NCTE - Assembly on Media Arts Blog

NCTE Fall Conference Feature: 21st Century Literacy Center

2007-09-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

Coming to NYC for NCTE? Be sure visit the 21st Century Literacy Center

Visit the 21st Century Literacy Center at the 2007 NCTE Annual Convention in New York to discover a myriad of ways to promote 21st Century Literacy in your classroom. You'll find representational models of 21st Century Literacies from teachers across the country that highlight creativity, learning, collaboration, and critical thinking. Students are at the heart of every exhibit in the room.

In this room, you will be able to:

-View Literacy maps that have been created by teachers, their colleagues, and their classes. The maps take on various forms from print to digital.
-Use the computer to learn more about NCTE's new Professional development program, Pathways to Adolescent Literacy and to ELL.
-Explore the new NCTE website.
-Find lesson plans that have been based on research by viewing the ReadWriteThink site.
-Pick up handouts that will "jump start" your creativity in lesson preparation.
Create lesson plans.
-Attend demonstrations (Daily schedule will be posted).
-Check your e-mail.

New Literacies: Theme of September's English Journal

2007-09-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

English Journal Volume 97, Number 1, September 2007 is devoted to New Literacies.
http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/ej/contents/125124.htm

Among the essays:
Literature into Film (and Back Again): Another Look at an Old Dog - John Golden
The Book Report, Version 2.0: Podcasting on Young Adult Novels - Robert Rozema
Basement New Literacies: Dialogue with a First-Year Teacher - William Kist
Scrutinizing the Cybersell: Teen-Targeted Web Sites as Texts - Darren Crovitz
Finding Space and Time for the Visual in K–12 Literacy Instruction - Dawnene D. Hassett and Melissa B. Schieble
A New Perspective on Inquiry: A Case Study of Digital Video Production - Jason Ranker
Digital Texts and the New Literacies - Allen Webb

Coming: New Media Literacy Text

2007-09-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

Be on the lookout for the new NCTE published text: "Creating Media-Rich Classrooms: New Approaches for Middle and Secondary School Teachers." The text,which is full of rich lesson plans, is expected to be hot off the presses in time for the NCTE annual meeting in New York City. Commission on Media members Mary Christel and Scott Sullivan are the co-editors. To get a sneak peak at the Table of Contents, go here:
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0720/2007024263.html

2007 Media Literacy Award Winner

2007-09-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

In Abigail Kennedy's multimedia class at Pasco High School in Dade City, Florida, podcasting has become a learning tool. For her innovative ideas in the classroom, Kennedy will receive the Media Literacy Award during the NCTE Annual Convention in November in New York City. See this news story, "Students Learn to Podcast for a Grade," produced by WTSP TV News, in the Tampa-St.Petersburg Fl market
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=63230

Facelifts for the Facebook Generation

2007-09-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

Excerpts:
"Colleges, catching on to the evolving online habits of their prospective students, are starting to wisen up — and that often means making their online presence more appealing to Facebook-surfing high schoolers."

"Web designers in higher education are starting to embrace the grab bag of technologies loosely referred to as 'Web 2.0,' a realm in which streaming media are readily available, people can share or remix content and communication is always a two-way street."

Link to article: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/09/14/websites

Call for Chapters

2007-09-10T18:57:00.001-07:00

Call for chapters / reviewers
Issues in Information and Media Literacy

Introduction

The editors of Issues in Information and Media Literacy, a volume of
case studies and academic papers to be published by the Informing
Science Institute, invite chapters on a range of issues related to
information and media literacy. We also seek colleagues from all fields
involved with this area who are willing to provide quality reviews of
submitted chapters in a timely manner (please see below).

Information and media literacy (media literacy is often subsumed into
information literacy and this volume considers both) is regarded by many
as a cornerstone for full participation in the ‘Information Society’.
Moreover it is increasingly widely recognised as an important area of
educational practice, social activism, public policy and academic
research.

Even though the terms information literacy and media literacy have a
relatively short history (media literacy has been around considerably
longer than information literacy) they have attracted considerable
attention from a wide range of academic disciplines and are considered
key topics in many areas of academic study including education,
information science, librarianship, mass communications, planning,
political science and sociology amongst many others. Moreover,
information and media literacy is a field of key interest to numerous
educationalists, civil society activists, non-governmental
organisations, international development agencies and supra-governmental
organisations.

This book will bring together accounts from practitioners,
educationalists, academics and others in an innovative, exciting and
mutually informing manner. The text will offer a fresh interdisciplinary
approach to the issues and aims to identify new areas of practice and
research. The book will be widely available in print through online book
retailers including Amazon and available free in electronic format
online.

Submission Details

The language of the book is English. All chapters must be original,
unpublished, and not currently under review by any other publication or
conference.

By submitting the manuscript for consideration, authors stipulate that
they hold the copyright to the manuscript and, upon acceptance, transfer
it to the Informing Science Institute. Authors also agree to assume all
liability in case of copyright dispute.

* Authors may submit a short proposal (1000 words max) for
clarification of whether their submission will ‘fit’ the book.
Proposals should be sent direct to the editor at
m.leaning@trinity-cm.ac.uk by 15th November 2007.
* Full chapters to be submitted by 31st December, 2007 using the
process detailed below.
* All submitted chapters will be double-blind reviewed.
* Authors will receive feedback from reviewers by 28th February
2008.
* Authors of accepted chapters will then have a further opportunity
to refine their work, based upon the comments of the reviewers and the
editor.
* Chapter revisions must be submitted by 18th April 2008.
* A final acceptance notification will be issued by 19th May 2008.
* Camera-ready submissions submitted by 30th June 2008.

The book is scheduled to be published by the Informing Science Press in
2008.

Further details as they becomSubmission protocol
Full chapters should be submitted in the following manner.

1. Strip from the submission the authors' names, affiliations, and
any other information that identify the authors. This allows your
manuscript to be blind reviewed.
2. Manuscripts submissions are accepted only in RTF or Word .doc
format via the website http://ilsubmit.ispress.org/

Summary of key dates

Proposals 15th November
2007

Full chapters 31st December
2007

Initial decisions and feedback 28th February 2008

Chapter revisions submitted 18th April 2008

Final acceptance notification 19th May 2008

Camera-ready submission 30th June 2008

Digital Pipeline

2007-09-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

Digital Pipeline: Who should pay?

By STORIES by D.R. STEWART World Staff Writer
9/9/2007
'Internet neutrality' debate grows
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=070908_5_E1_hInte20616

Our Own Publication

2007-08-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

The book edited by our own Mary T. Christel and Scott Sullivan and with chapters by many commission members is released.

Title: Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms
Projected Publication Date: 0708

Spin Thicket

2007-08-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

A New Resource Recommended by Frank Baker:

Spin Thicket
Rich content with links to lots of great material.
http://www.spinthicket.com/

Mending a Bruised Image

2007-08-30T15:13:00.001-07:00

Mending a bruised image

Concerned by growing uneasiness among fans and marketers about athletes gone wild, the National Football League is embarking on an effort to burnish its brand image by accentuating the positive aspects of the on- and off-field lives of its players.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/business/media/30adco.html?pagewanted=1&ref=sports

Monitoring kids' tech time

2007-08-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

Monitoring kids' tech-time

"You probably have to be more hands-on in the fall," says Cathy Wing, the acting executive director of the Ottawa-based Media Awareness Network, There is a huge transition as kids' social lives pick up again after summers apart from their friends. A flurry of activity is occurring this week as kids document their summers, post photos and update contact lists before school.

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/251124

Media News

2007-08-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Study: Fears over kids' online safety overblown

A new study from the National School Boards Association (US) suggests that online fears are misplaced and that the majority of kids have never had an unknown adult ask them for personal information.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070808-study-fears-over-kids-online-safety-overblown.html

Terrorism eclipses hate as Internet concern: watchdog

In its latest report, the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies says that the promotion of terrorism has eclipsed hate-mongering as a trouble area on the Internet.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070810.wdigitalterror0810/EmailBNStory/National/home

Web users reading more, saying less, study says

Internet users are spending more time looking at content and less time communicating with others, according to an index of Nielsen/Net Rating statistics released by the Online Publishers Association (OPA).

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9758946-7.html

Ex-Terminator takes on video games

Gov. Schwarzenegger -- no stranger to making money from violent media -- is appealing a court decision allowing minors to purchase graphic games.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-video13aug13,1,656765.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

(free registration required)

Webster University Survey

2007-06-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in participating, Webster University is collecting information on any university or college offering media literacy as a degree or course. Here is the link and contact information:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=797903687925.

Laura Stuhlman
Webster University
8356 Big Bend Blvd
St. Louis MO 63119
314-968-6990
stuhlman@webster.edu

Coming Soon.... National Media Education Conference

2007-06-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

There's Still Time To Register

There's still time to sign up for the 2007 National Media Education Conference in St. Louis, where the AMLA is offering more than 75 workshops, panels and screenings from June 23 -26. You can register ONLINE or in person at the conference. See the conference schedule online for onsite registration times.

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE FULL CONFERENCE?
We understand packed summer schedules. That's why we've made it possible for you to register for 1 day (Sunday) or 2 days (Monday & Tuesday) instead of the full conference. Visit the conference registration page for details.

NMEC Bookstore launches
AMLA's new online Marketplace
Pack an empty bag to take home the many terrific media literacy resources you'll find at the official NMEC conference bookstore. Like a kid in a candy store, you'll marvel at such riches in one room - books, videos, DVDs, posters, and classroom curriculum resources for teaching media literacy - plus books and DVDs by keynote speakers, presenters and media literacy leaders!

AMLA members will receive an extra 5% member's discount on all purchases at the conference. Be sure to show your conference badge with your membership star!

This year's bookstore also launches AMLA's Media Literacy Online Marketplace, a new AMLA project incorporating the Center for Media Literacy's former resource catalog. AMLA is grateful to receive the unsold inventory from the CML catalog, and many great titles and favorite videos will be available on a clearance table at drastically reduced prices.

It's a great opportunity to get the resources you've always wanted! The store will take both credit cards and purchase orders - but it's first come, first served, and when they're gone, they're gone!

Take home an autographed copy! Check the schedule outside the store each day to see when keynote speakers and new AMLA authors will be signing their books.

And best of all, your purchase of resources at the conference - and online about August 15 - helps to directly support AMLA and its mission to promote the growth of media literacy education in the USA!

Bring Your Flashdrives

Finally, a chance to carry home a wealth of information from the conference without lugging an extra bag. The AMLA's solution to conference handout overload is our MEDIA HUB, which will be available to participants at the St. Louis conference. Many conferences offer cyber-cafes where you can check your email, but the AMLA is raising the bar by offering an electronic gathering place, a communications commons, and a reference library all rolled into one.

At the MEDIA HUB, conference participants will be able to access their email and conference schedule and upcoming program events. But the service doesn't stop there. The AMLA will also offer mini-tutorials to help you learn to use new technologies such as podcasts and blogging to support learning.

And here's where the flashdrives come in - we'll also be offering for download a variety of materials to assist you in your media literacy work after the conference. Downloads will include handouts and resources uploaded by conference presenters, bookmark lists of sites related to the conference theme, and information provided by sponsors and exhibitors.

See you at the MEDiA HUB.

U.S. and International Scholars
to present at AMLA Research Summit

The AMLA is presenting, in conjunction with NMEC, the first-ever MEDIA LITERACY EDUCATION RESEARCH SUMMIT from Friday, June 22 through Sunday, June 24 in St. Louis.

The 2-day summit will feature presentations from cutting-edge American and international scholars, presenting the latest in media literacy education research.

Presenters will include scholars from the University of Hong Kong, the University of Oslo, New Zealand's University of Waikato, Israel's Oranim Academic Educational College, Simon Fraser University, and University of London. In addition, many of the finest media literacy scholars from the United States will present their research.

Visit the Research Summit home page for a schedule and list of all presenters.

NCTE Media Literacy Award

2007-04-13T20:39:00.001-07:00

MEDIA LITERACY AWARD- Call for Nominations

The NCTE Commission on Media is proud to announce that it will award the second annual Media Literacy Award at the Assembly of Media Arts Sharing Session at the upcoming NCTE Annual Convention in New York. Deadline for application is Thursday, June 15th, 2007. The award winner will be notified by the end of August.

A resolution passed by the members at the 2003 San Francisco Convention on Composing with Non-Print Media, made the creation of this award especially timely. The resolution recommended the encouragement of preservice, inservice, and staff development programs that focus on new literacies, multi-media composition and a broadened concept of literacy. The award showcases NCTE members who have developed innovative approaches for integrating media analysis and composition into their instruction.

To Apply and for more information: http://www.ncte.org/about/awards/council/ec/124424.htm

National Media Education Conference -- St.Louis, MO

2007-04-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

"iPods, Blogs and Beyond: Evolving Media Literacy for the 21st Century,"
June 2007 National Media Education Conference and Research Summit.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
Online registration is now available for the biennial National Media Education Conference & first-ever Media Literacy Education
Research Summit,hosted by the AMLA.

The Early Bird price of $295 for AMLA members and $375 for non-members is good until May 1.

Attendees include teachers, education researchers, public health professionals, youth workers, technology experts and media producers.

This year's theme is iPods, Blogs, and Beyond: Evolving Media Literacy for the 21st Century.

Workshops include:
· Using Wiki Writing to Foster Critical Analysis of the Media

· Getting 21st-Century Critical Thinking into the Curriculum

· The iPod History Challenge: Using Today's Multimedia to Make Learning Come to Life for Students

· Using Blogs, Podcasts and PDAs: The Search for Communification in the Classroom

Open a PDF file of all 75 workshops, screenings and events, or read biographies of the outstanding keynote speakers, Robin Blake, Renee Hobbs, Douglas Rushkoff and Henry Jenkins.

MEDIA LITERACY LUMINARIES SET TO SPEAK
Renee Hobbs, Douglas Rushkoff, Henry Jenkins and Robin Blake have been named keynote speakers for the 2007 National Media Education Conference in St. Louis this summer.

Renee Hobbs, Ph.D. is a highly acclaimed pioneer in the field of media literacy and a co-founder of the Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA). She has produced media literacy videos, such as "Tuning in to Media" which was awarded a Parent's Choice Award in 1995, and "Know TV," which won the 1995 Golden Cable ACE Award for public service initiatives in the cable industry. She has also authored several books, including Elements of Language, the only secondary language arts series in the United States to include a comprehensive approach to integrating media literacy, and Reading the Media in High School: Media Literacy in High School English, which will be available in March 2007. Hobbs is an Associate Professor of Communication at Temple University and the director of the university's Media Education Lab.

Douglas Rushkoff is an author, teacher, and documentarian. He wrote and hosted two award-winning Frontline documentaries, The Merchants of Cool looked at the influence of corporations on youth culture, and The Persuaders, which examine the tactics of marketers and their impact on society. He was the winner of the first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity, and he has written 10 best-selling books, including Cyber Media, Playing the Future, and Coercion, winner of the 2002 Marshall Mcluhan Award for best media book. Rushkoff founded the Narrative Lab at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, and he lectures at conferences and universities worldwide about media, art, society and change.

Robin Blake is manager of the Media Literacy Team at the Office of Communications (OfCom), the independent regulator for the United Kingdom's communications industries. Blake is an internationally known expert on media literacy research and strategies. He has spearheaded OfCom's prioritization of media literacy research, which has resulted in a massive study of uses of and attitudes toward media in the UK. Blake has served as the programs manager for Britain's Independent Television Commission, and he is coauthor of Media Literacy for Adults - Why it Matters.

Henry Jenkins is the DeFlorz Professor of Humanities and Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT. He is one of the founders and directors of The Education Arcade and the principle investigator for the MIT-Microsoft Games-to-Teach project, which is examining the educational potential of computer and video games. Jenkins writes two monthly columns, "The Digital Renaissance," for Technology Review Online and "Applied Game Theory" for Computer Games magazine. Jenkins has published six books and more than 50 essays on popular culture. His books include “Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture” (coauthor), “From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games” (coeditor) and “The Children's Cultural Reader” (editor).

Check out http://www.amlainfo.org/nmec2007 to learn more.

Film Retreat

2007-04-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

National Film Retreat
July 6-8, 2007
http://www.nationalfilmretreat.org/
Theme: "The City: A State of Mind and Sacred Space"

“Nowadays when a person lives somewhere, in a neighborhood, the place is not certified for him. More than likely he will live there sadly and the emptiness which is inside him will expand until it evacuates the entire neighborhood. But if he sees a movie which shows his very neighborhood, it becomes possible for him to live, for a time at least, as a person who is Somewhere and not Anywhere.”
--Walker Percy, The MovieGoer, 1960

Date: Friday, July 6 – Sunday, July 8, 2007
(The deadline for registration is June 25, 2007)

Location: Pauline Center for Media Studies
3908 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City , CA 90230
pcms@paulinemedia.com

www.nationalfilmretreat.org

Film Slate:

-Batman Begins
-Amelie
-City Lights
-In America
-Smoke

REMINDER: Writing Opportunity

2007-04-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Academic Exchange Quarterly (peer-reviewed print journal)
Call for Articles—Fall 2007
Feature issue: Media Literacy
http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/5media.htm

Focus:
The increasing technological and commercially-mediated environments of young people invite teachers and scholars worldwide to study what it means to be literate in a millennial age. Given the convergence of scholarship in the domains of media literacy/education, cultural studies, media studies, educational media/technology and critical pedagogy, this issue of AEQ seeks to make theoretical and practical connections among commercial media, educational technology and new forms of literacy among young people.

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, produce and communicate a variety of media texts and forms. On a global scale, there exists many different perspectives on how to media educate youth, but not all agree on what extent youth audiences are active participants in the process. This issue of AEQ seeks both theoretical and practical insight into the learning process as it shapes (and in turn is shaped by) the communication technologies that permeate the lives of young people both inside and outside the classroom. We are interested in how media literacy is enacted pedagogically as well as technologically within various educational settings. How can teachers use media literacy to empower students? How can enacting media literacy shape the future of education and schooling? How can educators and leaders prepare students to engage in more democratic and ethical uses and designs of media and their associated technologies?

Who Should Submit:
We encourage submissions from teacher-scholars at all levels and across disciplines who have enacted media literacy principles into their classrooms or have studied the media literate uses of specific educational media and/or technologies. Please identify your submission with keyword: MEDIA

Submission deadline:
any time until the end of May 2007; see details for other deadline options like early, regular, and short.

Submission Procedure:
http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/rufen1.htm or http://www.higher-ed.org/AEQ/rufen1.htm

Media News

2007-04-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Big media videos play small role on YouTube, study finds

Less than one in 10 videos on the Google Inc.-owned site were uploaded without the permission of copyright holders, according to a study by online video tracking firm Vidmeter.com. Pirated clips that were pulled off YouTube attracted only 6 percent of viewers, the study found.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070405.wgtyoutubestudy0405/BNStory/Technology/home

Violent video game effects on youths

Professor of Psychology Craig Anderson, Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile, and doctoral student Katherine Buckley share the results of three new studies in their book, "Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents" (Oxford University Press, 2007).

http://www.emaxhealth.com/22/10796.html

McDonald's Gets its Web Game On

Advertisers are trying new and original ways to connect with their consumer base. Those Geico cavemen that you've seen in various commercials might be getting their own sitcom. Burger King, along with myriad web ad campaigns like Subservient Chicken and Revenge of the Sith viral marketing tie-in Sith Sense, also made three Xbox titles that could be purchased with a Value Meal. McDonald's so far has been using the gaming medium for advertising purposes on a smaller scale but is considering the console advergames route for the future.

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=15464

Ranking Factors for Search Engines

SEOMoz just released version 2 of its Search Engine Ranking Factors article. The content in the article is based on a survey of a number of leading and well known SEOs.

http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2007/04/04/ranking-factors-for-search-engines

Viacom and YouTube

2007-03-18T12:07:00.001-07:00

Viacom suing YouTube claiming copyright infringement

Viacom has stated that nearly 160,000 unauthorized video clips of Viacom's programming had been posted on YouTube and viewed more than 1.5 billion times.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-viacom14mar14,0,3320477.story?coll=la-home-headlines

TV News

2007-03-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

"Countdown'" a leap for TV news' Susan Zirinsky: CBS' hybrid online project
blends fact with drama to engage viewers. by Matea Gold, LATimes

Popular Culture in the Classroom --Teach, Think, Play -- March 24 & 25

2007-03-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

POPULAR CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM - TEACH, THINK, PLAY!
MARCH 24-25, 2007 • Teachers College, Columbia University
www.tc.edu/ceoi/teachthinkplay

Some of the Keynote Speakers:

Jan Jagodzinski is a Professor of Education at the University of Alberta who has written extensively on cultural studies and education. His presentation will explore Borat, Michael Moore and popular resistance (an edit of the longer title).

Renee Hobbs is a Temple University professor who runs their Media Education Lab. She has written many books about Media and Education including the newly published book Reading the Media: Media Literacy in High School English. Her talk "Gender, Gaming and Media Literacy" will focus on mypopstudio.com - an online initiative that gives students a behind the scenes look at the world of media culture and creation.

Taylor Mali is a four-time National Poetry Slam champion who has been featured on DefPoetry Jam and the film Slam. As former teacher, he runs an incredible youth poetry program in NYC and performs his poems to audiences around the globe.

Art Spiegelman was cool enough to invite his wife Françoise Mouly to speak with him. Ms. Mouly has worked for thirteen years as The New Yorker's art editor. Along with Mr. Spiegelman, the couple are publishing a series of Little Lit comic books this summer designed to teach kids to read. Mr. Spiegelman created the Garbage Pail Kids, won the Pulitzer Prize for his comic Maus, and has received international acclaim for his post-September 11 work In the Shadow of No Towers.

You may know Ice-T as a rapper and actor on Law and Order SVU, but setting his impressive accomplishments in those areas aside, we decided Ice would be an ideal speaker after seeing him teach rap to jr. high school students on VH1's reality show Ice-T's Rap School.

More Film Resources

2007-03-02T19:33:00.001-08:00

The British Film Institute, which had been promoting film literacy for 60 years and more
http://www.bfi.org.uk/

The Australian Teachers of Media site (ATOM), a long standing and vibrant source of ideas and materials
http://www.atomvic.org/

The New Zealand teachers' site, National Association of Teachers of Media (NAME)
http://www.name.org.nz/

The Ontario Association for Media Literacy, in business for 30 years
http://www.aml.ca/home

Edutopia- Reading Movies

2007-03-02T19:12:00.000-08:00

Reading Movies
http://www.edutopia.org/php/article.php?id=Art_1804
Milton Chen (Edutopia) makes a convincing argument for why teachers should help students learn the language of film.

Academic Exchange Quarterly - Writing Opportunity

2007-02-20T20:53:00.000-08:00

MTV and The Media Equation

2007-02-20T20:27:00.000-08:00

From: "Brian Turnbaugh"
As Merchants of Cool is getting a bit dated, I found this on the Times today. It covers MYV's attempts to compete with the myspace exodus of viewership. It is a good companion to Merchants.

February 19, 2007
THE MEDIA EQUATION
Do They Still Want Their MTV?
By DAVID CARR

MTV prospered for decades because it looked like what a network might look like if a 16-year-old were doing the programming. But now the music channel is trying to make its way in a multidevice, multiplatform, multichannel world, most of which is being programmed by a 16-year-old.

The velocity of change has left MTV occasionally looking as if were being programmed by an 83-year-old — namely Sumner M. Redstone, the chairman of Viacom, which owns MTV. The network, itself a stately 25 years old, has suffered a decline in ratings and cultural cachet.

Last week, MTV Networks, an umbrella which includes MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, laid off 250 employees, including some executives. The idea was to trim bodies in the television ranks and ramp up hiring on the Internet side of the business, investing the savings to make sure that its various channels don’t end up like the dad in the basement at the teen party.

As a brand, MTV has been beyond durable, managing to reinvent itself continuously and in doing so presenting a fast-moving target that left many would-be rivals in its wake. Shows like MTV’s “Real World” deserve much of the credit, or blame, for demonstrating that reality can make for compelling viewing.

But finding the edge was simpler before competition for its core demographic started coming from all fronts, from video games and social-networking Web sites to amateur clips on YouTube. And consumers can use the Web to come up with their own reality narratives — the current transformation of Britney Spears from pop superstar to bald alien is pretty tough for anyone to compete with.

Being the coolest thing on television is a feat, but not one with a lot of future when most of the coolest things no longer live there.
MTV has been madly programming screens of all sizes and looking to engage consumers on whatever device they choose, but it has been slow going. Rising above the clutter was a lot easier when we were all staring into the same campfire.
“It’s true that our viewers are telling us that they want an experience beyond linear television,” said Christina Norman, MTV’s president. “MTV has a history of surrounding the consumer with both long-form and interstitial content, and I think we can deliver on a two-way relationship with our audience.”

She suggested that there were few media brands better-suited to coming up with content for cellphones and added that the virtual communities around shows like “Laguna Beach” have created opportunities for both viewers and advertisers.
The so-called music channel left music behind as a sole platform some time ago, instead relying on reality and lifestyle shows to draw in young audiences. But it nonetheless remains in the business of zeitgeist.

In a sense, the change in the musical ecosystem reflects broader challenges. Not that long ago, a band fought its way to a major label contract, benefited from commercial radio play and then, finally, a video on MTV. But this system has been disrupted by entertainment’s new iterations, and now most bands no longer ride a vertical axis to the top. There are various workarounds to the popular music monolith — online file-sharing, viral marketing, niche sites and social networks help bands market their music from one person to another.

It is all well and good that OK Go, the band-as-music-video-sensation, chose to premiere its video “Do What You Want” on “Total Request Live,” MTV’s once-dominant afternoon show, but it is worth remembering that OK Go emerged to begin with from YouTube, where its goofy treadmill video became a cult classic.

In a sense, MTV, which once decided what was worthy, is responding to a more powerful consumer algorithm. (Ms. Norman points out that OK Go did not start selling a significant amount of music until the band began appearing on MTV.)
The disintegration of mass has made for difficult times at MTV Networks, although there are bright spots. VH1 continues to hum with a heady mix of “celeb reality” like “Flavor of Love” and shows like “Best Week Ever” that annotate the present with the ease of a well-written blog. VH1 does not bear MTV’s burden of serving as a generational touchstone, so it can program whatever happens to be working.
The organizational changes at the network signal that even MTV can learn some best practices from other members of the corporate family. Marketers I spoke to said that it was the once-dowdy VH1 that seemed to have the fresher ideas. And Comedy Central, which lacks both the legacy and the baggage that MTV carries, is very much of the moment, lead by a skeptic-in-chief, Jon Stewart.

“MTV has come in and out of vogue, like most cutting-edge brands,” said Tim Spengler, chief activation officer of Initiative, a media buying firm. “But they have done a great job of being in vogue more often than not. The changes that they announced seem a lot more like the redeploying of assets to digital platforms that are growing faster.”

MTV is hardly the only media company in a wrestling match with a fast-advancing future. NBC and Disney both underwent painful changes, although it seemed like there was a bit more strategy to go along with the displacement.
MTV Networks brought in Michael J. Wolf, the former McKinsey consultant, to lead it to that happy new place, but he lasted little more than a year as president, in part because the formerly cutting-edge outfit was hidebound enough to reject the attempted transplant of outside ideas.

In general, Viacom has been attempting to dance to the fickle tune of Wall Street, first bifurcating into two businesses as a way of juicing the stock, and then, when that did not work, dumping much-beloved executive Tom Freston. This worked a little, although Viacom’s stock closed Friday at $40.53, off more than $3 from its presplit price.

Like all publicly traded media companies, Viacom faces the perplexing math of repositioning for a disrupted future while trying to meet current shareholder demands for growth.Solving the multiplatform math will take a long-term slog and will not help meet Mr. Redstone’s demand for high margins in the short run. Instead, the investment in Internet is being financed in part by the cutbacks that were announced last week.

One example of how MTV has obviously lost a step is the Video Music Awards, an alternative to the Grammys that was once a big pop culture moment and is now an artistic and a ratings flop. The show was down 30 percent in the 18-to-49 demographic last year, and the company announced last month that Mark Burnett, the creator of “Survivor,” will bring some reality magic to its movie awards show.
Mr. Burnett has had his share of successes, but the idea that MTV would have to turn to an outsider to bring some sizzle to one of its signature events suggests that its stranglehold on youth consciousness is not what it once was.
Even the most robust media brands can come and go. Dennis Publishing, which produced Maxim and Stuff, the so-called lad magazines that were once hugely popular, announced last week that it was looking for a buyer.
MTV is hardly a fad, but some cycles are more serious than others. It is a change in habits — consumers pulling in what they want as opposed to consuming what is pushed toward them — that makes the way forward more difficult to discern.
“MTV has a lot of programming development that sounds interesting,” said Chris Boothe, president of Starcom USA, an advertising agency. “They have a brand that is still very viable in the market” and have been trying to make the most of it with acquisitions like iFilm, a Web video site, and Xfire, a gaming site, Mr. Boothe said.
Of course, clanging the death knell on MTV has been a hobby for media observers as long as the music channel has existed, but when the smoke cleared, those three letters were still there.

“I think that something that has managed to win for 25 years will continue to do so, ” said Mr. Spengler. “If they just had five years behind them, that would be different, because the challenges they face are ferocious. But they have been finding a way to win for a lot longer than that.”

Media Literacy Institute- Project Look Sharp

2007-02-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Media Literacy Educators!
It is time to think about the summer, and Project Look Sharp is offering its 9th annual media literacy institute. The 5-day intensive workshop includes both the theory of media literacy and hands-on practice with digital/computer technology (Mac-based). Project Look Sharp staff coach participants in developing and implementing individual media literacy integration plans intended to be used in their academic environments. This course may be taken for 3.1 continuing education units, or 2-3 graduate credit units (in which case the course extends 2 weeks beyond the institute and includes an online component).

The institute takes place on the campus of Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, and inexpensive on-campus housing is available. Limit of 18 participants. July 9-13, 2007. If you would like to see a five-minute video from last year's institute, please visit http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/services_summer.php (thank you Audrey Gray for the footage, and Fermin Romero III for editing).

For more information regarding cost and housing, please visit our website, download the PDF flyer below, or contact Victoria Jordan, 607-274-3471, looksharp@ithaca.edu.

Media Literacy News

2007-02-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

Schools, parents divided on expelling cellphones
This could soon be the rule at all 560 public schools in Toronto, where officials are mulling a cellphone ban in classrooms and hallways that could be approved as early as April.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/177052

Fight web hate with critical thinking, panel says
Developing “critical thinking” skills in children and young people – and putting the computer where parents can see it – are probably the best ways to protect kids against “cyber-bullying,” sexual predators, and hate on the Internet, experts agreed at a recent panel discussion co-sponsored by B’nai Brith Canada.
http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=11097

Newest slang keeps teachers and parents on their toes
In fact, there is a mammoth lexicon of words and phrases, growing furiously all the time, to express all things teen. Much of it, say those in the know, comes straight from hip hop and rap music, music videos and the Internet, where places like MySpace.com serve as verbal crockpots teens spoon into, every time they open their mouths.
http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701280304

It only looks like the girls have gone wild
"We don't have good evidence that it is increasing. We think it's not getting worse," said Margaret Zahn, lead investigator for the Girls Study Group, a panel of experts assembled by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. "The media [approach] is always, 'If it bleeds, it leads.' I do wish the media would be more careful about how these things are reported."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/pp/07028/757491.stm

"Mandatory Testing and News in the Schools: Implications for Civic

2007-01-16T18:07:00.000-08:00

THE RESEARCH PROJECT: Our study of news in America's classrooms is part of
a larger research project funded by The Carnegie Corporation and the Knight
Foundation. It aims to assess and promote civic education by strengthening
news and journalism training. Subsequent reports will focus on the Internet
as a means of public affairs communication, young adults' attention to
news, and improving journalism programs at U.S. universities. The research
is centered at the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public
Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and is
being conducted in cooperation with the journalism programs at Columbia
University, Northwestern University, University of California at Berkeley,
and the University of Southern California.

THE RESEARCH REPORT'S AUTHOR. The survey and report were directed by Thomas
E. Patterson, Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at Harvard
University. His research focuses on civic participation, public opinion,
elections, and the news media. He is the author, among other books, of Out
of Order (Knopf, 1993) and The Vanishing Voter (Knopf, 2003) . He is also
the author of two introductory American government texts--The American
Democracy and We The People (McGraw Hill)--that are used widely in U.S.
colleges and also in high school AP governmentl courses.

Click on link for more information: http://www.shorensteincenter.org

A New Year

2007-01-16T18:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year AMA Members!
I hope to provide you with some useful information throughout the year.
-Belinha De Abreu

Message from Telemedium

2006-05-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

From the desk of Karen Ambrose, president of the National Telemedia Council

Dear Assembly Members,
We know you have been waiting for an issue of Telemedium , The Journal of Media Literacy, as one of the benefits of Assembly membership. The winter/spring issue is behind schedule and we are truly sorry for that. As you might know, the National Telemedia Council is a small, all-volunteer operation that takes on big ideas. Taking these big ideas to publication is always a complex process, a small miracle, and a major event. So while we do not always make our deadlines, we believe it is worth the wait. We hope you will see that also. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Assembly members who have a “basic membership” will receive the upcoming spring issue and those with “dual membership” will receive all three upcoming issues prior to their renewal of AMA memberships in November.

Here is a sneak peek at the focus for this issue, as well as the themes for the next two issues for this year:
SPRING 2006 ISSUE – Expected to be published in June
"A Significant Sampler: Perusing a Decade of Thinking in The Journal of Media Literacy "
This issue will be a conversation between the past and present, a dialogue in print, exploring how contributors to The Journal of Media Literacy have defined and shaped media literacy education through the years. Using articles published in previous issues, editors for each section will pull together significant ideas from past authors, and both update and provide new perspectives.

1. Defining the realm of media literacy – focuses on "What is Media Literacy?" and attempts to coordinate the thinking of some of the key authors at the forefront of the field of media literacy who have contributed their ideas to Telemedium in the past. Edited by Marieli Rowe and Belinha DeAbreu – key authors include David Considine, Barry Duncan, Renee Hobbs and others

2. Media Education Pedagogy - examines the basic and key educational principles developed by pioneering educators throughout the evolution of the field. Edited by Karen Ambrosh and Bill Kist. Key authors include Len Masterman, David Buckingham, Neil Andersen, and others

3. Practical Teacher Idea Exchanges - focuses on relevant applications in media literacy education -- from in-depth lessons to "teachable moments" -- that engage students in real and meaningful media literacy experiences. Edited by Barry Duncan. Key authors include Barry Duncan, Carolyn Wilson, Alan Teasley and others.

4. New and Converging Connections - showcases the expanding realm of education in the twenty-first century, through understanding the ever-growing importance of being media literate in a technological world and the information society of multi-layered instant global interconnections. Edited by Dr. Martin Rayala. Key authors include Julian Sefton-Green, Henry Jenkins and Neil Andersen and others.

THE OTHER TWO ISSUES FOR 2006:
SUMMER 2006 ISSUE: "Media Literacy in English Language Arts" --guest edited by a Committee of English Language and Media Education teachers and made available especially for the attendees at the Fall NCTE Convention

FALL 2006 ISSUE: A Fresh Look at Diversity in Media Education, guest edited by Carlos Cortes

Which media literacy resource do you recommend?

2006-03-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Please share with your fellow assembly members a resource, print or nonprint, that you feel has been an essential text in your personal exploration of media and media literacy as well as in your teaching. Provide the rudimentary bibliographic information as well as a small testimony about the book, article, video, etc.

National Telemedia Council

2006-02-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

The National Telemedia Council and the Assembly for Media Arts at NCTE have joined forces at the most recent NCTE Annual Conference in Pittsburgh to create a more powerful voice in Media Literacy for English teachers.

The National Telemedia Council, NTC, is the oldest media literacy related organization in the United States. From the NTC website:

"The National Telemedia Council is a national nonprofit organization that has been promoting the concept of media literacy for five decades. From the beginning, we have taken a positive, non-judgmental attitude and embraced a philosophy that values reflective judgment and cooperation rather than confrontation with the media industry."

Check out their website at www.nationaltelemediacouncil.org

One of the Premier Media Literacy Resource Websites: The Media Literacy Clearinghouse

2006-02-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

One of the best media literacy websites, from a guy who knows the field in the United States inside and out, is Frank Baker's Media Literacy Warehouse. http://medialit.med.sc.edu/

Why is it so excellent? Frank is ravenous collector of media related materials. He creates units and lesson plans that incorporate media literacy in a wide variety of ways. He's broken down topics, disciplines, formats, and every other media literacy related tidbits than you can count. Book reviews, teacher resources, video clips, you name it, The Media Literacy Clearinghouse has everything you need to begin your career in Media Literacy.