Blog Action Day: Overcoming Poverty With Global Water

It’s been a hairy day of stressful mayhem, as I slid in my socks on the linoleum floor of digital deadlines to file my grant app for the MacArthur Foundation Digital Media Learning Competition with literally about 2 minutes to spare. Between technical glitches and last minute shifts in recommendation letters I found myself in that intense phase of heart palpitating … [Read more...]

This Little Piggy Went to the Market: Free Range, Uncaged

I KNEW Free Range Studios HAD to be the animation movie team riffing on the tune ‘Superstition’ with dancing piggies and agribusiness villains to inspire voters to take action on industrial farm animal cruelty for HSUS. (playful video after the jump) For children, the animation in "Uncaged" is cute and clever enough to get the point across, (and for teens to … [Read more...]

Got 5 Friends? Google Maps + Celebrities Rock the Vote

Got 5 minutes? Watch this video. Got 5 friends? Tell ‘em to register NOW to vote. Some states close their voter registration in less than 72 hours, as early as October 4th. (deadlines for each state here) Other states have ‘postmark by’ dates. Some let you register later if you show up in person. Don’t get shut out. Register NOW. Go to … [Read more...]

Sensationalist Slop: “Dear Media, Please Do Your Job…”

Further to this week's article on ‘what sells’ in sensationalized media coverage, need we remind kids that the same thing applies to our upcoming election season? As children try to make sense of this adult world of dirty laundry flinging, sound bites and reality show gymnastics, we need to help kids connect the dots with both election media literacy and grounded … [Read more...]

HFCS Ad Analysis: Dieticians Dissed, Media Literacy Mandatory

When I sounded off in HFCS Corn Wars about the ‘artificial sweetness’ of the ubiquitous HFCS ads, I promised I’d have our own nutrition correspondent, Rebecca Scritchfield weigh in with her professional analysis, but first…you MUST see BlogHer Gena Haskett’s insightful piece on the way we should consume advertising. It’s straightforward, … [Read more...]