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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2001

News Release

The National Education Association and Court TV Present a Nationally Televised One-Hour Special on Media Literacy

May 24 & May 26 Broadcasts Launch Partnership

Washington, D.C. - The National Education Association (NEA) and Court TV will co-produce a national television special to communicate with teachers, other education staff, and parents about media literacy. Media literacy initiatives are designed to help children and teens distinguish between the positive and negative images that they see in all forms of media, to understand the real-world consequences of actions that may seem inconsequential on screen, and to recognize forms of manipulation.

The one-hour, commercial-free special, entitled "Mind Over Media: Helping Kids Get The Message" will air at several times:

• On Thursday, May 24, at 2 p.m., the NEA, the nation's largest education employee organization, will use its Safe Schools Now Network to air the special via its satellite feed to schools across the nation and public access television stations.
• On Saturday, May 26, at 1 p.m., Court TV will air the show nationally.
• Every Saturday in June, the special will also be transmitted to 85% of the nation's schools through Court TV's Cable in the Classroom time slot at 4 a.m.

Guiding viewers through the show will be the following hosts: Rikki Klieman, Court TV anchor, Al Roker, of NBC's "Today" Show, and Maurice DuBois, news anchor on WNBC-TV in New York. Also featured on the show will be nationally recognized experts, Renee Hobbs, a leader in the field of media education, and Ronald G. Slaby, a lecturer of education and pediatrics at Harvard University.

The special is being produced as part of the NEA's Safe Schools Now Network, created to continue to keep schools the safest places for kids, and of Court TV's, Choices and Consequences programming. The show includes four pre-produced segments offering real-world examples of promising classroom education and community programs being used by NEA educators in Worcester, MA, Capitol Heights, MD, Concord, NH, and Salinas, CA.

"Young people absorb thousands of negative media messages about violence, sex, race, gender, ethnicity, and other critical social issues every single day," said Bob Chase, NEA President. "The NEA may not be able to change the media, but, we can teach our children how to view the media critically. Teens must learn to make sense of the messages being promoted - sometimes even directly to them - via television, movies, Internet sites, video games, music lyrics, magazines, advertising and all other forms of media."

The NEA is providing a free resource guide for "Mind Over Media: Helping Kids Get The Message," including Tips for Parents and Research on Media and its Effect on Students, at www.safeschoolsnow.org. Videotapes of the program will also be available at cost.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.