Youth in Egypt: Freedom, Phones- And A New World Media Order

Feb 12, 2011 I love editorial cartoons… they’re storytellers in a sound bite, with a wink and nod to profound societal changes and a snappy headline to boot. I use cartoons in media literacy deconstruction a lot, because like meaningful manga and graphic novels, they ‘cut to the chase’ with youth appeal and enable us to uncork deeper conversations in give and take style; a … [Read more...]

A HUGE Breakthrough for TV: Nuance Trumps Vapid Vixens Aplenty

August 12, 2010 In part one and part two of my posts about ABC Family’s Huge premiere, I hoped to see the show evolve from the hope and promise of some stellar scriptwriter ‘attachments’ to actually being ‘attached.’ I’d like to say they ‘had me at hello’ but frankly they did NOT. I’m not an ABC Family ‘teen soap’ fan of the shallow sniper-fire of frenemies and sexcapade … [Read more...]

A HUGE Opportunity: Don’t Blow It ABC Family (Pt 1)

June 24, 2010 “An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.”  ---Bill Bernbach Those timeless words of the venerable ad legend capture the power and potential of HUGE a new series that plops over-sized youth into a weight loss camp amidst a global obesity conversation...(premieres Mon., June 28 on ABC Family) I’m thrilled mainstream … [Read more...]

Body Image: Tips for Teens To Survive the Media Morass

January 21, 2010 Last night I talked about body image to our local high school PTSO with Susan E. James, an LMFT eating disorders specialist and RD/MPH Cindy Stack-Keer from Kaiser Permanente all about how body image links a child’s emotional and physical health. The little Animoto video I created for the session gives you a snapshot of both the ‘problem and the solution’ … [Read more...]

Neda: Iconic, Insta-Media Shifts Us To Visual Story Threads

June 22, 2009 Youth culture is highly visual and iconic, no doubt about it. According to Graham Brown's article, Youth in Iran, about 60% of the population in Iran is under 25, so it's no surprise that the death in the streets of 26-year old “Neda” has become iconic very, very fast. As students and global citizens rally using social media mobilization to protest the … [Read more...]