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Vol. 9: This Issue
Welcome to the Digital Revolution
Across America, digital television signals are being broadcast
for the first time. This milestone event is launching media
as we know it into a new era. Yet most viewers in America
aren’t sure what digital TV is, let alone aware of the implications
of this technological breakthrough. At best we might understand
digital TV to mean high definition TV (HDTV) which gives
us clearer, sharper pictures. While picture quality is an
inherent capability of digital TV, it’s just the tip of
the electronic iceberg.
The conversion from analog to digital television raises
TV’s communication ability to a powerful, new level. Televisions,
telephones, faxes, and computers will disappear as separate
entities and reemerge as a converged species, a single “appliance,”
technologically integrated, pulsing with the same life blood–digital
information. We’ll be able to watch TV, play video games,
answer the phone, listen to CDs, send an e-mail, and surf
the Internet via a single communication source. Instead
of dozens of channels now available with cable TV, or a
hundred options via satellite, the convergence of the Internet
with television will provide thousands
of choices.
It’s mind-boggling to realize how close this transformation
is to becoming part of our everyday lives. A child in diapers
today will be able to experience widespread media convergence
by the time she is in grade school. She will be able to
sit on the family room couch, thumb on a remote, and “click”
effortlessly from a TV program to a video game to a video-on-demand
to a worldwide website to a telephone to a computer to download
documents.
And that’s not all. Via layering technology, she’ll also
be able to interact with the images she sees on-screen.
Let’s say she is watching a nature program and wants to
know more about a volcano in the background. All she has
to do is click and voila, supplemental video and text appear
in the corner of the screen. Or perhaps she’s interested
in the cool T-shirt the nature guide is wearing. Where did
he get it? Click. Oh look, it’s available for purchase in
just the right size, delivery guaranteed in 48 hours. With
this kind of interactivity at our fingertips, “watching
television” in the coming years will take on a whole new
meaning for everyone in the family.
What Happens when Tobacco Companies
Market to Kids?
Smoke
and Mirrors®
Smoke and Mirrors: Media Literacy and Tobacco
teaches children how to interpret tobacco messages and how
to refuse tobacco industry recruitment techniques.
Developed in conjunction with the Minnesota State Attorney
General's Office, this National Institute resource is designed
for children in grades five through eight.
Smoke and Mirrors meets "Safe
and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act"
funding guidelines. Call toll-free 888-672-5437 for more
information.
Did you Know...
The peak time for starting smoking is in the 6th and 7th grades.
-- National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia
University, 1997
The three most advertised brands (MarlboroTM, CamelTM,
and NewportTM are smoked by 90% of all kids who
smoke.
-- U.S. Federal Drug Administration, 1996
In the News
Media outlets continue to utilize the Institute as the
premier resource for information about the proven effect
of media on attitudes, behavior, and academic performance.
The 1999 Video and Computer Game Report Card generated
78 stories in the media, including the front page of USA
Today’s Life section. The Institute was cited in 117
major media including The New York Times, the LA
Times, USA Today, "CBS This Morning," National
Public Radio, and the British Broadcasting Company.
Profile: Jane Brattain
"Even though we are a little fish in a huge sea
of media, the Institute is making a difference– not by force
feeding people propaganda on how bad the media are– but
through research and education that enables people to make
informed decisions about media use." Jane
Brattain
Jane Brattain has been involved with the National Institute
on Media and the Family since its inception in 1996. As
an active volunteer, donor, and national board of directors
member, she has provided invaluable support. Brattain and
her husband, Don, are not only strong advocates of the work
of the Institute, but also strong financial supporters.
Last year, they pledged a three-year gift of $100,000 to
the Institute. Prior to her work with the Institute, Brattain
directed the Target Stores’ Consumer Affairs and Quality
Assurance division for nearly 20 years.
Tips for a Smart Start
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Restrict the
amount of television your child watches to one or
two hours per day |
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Be careful
of the content. Preschoolers should watch mostly educational
TV programming. |
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Make sure
an adult is reading to your child. |
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Have books
in your home. |
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Visit the
library with your child. |
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Start your
child on the road to reading by helping him/her learn
letter names and sounds. |
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Talk with
your child, have conversations. |
Thank You!
In 1999, charitable revenue totaled over $700,000 and came
from donors in 34 states. The National Institute receives
donations, at all levels, from individuals, schools, churches,
foundations, and corporations.
This philanthropic support enables us to provide the research
necessary to develop tools and resources, such as our KidScore®
rating system.
Concerned about how media violence
and disrespect affects your family?
What: Support
the important work of the National Institute on Media and
the Family.
Why: Kids
need your help. The Institute is a nonprofit organization.
Your gift helps us help parents and educators help children.
How: Send
your tax-deductable gift to:
National Institute on Media and
the Family
Riverside Professional Building
606 24th Ave. South, Suite 606
Minneapolis, MN 55454-1438
Who: YOU
can make a difference for our children.
Also: How
you can help.
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