"What if America wasn't America?" That was the question posed by a series of ads broadcast in the wake of the September 11th attacks, ads which depicted a dystopian America bereft of liberty: Library - Diner - Church. Together with more positive ads like Remember Freedom and I Am an American, they encouraged frightened viewers to cherish their freedoms and defend against division and prejudice in the face of terrorism (seven years previously). The campaign was the work of the Ad Council, a non-profit agency that employs the creative muscle of volunteer advertisers to raise awareness for social issues of national importance. Founded during WWII as the War Advertising Council, the organization has been behind some of the most memorable public service campaigns in American history, including Rosie the Riveter, Smokey the Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog, and the Crash Test Dummies. And the Council is still at it today, producing striking, funny, and above all effective PSAs on everything from student invention to global warming to arts education to community service.

Additional resources: A-to-Z index of Ad Council campaigns - Campaigns organized by category - Award-winning campaigns - PSA Central: A free download directory of TV, radio, and print PSAs (registration req'd) - An exhaustive history of the Ad Council [46-page PDF] - YouTube channel - Vimeo channel - Twitter feed
posted by Rhaomi on Sep 11, 2009 - 69 comments

Japan -- Media Environment Open; State Looms Large (August 2009, PDF) [more inside]
posted by armage on Sep 1, 2009 - 8 comments

On British TV last night, Gail Trimble, a Classics scholar at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, singlehandedly trounced the opposing team in University Challenge. To some a smug, bluestocking know-it-all, to others a role model. Cue the fightback and lots of questions about whether we, as a society, actually like really clever people and specifically, clever women?.
posted by MuffinMan on Feb 24, 2009 - 166 comments

The Early Television Foundation and Museum Website covers the nascent days of the nation's pastime, with interesting items like mechanical TVs and programming schedules from 1939.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim on Sep 9, 2008 - 11 comments

The talk show host, Miss Oprah Winfrey is illegally invading my privacy to promote show ideas on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Further, each time I gather evidence of proof, she pays people with her talk show earnings money to bribe them to destroy evidence. Many more complaints to the FCC about selected tv shows here.
posted by oxford blue on Jan 31, 2008 - 76 comments

Wayne White's paintings [more inside]
posted by 1f2frfbf on Dec 20, 2007 - 19 comments

Bill Clinton on Charlie Rose - on display: Thoughtful Visionary as well as Political Animal; cf. Howard Dean and Jimmy Carter.
posted by kliuless on Dec 16, 2007 - 55 comments

Milo Radulovich, RIP --thrown out of the Air Force during the Red Scares, he fought back--Radulovich's case (and the new medium of TV) showed millions the impact McCarthy was having and the absurd lengths he was going to. He himself wasn't ever accused of being a Communist himself tho: [more inside]
posted by amberglow on Nov 21, 2007 - 32 comments

Watch Iran's new media coup, Press TV, online and take a look at its news website.
posted by hoder on Jul 4, 2007 - 35 comments

FBI 101 -- "Essentials for Writers," an "exciting and informative" interactive workshop for writers being offered to members of my union -- the Writers Guild of America, East - by the FBI Office of Public Affairs and FBI New York. ... -- Very interesting account of a workshop the FBI puts on for writers in NY. What's in it for the FBI? ...The only question we have for you is 'Will it show us in a good light?'" ...
posted by amberglow on Jun 9, 2007 - 13 comments

The Shame Game. Perverted Justice (prev.) and Dateline NBC's series of To Catch A Predator specials are of questionable-at-best morality and have received much flak, particularly on the part of the former party. At the Columbia Journalism review, Douglas McCollum shares the case of Louis Conradt Jr., who killed himself upon being pounced upon by police and Dateline's cameras. McCollum also takes issue with NBC's paying of Perverted Justice for their services. And, for the other side, PJ's rebuttal.
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me on Feb 10, 2007 - 163 comments

"I feel guilty because I have friends that are working really hard to get into television or acting and I'm just sitting here having not done anything more than enjoy playing with gadgets."

Susi Weaser (24) makes little one-minute gadget reviews and posts them on YouTube . The BBC must have liked them - because they hired her.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 18, 2006 - 18 comments

On Sept. 11, CNN will replay its coverage from 2001 in real time, online. They will make their little-noticed Pipeline service free for the day.
posted by CunningLinguist on Aug 25, 2006 - 124 comments

The Parents Television Council has released their list of the top 10 worst shows for family viewing. The Fox network led the way with six of the ten shows, Family Guy, American Dad, The War at Home, The O.C., That 70s Show and Arrested Devlopment. The PTC also released a top-nine list of shows that are family friendly (they claim they couldn't find a 10th show to complete the list), leading the way is Three Wishes and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They also accuse Fox of being deceptive with their marketing of their Sunday night lineup, and using cartoons to pedal the "filth" to children.
posted by SirOmega on Oct 19, 2005 - 56 comments

Foreign Exchange TV with Fareed Zakaria - I'd heard about it, but thought it was only showing on OPB; checked again and lo and behold all the episodes are online! Watched a couple episodes so far; they're pretty good, esp if you're into foreign policy and stuff :D
posted by kliuless on May 26, 2005 - 4 comments

Steven Levy and Mark Pesce on the future of television. Oh and Conan O'brien! :D [via]
posted by kliuless on May 23, 2005 - 6 comments

"You have the audacity to call me intelligent.” We covered Spongebob promotes the gay here. Now comes an amusing coda: a catfight between the Dobson forces, who started an anti-media email campaign, and Keith Olbermann, who printed and ridiculed said email. Dobson's people claim victory because Olbermann spent so much time on them, and Olbermann, a trifle defensive about the secular media, makes more fun.
posted by CunningLinguist on Jan 31, 2005 - 85 comments

Bridges TV was launched today and plans to "celebrate the American Muslim lifestyle and culture". Unlike satelite channels Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, Bridges TV plans to focus on English-speaking American Muslim youth rather than their parents. So what kind of cheesy programming can you look forward to? "One show features a Muslim newspaper reporter named Jinnah who solves whodunits. A soap opera explores the melodrama of a Muslim father confronted with his daughter's desire to marry a non-Muslim." It should be noted that Al Jazeera plans to launch an English-language channel in 2005.
posted by exhilaration on Nov 30, 2004 - 4 comments

Start saving for your childrens future therapy. What they learned this month is dead bodies being burnt and strung up on a bridge is ok to print on the front page of a newspaper, and watch on the news at dinner time; but you better not see any nipple, even for a half a second.
posted by CrazyJub on Apr 3, 2004 - 67 comments

Simpson stars strike for more 'D'oh!' The voices of the Simpsons are on strike for $360,000 an episode. Seems almost reasonable for such a pop culture phenomenon, but the voiceover work equates to one work day per episode.
posted by BurnedEve on Apr 2, 2004 - 44 comments

GOP Warns TV Stations Not to Air Ad Alleging Bush Mislead the Nation Over Iraq They claim that the ad itself is dishonest, and cite the obligation of broadcast outlets to be free of misleading information. “Such obligations must be taken seriously. This letter puts you on notice that the information contained in the above-cited advertisement is false and misleading; therefore, you are obligated to refrain from airing this advertisement.” Despite the implicit threats, only one station has refused to run the ad, a Fox station.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly on Jul 23, 2003 - 74 comments

So the FCC might let me be... On June 2, FCC commissioners will vote on proposed changes to U.S. media ownership rules. Proponents of eliminating a ban on "cross ownership" argue that mergers between local newspapers and radio and TV stations in large and medium-sized markets will boost the quality and quantity of local news reportage. The nonprofit Consumers Union calls the ban "critical to the independence and diversity of our nation's media". Let the FCC know where you stand (third item on list).
posted by Bixby23 on May 14, 2003 - 15 comments

Decoding Visual Language Elements in News Content is an MFA thesis examining how layout, cropping, image selection et al. influence the way the content is perceived. The interactive demo is especially interesting; you can take some TV and magazine layouts and switch out pictures and other elements. It's fascinating to see how different cropping and tints affect your impressions of the content. Media literacy -- especially right now -- is a good thing. (Link via Stan Chin.)
posted by Vidiot on Mar 21, 2003 - 12 comments

That's whack. CNN Headline News general manager Rolando Santos told the San Francisco Chronicle this week that he's looking to mix "the lingo of our people" -- words like "whack" and "ill" -- into newscasts to attract young people.
posted by pizzasub on Oct 3, 2002 - 54 comments

Popup ads on your TV So, the media moguls have decided that they're tired of you ignoring their advertising...and thus, they will now insert popup ads into the live feeds. And you thought product placement was annoying. From Slashdot
posted by dejah420 on Jul 16, 2002 - 48 comments

File under "How Low Can You Get?". Las Vegas TV station dubs in sound and gunshots on a video tape showing an attempted robbery at Harrah's. Original footage had no sound so it had to be made more "dramatic".
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Feb 21, 2002 - 6 comments

Court of Appeals Rules That the Media Belongs to Those Who Can Buy It: Today, the CoA has just declared that the 35 percent ownership cap (applicable to broadcasters who reach more than 35% of the American public) was a prohibition "capricious and contrary to the law," meaning that Viacom and Fox, who were over the limit, are now in the clear to monopolize the airwaves. What does this mean for the future of media conglomerates? Discuss the implications.
posted by ed on Feb 19, 2002 - 13 comments

"A Slight Case of Anthrax" CBS pulls tonights episode of The Agency (at least on the West Coast, don't know about East Coast). Hmmm...I can't imagine why: "The team works against the clock to stop an anthrax threat in the United States. A Belgian kennel has fallen victim to a terrorist attack in which the deadly disease anthrax was used. When the CIA discovers the perpetrator's identity and that Washington, D.C., is his next target, the team mobilizes to stop the criminal before he can reach the capital." Is the shrinking line between truth and fiction becoming too close for comfort?
posted by nix on Oct 11, 2001 - 6 comments

Will Durst: "ABC has its blue circled logo in the bottom right with red-and-white stripes shooting offscreen, and CBS has a motto: 'America on Alert.' Not all of the cable stations have official mottos but that's why I'm here. To help."
posted by tpoh.org on Oct 4, 2001 - 6 comments

Ron Fineman's On The Record is a well-done critical look at TV news. It's centered on the LA market and most of the discussion relates to LA stations, but networks and cable channels are covered too and (for a TV news geek like me at least) it's all interesting. The letters section is usually a pretty lively discussion, and the "Broadcasteze Citation of the Week" highlights stuff that anchors and reporters say that no one else ever would.
posted by Vidiot on Sep 21, 2001 - 1 comment

CNN & FOX: Birds of a feather? In an effort to improve his network's image with conservative leaders, new CNN chief Walter Isaacson huddled with House and Senate GOP leaders last week to seek advice on how to attract more right-leaning viewers to the sagging network.
posted by Rastafari on Aug 5, 2001 - 10 comments

These facts and figures about our TV viewing habits (PDF) come from the TV Turnoff Network, which is busy promoting TV-Turnoff Week April 23-29. Can you quit cold turkey for one week? At first it's seriously difficult to fight the urge to turn on and veg-out. But after the first few days you discover you have time for everything you always wanted to do, although the TV urge doesn't disappear quite so quick.
posted by fleener on Apr 23, 2001 - 42 comments

Bryan Singer + Battlestar Galactica = relaunch. Yeah, buddy! This could be fun.

What were the fatal flaws of the original 'Galactica'? And how should it be made better this time?
posted by Sean Meade on Feb 22, 2001 - 25 comments

tv = agressive behavior in children.
Danny: What was the Donner Party? Jack: They were a party of settlers in covered-wagon times. They got snowbound one winter in the mountains. They had to resort to cannibalism in order to stay alive.
Danny: You mean they ate each other up?
Jack: They had to, in order to survive.
Wendy: Jack...
Danny: Don't worry, Mom. I know all about cannibalism. I saw it on TV.
Jack: See, it's OK. He saw it on the television.
posted by tiaka on Jan 15, 2001 - 5 comments

USA Network complies with Tylenol's request to halt production of a drug-tampering movie.
posted by gluechunk on Dec 6, 2000 - 11 comments

It's been a standing joke for decades, but it's finally arrived. Smellovision is real. (I'm having a hard time thinking of a more useless computer peripheral.)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Oct 27, 2000 - 14 comments

I approached this review expecting it to be of the "major media providers are the problem, not the solution" sort, but discovered something somewhat different: "It’s not that the medium of the modern political campaign–television advertising–failed to do justice to men of substance, but that men of substance failed to adapt to television advertising..."
posted by dcehr on Aug 7, 2000 - 3 comments

Designer-programmer-actor-model-waiter? Finally, someone giving one or more fingers to Toronto's tightarsed, outdated nouveaux-médias hiring practices. How would you like to be on call 24 hours a day as an interactive-TV manager for the Weather Network way the fork out in Mississauga? Lila Feng worship isn't enough of a payoff, kids.
posted by joeclark on Jun 12, 2000 - 7 comments

Time Warner Pulls ABC Get used to this kind of thing, as mega corp. 1 takes on mega corp. 2 to control what you see.
posted by alan on May 1, 2000 - 9 comments