Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Government Documents

Federal Communications Commission. (2007). In the Matter of Violent Television Programming And Its Impact On Children. (MB Docket No. 04-261). Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office.

This report was issued by the FCC and is all about the effects of media on children. It contains more than 50 pages and cites many experts. This would be one of the best sources a journalist could use to write an article regarding media influence on violence. It includes all different viewpoints from people with different interests and includes its own recommendations. It is an extremely comprehensive report that would not only be a great primary resource, but it would also lead to many other sources one could use as well.

Office of the Surgeon General (2000). Youth Violence: A report of the surgeon general. Media violence: exposure and content. (Appendix 4-B).

This document is a large report on youth violence. The fourth chapter of the document contains a great deal of information regarding media influence on that violence. There are many statistics the surgeon general cites to draw conclusions about the topic. This document offers a credible source that also includes interesting statistics and conclusions. Any journalist doing a story on this topic could use this report as a place to find good evidence of media influence on violence and aggression. The surgeon general's report is not entirely comprehensive, but it offers good statistical evidence and cites other sources one could use.

Government Agencies

Federal Communications Commission homepage. (2008). Federal Communications Commission. http://www.fcc.gov/

The FCC deals with regulation of all types of media. It is responsible for determining what is allowed and what is not allowed on U.S. airwaves. This agency produces numerous documents that speak to media violence. The FCC has issued several reports that cite experts on media influence on aggression and violence that could be used in a story by a journalist. The FCC also is the deciding factor as to what the guidlines are for media. The FCC's investigations and hearing often produce quality information for any journalist interested in this topic

National Telecommunications and Information Administration homepage. (2008).
Office of Policy Analysis and Development. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Office of Policy Analysis and Development is one of the government's leading voices in policy regarding communications. It plays a vital role in the government's policy decisions. It listens to testimony and suggestions regarding policy in media, which is important as it can restrict media violence. A journalist could use this agency as a tool to find out what U.S. policies have been through the years and how policies have changed. These policies would provide a resource that can show how lenient or strict the government has been and how that has affected violence in media and violence in society.

Non-profit associations

National Institute on Media and the Family. (2008). Media wise. Watch what your kids watch. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.mediafamily.org/

Founded in 1996, the National Institute on Media and the Family attempts to help parents monitor what their children watch. It is a reseach organization that provides parents with information regarding both the positive and negative effects of media. Their mission is to quell the negative effects of media on children. This site has many different areas that visitors can explore. There is good section on media violence and children that attempts to help parents understand how media affect their kids. The site has a great deal of information on this topic and would be very useful to any journalist especially if he or she wanted to include what was being done to stop media violence in his or her article.


CYFERnet. (2008). Children, youth and families education and research network. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.cyfernet.org/

This non-profit association is dedicated to using research from universities to provide information to families. It has much information regarding media violence and its effect on children. There are several good links one can find;however, the website is not set up as efficiently as it could be. While there is a lot of information about media violence and its influence, it is a little difficult to find. The information that can be found there, however, is great information on media, and it offers numerous different fact sheets and studies regarding the topic. Information from universities provides credible and relevant information for any journalist looking to write a story about this topic.

International Websites

Media Awareness Network. (2008). Media Awareness Network. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/index.cfm

Media Awareness Network is a Canadian organization that is focused on media and internet education resources. Founded in 1996, members of this organization include people with a background in communication, journalism, education, and cultural policy. They examine a wide variety of media including television, film, video games, newspapers, advertising and music. The site includes sections about violence in media entertainment, the business of violent media, media violence debates, and research on violent media effects. It is easy to navigate, and it offers numerous links to other websites that would be useful. A journalist could use this website and its links to find a huge source of good information.


Young Media Australia. (2008). Young Media Australia. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.youngmedia.org.au/

Young Media Australia is a group that says it is focused on the healthy development of Australian children. Its goal is to inform Australia of the effects media have on their kids. There are many links to explore fact sheets, studies and surveys that would be very useful to use a source. It is a great site for a journalist to explore if he or she wanted to understand Australian media. The site is not hard to navigate, and it offers a great deal of relevant and useful information. Movie reviews and media critiques are posted and can be accessed very easily and there are other links that could be used by a journalist.

Blogs

Cantor, J. (2008). Joanne Cantor's Blog. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from http://joannecantor.blogspot.com/

This blog is by nationally renowned expert Joanne Cantor who has done much work on media effects. It offers her own thoughts, opinions and analysis of how media have continued to influence children. Unfortunately, it is not updated as often as one might like. Cantor's last post was in January and she does not add posts frequently. The posts Cantor does add, however, are relevant and speak directly to the topic. They cover video games, movies and television, and how they influence our daily lives. This blog would be great to read if a journalist were deciding which type of media he or she wanted to focus on.

Hyde, L. (2008). Mrs. Freud's Social Psych Blog. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://mrsfreud.blogspot.com/

Written by psychology student Lauren Hyde, Mrs. Freud's Social Psych is a frequently updated blog on psychology. There are many posts on violent media and their effect on society. While the author is only a student, the blog is great because she includes numerous references and citations one could use to do further research. There are also many video clips showing violent media. The entries are interesting and offer a perspective from a student with whom i can relate. Her views on media violence and influence would be great for a journalist if he or she took an angle that focused on how young people feel about the subject.

Books

Grimes, T. (2008). Media violence and aggression : Science and ideology. : Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications.

This source is a book that studies the science of media and their effect on violence and aggression. Tom Grimes is a professor of journalism at Texas State University and his expertise include the effect of violent media on children with common mental ailments. He is knowledgeable in my topic and using a book by him as a source would be very advantageous as he is an expert in the field. The book includes a short history of media effects and how people try to make the ideology of media aggression a science. Grimes asserts that people may have the best intentions but “scienctizing” the effects of media violence is not a good thing. In essence, this work argues that one can say the media do or do not affect violence and aggression, but one can not say that science can prove it.

Levesque, R. J. (2007). Adolescents, media, and the law : What developmental science reveals and free speech requires. New York: Oxford University Press.

Levesque is a psychology and law professor and has done much research regarding adolescents and criminal justice. This book takes a look at media and adolescents during a changing time. It does speak to violence and media, but it also focuses on other things like smoking in media, body image and media, which are less important for my topic. Its main focus is free speech and how the media affect teenagers’ lives. There is a substantial part that is about aggression in teenagers. The most useful part of the book would be its biographical section, which offers references that could be helpful if I were to do even more research into aggression and teenagers.

Cooper, C. A. (2007). Violence in the media and its influence on criminal defense. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co.

Cynthia A. Cooper is a professor in the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts at Salisbury University in Maryland. This book is a look into how the idea of media causation for violent behavior has become relevant in courtrooms. It examines how media influence has become a part of the public discourse as it looks at certain court cases. Cooper’s discussion of media influence is focused only on court cases and does not look at society as a whole. This source would be best if one were to write about how media violence has become relevant in legal proceedings.

Experts in the Field

Grossman, Dave, U.S. Army (Ret.), Director Killology Research Group, P.O. Box 9280 Jonesboro, AR 7240, (870) 931-5172

Grossman, a professor of psychology and military science at West Point, is an internationally known expert on human aggression and violence. He has written several books that deal with violence and how it manifests itself in humans. His works have received much praise and one of his books was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He has written extensively on the effects violent video games and movies have and has linked them to school shootings. His primary focus is getting rid of violent video games for children and teaching people how they affect kids’ lives.


Freedman, Jonathan, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto Psychology Department, (416) 978-3142

A professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, Freedman has written a book as well as essays that study the effects of video games and movies. His research is focused on whether or not media influence perpetuate violence in society. His book is titled “Media Violence and its effect on Aggression,” and it discusses violence in movies. In his essay on video games, Freedman discusses violent acts such as Columbine and suggests that factors other than violent video games caused the events to take place. Freedman would be a great source to interview as he has done much research that pertains to my topic.



Males, Michael, Senior Researcher for Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 333 N.W. Fifth, #2006, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, (405) 219-8539

Michael Males researches youth, including how media affects their everyday lives. He taught at the University of California-Irvine for six years and now researches youth issues. He runs his website youthfacts.org, where he reports on youth issues. Youth and how they are affected and influenced through media is an area that Males’ has considerable expertise and has written on in his numerous books. Because of his expertise on youth, he would be a good source to use to narrow the focus to youth. This offers an opportunity to cover all bases and not be too broad.


Cantor, Joanne, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Madison 5205 Tonyawatha Trl, Monona, Wi, 53716, (608) 221-0593

Joanne Cantor, Professor Emerita and Director of the Center for Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is an internationally recognized expert on children and the mass media. She has written numerous books regarding media violence and its effects on children and has been involved in much research. Cantor is widely regarded as a prominent figure on this subject as she has written more than 90 scholarly articles about mass media effects. She has her own blog where she posts periodically on the topic and writes about new developments in the field. Cantor would be hard to get a hold of, however, as she informed me when I emailed her that she receives hundreds of e-mails requesting interviews.

Anderson,Craig, Iowa State University Department of Psychology, W112 Lagomarcino Hall, Ames, IA 50011-3180, caa@iastate.edu, (515) 294-3118

Anderson is a distinguished professor and chair of the Iowa State University Department of Psychology. He is a leading expert on video games and violence. He has conducted much research regarding media violence with colleagues at Iowa State. he has appeared on NBC’s "Today Show," been featured prominently in Entertainment Weekly, and was on the Todd Mundt Show on National Public Radio. He was also interviewed by ESPN, and he has testified before the U.S. Senate. His research asserts that violent video games cause players to behave aggressively, and while he avoids advocating policy, his research has been cited as reasons the government should regulate violent video games.