All media - from cable TV and downloaded music to daily newspapers and billboards - shape our culture and our democracy just as they are shaped by them. Media Literacy means becoming conscious, skilled consumers of all media, and understanding the political, cultural and economic forces that help shape the way media works.

Sources on media analysis:

• Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom
• Chicago Media Watch
• Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
• Media Channel
• Media Matters for America
• Media Transparency
• Media Watch
• Media Watch Canada
• NewsWatch Canada
• Project Censored
• Women in Media and News
• Youth Media Council

Sources on media literacy education:

• Action Coalition for Media Education
• Association for Media Literacy
• Center for Media Literacy
• Citizens for Media Literacy
• Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy
• Media Awareness Network
• Media Education Foundation
• Media Literacy Clearinghouse
• Media Literacy Online
• Media Studies
• New Mexico Media Literacy Project
• Northwest Alliance for Responsible Media
• Northwest Center for Excellence in Media Literacy
• Northwest Media Literacy Center
• Rocky Mt. Media Watch

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Media Literacy/Bias

Media bias endangers peace in Gaza

Submitted by jonathan on Sat, 2009-01-03 17:31

In the media coverage of the violence in Gaza, the voices of Palestinians are, as usual, absent.

The voices of the Israelis have proclaimed defense. Ehud Barak, Israel defense Minister was quoted as saying“There is time for calm and time to fight.” Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni stated on NBC news that Israel has the right to defend itself from Hamas and has the right as a sovereign country to defend itself. Outgoing U.S.resident George Bush told the Israeli government that the U.S. will stand by Israel. Our incoming President Barak Obama is refraining from taking a stand at this time, but when the commentator on this subject pressed his aid David Axelrod, he responded that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Am I surprised?

Iran demands end to Gaza media blackout

Submitted by jonathan on Wed, 2008-12-31 15:00

Iran has officially requested that Arab media outlets provide responsible coverage of the developments in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The head of Iran's national broadcaster Ezzatollah Zarghami spoke to the management of Qatar's Al-Jazeera, Lebanon's Al-Menar, Turkey's TRT and Iraq's Afaq TV in separate telephone conversations on Tuesday, requesting more informative coverage of the Israel-Palestinian crisis and developments in Gaza.

According to Zarghami, the Israeli policies and attacks on Gaza amount to a "holocaust".

Who is Amira Haas? Israeli journalist decries civilian casualties in Gaza

Submitted by jonathan on Tue, 2008-12-30 13:54

A powerful column appears today in the Jerusalem daily Haaretz, written by one of its top correspondents, Amira Hass, reporting on Gaza, which opens: "This isn't the time to speak of ethics, but of precise intelligence. Whoever gave the instructions to send 100 of our planes, piloted by the best of our boys, to bomb and strafe enemy targets in Gaza is familiar with the many schools adjacent to those targets -- especially police stations. He also knew that at exactly 11:30 A.M.

Rather lawsuit likely to deal Bush legacy a new blow

Submitted by jonathan on Tue, 2008-12-30 00:37

As George W Bush prepares to leave the White House, at least one unpleasant episode from his unpopular presidency is threatening to follow him into retirement.

A $70m lawsuit filed by Dan Rather, the veteran former newsreader for CBS Evening News, against his old network is reopening the debate over alleged favourable treatment that Bush received when he served in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war. Bush had hoped that this controversy had been dealt with once and for all during the 2004 election.

Mideast papers on Gaza

Submitted by jonathan on Tue, 2008-12-30 00:35

Commentators in the West Bank-based Palestinian press are united in dismay at the Israeli operation in Gaza, condemning it as an "ugly massacre".

Some also voice their fury at what they see as the inaction of the region's Arab states and the West's support for Israel, while one commentator fears the operation will only drive more of Gaza's young men into the arms of radical Islamists.

Attack on Gaza - US media provides little balance compared to Israeli media

Submitted by jonathan on Mon, 2008-12-29 13:37

In the usual process, the U.S. government -- and media here -- are playing down questions about whether Israel overreacted in its massive air strikes on Gaza, while the foreign press, and even Haaretz in Israel, carries more balanced accounts. The early reports on Sunday already reveal the bombing of a TV station and mosque and preparations for an invasion.

The Death of News?

Submitted by jonathan on Thu, 2008-12-18 19:31

In light of the Tribune Company bankruptcy and the massive loan the New York Times just leveraged on its own building, the future of daily journalism looks to be on life support. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Weekend America's Ben Adair debunks the top three myths of the media meltdown and tells us why reports of newspapers' demise have been severely exaggerated.

The T-Man has gone too far, too often

Submitted by jonathan on Wed, 2008-12-17 22:41

RADIO SHOCK JOCKS don't get better with age, just older and more crass.

Case in point: Rob Tepper, one of Seattle's most recognizable radio personalities -- the T-Man of KUBE 93.

Smarmy, garrulous and sometimes funny, this less polished version of loudmouth Howard Stern consistently reaches the bulk of area listeners between 18 and 34. On his FM morning show, Tepper and an in-studio circus skewer politicians and celebrities, and jabber about dating and sex.

But when he crosses the line -- and he's done so more than once -- the antics go beyond juvenile. They make you wonder what his bosses at Clear Channel are waiting for to pull the plug.

Faced with economic turmoil, media conservatives turn to class warfare

Submitted by jonathan on Tue, 2008-12-09 10:49

Even though the crises facing the financial and automotive industries were born primarily of the actions (or inaction) of those in positions of power in private industry and in government, many conservative media figures have assigned blame to specific groups of less wealthy or less influential people -- the poor, minorities, undocumented immigrants, and union members, among others -- disregarding the facts that belie such assignments of blame.

Report ties children’s use of media to their health

Submitted by jonathan on Tue, 2008-12-02 10:01

The National Institutes of Health and a nonprofit advocacy group, Common Sense Media, have another reason for President-elect Barack Obama to keep urging parents to “turn off the TV.”

In what researchers call the first report of its kind, a review of 173 studies about the effects of media consumption on children asserts that a strong correlation exists between greater exposure and adverse health outcomes.