Resource Database

Center for Media Education

Description

When Action for Children Television closed its doors in 1992, the Center for Media Education assumed the role of carrying on ACT’s work. Our organization shared many of ACT’s issues, strategies, and values, but there were also key differences.  While ACT had maintained its headquarters in Boston, CME was based in Washington, DC This enabled us to develop more routine ongoing relationships with a number of advocacy and nonprofit organizations.  Our mission encompassed a broader set of media policy issues, with a particular emphasis on the technological changes that were ushering in a new digital media system.  For example, we co-founded the Telecommunications Policy Roundtable, a coalition of civil liberty, education, and computer groups that advocated a set of “Public Interest Principles for the Information Superhighway.” CME’s children’s television policy efforts were part of a constituency-building strategy to mobilize groups concerned about children in support of a policy agenda for the new technologies. As part of that effort, we encouraged education and library groups to become involved in the Congressional deliberations over the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  Their participation in the proceedings ultimately led to passage of the so-called “e-rate” provisions, providing schools and libraries with affordable access to the Internet (Federal Communications Commission, n.d.). [Source: Montgomery, Kathryn (2006) Advocating Children’s Television. In J. Alison Bryant and Jennings Bryant, Eds. The Children’s Television Community: Institutional, Critical, Social Systems, and Network Analyses.  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.] Kathryn Montgomery, Former President

Topic(s): Interactive Media, Legislation/Public Policy

User Type(s): Academic, Journalist

Address

American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue N.W.
Washington, District Of Columbia 20016-8080

Contact Information

Phone(s): 202-885-2680
E-mail(s): (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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