james brooks's List: RESEARCHING CREDIBLE CONNECTIONS

• Media literacy is the ability to understand how mass media work, how they produce meanings, how they are organized, and how to use them wisely. The media literate person can describe the role media play in his or her life. The media literate person understands the basic conventions of various media, and enjoys their use in a deliberately conscious way. The media literate person understands the impact of music and special effects in heightening the drama of a television program or film...this recognition does not lessen the enjoyment of the action, but prevents the viewer from being unduly credulous or becoming unnecessarily frightened. The media literate person is in control of his or her media experiences.  

  • meaning of media literacy

• Changes in technology have opened up a new kind of participatory citizenry; one in which engaged citizens' blog, post, tweet, upload, create, and otherwise interact with others online. This paper explores the intersection of media and information literacy with civic participation by examining three specific programs operating in the United States. These projects include «Powerful Voices for Kids», «The Salzburg Academy on Media and Social Change»; and «Cultivating the NetGeneration of Youth as Global Citizens and Media Literate Leaders in a Digital Age», in which educators and students at schools in the USA and Africa meet virtually and physically to explore collaborative methods that use media to build bridges of understanding. Through analysis of each program's practices and personal interviews with the program director, consistent methods for developing a strong media and information literacy program with a focus on democratic participation are revealed. These include a need for programs to reflect a respect for student interest in popular culture, willingness for program educators to put aside assumptions that students lack an interest in current events, recognition that technology use is a means to an end, not the ultimate goal, and the utilization of a support team for the instructors or educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

  • There are programs that are helping kids and students across the world communicate, teaching them to understand the importance of 'media literacy' and how to use it to work together productively.

• The article reports on the Kids Communicating program created by Chad Edwards and Autumn Edwards in the U.S. It mentions that this program assists K-3 teachers in implementing the integration of basic communication curriculum into their standard grade-level based on competencies of speaking, listening and media literacy. It has a website that provides K-3 teachers instructional resources related to communication skills training.

  • this article talks about a kids communicating program, stating that kids understanding media literacy is just as important as the standard curriculum of speaking and listening. 

• During the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Health and Human Services' two-day workshop last week on marketing, self-regulation and childhood obesity, new FTC research found food ads directed to kids on TV have actually decreased 34% in the three decades during which childhood obesity more than doubled. That fact seemed to offer maligned food companies a ray of hope-until critics turned their attention to the growing field of marketing to kids beyond TV, including Internet efforts, licensing tie-ins, adver-games, product placement and viral-marketing tactics.
• critics
• CONCERN OVER DIGITAL MEDIA  

  Citing "great concern" with the shift toward digital media, Patti Miller, VP-director of Children Now, pointed out that kids spend an average of 26 minutes with adver-games, such as those provided by General Mills and McDonald's on popular kids' Web site NeoPets and Kraft's Posttopia.com. Self-regulation, she said "is not going to be efficient."

  • There is a concern over digital media that kids are being overly exposed to enticing kid directed ads not just on TV anymore but on many other sources of media technology (video games, smartphones, social sites,etc..)

• During the conference, corporations such as Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Kellogg Co. and General Mills outlined their obesity-combating product reformulations, marketing changes and fitness programs.

    

  However, that didn't quell concerns of Kathryn Montgomery, professor in the public-communications division at American University, who cited efforts such as e-mails from MyCoke.com and Nickelodeon's ad-filled Turbo Nick Web site as "things happening under the radar of parents and policymakers, some of which may well violate existing rules."

    

  Both executives from the Association of National Advertisers and the American Advertising Federation spoke of evolving efforts surrounding new media, including the development by the ANA of a media-literacy program intended to help kids navigate the increasingly complex media and advertising environment more effectively. But that may not be enough to satisfy watchdogs.

2 more annotations...

• Some Washington politicians love the prospect of a good scrap with entertainment marketers over movies, videogames and music that a lot of Moms and Dads don't like. But politicians' questions about the media being used to promote these products are not off base and should be taken seriously if, as expected, they are raised by members of a U.S. Senate committee this month.

    

  A Federal Trade Commission study is expected to show that ads for products flagged by marketers as possibly inappropriate for younger kids (due to violent or sexual content or profane language) are nevertheless reaching significant numbers of young kids. When a company officially advises a product may not be suitable for young kids, is a warning label on that package where its responsibility ends? No. Should it make an effort to shield young kids from the advertising for that product? Yes.

  • this article is stating that there is a high concern that kids are being exposed to media ads that contain sexual content, profanity, and violence thats not appropriate for kids.

• • this article states the importance of the media and why understanding it could be a vital source to help with eating disorders since media is one of the key sources that helps form our views; whether it be racial, sexual, class, etc.. in modern culture.

• • This article is talking about how the media can give the idea of being a slim woman can influence anorexia and other eating disorders; it also states how the media promotes that a thin body type is the 'ideal' body type for women and how this pressures young women.

• Digital Reading on the Rise For Children (With a Qualifier)
  
  BYLINE: By LESLIE KAUFMAN
  
  SECTION: Section B; Column 0; Business/Financial Desk; MEDIA DECODER; Pg. 4
  
  LENGTH: 378 words
  
  

  Digital reading is rising fast among children ages 6 to 17, but this is not necessarily translating into a greater desire to read, according to a report released on Monday by Scholastic Inc.Enhanced Coverage LinkingScholastic Inc. -Search using:Company ProfileNews, Most Recent 60 Days

  Every other year since 2006, Scholastic, a publisher and distributor of children's books, has surveyed American families about their attitudes toward reading and literacy.

  The latest study, the Kids and Family Reading Report, conducted with Harrison Group, showed both the advantages and the drawbacks of the digital age when it comes to encouraging reading among young people.

  For example, the percentage of children who have read an e-book has almost doubled since 2010, to 46 percent. Yet, during the same period, the number of girls who reported being frequent readers declined to 36 percent from 42 percent.

  The survey, conducted from Aug. 29 to Sept. 10, 2012, was based on a sample of 1,074 children and their parents: 2,148 respondents in total.

  The change seems to have been brought on by a shift in the kind of digital devices that children, like adults, are using to read, said Francine Alexander, Scholastic's chief academic officer. They are increasingly using tablets, like iPads, which allow for more activities than just reading. In fact, slightly more children reported having read a book on a tablet than on a plain e-reader device.

  "When kids are using the digital devices, the girls were social networking more," Ms. Alexander said. Many parents, she added, complained that their children spent too much time playing video games.

  "Managing screen time is the challenge of parenting today," she said.

  Still, the technology is here to stay, and the study revealed ways in which it could increase reading among children. For example, about one-fourth of the boys who had read an e-book said they were reading more books for fun. Boys have traditionally lagged behind girls in reading.

  Also, half of those in an older age range, from 9 to 17, said they would read more books for fun if they had greater access to e-books.

  Children said e-books were particularly good when they wanted to be secretive about reading. But at night in bed, most children said they still liked to read books in print.

  This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

  • This article is going more in detail about why children reading digitally is on the rise, and also stating why even though digital reading is on the rise the desire to read is still lacking.

• This article reports on a pilot study which aimed to consider the e-book reading experiences of young children and their families, with currently available portable e-reader devices: Amazon Kindle, Nintendo DS-lite and Apple iPod Touch. Three families, each with two children in the 7-12 year age range, experienced an e-reader for a two-week period. They recorded their experiences in a diary and were interviewed at the beginning and end of the study. Key findings include the fact that, of the six children involved, four rate themselves as 'enthusiastic' readers, one 'average' and one 'reluctant'; whilst all six of the parents enjoy reading. At the end of the study, all of the participants chose the Kindle as their preferred device and found it the easiest to use. In addition, there were indications that the one reluctant young reader (a boy aged eight years) was inspired to read by the Kindle. His parents were pleased with this enthusiasm, noting that he was reading rather than watching television, excited by downloading and choosing books and it was the only time they had known him to ask to read voluntarily. When asked whether they prefer printed or electronic books, all of the adults chose printed books, whilst the children were more ambivalent, with half preferring electronic books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

  • nullthis article talks about an experiment with 6 kids all were given an 3 reader for a two week period, at the end of the study all participants chose to use the e reader over all rather than reading a book. -- 2013-02-17
    this article talks about an experiment with 6 kids all were given an e-reader for a two week period, at the end of the study all participants chose that they would rather use the e reader over all than reading a book. -- 2013-02-17
    

• • this article states that basically since the media is a huge factor in why racism is so strong because of the stereotypical portrayals of different races and cultures, a lot of people are influenced by this causing them to think negatively about other races and cultures. So to use media to see the truth about people and culture not just stereotypes can greatly help change the stereotypical racial views of some people.

• • This article talks about ways to use media to change people views on racism by combating false stereotypes, and challenging people to understand the importance of media literacy, and to be able to determine what is true and what is not true that is published by the media