The
National Institute on Media and the Family
recently launched its new innovative program
designed to promote healthy lifestyles in
Cedar Rapids and Lakeville. Switch
– active lifestyles from MediaWise®
will measure changes in behavior relating
to fitness levels, nutritional choices,
and screen time usage of third through fifth
graders in several Cedar Rapids and Lakeville
schools over the next eight months.
Switch
makes it easier for parents and kids to
choose healthy and active lifestyles. Switch
will promote increased physical activity,
sound nutritional choices, and moderated
screen time in an effort to enhance the
overall health of children.
Specifically, Switch will provide
practical, easy tips that prompt students
to:
• Switch up their level of physical
activity;
• Switch over to choosing more
fruits and vegetables; and
• Switch down hours spent in
front of screens.
With
their families, students will set weekly
and monthly goals and will receive Switch
materials to support their efforts in Switching
what they do, chew, and view each month.
The
Switch team will produce a final
report, including research findings, and
make the report available to the community
at large. The team will also recommend strategies
for sharing the information with other communities
and stakeholders based on the project’s
conclusions.
The National Institute on Media and the
Family is grateful to Cargill and the Healthy
and Active America Foundation for sponsoring
Switch in Cedar Rapids; and Fairview,
Medica, and the Healthy and Active America
Foundation for sponsoring Switch
in Lakeville.
The National Institute on Media and the
Family looks forward to both Cedar Rapids
and Lakeville serving as models for other
communities across the country.
National
Institute on Media and the Family Issues
National Parental Warning
On July 8, 2005, the
National Institute on Media and the Family
issued a National Parental Warning about
hidden pornographic content available to
players of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Computer experts from the Institute later
discovered and confirmed that the code for
the “Hot Coffee” pornography was
on the retail version of the PlayStation®
2 disk for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
On
July 14, Dr. David Walsh joined with Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to again alert
parents about the pornographic content and
to support Senator Clinton’s call for
the Federal Trade Commission to determine
the source of the pornographic content.
The Federal Trade Commission is currently
conducting such an investigation.
The National Institute on Media and the
Family is proud that its pressure resulted
in the Entertainment Rating Software Board
revoking the M-rating for Grand Theft Auto:
San Andreas. The video game was subsequently
pulled from the shelves of major retailers.
The fraud of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’
M-rating, and the fact that the Entertainment
Software Rating Board has rated only 19
out of 10,000 video games Adults-Only, makes
clear it is time to create a rating system
completely independent of the video game
industry.
Host
a MediaWise House Party!
Do you ever
feel like it’s difficult to
convince others that being MediaWise
is important for families and children?
Do you ever wish you had tools that
made it easier and more fun to do
so?
The MediaWise Network has the answer:
new MediaWise House Party Kits.
We will send you a powerful DVD,
a discussion guide, invitations,
and MediaWise handouts – everything
you need to start the MediaWise
conversation with your neighbors,
friends or local leaders. Bring
the kit to a PTA/PTO meeting, share
it with colleagues, or host a gathering
in your own home. Hosting a MediaWise
House Party is an easy and fun way
to share the MediaWise message with
other concerned adults and to brainstorm
ways to make your community more
MediaWise.
Go to www.mediafamily.org
and click on Take Action! Follow
the instructions to sign up for
the MediaWise Network. From the
Network home page, click on Host
a House Party! and we will
send you the materials right away.
Update:
MediaWise Early Childhood Project
The National
Institute on Media and the Family
continues to provide MediaWise training
on healthy media habits to early
childhood educators, preschool teachers,
social workers, paraprofessionals,
child care and day care workers,
and other professionals who work
with families and children. One
project, supported by the Cargill
Foundation, has 25 early childhood
organizations, with a total of 143
early childhood and family service
professionals, committed to be trained
in MediaWise. Trainers have been
implementing the MediaWise program
since the first training session
was held in March 2005.
The other project, supported by
the McKnight Foundation, includes
Hennepin County’s PICA Head
Start, Fraser School, and the Greater
Minnesota Day Care Association.
PICA Head Start staff recently completed
a workshop, led by Dr. David Walsh,
and has translated key MediaWise
education materials in Spanish,
Hmong, and Somali. Fraser School
has trained two family program staff
who will reach up to 30 families
with special needs children. The
Greater Minneapolis Day Care Association
is recruiting 15 to 20 home day
care providers and center-based
day cares to assist in determining
the criteria to become a designated
MediaWise day care provider in the
organization’s referral database.
The National Institute on Media
and the Family, again, thanks both
the Cargill Foundation and the McKnight
Foundation for their generous support
of this very important early childhood
project.
Sixth Graders
Say No to TV Violence
A
group of sixth graders from Rush Creek Elementary in
Maple Grove has published a booklet about the amount
of violence in popular television programs. According
to the students, they, along with their parents, watched
four television shows twice, then averaged all the verbal,
physical, sexual, and swearing violence.
The students gathered financial sponsors of the booklet
and are raising funds to support Home Free, a shelter
for battered women and children in Plymouth.
Dr. David Walsh has worked with these sixth graders
and appeared with two students on The Jack Rice Show
on WCC0 830 AM.
The National Institute on Media and the Family commends
these young folks on a job well done!
Welcome
to New Board Members
The National Institute on Media
and the Family is pleased to announce that Maureen Kucera-Walsh,
Ron Phillippo, and Jeannine Shao Collins have joined
the Institute’s Board of Directors.
Maureen provides consulting services in the nonprofit,
governmental, and political arenas in both Minnesota
and Ireland. She was previously senior vice president
for public affairs and corporate support at Delta Dental
Plan of Minnesota/Decare International.
Ron is the Scout Executive/CEO of Indianhead Council
in St. Paul. Ron has been an active community leader
serving on a variety of nonprofit boards, including
Lakeview Hospital, St. Paul Rotary, and United Way.
Jeannine is the senior vice president and group publisher
for Ladies’ Home Journal and More
magazines. Jeannine was named a “Woman to Watch”
by AdAge in 2000, and was inducted into the American
Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement in 2002.
The National Institute on Media and the Family looks
forward to working with Maureen, Ron, and Jeannine and
appreciates their service on the Board of Directors.
You can help us help families
Future research and outreach efforts would not be possible
without continued support.
The Institute accepts donations via mail, telephone, and
online:
EDITOR:
Monica Walsh
WRITING AND DESIGN:
New School Communications
National
Institute on Media and the
Family
606 24th Avenue South, Suite 606, Minneapolis,
MN 55454 Toll-free 888.672.5437
Fax 612.672.4113 Web site www.mediafamily.org
Individuals and organizations are encouraged
to print and distribute copies of this newsletter.
Please call for permission to republish any
of this material.
The Institute’s mission is to maximize
the benefits and minimize the harm of
media on children and families through research,
education, and advocacy.
Our
media culture is changing how kids learn.
Together we make sure it's for the better. Donate
Now!
Switch
makes it easier for parents and kids to
choose healthy and active lifestyles. Switch
will promote increased physical activity,
sound nutritional choices, and moderated
screen time in an effort to enhance the
overall health of children. 
With
their families, students will set weekly
and monthly goals and will receive Switch
materials to support their efforts in Switching
what they do, chew, and view each month.
The
Switch team will produce a final
report, including research findings, and
make the report available to the community
at large. The team will also recommend strategies
for sharing the information with other communities
and stakeholders based on the project’s
conclusions.
On
July 14, Dr. David Walsh joined with Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) to again alert
parents about the pornographic content and
to support Senator Clinton’s call for
the Federal Trade Commission to determine
the source of the pornographic content.
The Federal Trade Commission is currently
conducting such an investigation.
A
group of sixth graders from Rush Creek Elementary in
Maple Grove has published a booklet about the amount
of violence in popular television programs. According
to the students, they, along with their parents, watched
four television shows twice, then averaged all the verbal,
physical, sexual, and swearing violence.
