Media Resources and Websites
This section contains web sites that provide information about issues relating to children and the
media. Topics include television and violence, media literacy, how health and social justice are
depicted in the media, responsible media, how media influences children and adolescents, and
children’s use of electronic media.
About Face, http://www.about-face.org This non-profit, volunteer organization is a media literacy
organization that focuses on the impact the mass media has on the mental and emotional well being
of women and girls. This site contains suggestions for how to change your community, a list of
resources and links, visitor essays, art projects, discussion groups, tips and resources for parents
and teachers, examples and ideas for personal change, facts, research studies, a directory of related
organizations, and information on how to hold companies accountable including a gallery of
offenders.
Ad Council, http://www.adcouncil.org This is a private, non-profit organization, originally developed
to rally support for the war effort during World War II, that uses advertising to stimulate action against
the problems confronting Americans today, particularly those affecting children. This website
contains information about current campaigns, a calendar of events, media materials that can be
ordered, a community action network, information on how to create a campaign, information on the
impact of advertising, research including an issues tracking study, and other information about Public
Service Announcements.
Association of America’s Public Television Stations, http://apts.org/ This is a non-profit
organization that supports noncommercial television. This site contains information and statistics
about children, education and public television. There are also action alerts and information about
APTS’ legal and regulatory activities as well as a publications list (including a guide to technology)
and links to related sites.
Center for Media Education, http://www.cme.org This is an non-profit organization that works to
improve the quality of electronic media on behalf of children and families. This site contains
information about children’s programming regulations, surveys on internet marketing to kids and
parents, a program to provide technical assistance to state-based organizations. It also includes a
research initiative to understand the nature and scope of research on the use of interactive
technologies by children, a section on democratic access which seeks equal access to new
information technologies, press releases, and information about the Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act.
Center for Media Literacy, http://www.medialit.org This organization develops and distributes
educational materials and programs that promote critical thinking about the media. This site contains
teaching resources and trainings on media literacy, an email bulletin, a listserv discussion group from
New Mexico State University, a resource catalog, information about media violence, a reading room,
and links to other sites. To contact:
Center for Media Literacy
4727 Wiltshire Blvd
Suite 403
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel: (323) 931-4177
Fax: (323) 931-4474
Media Resources and Websites
Children and the Media Program, http://www.childrennow.org/media/media.index This organization
works to improve the quality of news and entertainment media both for children and about children’s
issues. This site contains a report on news media coverage of children’s issues, as well as a
number of resources about diversity in television including surveys of programs and their depiction of
racial issues. There is also a publication list, an electronic newsletter, and links to other sites. To
contact:
Children Now
1212 Broadway 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Tel: (510) 763-2444
Fax: (5100 763-1974
E-Mail: childrennow@childrennow.org
Children’s Advertising Unit of the Better Business Bureau,
http://www.bbb.org/advertising/childrensMonitor.html This site provides extensive information about
advertising as it concerns and affects children. There is a parents guide, self-regulatory guidelines
for children’s advertising, and a list of supporters, and business and academic advisors. The
Children's Advertising Unit seeks to protect the interests of children in the media as well as online
and they investigate misleading and inaccurate advertising claims in advertisers targeting children.
Children’s Partnership, www.childrenspartnership.org/ This organization has published the
Parents Guide to the Information Superhighway: Rules and Tools for Families Online. It is an on-line
parents guide to the internet and offers age appropriate guidelines for technology use by children
and suggests ways to direct children towards positive and productive on-line experiences. You can
access portions of it on this website.
Children’s Television Workshop, http://www.ctw.org This website contains information about CTW
programs as well as special sections for children and parents, discussion groups and information on
membership. There are also web pages for stories, activities, learning, printables, and many Sesame
Street characters such as Elmo.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, http://www.cpb.org This organization is the largest single
source for funding for public programming. This website includes a request for proposals, video and
transcript information, minority consortia, scholarship information, information on PBS and NPR, and
information about grants.
Girls, Inc., http://www.girlsinc.org/programs/recast.html This site contains the Girls Re-cast TV
Action Kit which is geared towards children and provides information to help girls evaluate TV
programs’ depiction of women and families. This includes a "reality check" quiz for girls to compare
what they see on TV to their lives. The site also includes research (on topics such as girls and
smoking), advocacy, the Girls Bill of Rights, tips for parents and other adults, and the Girls’ Bill of
Rights.
KidsNet, http://www.kidsnet.org This is a monthly media guide that describes upcoming programs
on television for children, families, and educators, referenced by air date, grade levels, and other
topics. This site also has study guides for educators, parents, and other professionals working with
children to be used as companion to the television program. Study guides are designed to
accompany television programs and include topics such as black history month, Sherlock Holmes,
and Israel to name a few. To contact:
KIDSNET
Media Resources and Websites
6856 Eastern Ave., NW
Suite 208
Washington, D.C. 20012
Fax: (202) 882-7315
E-Mail: kidsnet@kidsnet.org
Media Forum, http://www.cyfc.umn.edu/Media/index.html This site is an electronic resource
collection and networking tool and offers research, policy information, and opinion documents about
how the media influences the lives of children. There is also an electronic bulletin board, links to
other sites, statistics and surveys (such as the Student Media Survey and the Youth and Reading
Survey), and a list of conference proceedings.
Media Literacy On-line Project, http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/HomePage From the
University of Oregon College of Education, this site provides and extensive list of resources on
media literacy, cultural studies, children and the media, as well as teaching resources including
lesson plans and instructional materials. There is also a parent’s corner and an opportunity to
search the site for specific information.
Media Research Center, http://www.mediaresearch.org This non-profit organization works to bring
political balance to the nation’s new media and responsibility to the entertainment media. On this
site can be found the Parents TV Council (see below) which helps parents make decisions about
viewing discretion.
Media Resources and Websites
Mediascope, http://www.mediascope.org This is a non-profit policy organization that works to promote
constructive depictions of health and social justice in the media, particularly as they relate to children and
adolescents. This site contains services and resources for parents, entertainment industry professionals,
journalists, researchers, and policy activists such as a number of recent publications, information on
media ratings, academic research on topics relating to social and health issues in the media, a national
television violence study, and access to the media policy clearinghouse which contains a wealth of
information relating to children and the media. You are able to search their library by topic from a large
selection of topics from advertising to violence. To contact:
Mediascope
12711 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
Tel: (818) 508-2080
Fax: (8181) 508-2088
E-Mail: facts@mediascope.org
Parents Television Council, http://www.parentstv.org, This non-profit organization provides information
about trends in prime time television and family. The PTC publishes and annual Family Guide to Prime
Time Television as well as many special reports throughout the year. The most recent report available on
the site presents statistics of violence and sexual references in prime time from 1989 to 1999, it also
breaks these statistics down by network. This website contains information about the organization,
information on how to join their campaign, what’s new in Hollywood, a partial list of the PTC press
coverage, a list of television programs that receive their seal of approval, information about their celebrity
advisory board, and links to family websites.
Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org This site includes resources for teachers, adult
learning, a special section for kids, an on-line news hour, science and technology pages, and a list of
PBS television programs (from Arts to Travel) and stations. It also includes information on the PBS
Program for Democracy a sort of voter education guide.
Television and Violence, http://www.ksu.edu/humec/tele.htm This smaller website sponsored by Dr.
John P. Murray at Kansas State University, and contains a number of articles on television and violence
from sources such as Hofstra Law Review and the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy, as well as
links to related sites.