The following timeline, produced by Frank Baker, was organized at the request of Webster University media professor Art Silverblatt. 
A previous version is scheduled to appear in the  "Praeger Handbook of Media Literacy" (Greenwood, 2013) I am responsible for the content.
Anyone who would like to make corrections, suggestions, additions or deletions should send correspondence to me:  fbaker1346@aol.com

 

A Media Literacy Timeline

Significant Developments (includes events, publications, conferences and more)

The history of media education cannot be told without correlating it with the rise and development of the mass media themselves (radio, television, film, the Internet). Presented here is a media literacy timeline, with a special note about events, publications, legislation, conferences and proceedings.

1905          Variety begins covering entertainment industries such as vaudeville, films, television, radio, music, and theater  (Source)

1913          Kodakery, "A Magazine For Amateur Photographers", was published from September, 1913 through 1932, at the price of 5¢ per copy. All purchasers of a Kodak or Brownie cameras received a free one year subscription (Source; 1920 issue)

1917        

1919         The Society for Visual Education, Inc. (SVE) was established as a for-profit educational publisher
dedicated to the use of new technologies in teaching. In 1919, the technology was the 35mm motion picture. Source


               "The Relative Value of Motion Pictures As An Educational Agency" published in Teacher's College Record

1921         SVE publishes first issue of its journal “Visual Education” Source
               

1922         Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America in charge of administering the Hayes Code film censorship system

               "The Film: Its Use in Popular Education" is published; available online

               "Educational Screen" magazine premieres (Source) published until 1962, source: http://mediahistoryproject.org/

1924          Journalism Education Association founded. http://www.jea.org/about/index.html

1925          Association of College University Broadcasting Stations (ACUBS) is founded, later (1934) changing its name to the National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB)

1928          "Motion Pictures in History Teaching" study is published (Yale University Press) 

1929-1932  Payne Fund Studies, early research into effect of movies on children’s behavior (details here)
               

1929           Academy Awards given for the first time

                  Frank Freeman authors, Motion Pictures in the Classroom; An Experiment to Measure the Value of Motion Pictures as Supplementary Aids in Regular Classroom Instruction (published by: Houghton Mifflin) Source

1930           Motion Picture Production Code created: spelled out what was acceptable and unacceptable content for motion pictures

1930           Advertising Age magazine and Hollywood Reporter newspaper begin publication (Source)

1931           Broadcasting: The Weekly Newsmagazine of Radio began publication (Source)

1932          The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) creates a Committee on Photoplay Appreciation; it made recommendations about film use in English classes and generated study guides for teachers. (Source)

 

1933   Ohio State University professor Edgar Dale authored "Motion Pictures And Youth: How To Appreciate Motion Pictures: A Manual of Motion Picture Criticism Prepared for High School Students" a book for use in secondary school film appreciation courses

1934

1935   American Association of University Women, (AAUW) based in Madison WI, begins a monthly newsletter, Better Broadcasts News

        

                      "How to Judge Motion Pictures," authored by Sarah McLean Mullen (source: The Moral of The Story Was Great: Frank Capra and Film Education in the 1930s)

1936  
 

Photojournalism LIFE magazine first published; ceased as a weekly in 1972, printing occasional issues, and making a comeback from 1978-2000; published in some Sunday newspapers 2004-2007.

1937  
NCTE Advocates for Using TV in instruction:
"In the late 1930s, NCTE President Holland D. Roberts (1937) noted that English teachers who did not use this new medium in their teaching 'will be swept into the dust bin of the past,' and by the mid-1940s, NCTE was noting that mass media were 'one of the three basic functions of English teaching.'"   (Source: March 6. 2012 NCTE Email newsletter to members)

                                         "Talking Pictures: How They Are Made, How to Appreciate Them", Barrett C. Kiesling

        

1938

1942 
 

Good Listening newsletter debuts in Madison WI- monthly list of programs and news of radio, TV  (Source: National Telemedia Council)

1944   NCTE publishes Skill In Listening pamphlet aimed at appreciating drama via radio ( Source: Radio- A Means, Not An End, Lennox Grey, The English Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Mar., 1951), pp. 144-149)

1947  US House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC),  began an investigation into the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry. (Source)

1948  CBS Evening News (with Douglas Edwards) becomes first regularly scheduled network TV news program

1949  Fairness Doctrine enacted by the Federal Communications Commission (Source)

         Emmy Awards given for the first time (Source)

         NBC launches Camel News Caravan (with John Cameron Swayze)

         National Association for Better Radio and Television, an advocacy 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 Selby The English Journal, Vol. 52, No. 6 (Sep., 1963), pp. 428)

        Red Channels, pamphlet is published.. listing the names of 151 writers, directors and performers who were said to be members of subversive organisations (Source)

1951
         See It Now with Edward R. Murrow premieres on CBS TV network

         Congress holds its first hearing on the effect of television on children (Source)

         The National Association of Educational Broadcasters conducts four (violence) monitor studies of TV programs in New York City, New Haven,
 Los Angeles, and Chicago during the years 1951–53. (Source)

1952  The Today Show premieres on NBC TV network

         National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters adopts a code to regulate broadcast content. (Source)

1953   TV Guide magazine first published

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

          ACBB begins Look-Listen Project: an opinion poll "to educate us television consumers to understand and to recognize quality in programming" (Source: pg 12,  Telemedium, The Journal of Media Literacy, Vol. 53, Number 1, Summer 2006)

1954   National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) establishes The Committee for the Study of Television, Radio and Film

          ACBB holds its first annual conference in Columbus OH

          “English Language Arts--Films for Classroom Use”  handbook distributed nationwide

          Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy challenged by CBS' Edward R Murrow on "See It Now" broadcast

1954-55  the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency held a series of hearings on the impact of television programs on juvenile crime. (Source)

1955   the phrase “media literacy” is first used in an issue of the ACBB’s regular newsletter

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

1957  
 

Vance Packard authors “The Hidden Persuaders”  "pioneering and prescient work revealing how advertisers use psychological methods to tap into our unconscious desires in order to "persuade" us to buy the products they are selling."  (Source: Amazon.com product description)

1958   CBS broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, chides broadcasters in famous speech to the convention of Radio TV News Directors, declaring:  “This instrument (television) can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that 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 Television

1959   The Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction (MPATI) experiment used "planes equipped to transmit broadcast signals sent 'classroom television' to member schools that were equipped to receive the transmission." (source)

1960    John Kennedy and Richard Nixon meet in the first of 3 “live” televised presidential debates

           Marshall McLuhan produces “Understanding New Media” a curriculum for high school students, but it proves too advanced for use in schools; He wrote the curriculum material for the National Association of Educational Broadcasters (NAEB) under a contract with the Office of Education, US Department of Health, Education and Welfare
(Source; Quoted/Source)


1961  
 

          FCC Commissioner Newton Minow labels television “a vast wasteland”

          UNESCO publishes "Teaching About The Film" (available here)
           

1962   Walter Cronkite becomes anchor of CBS Evening News (title held until 1981)
 

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

          International Meeting on Film and Television Teaching held at Leangkollen, Oslo, Norway; lays the framework for "critical viewing skills" education.  (see also Theory & Practice of Screen Education, paper)

1964    Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan is published

           John Culkin becomes one of the first to advocate for media literacy education in American schools
           (Source)

           UNESCO publishes "Screen Education: Teaching A Critical Approach to Cinema and Television"
           (available here)

           US Senate committee holds hearing on television programming and youth

1965     
 

1966    Broadcast historian Erik Barnouw publishes first (A Tower of Babel) of three books about American broadcasting history. (A Golden Web, 1968;  The Image Empire, 1970)

          Learning by Television, an assessment of the state of instructional and educational TV, published by The Fund for the Advancement of Education

          The Canadian Association for Screen Education (CASE) formed (source)

1967    The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects by Marshall McLuhan is published

          Researcher George Gerbner starts Cultural Indicators Research Project

          Public TV Act passes Congress

1968   Action for Children’s Television (ACT) formed by Peggy Charren/Judy Chaflen/Evelyn Sarson/Lillian Ambrosino to improve the
         quality of children’s TV (disbanded in 1992) (Source; Source; Source)

         Joe McGinniss’ “The Selling of the President” is published

         Iowa educators begin to use Media Now, an innovative media literacy/awareness curriculum (Source)

1969  “Sesame Street” educational TV series starts on educational TV stations
        
         The Center for Understanding Media founded in NYC, by executive director John Culkin
        
         First visual literacy conference held Rochester NY
        
          Accuracy in Media (AIM) founded

         CASE (Canadian Association for Screen Education) sponsored the first large gathering of media teachers in 1969 at Toronto's York University (Source)

1970   FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson authors “How To Talk Back To Your Television Set”

          NCTE passes Resolution on Media Literacy   

          “Films Deliver: Teaching Creatively with Film” authored by. Anthony Schillaci and John M. Culkin, Editors

          PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is started (successor to NET: National Educational Television)

          "Proceedings of the First National Conference on Visual Literacy" published  (Source)

           ACT petitions  FCC to ban advertising from children's programming

          First National Symposium on Children and Television held, sponsored by ACT, Kennedy Memorial Hospital for Children and the Boston University School of Public Communications  (Source)

1971    Final TV commercial for cigarettes is broadcast   www.frankwbaker.com/tobacco_on_television.htm

           “Exploring Television An Inquiry/Discovery Program”  is published by Loyola University Press

          Glencoe 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 Committee

          Second national symposium on children and television / held at the Palmer House Hotel, Chicago, Illinois (Source)


1972   McDougal-Littel publishes "Coping with The Mass Media"

          US Surgeon General forms Advisory Committee on Television and Violence; issues report: Television and growing up: The impact of televised violence (available here)

           NCTE & Committee on Film publish "The Compleat Guide to Film Study" consists of essays designed to help teachers approach film

           NCTE passes resolution “On Preparing Students With skill for Evaluating Media” urging members to teach "television and radio evaluation" in K-12; it also urges colleges and universities to prepare teachers to help students develop evaluation skills (Source:  pg 27,  Telemedium, July/August 2006)

          "Who Is Talking To Our Children?" Third National Symposium on Children and Television, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (Source)

premiere of BBC visual literacy TV series "Ways of Seeing" hosted by John Berger

1973   John Berger’s book “Ways of Seeing” first published in the USA; companion to BBC “visual literacy” TV series of the same name

         The Center for Understanding Media, in collaboration with the American Library Association, publishes book “Films Kids Like”

          McDougal-Littel publishes “Coping with Television”

          Association for Childhood Education International publishes “Children Are Centers for Understanding Media”

          National Association of Broadcasters adopts a revised code limiting commercial time in children's programming to twelve minutes per hour.

1974    FCC issues Children's TV Report and Policy Statement

           “The Language of Advertising Claims,” by Jeffrey Schrank, is published in the March  issue of “Media and Methods” magazine

           TV Action Book (by Jeffrey Schrank) published by McDougal-Littel

           Media Action Research Center (MARC) is created; history of the group can be found here
          
           Father John Culkin authors "From Film Studies to Media Studies" in "Media & Methods" periodical

1975   Ford Foundation report recognizes the need for mass media education in America’s schools:
          "The report of a Television and Children conference funded by the Ford, Markle, and National Science Foundations recommended several courses of study as part of a curriculum. Among the subjects were analysis of media appeals, interpretation of non-verbal cues, review of the broadcasting industry’s history and structure, the economic aspect of television, analysis of program formats, analysis of values within television content, standards for criticism of content, and production skills." (Source: Media Literacy and the Policymaking Process: A Framework for Understanding Influences on Potential Educational Policy Outputs, retrieved August 8, 2010 source)

          NCTE passes Resolution on Teaching Media Literacy

          Children's TV & The Arts: Fifth National Symposium on Children & Television, held in Atlanta, GA (Source)
 

          
             National Education Association publishes booklet "What Research Says to the Teacher: Visual Literacy "

1977   
 

first issue of Media & Values, edited by Elizabeth Thoman, is published by the Center for Media & Values, based in Los Angeles CA

          Marie Winn’s book “The Plug-in Drug” is published

          "Television Awareness Training" curriculum created and distributed by the Media Action Research Center; considered "the first comprehensive course about television published in the US" (Source)

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 decision to fund four "seed" projects for elementary and secondary teachers to teach students critical viewing skills. The four organizations who received seed funds were:
1. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
2. WNET 13, New York City
3. Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development
4. Boston University (Source: Media Literacy and the Policymaking Process: A Framework for Understanding Influences on Potential Educational Policy Outputs, retrieved August 8, 2010 source)

         Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire quashes critical viewing TV curricula by awarding it a “Golden Fleece”
         (for wasteful federal spending) (see pages 3-4)
        

           The Association for Media Literacy (AML) founded in Toronto--was the first comprehensive organization for media literacy teachers in Canada. (Source)

1978

Library of Congress publishes "Television, The Book and The Classroom"  the proceedings of a 1978 seminar co-sponsored by the Library of Congress and the U.S. Office of Education. (Source)

          

1979   

 
           NCTE establishes “Commission on Media”

          “How to Treat TV with TLC, The ACT Guide to Children’s Television” is published

           "The Cinematic Eye" television series about film, broadcast by PBS

1980    “Teaching About Television” by Len Masterman published
 

            “Inside Television: A Guide to Critical Viewing” is published by WGBH (Boston) and the Far West Laboratory for Education Research And Development

         “Critical Television Viewing: A Language Skills Work-a-Text” is produced by WNET/Thirteen (New York) and published by Cambridge The Basic Skills Company

            UNESCO Convenes "New Directions in Media Education," International Media Literacy Conference in Toulouse, France (report)

            Broadcaster Ted Turner launches Cable News Network, aka CNN

1981      

               Music Television (aka MTV) premieres

              Children from Australia, and two sites in the US are inter-connected via satellite: "Kids-4" sponsored by American Council of Better Broadcasts as part of their 28th annual conference  (Source: National Telemedia Council)

1982      UN Grunwald Declaration on Media Education emanated from International Symposium on Media Education at Grunwald, Germany
“We must prepare young people for living in a world of powerful images, words and sounds.” (UNESCO, 1982)

            US Surgeon General issues report on TV & Violence (10 year anniversary of the original report)

1983     American Council for Better Broadcasts becomes The National 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. Sandler

            Final episode of the CBS sitcom M*A*S*H becomes the most watched TV program in American History: 105.97 million viewers, a record held for 27 years  (Source)

           FCC lifts its children's policy guidelines and allows TV stations to air as many commercials in a given time period as they thought necessary. (Source)
          

1984   “Mind And Media: The Effects of Television, Video Games, and Computers” is published

           NCTE’s Committee on Television Literacy publishes pamphlet Helping Children Use Television Wisely: A Guide for Parents, which advocated a “positive relationship with television” and offered eleven guidelines for television watching (Source: A Moment in NCTE History, delivered at the 2009 NCTE Board of Directors Meeting, by Leila Christenbury, Council Historian, NCTE Annual Fall Convention, Philadelphia PA)

           Jesuit Communication Project  (JCP) started in Canada by Father John Pungente   Source

1985     Neil Postman writes “Amusing Ourselves to Death”
          

	UK media educator Len Masterman's book Teaching The Media is published
	Published by the British Film Institute Dept. in association with University of London Institute of Education
	"The Spot: The Rise of Political Advertising on Television" is published by MIT
	Understanding Mass Media, early textbook, authored by Jeffrey Schrank Natl Textbook Co; 3rd edition (October 1985)

1986     Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) founded in New York City

           The Second International Television Studies Conference held in London

           Television & The Classroom published, written by Don Kaplan

 

1987    Report on Film Study in American Schools. Prepared by the NCTE Committee on Film Study.

          The Ontario Ministry of Education released guidelines for Media Literacy in English Language Arts, making Ontario the first North American educational setting to mandate Media Literacy in its curriculum. (Source)
 

1988    
             PBS broadcasts multi-part series called Television, hosted by newsman Edwin Newman

             Media literacy symposium coordinated by Jean-Pierre Golay, director of the Centre d’Initiation aux Communications de Masse (CIC), Lausanne, Switzerland (source)

       
1989    
 

AML submits to the Ontario Ministry of Education The Media Literacy Resource Guide, Intermediate and Senior Divisions

            “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 Francisco by Kathleen Tyner; begins publishing quarterly newsletter (Source)

             Trent Think Tank meeting at the University of Trent examined future of media education in Canada (Source)

            

Center for Media & Values becomes The Center for  Media Literacy

1990    First North American Media Education Conference, held in Guelph, Ontario, sponsored by the Association for Media Literacy with the help of the Jesuit Communication Project

          "Meet The Media" media education book published in Canada, co-authored by Jack Livesley, Barrie McMahon, John Pungente, Robyn Quin

          Children’s Television Act enacted by Congress

         Media researcher George Gerbner launches the Cultural Environmental Movement

        

         
1991  
 

          Canadian Association for Media Education (CAME) formed in Vancouver (Source)

          “Literacy In The Television Age: The Myth of the TV Effect” (first ed) by Susan B. Neuman is published
 

1992    National Alliance for Media Education (NAME) formed in Austin TX; purpose "to connect and foster media literacy initiatives, to bring together leaders in media arts education and industry, and to support teaching of media in schools, media arts facilities and community centers."  (Source)

         Aspen Institute Leadership Forum on Media Literacy convenes and issues a report on media literacy including this succinct definition: "the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate"

           2nd media education conference held at University of Guelph
        
         “How to Watch TV News,” co-authored by Neil Postman

          Second North American Media Education Conference, held in Guelph, Ontario
        

           Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations (CAMEO) is formed (Source)
          

1993    Harvard University hosts first US Media Literacy Teaching Institute
          

New Mexico Media Literacy Project formed  (Source)

1994   “Screening Images: Ideas for Media Education” book by Chris M. Worsnop published

         “Tuning in to Media: Literacy for the Information Age” documentary hosted by Renee Hobbs and features other media educators

          “Visual Literacy In The Digital Age” a compendium of essays is published by the International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA)

        “Taking Charge of Your TV” initiative started by Cable in the Classroom, the National Cable Television Association (now the National Cable & Telecommunications Association) and National PTA

“Creating Critical Viewers” media literacy curriculum initiative started by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS);rolled out at NATAS regional member sites

1995    Appalachian State University (Boone NC) hosts first national media literacy conference in the US, in collaboration with the National Telemedia Council; Source

           PBS airs multi-part series "American Cinema" (series and companion materials used in many college/universities film studies courses) Source

         

Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development report "Great Transitions: Preparing Adolescents for a New Century" calls for media literacy instruction in American schools (Chapter 7)

         Media Virus: Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture book written by Douglas Rushkoff

        First annual Taos (NM) Talking Pictures Festival Media Literacy Conference; co-produced by The Downs Media Education Center.

1996   US Telecommunications Act  signed into law

          NCTE/IRA Standards for English Language Arts recommends visual literacy: “Teaching students how to interpret and create visual texts....is another essential component of the ELA curriculum."  

         NCTE passes Resolution on Viewing and Visually Representing as Forms of Literacy:  
       "Viewing and visually representing (defined in the NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts) are a part of our growing consciousness of  how people gather and share information. Teachers and students need to expand their appreciation of the power of print and nonprint texts. Teachers should guide students in constructing meaning through creating and viewing nonprint texts."

        2^nd  National Media Literacy Conference held in Los Angeles, hosted by the Center for Media Literacy
 
        Harvard University hosts first annual Media & American Democracy Institute for social studies educators

       PBS airs teleconference and documentary both entitled  “Media Literacy: The New Basic”

       The National Communication Association (NCA) develops standards for media literacy in K-12 education: "Competent Communicators: K-12 Speaking, Listening, and Media Literacy Standards and Competencies"

       Annenberg Public Policy Center sponsors first Conference on Children and Television (later called Children & Media)

       New London Group coins the term  “multiliteracies”

       PBS broadcasts multi-part series "Signal to Noise: Life With Television"
       

1997  First television content ratings system goes into effect
 

Partnership for Media Education (PME) created

           Texas teaching standards for English Language Arts include media literacy as represented by “viewing/representing”

           NCTE publishes “Reel Conversations: Reading Films With Young Adults”

          “Scanning Television”  videotape series and accompanying curriculum is released by Face-to-Face Media and Harcourt Brace Canada

           KQED (PBS Northern California) launches online Media Education Project, one of the first PBS stations to develop media literacy material for teachers and students  (Source)


           

 
1998    Rutgers University media professor Robert Kubey writes essay  “Obstacles to the Development of Media Literacy Education in the United States”
          
           Renee Hobbs writes essay ”The Seven Great Debates in the Media Literacy Movement.”

          "Media studies 20: a curriculum guide for the secondary level" published by Saskatchewan Education

           Violence And The Viewer report released by BBC, Independent TV Commission and Broadcasting Standards Commission (Source)

          3^rd bi-annual National Media Ed Conference held in Colorado Springs, CO
    

1999    “Messages & Meanings: A Guide to Understanding Media”  curriculum published; sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, the International Reading Association and the National Council for the Social Studies

          Partnership for Media Education sponsors National Media Education Conference (NMEC) in St Paul MN

            Mid-Continent Research For Education and Learning (McRel) adds two new strands to its national Language Arts standards:

          #9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.
          #10: Understands the characteristics and components of the media.
                 (source: correspondence w/ McRel dated July 8, 2010)

            US first graduate program in media literacy established at Appalachian State University, Boone NC

          Op-ed “Has Media Education Found A Curricula Foothold?” published in Education Week; provides status of media literacy in K-12 state teaching standards

            Sex on TV: A Biennial Report first released by the Kaiser Family Foundation

            Media Education Seminar hosted by Department for Culture, Media and Sports  (Source)

            Making Movies Matter, issued by BFI, advocates for film education in schools (Source)

2000    

           CAME sponsored its first provincial conference  (Source)

           Rutgers University hosts “Setting Research Directions For Media Literacy and Health Education” conference

          “Handbook of Children and the Media” summarizes research known to date, co-written by Yale University researchers Jerome and Dorothy Singer

          US Department of Education and National Endowment for the Arts distribute almost one million dollars in grants to projects in 8 states to “help young people better understand and interpret the artistic content of electronic media images -including those that contain violence”

          The Media Ecology Association holds its first annual convention at Fordham University, New York, NY

          White paper, A New Future for Communications, issued in the UK, advocates for media literacy education (Source)

          Moving Images In The Classroom: A Teaching Guide, released by BFI (Source)

2001   AMLA sponsors National Media Education Conference (NMEC), Austin TX.

          PBS broadcasts FRONTLINE documentary “Merchants of Cool” hosted by Douglas Rushkoff

          Sex on TV 2 –report issued by the Kaiser Family Foundation

Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME) formed

          Court TV airs “Mind Over Media: Voices from The Middle School" a collaboration with the National Education Association and the National Middle School Association (excerpt)

           Seeing & Believing: How To Teach Media Literacy in the English Classroom, published by Heinemann

2002   “Critically Thinking About Media” report issued by Cable In The Classroom 

           Media Literacy: A Public Policy Report, issued by the Free Expression Policy Project 

           Media Literacy in US Institutions of Higher Education published by Webster University professor Art Silverblatt   

           Cable In the Classroom launches Media Literacy 101, an online primer and releases: Thinking Critically About Media: Schools and Families In Partnership

          

“Children, Adolescents & The Media” a series of essays on  youth, media and research is published

2003   NCTE  issues position statement on “Composing with Nonprint”
         

          The National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (Adolescent and Young Adult, English Language Arts standards) recognized the importance of media and visual literacy when it declared:  " Accomplished teachers know that students must become critical and reflective consumers and producers of visual communication because media literacy has become an integral part of being literate in contemporary society. Teachers understand how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in ways that are both subtle and profound. They understand that students need to learn the power of visual communication, from the uses typefaces and white
space on a written report to the uses of graphics and video in multimedia productions." 
(Source: pg15, Adolescence and Young Adult English Language Arts standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.)

          NMEC bi-annual media literacy conference held in Baltimore. MD

          University of Connecticut hosts first annual Northeast Media Literacy Conference

           Sex on TV 3: TV Sex is Getting Safer released by Kaiser Family Foundation

          Media Literacy: Key Facts released by Kaiser Family Foundation
          http://www.kff.org/entmedia/Media-Literacy.cfm

          FactCheck.org  website launched, sponsored by Annenberg Public Policy Center

          FTC holds workshop: Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children

National Telemedia Council celebrates 50th anniversary with "International Media Literacy Forum," a five-site international video conference, and publication of book:  "Visions/Revisions: Moving Forward With Media Education"  (photo by Frank Baker)

2004   “Navigating the Children's Media Landscape - A Parent's and Caregiver's Guide.” authored by the American Institutes for Research and released by Cable in the Classroom

           Partnership for 21st Century Skills is formed; recognizes media literacy in ICT curriculum skills maps

           NCTE publishes “Great Films and How To Teach Them”

           PBS broadcasts FRONTLINE documentary “The Persuaders” hosted by Douglas Rushkoff

           Both the US House & US Senate held separate hearings on broadcast indecency, as a result of various events, including the Super Bowl 2004 half time show

           FTC issues followup report on Hollywood marketing of violence to teens Story Report New website

           Chelsea (NY) Art Museum hosts first annual Media Literacy: Overseas Conversation Series, sponsored by The European Observatory of Children’s Television

           The American Diploma Project includes "viewing" and "producing" in its English and Communication benchmark recommendations.  (source: email with  TFlavell@achieve.org  and at http://www.achieve.org/ReadyorNot; specifics can also be found at:  http://www.frankwbaker.com/adp_communications.htm

            Sen. Hilary Clinton proposes The Children and Media Research Advancement Act; status of this bill


2005     KFF Issues Brief: The Effects of Electronic Media on Children Ages Zero to Six: A History of Research

             First “Leaders in Learning” awards given by National Cable TV Association and National PTA; media literacy is one of the award categories

             Tonight Show host Johnny Carson dies

             CBS axes newspeople after Memogate investigation release

             PBS/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 Foundation

             AMLA's bi-annual media literacy conference convenes in San Francisco, CA

            Phrase “new literacies” began to become popular and was defined as “the set of abilities and skills where aural, visual, and digital literacy overlap. These include the ability to understand the power of images and sounds, to recognize and use that power, to manipulate and transform digital media, to distribute them pervasively, and to easily adapt them to new forms.”  (SOURCE: New Media Consortium's definition of New Literacies)

2006   College Board's Standards for College Success (in English Language Arts/Media Literacy standards) recognizes media literacy education: 
          "To be successful in college and in the workplace and to participate effectively in a global society, students are expected to understand the nature of media; to interpret, analyze, and evaluate the media messages they encounter daily; and to create media that express a point of view and influence others. These skills are relevant to all subject areas, where students may be asked to evaluate media coverage of research, trends, and issues."
(Source: pg 171, College Board's Standards for College Success: English Language Arts: Media Literacy Standards)


         “The Teen Media Juggling Act: The Implications of Media Multitasking Among American Youth” report issued by Kaiser Family Foundation

          Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME) holds conference in Burlington, VT    http://www.acmecoalition.org/acme_summit_2006

          NCTE publishes “Reading The Reel World: Teaching Documentaries and Other Nonfiction Texts”

 2007  

           Fact Finders: Media Literacy becomes the first media literacy book series for elementary students published by Capstone Press

NCTE publishes text “Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms”

            “Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Educators” published by American University, Washington DC
      
            NAMLE sponsors bi-annual media literacy conference in St. Louis, MO


2008     NCTE releases Position Statement: New century curriculum

            Independent Film Channel premieres series "The IFC Media Project"

            PBS airs four-part documentary series "Pioneers of Television"

2009     First issue of The Journal of Media Literacy published online by NAMLE

           K-12 Horizon Report, declares the number one critical challenge for schools in the 21st century is: "a growing need for formal instruction in key new skills, including information literacy, visual literacy, and technological literacy."

           MIT and Home, Inc. co-host “2009 Media Literacy Conference: 21st Century Skills” in Boston

           NAMLE holds bi-annual media literacy conference in Detroit, MI

2010   “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds” study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation

          Super Bowl game (February 7: Indianapolis vs. New Orleans) becomes the most watched TV program in American history: 106.5 million viewers according to Nielsen Media  (source)

2011    Annual Super Bowl game attracts 111 million viewers becoming most watched TV program in American history, surpassing the 2010 game audience

           K-12 Horizon Report says number one critical challenge is: "digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key skill in every discipline and profession"


          NAMLE sponsors bi-annual media literacy conference in Philadelphia PA