History of Media LiteracyThe following timeline, produced by Frank Baker, was organizedat the request of Webster University media professor ArtSilverblatt. An earlier version appears in the “PraegerHandbook of Media Literacy” (Greenwood, 2013). I amresponsible for the content. Anyone who would like to makecorrections, suggestions, additions or deletions should sendcorrespondence to me: fbaker1346@aol.comA Media Literacy TimelineSignificant Developments (includes events, publications,conferences and more)The history of media education cannot be told withoutcorrelating it with the rise and development of the mass mediathemselves (cameras, radio, television, film, the Internet).Presented here is a media literacy timeline, with a specialnote about events, publications, legislation, conferences andproceedings.Exact date unknown: camera obscura principle and deviceinvented (source)1833: modern day Zoetrope (a device that produces the illusionof motion from a rapid succession of static pictures) inventedby British mathematician William George Horner (Source)1877: the Praxinoscope, an early animation device, wasinvented in France in 1877 by Charles-Émile Reynaud. (source)1888: One of the first patented motion-picture film cameraswas designed by Louis Le Prince (Source)1891: Thomas Edison creates/patents the kineotographic camera:The first motion picture camera patented in the United States(Source)1900: The first known public exhibition of projected soundfilms took place in Paris (Source)1905: Variety begins covering entertainment industries such asvaudeville, films, television, radio, music, and theater(Source)1907:

The Moving Picture World, a weekly movieindustry periodical published during thesilent film era, becomes the officialorgan of the Moving Picture Exhibitors’Association. ceased publication in 1927

(Source)1911:

The Motion Picture Story Magazine beginspublication, later (1914) shortened toMotion Picture Magazine, continuedpublication until 1951 (source)

1912: First Radio Act of 1912: US law that mandated that allradio stations in the United States be licensed by the federalgovernment (Source)1913: Kodakery, “A Magazine For Amateur Photographers“, waspublished from September, 1913 through 1932, at the price of5¢ per copy. All purchasers of a Kodak or Brownie camerasreceived a free one year subscription (Source; 1920 issue)1914:

The Motion Picture News (magazine) firstpublished, ceased publication in 1930

(Source)

1916

The Cinegoer Magazine first published;Photoplay Magazine, first published (until 1960)

1917:

“Motion Picture Education” authored byErnest A. Dench. Cincinnati: Standard

Publishing Company

1918: The Art of Photoplay Making: another of the early bookson teaching film education (Source: Scenes of Instruction)1919:

The Society for Visual Education, Inc. (SVE) wasestablished as a for-profit educational publisher

dedicated to the use of new technologies in teaching. In1919, the technology was the 35mm motion picture. Source“The Relative Value of Motion Pictures As An EducationalAgency” published in Teacher’s College Record

1921: SVE publishes first issue of its journal “VisualEducation” Source1922:

Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America incharge of administering the Hayes Code film censorshipsystem

“The Film: Its Use in PopularEducation” is published;

available online

1922

• “Educational Screen” magazinepremieres (Source) published

until 1962, source:http://mediahistoryproject.org/

1923: Radio Station WEAF in New York accepts the first “radioad.” (Source)

PictorialBeauty on

the Screen:early filmbook thatexaminedissues ofvisualdesign(Source:Scenes of

Instruction)1924: Journalism Education Association founded.http://www.jea.org/about/index.html1925: Association of College University Broadcasting Stations(ACUBS) is founded, later (1934) changing its name to theNational Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB)1926: Federal Radio Commission established (lasted until 1934)Source1927:

Electronic television was first successfullydemonstrated in San Francisco by Philo Taylor Farnsworth(Source)The Jazz Singer becomes the first feature filmoriginally presented as a talkie (Source)Close Up: described as literary magazine of film, first

published (until 1933) (Source)

- AllAbout

Television:first

magazinedevoted totelevision(Source)

1928: “Motion Pictures in History Teaching” study is published(Yale University Press)1929-1932: Payne Fund Studies, early research into effect ofmovies on children’s behavior (details here)

1929:

Academy Awards given for the first timeFrank Freeman authors, Motion Pictures in the Classroom;An Experiment to Measure the Value of Motion Pictures asSupplementary Aids in Regular Classroom Instruction(published by: Houghton Mifflin) SourceBritish Institute of Adult Education formed: encourageduse of film in education and in life (source)

First issue of Sound Waves, earlyfilm magazine, published

1930: Motion Picture Production Code created: spelled out whatwas acceptable and unacceptable content for motion pictures1930: Advertising Age magazine and Hollywood Reporternewspaper begin publication (Source)1931: Broadcasting: The Weekly Newsmagazine of Radio beganpublication (Source)1932:

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)creates a Committee on Photoplay Appreciation; it maderecommendations about film use in English classes andgenerated study guides for teachers. (Source)Bertolt Brecht pens “Radio as an Apparatus ofCommunication”Sight & Sound (film magazine) published for the firsttime by British Film Institute (BFI)

1933:

“Culture and Environment” published (authors FR Leavis

and Denys Thompson address the role/impact of film ineducation) (source)British Film Institute (BFI) founded (Source) as aresult of a recommendation in a report on Film andNational Life (source) Ohio State University professor Edgar Dale authored“Motion Pictures And Youth: How To Appreciate MotionPictures: A Manual of Motion Picture Criticism Preparedfor High School Students” a book for use in secondaryschool film appreciation courses

Example of NCTE Cmte on PhotoplayAppreciation’s study guide to film

“Little Women” 1933

1934:Communication Act passed; FCC replaces the FRC and regulatesradio (Source)Scholastic publishes “How to Judge Motion Pictures: A pamphletfor high school students”“Photoplay Appreciation in American High Schools,” written byWilliam Lewin, published by NCTE/D. Appleton-Century (review)1935:

American Association of University Women, (AAUW) basedin Madison WI, begins a monthly newsletter, BetterBroadcasts NewsNational Film Society of Canada launched (Source)“How to Judge Motion Pictures,” authored by Sarah McLeanMullen (source: The Moral of The Story Was Great: FrankCapra and Film Education in the 1930s)“The Content of Motion Pictures,” authored by Edgar

Dale, published by The McMillan Company

First published in 1935 and revised manytimes.

Image source

NCTE distributes the monthly journalPhotoplay Studies: A Magazine Devoted toPhotoplay Appreciation, featuring writingsby NCTE members and included classroom

study guides to popular films.Published by National Education Assn.(NEA)Department of Secondary Teachers(Source: AMoment in NCTE History, delivered at the2009 NCTE Board of Directors Meeting, by

Leila Christenbury, Council Historian, NCTEAnnual Fall Convention, Philadelphia PA)

1936: Pope Piux XI issues encyclical on Motion Pictures,warning about the impact of film on youth

Photojournalism LIFE magazine firstpublished; ceased as a weekly in 1972,

printing occasional issues, and making acomeback from 1978-2000; published in some

Sunday newspapers 2004-2007.

1937:

Institute for Propaganda Analysis foundedNCTE Advocates for Using TV in instruction – “In thelate 1930s, NCTE President Holland D. Roberts (1937)noted that English teachers who did not use this newmedium in their teaching ‘will be swept into the dustbin of the past,’ and by the mid-1940s, NCTE was notingthat mass media were ‘one of the three basic functionsof English teaching.'” (Source: March 6. 2012 NCTE Emailnewsletter to members)\“Motion Pictures in Education: A Summary of theLiterature: Source Book for Teachers andAdministrators,” by Edgar Dale, Fannie W. Dunn, CharlesF. Hoban, and Etta Schneider (Source)“Talking Pictures: How They Are Made, How to AppreciateThem”, Barrett C. KieslingFilm and School: A Handbook in Moving-PictureEvaluation, by Richard Lewis/Helen Rand, published byNCTE’s Committee on Standards for Motion Pictures andNewspaperVisualizing The Curriculum is published, authored byCharles Hoban and others – Source“Teaching with motion pictures: a handbook ofadministrative practice,” Issue 2.Co-authored by Edgar Dale and Louis Ramseyer, publishedby The American Council on Education

1938:“How to Appreciate Motion Pictures,” authored by Edgar Dale,published by MacMillan Company1939:

the first televised baseball game between Princeton andColumbia universities is broadcast (May 17) SourceNational Film Board of Canada founded (Source)

1940: “Behind The Mike” premieres: designed to bring thelistener behind the scenes of radio broadcasting (Source)

1942:Good Listening newsletterdebuts in Madison WI-

monthly list of programsand news of radio, TV

(Source: NationalTelemedia Council)

1944: NCTE publishes Skill In Listening pamphlet aimed atappreciating drama via radio (Source: Radio- A Means, Not AnEnd, Lennox Grey, The English Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Mar.,1951), pp. 144-149)1947: US House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), beganan investigation into the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry.(Source)1948: CBS Evening News (with Douglas Edwards) becomes firstregularly scheduled network TV news program1949:

Fairness Doctrine enacted by the Federal CommunicationsCommission (Source)Emmy Awards given for the first time (Source)NBC launches Camel News Caravan (with John CameronSwayze)National Association for Better Radio and Television, anadvocacy group organized (Source)

1950:

British Society for Education in Film and Television(SEFT) founded; publishers of Screen Education (Source:International Progress in Screen Education Stuart SelbyThe English Journal, Vol. 52, No. 6 (Sep., 1963), pp.428)Red Channels, pamphlet is published.. listing the namesof 151 writers, directors and performers who were saidto be members of subversive organisations (Source)

1951:

See It Now with Edward R. Murrow premieres on CBS TV

networkCongress holds its first hearing on the effect oftelevision on children (Source)The National Association of Educational Broadcastersconducts four (violence) monitor studies of TV programsin New York City, New Haven, Los Angeles, and Chicagoduring the years 1951–53. (Source)

“The Mechanical Bride”Marshall McLuhan’s book about

advertising is published

1952:

The Today Show premieres on NBC TV networkNational Association of Radio and TelevisionBroadcasters adopts a code to regulate broadcastcontent. (Source)

1953:ACBB begins Look-Listen Project: an opinion poll “to educateus television consumers to understand and to recognize qualityin programming” (Source: pg 12, Telemedium, The Journal ofMedia Literacy, Vol. 53, Number 1, Summer 2006)

TV Guide magazine first published, coverfeatures Lucille Ball’s son Desi

American Council for Better Broadcasts(ACBB) formed in Madison WI, published

“Better Broadcasts, Better World”newsletter

Standards of Photoplay Appreciation,published

1954:

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)establishes The Committee for the Study of Television,Radio and FilmACBB holds its first annual conference in Columbus OH“English Language Arts–Films for Classroom Use” handbookdistributed nationwideWisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy challenged by CBS’ EdwardR Murrow on “See It Now” broadcast

1954-55: the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary,Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency held a seriesof hearings on the impact of television programs on juvenilecrime. (Source)1955: the phrase “media literacy” is first used in a column inan issue of the ACBB’s regular newsletter (issue No. 8, page4, January 1, 1955)

1956: NAEB merges with the Association of Education by Radio-Television (forerunner to PBS)1957:

Vance Packard authors “TheHidden Persuaders” “pioneeringand prescient work revealing howadvertisers use psychological

methods to tap into ourunconscious desires in order to

“persuade” us to buy theproducts they are selling.”(Source: Amazon.com product

description)1958:

CBS broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, chidesbroadcasters in famous speech to the convention of RadioTV News Directors, declaring: “This instrument(television) can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and itcan even inspire. But it can do so only to the extentthat humans are determined to use it to those ends.Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.”Adman Leo Bogart authors The Age of TelevisionTelevision and the Child – An Empirical Study Of TheEffect of Television On The YoungA study by The Nuffield Foundation / Oxford UniversityPress 1958

1959:The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI)experiment used “planes equipped to transmit broadcast signalssent ‘classroom television’ to member schools that wereequipped to receive the transmission.” (source)1960:

John Kennedy and Richard Nixon meet in the first of 3“live” televised presidential debatesMarshall McLuhan produces “Understanding New Media” acurriculum for high school students, but it proves too

advanced for use in schools; He wrote the curriculummaterial for the National Association of EducationalBroadcasters (NAEB) under a contract with the Office ofEducation, US Department of Health, Education andWelfare (Source; Quoted/Source)

“The Impact of Educational Television”written by researcher Wilbur Schramm

1961:

FCC Commissioner Newton Minow labels television “a vastwasteland”UNESCO publishes “Teaching About The Film” (availablehere)NCTE publishes first Studies In The Mass Media journal(1961-1964) (Source: A Moment in NCTE History, deliveredat the 2009 NCTE Board of Directors Meeting, by LeilaChristenbury, Council Historian, NCTE Annual FallConvention, Philadelphia PA) Archived Univ of IllinoisNCTE publishes “Television and the Teaching of English,”written by Neil Postman and the Committee on the Studyof Television“Television in the Lives of Our Children” edited byWilbur Schramm published

1962:

Walter Cronkite becomes anchor of CBS Evening News(title held until 1981)International Meeting on Film and Television Teaching

held at Leangkollen, Oslo, Norway; lays the frameworkfor “critical viewing skills” education. (see alsoTheory & Practice of Screen Education, paper)

Historian Daniel Boorstin writes TheImage: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America

1964:

Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by MarshallMcLuhan is publishedJohn Culkin becomes one of the first to advocate formedia literacy education in American schools(Source)UNESCO publishes “Screen Education: Teaching A CriticalApproach to Cinema and Television”(available here)US Senate committee holds hearing on televisionprogramming and youth

1965: NCTE publishes book “The Motion Picture and The TeachingOf English”1966:

Broadcast historian Erik Barnouw publishes first (ATower of Babel) of three books about Americanbroadcasting history. (A Golden Web, 1968; The ImageEmpire, 1970)Learning by Television, an assessment of the state ofinstructional and educational TV, published by The Fundfor the Advancement of Education

The Canadian Association for Screen Education (CASE)formed (source)Talking About The Cinema: Film studies for young people”published by British Film Institute, Education Dept.

1967:

The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects byMarshall McLuhan is publishedPublic TV Act passes CongressResearcher George Gerbner starts Cultural IndicatorsResearch Project

1968:

Action for Children’s Television (ACT) formed by PeggyCharren/Judy Chaflen/Evelyn Sarson/Lillian Ambrosino toimprove the quality of children’s TV (disbanded in 1992)(Source; Source; Source)Joe McGinniss’ “The Selling of the President” ispublishedIowa educators begin to use Media Now, an innovativemedia literacy/awareness curriculum (Source)Wilbur Schramm authors “Learning from Television WhatThe Research Says” published by National Assn ofEducational BroadcastersMister Rogers Neighborhood premieres on PBS

1969:

“Sesame Street” educational TV series starts oneducational TV stationsThe Center for Understanding Media founded in NYC, byexecutive director John CulkinNEA National Education Association) passed a resolutionrecommending critical viewing curricula to counteractthe presumed ill effects of media violence (Source)Phrase “visual literacy” first coined by John Debes(Source)First visual literacy conference held Rochester NY

Accuracy in Media (AIM) foundedCASE (Canadian Association for Screen Education)sponsored the first large gathering of media teachers in1969 at Toronto’s York University (Source)

1970:

FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson authors “How To TalkBack To Your Television Set”NCTE passes Resolution on Media Literacy“Films Deliver: Teaching Creatively with Film” authoredby. Anthony Schillaci and John M. Culkin, EditorsPBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is started (successorto NET: National Educational Television)“Proceedings of the First National Conference on VisualLiteracy” published (Source)ACT petitions FCC to ban advertising from children’sprogrammingFirst National Symposium on Children and Televisionheld, sponsored by ACT, Kennedy Memorial Hospital forChildren and the Boston University School of PublicCommunications (Source)

1971:

Final TV commercial for cigarettes is broadcastwww.frankwbaker.com/tobacco_on_television.htm“Exploring Television An Inquiry/Discovery Program” ispublished by Loyola University PressGlencoe Press publishes book “The Celluloid Literature”“The Uses of Film in the Teaching of English: Report,”issued by Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.English Study CommitteeSecond national symposium on children and television /held at the Palmer House Hotel, Chicago, Illinois(Source)

1972:

McDougal-Littel publishes “Coping with The Mass Media”

National Association of Media Educators, forms inWashington DCUS Surgeon General forms Advisory Committee onTelevision and Violence; issues report: Television andgrowing up: The impact of televised violence (availablehere)NCTE & Committee on Film publish “The Compleat Guide toFilm Study” consists of essays designed to help teachersapproach filmNCTE passes resolution “On Preparing Students With skillfor Evaluating Media” urging members to teach“television and radio evaluation” in K-12; it also urgescolleges and universities to prepare teachers to helpstudents develop evaluation skills (Source: pg 27,Telemedium, July/August 2006)“Who Is Talking To Our Children?” Third NationalSymposium on Children and Television, Yale University,New Haven, Connecticut (Source)

premiere of BBC visual literacy TVseries “Ways of Seeing” hosted by John

Berger

1973:

John Berger’s book “Ways of Seeing” first published inthe US, companion to the BBC TV series of the same nameThe Center for Understanding Media, in collaborationwith the American Library Association, publishes book“Films Kids Like”McDougal-Littel publishes “Coping with Television”Association for Childhood Education Internationalpublishes “Children Are Centers for Understanding Media”National Association of Broadcasters adopts a revisedcode limiting commercial time in children’s programming

to twelve minutes per hour.

1974:

FCC issues Children’s TV Report and Policy Statement(first guidelines on programming practicerecommendations)“The Language of Advertising Claims,” by JeffreySchrank, is published in the March issue of “Media andMethods” magazineTV Action Book (by Jeffrey Schrank) published byMcDougal-LittelMedia Action Research Center (MARC) is created; historyof the group can be found here; MARC undertook extensivecurricular projects, beginning with “TelevisionAwareness Training” in 1977. (Source)Father John Culkin authors “From Film Studies to MediaStudies” in “Media & Methods” periodical

“Children and Television Lessons fromSesame Street” published

1975:

Ford Foundation report recognizes the need for massmedia education in America’s schools: “there was animportant need for widened and improved instructionabout the mass media in the public schools” (Source: TheABC’s of TV Literacy, by Robert Abelman, from Television& Children, Winter 1983, Volume 6/Number 1)“The report of a Television and Children conferencefunded by the Ford, Markle, and National ScienceFoundations recommended several courses of study as part

of a curriculum. Among the subjects were analysis ofmedia appeals, interpretation of non-verbal cues, reviewof the broadcasting industry’s history and structure,the economic aspect of television, analysis of programformats, analysis of values within television content,standards for criticism of content, and productionskills.” (Source: Media Literacy and the PolicymakingProcess: A Framework for Understanding Influences onPotential Educational Policy Outputs, retrieved August8, 2010 source)NCTE passes Resolution on Teaching Media LiteracyChildren’s TV & The Arts: Fifth National Symposium onChildren & Television, held in Atlanta, GA (Source)National Education Association publishes booklet “WhatResearch Says to the Teacher: Visual Literacy “

Understanding Mass Media textbookpublished by the National Textbook

Company (NTC)

1976:

“New season: The positive use of commercial televisionwith children” written by Rosemary Lee Potter, ispublishedThe Children’s Media Workshop opens, by John Schaefer(director, co-founder), in New York City (Source)

1977:

Marie Winn’s book “The Plug-in Drug” is published“Television Awareness Training” curriculum created anddistributed by the Media Action Research Center;considered “the first comprehensive course about

television published in the US” (Source)Television & Children begins publication by the NationalCouncil for Children and Television(published regularly until 1990)

first issue of Media &Values, edited by ElizabethThoman, is published by theCenter for Media & Values,based in Los Angeles CA

1978:

US Office of Education and the Library of Congress co-sponsor “Television, The Book and the Classroom”conference (Source) the result of which was the decisionto fund four “seed” projects for elementary andsecondary teachers to teach students critical viewingskills. The four organizations who received seed fundswere:1. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory2. WNET 13, New York City3. Far West Laboratory for Educational Research andDevelopment4. Boston University (Source: Media Literacy and thePolicymaking Process: A Framework for UnderstandingInfluences on Potential Educational Policy Outputs,retrieved August 8, 2010 source)Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire quashes criticalviewing TV curricula by awarding it a “Golden Fleece”(for wasteful federal spending) (see pages 3-4)The Media: How to Talk Back conference held at RyersonPolytechnical Institute , precursor to formation of AML(Canada) (Source)The Association for Media Literacy (AML) founded inToronto–was the first comprehensive organization formedia literacy teachers in Canada. (Source)

“Doing The Media: A Portfolio ofActivities, Ideas, and Resources”

published by The Center forUnderstanding Media

Library of Congress publishes“Television, The Book and The Classroom”the proceedings of a 1978 seminar co-

sponsored by the Library of Congress andthe U.S. Office of Education. (Source)

1979:

NCTE establishes “Commission on Media”“How to Treat TV with TLC, The ACT Guide to Children’sTelevision” is published“The Cinematic Eye” television series about film,broadcast by PBS

“The New Literacy The Language ofFilm and Television” published by

NCTE

“Learning from Television: What TheResearch Says,” published by the

National Association of EducationalBroadcasters,

“The Animation Book: A CompleteGuide to Filmmaking from Flip Booksto Sound Cartoons” written by Kit

Laybourne, is published

1980:

“Teaching About Television” by Len Masterman publishedTelevision Literacy, published by the Boston UniversitySchool of Public Communication (Source)“Inside Television: A Guide to Critical Viewing” ispublished by WGBH (Boston) and the Far West Laboratoryfor Education Research And Development (Source)“Critical Television Viewing: A Language Skills Work-a-Text” is produced by WNET/Thirteen (New York) andpublished by Cambridge The Basic Skills Company (Source)“Training Manual for Teaching Critical Viewing Skills,”produced by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory(Source)UNESCO Convenes “New Directions in Media Education,”International Media Literacy Conference in Toulouse,France (report)Broadcaster Ted Turner launches Cable News Network, akaCNN“3,2,1, Contact” educational science series premieres onPBS

“Growing Up on Television: The TV Effect – AReport to Parents” is published

1981:

“The Way We See It: A Project to Develop AnalyticalTeleviewing Skills,” curriculum published (Source)Music Television (aka MTV) premieresChildren from Australia, and two sites in the US areinter-connected via satellite: “Kids-4” sponsored byAmerican Council of Better Broadcasts as part of their28th annual conference (Source: National TelemediaCouncil)

“Teaching television: how to use TV to yourchild’s advantage” published by Dorothy

Singer, Jerome Singer and DianaZuckermanBased on their work at the Yale

Family Television Research and ConsultationCenter, the book provides a wealth of

concrete information and activities, most ofwhich were originally used in a school-based

instructional program. After a brief butcomprehensive review of the effects of TVviewing, and a question-and-answer chapteraddressing parents’ concerns, nine chaptersprovide “”lesson plans”” on virtually every

aspect of television. (Source)1982:

UN Grunwald Declaration on Media Education emanated fromInternational Symposium on Media Education at Grunwald,

Germany“We must prepare young people for living in a world ofpowerful images, words and sounds.” (UNESCO, 1982)US Surgeon General issues report on TV & Violence (10year anniversary of the original report)The Media Mirror: A Study Guide on Christian Values onTelevision, published by the US Catholic Conference(Source)

1983:

American Council for Better Broadcasts becomes TheNational Telemedia Council“Ogilvy on Advertising” published by adman David Ogilvy“Changing Channels, Living (Sensibly) With Television”co-authored by Peggy Charren (ACT) and Martin W. SandlerFinal episode of the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H becomes the mostwatched TV program in American History: 105.97 millionviewers, a record held for 27 years (Source)FCC lifts its children’s policy guidelines and allows TVstations to air as many commercials in a given timeperiod as they thought necessary. (Source)

1984:

NCTE’s Committee on Television Literacy publishespamphlet Helping Children Use Television Wisely: A Guidefor Parents, which advocated a “positive relationshipwith television” and offered eleven guidelines fortelevision watching (Source: A Moment in NCTE History,delivered at the 2009 NCTE Board of Directors Meeting,by Leila Christenbury, Council Historian, NCTE AnnualFall Convention, Philadelphia PA)Jesuit Communication Project (JCP) started in Canada byFather John Pungente Source

“Mind And Media:The Effects of

Television, VideoGames, and

Computers” ispublished

Double Exposure:Composing Through

Writing andFilm . UpperMontclair, NJ:Boynton/Cook

“Using TelevisionIn The Curriculum”by Rosemary LeePotter, publishedby Phi Delta Kappa

EducationalFoundation

1985: Neil Postman writes “Amusing Ourselves to Death”

UK media educator Len Masterman’sbook Teaching The Media is

published

TV And Schooling, Published bythe British Film Institute Dept.in association with University ofLondon Institute of Education

“The Spot: The Rise of PoliticalAdvertising on Television” is

published by MIT

Understanding Mass Media, earlytextbook, authored by Jeffrey

SchrankNatl Textbook Co; 3rd edition

(October 1985)

1986:

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) founded in NewYork CityThe Second International Television Studies Conferenceheld in LondonTelevision & The Classroom published, written by DonKaplan

written by Don Kaplan, book withactivities, lessons, worksheets on

“helping students understand the waysthe media affects them”, 1986, The

Instructor Publications, Inc.

1987:

Report on Film Study in American Schools. Prepared bythe NCTE Committee on Film Study.The Ontario Ministry of Education released guidelinesfor Media Literacy in English Language Arts, makingOntario the first North American educational setting tomandate Media Literacy in its curriculum. (Source)Strategies for Media Literacy, formed by Kathleen Tynerin San Francisco, published newsletters (Source)

Learning The Media An Introduction to MediaTeaching

co-authors, Manuel Alvarado, Robin Gutch,Tana Woolen

published by MacMillan

1988:

PBS broadcasts multi-part series called Television,hosted by newsman Edwin NewmanBFI opens the Museum of the Moving Image in London(Source)Media literacy symposium coordinated by Jean-PierreGolay, director of the Centre d’Initiation aux

Communications de Masse (CIC), Lausanne, Switzerland(source)

Mass Media & Popular Culture, Canadiantextbook, authored by Barry Duncan,

published by Harcourt, Brace,Jovanovich, Canada

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)report “Toward Civilization”

recommends “learning the vocabulariesof the arts, including the media arts,

is an essential tool forunderstanding, and perhaps one daycommunicating, in the medium of

television.”

The Assembly on Media Arts is formed:part of the National Council of

Teachers of English (NCTE) it activelypublished a newsletter called “MediaMatters” for more than 10 years. Thenewsletter included news about medialiteracy projects, book and film

reviews, interviews with experts, andlesson plans. Source

“Television and its audience:international research perspectives”published by BFI: a selection of

papers from the Second InternationalTelevision Studies Conference, held in

London, 1986

1989:

“Bill Moyers: The Public Mind” series airs on PBS,includes programs entitled “Consuming Images” and“Illusions of News”Strategies for Media Literacy founded in San Franciscoby Kathleen Tyner; begins publishing quarterlynewsletter (Source)Trent Think Tank meeting at the University of Trentexamined future of media education in Canada (Source)

AML submits to the Ontario Ministry ofEducation The Media Literacy Resource Guide,

Intermediate and Senior Divisions

Center for Media & Values becomes The Centerfor Media Literacy

1990:

First North American Media Education Conference, held inGuelph, Ontario, sponsored by the Association for MediaLiteracy with the help of the Jesuit CommunicationProject“Meet The Media” media education book published inCanada, co-authored by Jack Livesley, Barrie McMahon,John Pungente, Robyn QuinChildren’s Television Act enacted by Congress

Media researcher George Gerbner launches the CulturalEnvironmental MovementNCTE publishes Visual Media for English Teachers: AnAnnotated Bibliography

Bright Ideas Media Education,elementary book with activities

published by Scholastic UK

Cable In The Classroom magazinelaunched; one of its major focus ismedia literacy education, ceased

publication in August 2009

HBO airs “Buy Me That” the first ofthree media/advertising literacyawareness programs, aimed at youngpeople, co-produced with Consumers

Reports Television1991:

Canadian Association for Media Education (CAME) formedin Vancouver (Source)“Literacy In The Television Age: The Myth of the TVEffect” (first ed) by Susan B. Neuman is published

Summer 1955 issue

BFI’s Monthly Film Bulletin and thequarterly Sight and Sound, were merged to

become the monthly Sight and Sound(source)

Media & You An Elementary Media LiteracyCurriculum text published; includes

lesson plans and activities

Television and the American Child byGeorge Comstock and Hae J. Paik published

Center for Media Education (CME) founded;aim to continue work of Action for

Children’s Television (Source: pg 706,Handbook of Children and The Media, Sage)

1992:

NCTE’s Commission On Media along with the Assembly ofMedia Arts organized the first NCTE Conference on MediaEducation (June 26-28) at the University of PennsylvaniaAnnenberg School of Communication inPhiladelphia.(Source: communication with William

Costanzo; also pg 38, Dictionary of Media Literacy, byArt Silverblatt; William Costanzo, Steven Goodman, BenFuller and Joan Lynch conference coordinators).National Alliance for Media Education (NAME) formed inAustin TX; purpose “to connect and foster media literacyinitiatives, to bring together leaders in media artseducation and industry, and to support teaching of mediain schools, media arts facilities and communitycenters.” (Source)Aspen Institute Leadership Forum on Media Literacyconvenes and issues a report on media literacy includingthis succinct definition: “the ability to access,analyze, evaluate and communicate”Second North American Media Education Conference, heldin Guelph, Ontario“How to Watch TV News,” co-authored by Neil Postman,publishedCanadian Association of Media Education Organizations(CAMEO) is formed (Source)CNN debuts “Reliable Sources” (Source)

“Visual Messages: Integrating Images intoInstruction,” co-authored by David

Considine/Gail Haley, published by TeacherIdeas Press

The Freedom Forum Media Studies Centerbegins publication of quarterly, “Media

Studies Journal” ceases publication in 2001

NCTE publishes text “Reading The MoviesTwelve Great Films on Video And How To

Teach Them”

1993: Harvard University hosts first US Media LiteracyTeaching Institute

New Mexico Media Literacy Projectformed (Source)

1994:

“Screening Images: Ideas for Media Education” book byChris M. Worsnop published“Tuning in to Media: Literacy for the Information Age”documentary hosted by Renee Hobbs and features othermedia educators“Visual Literacy In The Digital Age” a compendium ofessays is published by the International Visual LiteracyAssociation (IVLA)“Taking Charge of Your TV” initiative started by Cablein the Classroom, the National Cable TelevisionAssociation (now the National Cable & TelecommunicationsAssociation) and National PTAMarch 18 Symposium on Media Literacy Education,sponsored by National Telemedia Council (Source)

July 10-15 “Institute on Media Literacy and Education”sponsored by New York University (Source)

“Creating Critical Viewers” medialiteracy curriculum initiative started bythe National Academy of Television Arts &Sciences (NATAS); rolled out at NATAS

regional member sites

1995:

PBS airs multi-part series “American Cinema” (series andcompanion materials used in many college/universitiesfilm studies courses) SourceCongressional hearing on Television Violence, (video)includes testimony by Elizabeth Thoman, Center for MediaLiteracy SourceNPR begins broadcast of “On The Media” weekly series(Source)Media Virus: Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture bookwritten by Douglas RushkoffFirst annual Taos (NM) Talking Pictures Festival MediaLiteracy Conference; co-produced by The Downs MediaEducation Center.

Appalachian State University(Boone NC) hosts national media

literacy conference, incollaboration with the National

Telemedia Council; Source

Carnegie Council on AdolescentDevelopment report “Great

Transitions: Preparing Adolescentsfor a New Century” calls for medialiteracy instruction in American

schools (Chapter 7)

Time Warner Cable and The LearningChannel co-produce education

curriculum: “Know TV- ChangingWhat, Why, and How You Watch”

(Winner of the Golden Cable ACEAward for Public Interest

Programming)

1996:

US Telecommunications Act signed into lawNCTE/IRA Standards for English Language Arts recommendsvisual literacy: “Teaching students how to interpret andcreate visual texts….is another essential component ofthe ELA curriculum.”NCTE passes Resolution on Viewing and VisuallyRepresenting as Forms of Literacy:“Viewing and visually representing (defined in theNCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts) are apart of our growing consciousness of how people gatherand share information. Teachers and students need toexpand their appreciation of the power of print andnonprint texts. Teachers should guide students inconstructing meaning through creating and viewingnonprint texts.”

2nd National Media Literacy Conference held in LosAngeles, hosted by the Center for Media Literacy2nd Annual Media Literacy Conference held at Albuquerque

Academy, New Mexico Media Literacy ProjectHarvard University hosts first annual Media & AmericanDemocracy Institute for social studies educatorsPBS broadcasts teleconference and documentary bothentitled “Media Literacy: The New Basic”The National Communication Association (NCA) developsstandards for media literacy in K-12 education:“Competent Communicators: K-12 Speaking, Listening, andMedia Literacy Standards and Competencies”Annenberg Public Policy Center sponsors first Conferenceon Children and Television (later called Children &Media)New London Group coins the term “multiliteracies”PBS broadcasts multi-part series “Signal to Noise: LifeWith Television”

1997:

First television content ratings system goes into effectbooklet “You Own More Than Your Set,” by Frank Ormepublished (Source)Texas teaching standards for English Language Artsinclude media literacy as represented by“viewing/representing”NCTE publishes “Reel Conversations: Reading Films WithYoung Adults”“Scanning Television” videotape series and accompanyingcurriculum is released by Face-to-Face Media andHarcourt Brace CanadaKQED (PBS Northern California) launches online MediaEducation Project, one of the first PBS stations todevelop media literacy material for teachers andstudents (Source)

Partnership for Media Education(PME) created

Media Education Foundation,released The Killing Screens,featuring George Gerbner who

examined the impact and effects offilm and TV violence

1998:

Rutgers University media professor Robert Kubey writesessay “Obstacles to the Development of Media LiteracyEducation in the United States”Renee Hobbs writes essay ”The Seven Great Debates in theMedia Literacy Movement.”“Media studies 20: a curriculum guide for the secondarylevel” published by Saskatchewan EducationViolence And The Viewer report released by BBC,Independent TV Commission and Broadcasting StandardsCommission (Source)National Catholic Educational Assn. includes medialiteracy mini-conference during its annual meeting(Source)

3rd bi-annual National Media Ed Conference held inColorado Springs, CO

media criticism periodical “Brill’sContent” premieres, ceases publication 3

years later(first issue contained an article on theimportance of media literacy in schools)

Kathleen Tyner authors book “Literacy ina Digital World: Teaching and Learning in

the Age of Information”

Centers for Disease Control produces anddistributes “Media Sharp: Analyzing Tobacco

& Alcohol Messages”: a media literacycurriculum kit for health educators

1999:

“Messages & Meanings: A Guide to Understanding Media”curriculum published; sponsored by the NewspaperAssociation of America Foundation, the InternationalReading Association and the National Council for theSocial StudiesPartnership for Media Education sponsors National MediaEducation Conference (NMEC) in St Paul MNMid-Continent Research For Education and Learning(McRel) adds two new strands to its national LanguageArts standards:

#9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand andinterpret visual media.#10: Understands the characteristics and components ofthe media.(source: correspondence w/ McRel dated July 8, 2010)US first graduate program in media literacy establishedat Appalachian State University, Boone NCOp-ed “Has Media Education Found A Curricula Foothold?”published in Education Week; provides status of medialiteracy in K-12 state teaching standardsSex on TV: A Biennial Report first released by theKaiser Family FoundationMedia Education Seminar hosted by Department forCulture, Media and Sports (Source)Making Movies Matter, issued by BFI, advocates for filmeducation in schools (Source)

2000:

CAME sponsored its first provincial conference (Source)Rutgers University hosts “Setting Research DirectionsFor Media Literacy and Health Education” conference“Handbook of Children and the Media” summarizes researchknown to date, co-written by Yale University researchersJerome and Dorothy SingerUS Department of Education and National Endowment forthe Arts distribute almost one million dollars in grantsto projects in 8 states to “help young people betterunderstand and interpret the artistic content ofelectronic media images -including those that containviolence”The Media Ecology Association holds its first annualconvention at Fordham University, New York, NYWhite paper, A New Future for Communications, issued inthe UK, advocates for media literacy education (Source)Moving Images In The Classroom: A Teaching Guide,released by BFI (Source)Task Force on Advertising & Children, formed by the

American Academy of Pediatrics (Source)

“Summit 2000: Children, Youth and theMedia: Beyond the Millennium” conferenceheld in Toronto Ontario, brings togethermedia educators, media producers and morefrom around the worldComprised of fifty-

three countries and fifteen hundredparticipants, Summit 2000 was the largestMedia Literacy conference held anywhere in

the world (Source)

South-western Educational Publishing, incollaboration with CNN, produces

“Media Matters: Critical Thinking in TheInformation Age” curriculum

Alliance For A Media Literate America(formerly Partnership for Media Education)

defines media literacy as:(empowering) “people to be both criticalthinkers and creative producers of an

increasingly wide range of messages usingimage, language, and sound. It is the

skillful application of literacy skills tomedia and technology messages. As

communication technologies transformsociety, they impact our understanding of

ourselves, our communities, and ourdiverse cultures, making media literacy an

essential life skill for the 21stcentury.”

“Assignment: Media Literacy” curriculumcreated by Renee Hobbs for Maryland StateDepartment of Education in partnership

with Discovery Communications2001:

AMLA sponsors National Media Education Conference(NMEC), Austin TX.PBS broadcasts FRONTLINE documentary “Merchants of Cool”hosted by Douglas RushkoffSex on TV 2 –report issued by the Kaiser FamilyFoundationCourt TV airs “Mind Over Media: Voices from The MiddleSchool” a collaboration with the National EducationAssociation and the National Middle School Association(excerpt)Seeing & Believing: How To Teach Media Literacy in theEnglish Classroom, published by Heinemann

Action Coalition for MediaEducation (ACME) formed

2002:

“Critically Thinking About Media” report issued by CableIn The ClassroomMedia Literacy: A Public Policy Report, issued by theFree Expression Policy ProjectMedia Literacy in US Institutions of Higher Educationpublished by Webster University professor ArtSilverblattCable In the Classroom launches Media Literacy 101, anonline primer and releases: Thinking Critically AboutMedia: Schools and Families In Partnership

“Children, Adolescents & The Media” aseries of essays on youth, media and

research is published

2003:

NCTE issues position statement on “Composing withNonprint”The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards(Adolescent and Young Adult, English Language Artsstandards) recognized the importance of media and visualliteracy when it declared: ” Accomplished teachers knowthat students must become critical and reflectiveconsumers and producers of visual communication becausemedia literacy has become an integral part of beingliterate in contemporary society. Teachers understandhow words, images, graphics, and sounds work together inways that are both subtle and profound. They understandthat students need to learn the power of visualcommunication, from the uses typefaces and whitespace on a written report to the uses of graphics andvideo in multimedia productions.”(Source: pg15, Adolescence and Young Adult EnglishLanguage Arts standards of the National Board forProfessional Teaching Standards.)NMEC bi-annual media literacy conference held inBaltimore. MDUniversity of Connecticut hosts first annual NortheastMedia Literacy ConferenceSex on TV 3: TV Sex is Getting Safer released by KaiserFamily Foundation

Media Literacy: Key Facts released by Kaiser FamilyFoundationhttp://www.kff.org/entmedia/Media-Literacy.cfmFactCheck.org website launched, sponsored by AnnenbergPublic Policy CenterFTC holds workshop: Marketing Violent Entertainment toChildren

National TelemediaCouncil celebrates50th anniversary

with “InternationalMedia Literacy

Forum,” a five-siteinternational video

conference, andpublication of

book:“Visions/Revisions:Moving Forward WithMedia Education”(photo by Frank

Baker)

2004:

“Navigating the Children’s Media Landscape – A Parent’sand Caregiver’s Guide.” authored by the AmericanInstitutes for Research and released by Cable in theClassroomPartnership for 21st Century Skills is formed;recognizes media literacy in ICT curriculum skills mapsNCTE publishes “Great Films and How To Teach Them”PBS broadcasts FRONTLINE documentary “The Persuaders”hosted by Douglas RushkoffBoth the US House & US Senate held separate hearings onbroadcast indecency, as a result of various events,including the Super Bowl 2004 half time showFTC issues followup report on Hollywood marketing ofviolence to teens Story Report New websiteChelsea (NY) Art Museum hosts first annual MediaLiteracy: Overseas Conversation Series, sponsored by The

European Observatory of Children’s TelevisionThe American Diploma Project includes “viewing” and“producing” in its English and Communication benchmarkrecommendations. (source: email withTFlavell@achieve.org and at http://www.achieve.org/-ReadyorNot; specifics can also be found at:http://www.frankwbaker.com/adp_communications.htmSen. Hilary Clinton proposes The Children and MediaResearch Advancement Act; status of this bill

2005:

KFF Issues Brief: The Effects of Electronic Media onChildren Ages Zero to Six: A History of ResearchFirst “Leaders in Learning” awards given by NationalCable TV Association and National PTA; media literacy isone of the award categoriesTonight Show host Johnny Carson diesCBS axes newspeople after Memogate investigation releasePBS/DoEd two day sponsor seminar: “A Child’s Life:Literacy, Learning And the Media” in Baltimore“Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds”survey released by Kaiser Family Foundation“Sex on TV 4” study released by Kaiser Family FoundationAMLA’s bi-annual media literacy conference convenes inSan Francisco, CAPhrase “new literacies” began to become popular and wasdefined as “the set of abilities and skills where aural,visual, and digital literacy overlap. These include theability to understand the power of images and sounds, torecognize and use that power, to manipulate andtransform digital media, to distribute them pervasively,and to easily adapt them to new forms.” (SOURCE: NewMedia Consortium’s definition of New Literacies)

2006:

College Board’s Standards for College Success (inEnglish Language Arts/Media Literacy standards)

recognizes media literacy education:“To be successful in college and in the workplace and toparticipate effectively in a global society, studentsare expected to understand the nature of media; tointerpret, analyze, and evaluate the media messages theyencounter daily; and to create media that express apoint of view and influence others. These skills arerelevant to all subject areas, where students may beasked to evaluate media coverage of research, trends,and issues.”(Source: pg 171, College Board’s Standards for CollegeSuccess: English Language Arts: Media LiteracyStandards)“The Teen Media Juggling Act: The Implications of MediaMultitasking Among American Youth” report issued byKaiser Family FoundationAction Coalition for Media Education (ACME) holdsconference in Burlington, VThttp://www.acmecoalition.org/acme_summit_2006NCTE publishes “Reading The Reel World: TeachingDocumentaries and Other Nonfiction Texts”

2007:

Fact Finders: Media Literacy becomes the first medialiteracy book series for elementary students publishedby Capstone Press“Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Educators”published by American University, Washington DCNAMLE sponsors bi-annual media literacy conference inSt. Louis, MO

NCTE publishes text “LessonPlans for Creating Media-Rich

Classrooms”

2008:

NCTE releases Position Statement: New century curriculumIndependent Film Channel premieres series “The IFC MediaProject”PBS airs four-part documentary series “Pioneers ofTelevision”

2009:

First issue of The Journal of Media Literacy publishedonline by NAMLEK-12 Horizon Report, declares the number one criticalchallenge for schools in the 21st century is: “a growingneed for formal instruction in key new skills, includinginformation literacy, visual literacy, and technologicalliteracy.”MIT and Home, Inc. co-host “2009 Media LiteracyConference: 21st Century Skills” in BostonNAMLE holds bi-annual media literacy conference inDetroit, MI

2010:

“Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds” study released by the Kaiser Family FoundationSuper Bowl game (February 7: Indianapolis vs. New

Orleans) becomes the most watched TV program in Americanhistory: 106.5 million viewers according to NielsenMedia (source)

2011:

Annual Super Bowl game attracts 111 million viewersbecoming most watched TV program in American history,surpassing the 2010 game audienceK-12 Horizon Report says number one critical challengeis: “digital media literacy continues its rise inimportance as a key skill in every discipline andprofession”NAMLE sponsors bi-annual media literacy conference inPhiladelphia PA