by Bill Yousman, Ph.D. Fake news! The accusations are flying from both left and right. Liberals decry social media stories that led people to believe the most absurd lies about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign season. Meanwhile, President Trump and his staff and supporters use the term like a weapon against any news outlet…
by Susan X Jane It starts with a hashtag. Just a name, a stranger’s name and nothing else. You know instantly what it is—it’s another victim of police brutality, of Islamophobia, of misogynoir. Sometimes the hashtag is accompanied by a request—say their name, perhaps join a protest—or a petition. If you want to know details,…
by Bill Yousman Among my friends and colleagues who do media studies and media activism there is a split on how to think about the newfound attention to so-called “fake news.” This reminds me of debates about subliminal advertising years ago. Some insisted that it was real and pervasive; others pointed to empirical studies that…
November 20 marks the day on which the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. In 2016, the Convention celebrated its 27th anniversary with Universal Children’s Day, a “day of activity devoted to promoting the ideals and objectives of the Charter and the welfare of the children of…
Check out this scathing critique of the corporate media’s role in the current presidential election, from our friends and partners at the Global Critical Media Literacy Project. Great work from college students and veteran teacher-activists working together! This is what Project Censored and GCMLP are all about. And remember, we are one week away from…
by Jacques Brodeur As media educators and aware citizens, we watch the news knowing that big media rarely miss an opportunity to use human sufferings to catch viewers’ attention. The media industry knows that human beings care for each other, and they’re in the business of catching attention for commercial purpose. Not surprisingly, in March…
Much of the rhetoric and action related to screen time revolves around elimination or reduction. When our first child was born, I wanted to live the APA “rule”: no television before age 2. Well, that didn’t work out, and the boy turned out to be hyperverbal, developing spoken language early and reading at age 4. It…
While the ACME board was in Toronto for a conference and board retreat, several members went to see the celebrated indie film Ex Machina. Following are reviews by Treasurer Sara Voorhees, our resident professional movie critic, and Co-President Rob Williams. Have any of you seen it? Let us know your thoughts… SURROGATES AND REVELATIONS by…
by Jacques Brodeur In our ultra-mediated societies, predators are everywhere. That doesn’t make them easy to find. Many of them are hired as professionals for the purpose of increasing screen-time exposure of our most vulnerable fellow citizens, children. The industries hiring them are in the business of catching children’s attention and selling it to marketers.…
Following is a letter to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne from ACME ally and Canadian media educator-activist Rose Dyson. We thank Rose for her ongoing work in our field. The Hon. Kathleen Wynne MPP Premier Government of Ontario Queen’s Park Dear Ms. Wynne: On April 30 it was reported in The Globe and Mail that “Ontario’s…
Smart Media Education for the 21st Century 