Why toTeach Your Kids Media Literacy

Media literacy should be part of the curriculum in every school from kindergarten on through high school. It does not have to be a separate subject, but it needs to be part and parcel of whatever is taught. It can be included in all kinds of subjects from English to Home Economics. Of course, part of the problem is that many of our teachers have not learned to be discriminating about media either, so we have to start there for the schools. While we are waiting for this magic, parents can see that their children become informed consumers.

Media is every means of communicating a message. This includes movies, music, the Internet, television shows, newspapers, magazines and signs. Even logos communicate a message. What we must remember is that everything in the media is designed to sell the audience something. It can be a product, an attitude, a life style or a political opinion. Sadly, most of the time when the “sponsors” are selling these ideas, they neglect to say so. Even when they actually admit they are selli8ng something, there are messages which sneak by almost unnoticed which may not be even directly related to the product being advertised.

If you are not convinced that the above statement about every part of the media being designed to sell something just sit down in front of the TV a few different times each week and watch something different each time just to analyze what they are selling. Even children’s programs are selling something, life style, education and toys and food. Selling something is not necessarily bad, but we, as consumers, need to be aware. The ads on television , in newspapers, on radio and everywhere you look in public places are not all there is. The cars in chase scenes of popular movies pay to have their brand shown so that the viewer will connect it to the hero or even the actor, since many people do not separate the two.

The cars in chase scenes of popular movies pay to have their brand shown so that the viewer will connect it to the hero or even the actor, since many people do not separate the two. Pretty much any product for which there is recognizable logo or shape is a good candidate for product placement. For television shows the opportunities are even better, In fact, sponsors will actually pay for the creation of programs which perpetuate the life style which complements their products. This is especially true of products which are luxury, like restaurants, fast food, processed food, bottled water, coffee and liquor. Some products are actually created first and then the market has to be created. Some of these are germicidal cleaners and sprays, feminine hygiene products for scent, bottled water, fruit and vegetable washes and other products we do not really need. One show, friends, popularized the upscale café leisure time, and the business for these shops shot up. People who had never heard of lattes were out looking for them.

This is not recent. In the 1950s and 60s, there were numerous shows to promote suburban family life with shows like Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best and Happy Days. Most of the created shows are either sitcoms or dramas, since they require a bit less budget for special effects etc. These kinds of shows keep up with current fashion in everything and sprinkle in changes they want to promote, especially as concerns consumption and attitudes. The shows of the fifties and sixties were promoting suburban living, tract housing, family cars, sports, supermarkets and appliances. TV shows now are promoting urban and suburban living, cars processed food and restaurants, shopping malls, fancy make-up, diet foods and plans, fast food, super cleaning products, electronic gadgets, computers, video games, cell phones and the Internet. You will see these things prominently in every sitcom and drama in current production, usually with an identifiable brand. No attempt is actually made at selling. The brand name is almost never mentioned, but you may note that the items in the show are usually somehow connected to the sponsors and their products. Sponsors know that familiarity breed unthinking recognition. If the show is successful and makes the audience feel good, then the product gains this good feeling. This kind of advertising is the most insidious, because we are not paying attention and so the ideas slip by without being filtered by the mind. No judgement is made and yet the impression remains.

Everywhere we look, there is media advertising something. We even wear their brands on our clothes. On the Internet ads are everywhere you surf. We don’t pay any more attention to many of these, but the images and sounds stick. We do the same thing with these products as we do with television shows, stars and characters, we associate the product with the website. Google Ads and other click-throughs are probably somewhat related to the site, since that is what they aim the marketing plan to do, display related ads. Ads placed by the web master are likely related to the site, because the owner gets paid if you click through and buy the product. This is directed advertising. However, this can be used by companies to confuse the issues. Competing companies will often use Google Adwords to target their competitors’ sites by using the right words and buying them from Google. What this does is to put their ads on pages which contain the key words. So Sony ads wind up on Panasonic.com if the webmaster uses ads from Google to populate the pages. Most company webmasters do not do this, because they know what will happen, but small sites which make revenue through affiliate links may not be as careful. So you see one product that the site owner does not , necessarily, approve next to the one which is approved.

This article is just the tip[ of the iceberg. The media is not our friend. It is business. Even the news is slanted for a specific audience. If we go through our lives unaware of this pressure we cannot make truly reasoned decisions, especially in buying behaviour, life style and politics. So teaching your children to question and analyze what they see will empower them. They will learn to make decisions according to reason and not as a reaction to the media.

Please look at the bottom of this page for a list of sites which will help you learn about media literacy.

Media Literacy Organizations & Sites

Action Coalition for Media Education (http://www.acmecoalition.org/)

This one is independent

Association for Media Literacy (http://www.aml.ca/home/)

This is non-profit independent

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Adbusters (http://www.adbusters.org/)

This one is fun. It's Canadian.

BBC School News Report

(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/school_report/resources_for_teachers/default.stm)

This one if British educational.

Center for Media Literacy (http://www.medialit.org/)

This one helps people learn to analyze media content.

Center for Media & Public Affairs (http://www.cmpa.com/)

The Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA)

This is a research organization.

Center for Responsive Politics (http://www.opensecrets.org/)

This non-partisan organization tracks political trends and public response.

Center for Public Integrity (http://www.publicintegrity.org/)

This site concentrates upon organizations and promotes ethics.

Common Cause (http://www.commoncause.org)

Common Cause id grassroots.

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Common Sense Media (http://www.commonsensemedia.org/)

This site reviews media aimed at children and youth.

Core Principles of Media Literacy Education

(http://www.NAMLE.net/core-principles)

This site tries to provide help to educators to promotye media literacy across the currioculum.

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma (http://www.dartcenter.org/)

This site is backed by concerned journalists and health care workers.

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (http://www.fair.org)

FAIR offers criticism in order to promote fairness and equity in the mediua.

Federal Communications Commission (http://www.fcc.gov/)

The Federal Communications Commission regulates US interstate and international radio, television, wire, satellite and cable communications.

Free Press (http://www.freepress.net/)

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization.

The Media Access Project (http://www.mediaaccess.org/)

The Media Access Project is a non-profit promoting first ammendment rights:

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Key Facts: Media Literacy

(http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Key-Facts-Media-Literacy.pdf)

Kaiser Foundation research.

Media Education Lab at Temple University (http://mediaeducationlab.com/)

Promotes literacy and provides scholarships in the subject area.

The Media Education Foundation (http://www.mediaed.org/)

This foundation produces documentaries on this subject.

Media Literacy 101 (http://www.ciconline.org/medialiteracy101)

Cable in the Classroom offers an online media literacy primer for both parents

and teachers.

Media-L listserv

This is a mailing list for information in your email on this subject.

To subscribe, send an e-mail message to

listproc@nmsu.edu. Leave the subject line blank and, in the body of the email,

format your text so it reads like this: subscribe Media-L subscribe Media-L

http://www.ifc.com/on-ifc/mediaproject 16 / 29

your name, your title, your organization (e.g. subscribe Media-L John Smith,

Research Coordinator, XYX Research Center).

Media Literacy Marketplace (http://www.NAMLE.net/marketplace/)

This site if filled with resources.

My Pop Studio (http://mypopstudio.com)

This site is an experience aimed at middle school females.

National Association for Media Literacy Education

(http://www.NAMLE.net/)

National Association for Media Literacy Education (http://www.amlainfo.org/)

This organization advocates media literacy education..

News Trust (http://newstrust.net)

This is a journalism watchdog.

Pew Center for the People & the Press (http://people-press.org/)

The Pew Center is an independent research group..

Project New Media Literacies (http://newmedialiteracies.org/)

This site provides ideas for methods for teaching youth.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

(http://www.rockhall.com/teacher/sti-lesson-plans/)

This site offers lesson help and materials for teachers.

Stop Big Media (http://www.stopbigmedia.com/)

This group has banded together (in their words) “to fight the FCC’s

efforts to further consolidate the media industry.”