SHORT BIO
Frank W. Baker is a graduate of the University of Georgia (ABJ, Journalism). He worked
in television news from 1977 to 1986, at stations in South Carolina, Maryland and Florida. 
In 1987, he joined the Orange County (Orlando, FL) Public School System as an administrator in 
the areas of Instructional TV/Distance Education. While there, he collaborated with both 
Time Warner Cable and The Orlando Sentinel (NIE) to bring media literacy education to teachers and 
students in the nation’s 16th largest school district. (See 1995 article from Orlando Sentinel; 
1996 article from Cable In The Classroom magazine.) Upon returning to South Carolina in 1997, 
he taught a college level media literacy course for educators and developed a nationally recognized 
media literacy resource website. His 1999 content analysis of all 50 state's teaching standards 
revealed that almost all states standards include "elements of media literacy." He is past president 
of the Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA) and past vice-president of the National 
Telemedia Council (NTC). He is a frequent presenter at schools and conferences across the 
United States. He has presented at the national conferences of the International Reading Association,
The National Middle Schools Assn., and the National Council of Teachers of English. Frank worked for
South Carolina ETV (PBS network), from February 1998-mid June 2003. He has assisted the SC State
Department of Education's English Language Arts team in revising the state teaching standards to include
media literacy. Portions of his film study guide to the classic "To Kill A Mockingbird" have been published
in Australian SCREEN EDUCATION. He serves on the National Council for Teachers of English
"Commission on Media." His first book, "Coming Distractions: Questioning Movies," was published in
January 2007 by Capstone Press. In June 2007, Frank's work was recognized by the National Cable TV
Assn. with the national "Leaders In Learning" award. He contributed a lesson plan to the new NCTE text:
Lesson Plans for Creating Media-Rich Classrooms  Currently, he is an educational consultant.

PUBLICATIONS

That's News To Me (Media Smart Tips, Cable in The Classroom, February 2008)

Don't let them take ad-vantage (December 2007)

The New-Media Election (Media Smart Tips, Cable in The Classroom, October 2007)

Summer Lesson Plans (Media Smart Tips, Cable in the Classroom, June 2007)

Preventing Obesity in Our Kids (Common Sense Media, March 2007)

Coming Distractions: Questioning Movies (Capstone Press, 2007)

It’s All About Questions Media Smart Tips Resources for Library Media Specialists:
(Cable In The Classroom, March 2007)

Toy Advertising Media Smart Tips Resources For Library Media Specialists:
(Cable In The Classroom, December 2006)

Media Literacy: SC School Improvement Council newsletter

Media Literacy: Using Photos In The ELA Classroom, Ohio Media Spectrum, Fall 2006

Book Review: "teachingmedialiteracy.com"  Journal of Media Literacy (Telemedium), November 2006

Focus On Film: Learning It Through The Movies,  Middle Ground NMSA, Oct. 2006
(co-authored with Dr. David Considine) (unabridged version in JML- Telemedium, November 2006)

Media Smart Tips Resources For Library Media Specialists: Media & Politics 2006
(Cable in The Classroom, September 2006)

Get ready, Ohioans: Campaign-ad barrage will be ferocious
(Columbus Dispatch Editorial, August 2006)

Media Literacy (column in OELMA Spectrum, late summer 2006)

Mediating Media Exposure for Healthy Happy Kids 
(Jan. 12, 2006 Common Sense Media newsletter)

Where's Media Literacy? (October 2005, Threshold )

Media Literacy: One of the 21st Century Skills Your Students Need
(Palmetto Administrator, Fall 2005)

The fourth installment  "To Kill A Mockingbird" film study guide
Australian Screen Education, Issue 38, Autumn 2005

The Changing World of News & Opportunities for Media Literacy
( Ohio Media Spectrum, Spring/Summer 2005)

Incorporating Media Literacy In the English Classroom
(Florida English Journal, Spring/Summer 2005)

Part three To Kill A Mockingbird film study guide
Australian Screen Education, Issue 37, Summer 2005

Media Literacy: One of the New Literacy Skills for the 21^st Century
(Ohio Media Spectrum, Autumn 2004)

Changing Face of Media In the 21st Century; Beyond Our Borders
Telemedium, Fall 2004: Tuning Into Democracy: Citizenship, Media & Media Literacy

Keeping Current : Media Literacy
School Library Media Activities Monthly, September 2004

Second installment  "To Kill A Mockingbird" film study guide
Australian Screen Education, Issue 36, Spring 2004

First installment "To Kill A Mockingbird" film study guide
Australian SCREEN EDUCATION magazine (Winter, Issue #35)

"Using The Media To Turn Kids On to Learning" 
Spring 2004, SC Middle School Association Journal

Is There A Place for Media Literacy in Tobacco Prevention Efforts? 
Visions/Revisions: Moving Forward With Media Education, NTC, 2004

"Media Literacy: Yes, It Fits In Math & Science Classrooms,"
 ENC Focus, 2001 

"Has Media Education Found A Curriculum Foothold?"
(co-author with Dr. Robert Kubey) Education Week, October 1999

Media savvy kids are goal of this video program
Orlando Sentinel, October 22, 1996


CAREER HIGHLIGHTS & PUBLICATIONS
-In 1996, I was awarded "Outstanding Achievement by an Individual in K-12 Education" by the 
United States Distance Learning Association. 

-In October 1996, I was interviewed for the national PBS teleconference/documentary " Media Literacy: 
The New Basic," part of the On Television Project series. (view clip here)

Since returning to South Carolina in 1997, I have been a frequent presenter on the topic of media literacy. 
I served on the Governor’s Maternal Infant Child Health Council (MICH) Substance Abuse committee from 1998-2001. 
I have presented at the SC Prevention Professionals Conference; SC Public Health Conference; SC Department 
of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services’ Prevention 101 training; South Carolina Department of Education’s 
Safe Schools Conference, among many others. 

- In 1998, I collaborated with the late Dr. Peter N Johnson (USC School of Medicine) to create The Media Literacy 
Clearinghouse web site a collection of articles, background and lesson plans designed to assist K-12 educators and
parents in understanding the role of media, creating an awareness of the importance of media literacy; and ensuring
that educators know where it fits in their state’s standards. 

-In Fall 1999,  I co-taught with Dr. Johnson a "Media Literacy For Teachers," (EDUC R635) graduate level course at 
the University of South Carolina.

-In 1999, as Vice-President of the Partnership for Media Education (PME), I chaired the National Media Education 
Conference (NMEC) in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

-In 2000, I was elected President of PME as it transitioned into a new organization: 
The Alliance For A Media Literate America (AMLA). 

-In June 2000, I received a fellowship to participate in the Annenberg Public Policy Center's 5th Annual 
Conference on Children and the Media in Washington DC. 

-In the summer of 2000, I was a reviewer for the Cable TV Industry produced curriculum "View Smart to Vote Smart"

-In 2001, I joined the board of the National Telemedia Council, the nation’s oldest continuously operating 
media literacy organization, and served as webmaster until 2004.

-In July 2002, I received a fellowship to participate in the 6th annual Harvard Media and American Democracy Institute in Boston. 

-In May 2003, I was the United States representative on an international panel on media education and the 
news media at the annual Association of Media, Technology and Education in Canada (AMTEC) conference in Montreal.  

-January 2004 issue of Cable In the Classroom's ACCESS LEARNING magazine features several quotes from me.

In July & September 2004, I participated in the SC State Department of Education's English/Language Arts 
curriculum writing team, which elaborated on the Communication: Viewing standards created in 2002.

I agreed to serve on the advisory panel for CavPlex, the new magnet convergence/media program, starting at
Richland Northeast High School (Columbia SC) during the 2005-2006 school year. 

In March 2005, I was named a finalist in the Cable television industry's national "Leaders in Learning Award" in the media literacy category.

In May 2005, I began contributing a regular column to the S.C. State Department of Education's Literacy Links e-newsletter.

In the fall 2005, I accepted a three year term to the National Council of Teachers of English's Commission on Media.

In August 2006, I began contributing to the South Carolina Assn of School Librarians newsletter
Media Messenger.

In September 2006, I agreed to serve on the National Advisory Council (NAC) for the University of South Carolina's
School of Library & Information Sciences (SLIS), and donated a large number of media texts for loan to educators.

In January 2007, co-taught "Technology & Learning In The 21st Century," --a pilot information/media literacy
course, with SDE Library Media specialist Martha Alewine.

In February 2007, I joined the National Council of Teachers of English consultants.

In March 2007, I was named a finalist in the Cable television industry's national "Leaders in Learning Award" in the media literacy category.

October 2007, I began blogging for the NCTE Assembly on Media Arts.

In April 2008, I was interviewed by media arts students from the University of SC for the documentary "Why We Smoke"

Forthcoming

Chapter on Media Literacy in "A New Essential Curriculum for the 21st Century"
Publisher: ASCD, Summer 2008

"Political Campaigns And Political Advertising- A Media Literacy Guide"
(Greenwood Press, September 2008)