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A Soft Sell for Hard Drugs
Savvy marketers know that Smokey the Bear garners far more trust than men hawking Viagra ever could. With public trust and goodwill running in short supply, drug companies are borrowing a familiar page from the public relations handbook of non-profits and government agencies -- the use of public service announcements (PSA's) and other types of educational-style advertising. In the hands of the pharmaceutical industry, these normally genial message formats offer an aggressive and duplicitous technique for marketing prescription drugs. . .
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Producers Corner: April 2006 with Adriana Barbaro
MEF producer Adriana Barbaro offers a look into the Commercialization of Childhood Project, an MEF film currently in production -- with an expected release date of late 2006/early 2007.
Today, the typical American child is immersed in a consumer culture that is unrivaled in history. Multitasking with media, using more than one medium at the same time, is now commonplace among young people; children are on the Internet instant messaging friends, surfing the web, on their cell phones, listening to their I-pods, and watching TV -- all at the same time. . .
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George Gerbner's Influence on MEF
The visionary theories of media scholar George Gerbner (1919-2005) have had a profound and lasting influence on the
work of the Media Education Foundation. It is with great reverence that we honor his life and the contribution he made to the
fields of communication, media education, and cultural studies, as well as to society as a whole. In this interview, MEF Executive
Director Sut Jhally reflects on Gerbner's influence . . .
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MEF Videos & Underfunded Institutions: A Note from the Marketing Manager
It is not uncommon for us to receive feedback from customers explaining that their institutions do not have the funds to purchase our videos. The feedback is generally kind and understanding, yet it often marked with a tone of resignation?I love your material, but our school just doesn?t have the money. This is a real dilemma. When I hear that a school or social service organization cannot afford our videos, it frustrates me to no end. My frustration is primarily directed at the way our country (de)values education, and therefore the scarce financial resources allotted. . .
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Behind Hijacking Catastrophe: An Intern's Experience
When I applied to intern with the Media Education Foundation (MEF) for the 2003-2004 academic year, I hoped that I might have the chance to be involved in some critical media analysis and perhaps get my hands on a bit of film production. Little did I know I was about to walk into what has become the most exciting, gratifying, and educational (to say the least) experience of my life. . .
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Wrestling With Manhood Sparks Protest in Burlington
Burlington, VT | Marie Eddy first learned about Wrestling With Manhood: Boys, Bullying & Battering when she participated in a workshop with Jackson Katz last May. The video, a new release from MEF (December 2002) which critically examines professional wrestling, was then still in production. . .
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The Media & Iraq: War Coverage Analysis
During the course of the war with Iraq, there were many questions about the role of the American media. Some would argue that their role was to inform, but after a slew of false reports, a contract signed by embedded reporters with the Pentagon on "playing by the rules" and a pro-war sentiment ringing throughout cable news networks, it would seem as though objective reporting was the last consideration in the "rush to be first" to inform the public.
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Sexual Assault Awareness Month
As educational resources, MEF videos are being utilized daily across the
nation by thousands of colleges, universities and high schools, as well as
rape and sexual assault prevention programs. In an effort to spread
awareness about sexual violence, many college campuses are implementing MEF
videos in their Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities...
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Media Education & Preventing Sexual Violence
It is commonly accepted that sexual violence prevention programs should address the cultural factors that encourage violence, specifically those involving limited definitions of gender. But where should we begin? To answer this question, we can look in our own living rooms - to the television set in the corner entertainment center and the magazines on the coffee table. We bring mass media into our homes, and they become the dominant storytellers in our society.
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Interview with Josh Silver
In late March, MEF intern Amy Bergen interviewed Josh Silver, Managing Director of Free Press, a new national media reform organization working to open up and ignite media policy debates, reinforce outreach efforts in Washington and across the nation, strengthen the media reform network, and - using innovative grassroots and communications strategies and working with other reform organizations - make media a bona fide issue in America.
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Interview with Michael Levine
In January 2003, staff member Kendra Olson spoke with Michael Levine, professor of Psychology at Kenyon College, about the role of media literacy in the prevention of eating disorders. The transcript of the interview follows.
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Jean Kilbourne on The Oprah Show
On her national syndicated television show that aired on February 28,
2002, Oprah showed footage from What a Girl Wants, produced by
Elizabeth Massie for CHC Productions and distributed by MEF, and
from Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity, directed
by MEF executive director Sut Jhally.
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Beyond the Frame
There are moments that stay with us. Some of them are personal, and some
of them are shared. September 11, 2001 is one of the collective memories...
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MEF Firehouse News
Since MEF was founded in 1991, the organization has maintained its offices
(in its second floor suites on Center Street), in Northampton despite
several expansions over the past decade.
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Money For Nothing Premiere in NYC
The New York City premiere of Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of
Pop Music will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2002 at 8 PM.
The screening, which will be hosted by New York City Independent Media
Center (IMC)...
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