Foundation and the Open Society Institute among others. For a free printed copy, send an e-mail to mailto:sgriest@ncac.org, or see excerpts from the report at: http://www.fepproject.org/policyreports/medialiteracy.html

4. ANTI-SMOKING ADS FROM THETRUTH.COM
If you happened to watch January's Super Bowl game, you might have caught one of the provocative anti-smoking ads from thetruth.com. Hip and thought-provoking, they thematically "connect" with teen sensibility and serve as great models for health-related PSA's. Check them out in the "galleries" section of the website below. (They're edgy so before sharing them with students, be sure to prescreen for appropriateness with your particular age group.) http://www.thetruth.com/html/index.cfm?id=1

LOOK NO FURTHER FOR SUMMER OR FALL TEACHER INSERVICE RESOURCES

If you're looking for the best resources to prepare teachers for media literacy instruction - we've got it covered! CML's Sneak Peek for May categorizes resource materials for staff development and inservice workshops into two key areas: 1) Foundational resources like "Mind Over Media" and "What is Visual Literacy?" which help define media literacy and explain "how-to" do it across the curriculum. 2) Topic-specific resources covering such "hot issues" as advertising, violence, kids-making media, video games, the news media - and more. For full descriptions of over a dozen resources as well as ordering information, log onto: http://www.medialit.org/

Don't forget, all CML-endorsed books, videos or software should be ordered through our product marketing partner, GPN Educational Media at 800-228-4630. They have operators standing by who can help you find the right resources for your need and budget. Or visit GPN online at: http://gpn.unl.edu

"LIGHTS, CAMERA, FAITH!" RECEIVES INTERFAITH AWARD
Congratulations to our friends and colleagues Sr. Rose Pacatte,FSP and Fr. Peter Malone, MSC, co-authors of "Lights, Camera, Faith! A Movie Lover's Guide to Scripture", for receiving a DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial "Award of Excellence" from the Religion Communicators Council recently in New York City. The book uses an original and thought provoking approach of connecting stories from the Old and New Testaments (Lectionary Cycle A) to 72 well-known movies and films including The Lion King, E.T., Erin Brokovitch, Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump, and more. Useful for youth ministry, religious ed and personal prayer as well as the preparation of Sunday sermons. Christians of all denominations will find it both practical and inspiring. Two more volumes (Cycles B and C) are currently in development. Check it out along other CML-recommended books and resources linking Media & Spirituality at: http://www.medialit.org/Catalog/faithcomms.htm#litesfaith

Looking to connect with other people who believe in and support the teaching of media literacy? Want to help promote and expand media literacy in the USA? If your answer is "yes," then you - yes, YOU! - should join the new membership organization, the Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA). CML founder Elizabeth Thoman also helped found AMLA and personally invites all who support CML to join her in building this official media literacy membership association. Goals: form regional and special interest caucuses, call the National Media Education Conference every two years, (next one is June, 2003 / Baltimore, MD), build networking and communications channels to school districts and other organizations - and provide all those national connections and professional benefits which none of our small organizations can do alone. But strength comes in numbers! If you look forward to reading CML's e-letter each month - then YOU belong in AMLA! Membership begins at only $35. Contributions above that are tax-deductible. Schools, community and religious organizations can also join on a sliding scale. Join by MAY 31 and receive a FREE year in one or several caucus(es) of your choice. Do it TODAY! On-line membership is quick and easy at: http://www.AMLAinfo.org

1. PBS MEDIA LITERACY WEBSITE FOR KIDS
New to public television's national website is a fun, media literacy-based section for kids offering interactive games and exercises along with facts and figures on advertising/consumerism, television, and media production. Young people can learn about media activism, take fun quizzes, participate in polls and even create their own advertisements and cereal boxes! Find all this and more at: http://www.pbskids.org/dontbuyit/

2. LESSON PLAN DEVELOPS STUDENTS' UNDERSTANDING OF NEWS
The New York Times Learning Network, Bank Street College of Education and authors Michelle Sale and Javaid Khan have collaboratively produced a wonderful lesson plan for grades 6-12 on exploring and creating news broadcasts titled, "Nothing but the News: Exploring and Creating 'Important' News Stories." Encompassing elements of journalism, language arts and media studies, the project provides step-by-step procedures, discussion questions, evaluation and assessment, vocabulary words, extension ideas and interdisciplinary connections to global history, math and technology. Download this well crafted, cross-curricular lesson at: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20020405friday.html

NEW CABLE NETWORK DEBUTS WITH VIDEO GAMES 24/7!
It's one of the fastest growing sectors of entertainment and now it's got its own 24-hour cable venue. Just what we need -- a round-the-clock video game channel! Marketed as "the only television network dedicated to the world of interactive entertainment," G4 will provide original entertainment, news and information about the interactive entertainment industry, including video, computer, online and wireless games. Targeted (naturally!) toward the 12-17 and 18-34 male demographic, it launched on April 24th. Find out more at: http://www.g4media.com/swf/index.asp

1. MEDIA LITERACY SUMMER INSTITUTES AT ITHACA COLLEGE
Project Look Sharp at Ithaca College is offering two 4-day media literacy immersion institutes -- July 15-18 and again August 12-15 -- on their campus in western New York State. Look Sharp staff have been working with Ithaca area K-12 teachers for many years. The Institute will give participants the knowledge, skills and training to integrate media analysis and production across the curriculum. Lots of individual attention as well as group learning. Check their website for details, deadlines and registration information: http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/events/summer.html

2. SIX SITES FOR MEDIA AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY SYMPOSIUM
What do students need to know in order to become more thoughtful "consumers" of media messages related to politics? High school teachers can explore this and other questions at the annual Media and American Democracy Symposium, a joint venture of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard's JFK School of Government. Six institutes will be held this summer around the country: Harvard University -- July 21-July 27; U. of Southern California -- June 12-14; U. of Texas at Austin -- June 12-16; U. of Miami -- June 27-30; Syracuse U. -- June 25-29 and U. of Missouri -- July 7-10. Participants will get to develop interdisciplinary curricula for their own classrooms. And if you can't get there in person, check out the archive of lesson plans submitted by previous attendees. For more details, go to: http://www.teachingdemocracy.gse.harvard.edu/front.htm

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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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