Public Policy

• Censorship & Government Regulation
• Media Literacy Education
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Media Reform / Media Consolidation

Censorship & Government Regulation

The AMLA believes that media literacy education is always more effective than media censorship. Just as you can’t make a person print literate by keeping them away from books, limiting media access cannot achieve a media literate populace.  Policy makers and legislators would better meet their goals by supporting media literacy education than by limiting media access or controlling media content.

The AMLA supports government regulation of media that expands access for diverse and independent perspectives. The AMLA supports government regulation of media when such regulation helps ensure that media are able to fulfill their unique and critical role in making possible an “informed citizenry” which is necessary for democracy.

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Media Literacy Education

The AMLA calls for universal media literacy education in the United States. A media literate citizenry is essential to the basic functioning of democracy. Therefore media literacy education should be as common in U.S. schools as reading print, writing, or basic computation.

The AMLA supports media literacy education in the broadest possible number of settings. By themselves, K-12 schools cannot meet the need for media literacy education. AMLA recognizes the importance of media literacy education efforts outside of K-12 classroom walls, including initiatives in: communities, after school programs, pre-K settings, higher education, religious institutions, parenting programs, adult education, the juvenile justice system, civic groups, public health programs, media arts projects, and independent and mainstream media.

The AMLA calls for the integration of media literacy into existing core content at every grade level. AMLA believes that the most effective way to ensure that every student in the United States receives comprehensive media literacy education is to integrate media literacy into existing curricula and that every subject area holds opportunities for including media literacy skills and content.

The AMLA advocates for a model of media literacy education that includes both analysis AND production skills. One would not be print literate without being able to write. Likewise, one cannot be media literate without being able to create media as well as being able to understand and analyze media "texts".

The AMLA advocates for a model of media literacy education that is non-partisan.Just as learning to read or subtract are not the exclusive province of any particular political party, media literacy education is not about advocating for or against a particular ideology. How people teach media literacy and how media literacy skills are used can become expressions of particular ideologies, but the skills themselves are non-partisan.

The AMLA acknowledges the importance of media literacy education that is informed by research and evaluation. Documenting our successes will provide models for excellent practice as well as proof of efficacy for administrators, public officials, parents, and potential funders. Identifying our weaknesses will help guide practitioners to more effective teaching strategies.

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Diversity and Inclusion
The AMLA believes that it is essential to integrate media texts that present diverse voices and communities into media literacy education. Independent work, media arts, youth made media, and community media can provide access to a range of perspectives, ideas, cultural viewpoints, and groups that are under represented in mainstream media. Community radio stations, spoken word, blogs, independent video productions, etc. demonstrate new forms and ideas; they are also important venues where future leaders are turning to have their

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Media Reform / Media Consolidation

POLICY STATEMENT ON THE AMLA'S ROLE IN ADVOCATING FOR MEDIA REFORM

Because the AMLA recognizes the importance of independent media voices, diversity of opinion and program choices, and media accountability to a healthy democracy, the AMLA resolves to support media reform by:

• intensifying our call for universal media literacy education,
• facilitating the implementation of high quality media literacy education in a variety of educational settings, both formal and informal, across the United States, and by
• supporting the work of existing media reform organizations that are dedicated to ensuring that media policy is guided by what best nurtures democracy.

This policy statement is based on the following principles:

• The AMLA has adopted a policy opposing the 2003 FCC ruling on media consolidation, and mainstream media reporting on media and consolidation issues has not provided the general public with the information they need to be appropriately informed.
• Recent events have sparked a growing grassroots interest in media reform and the decision by many organizations to focus attention on FCC policy and media reform issues.
• AMLA policy prohibits the organization from duplicating the work of existing organizations, and the AMLA values and respects the work of all of those who use their energies to promote media literacy. It will take all of us, working in diverse ways, for media literacy to have a significant and lasting impact.
• The AMLA believes that media reform is an important component of media literacy education, and that people are more likely to act on what they understand. Therefore, the AMLA believes that in order to achieve media reform, we must also reform education to include the broad range of information about the media that every citizen should have.
• Given all of the above, the AMLA believes that it can make its most valuable and productive contribution to media reform not by duplicating existing efforts addressing the political aspect of the issues, but by concentrating on our strength as educators.

We encourage individuals and organizations interested in actively pursuing media reform to contact the AMLA Board of Directors.

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