Feb. 2013 update: First and foremost, yesterday's US Senate/VAWA vote overwhelmingly passed reauthorization and now moves on to the House of Representatives. What IS the Violence Against Women Act, specifically? Here's a comprehensive snapshot of content and history, from the National Domestic Violence Hotline. In recapping these vast resources and Twitter handles at the … [Read more...]
May 7, 2010 As the last vestiges of prom wind down along with Girls Rights Week, I wanted to land one last post in the queue exploring media and marketing’s impact on kids' expectations, reality show distortions, and 'over the top' depictions of celebratory fetes. From ‘proma-a drama,’ lavish limos and fantasy night fairytales (e.g. akin to the amped up MTV My Super Sweet … [Read more...]
May 3, 2010 In honor of Girls Rights Week, advocating for positive change in the world, I’m going to run a week long series of “all things girl” to show how media and marketing can HELP rather than hinder healthy development. What IS Girls Rights Week? Another ‘Hallmark holiday’ you ask? Not by a long shot... As one who changed radio channels four times on the way to … [Read more...]
April 18, 2010 Many of you know I clench when I hear the word ‘reporter’ (even though I’m one and the same, it’s different when you’re behind the keyboard) because media has powerful potential to ignite infernos and give too much heat to ill-placed words, creating drama instead of preventing same....So imagine my exhale when today’s edition of the Chicago Tribune rightfully … [Read more...]
April 3, 2010 While media reports often churn out attention-getting stereotypes of spring break scenes of rowdy youth antics under the auspices of ‘what sells,’ to feed the money machine, we all too often don’t see the coverage of ‘alternate spring breaks’ and a major shift that’s taking hold in the cultural zeitgeist of service learning and youth. As I head out on spring … [Read more...]
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