Thursday, September 15, 2005
Coalition seeks funding for teaching public to consumer, create media
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The following appeal was transmitted Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005, by the
president of the Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME) to several
listserves. The non-profit organization is seeking contributions to
further its mission -- giving the public tools to be smarter consumers and
creators of media. (DISCLOSURE: Bill Densmore is on the ACME board).
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Hello colleagues and friends,
We live in the midst of the most powerful media culture in world
history, a media culture with tremendous potential! The Internet,
blogs, podcasting, e-gaming, digital video production - all offer us
new and exciting ways to communicate with one another.
If you are an educator, health professional, journalist/media maker,
engaged citizen, policy maker, or concerned parent who has been
watching our media during the last decade, though, you know that our
mainstream media culture is in the midst of a SERIOUS crisis.
The signs are all around us.
Commercial carpet-bombing of our public airwaves.
News we can lose.
Corporate consolidation of our publicly-owned media outlets.
Target marketing everywhere we turn.
Multi-billion dollar advertising and branding campaigns aimed at our
society's most vulnerable members: our children.
The Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME at
http://www.acmecoalition.org) is working to solve these problems. And
we need your help. This letter is your invitation to join us. And if
you join before December 5, you'll also receive two fabulous DVDs and a
copy of one of the most important books about media published in the
last year - a $350 value - for FREE!
Simply click on http://www.acmecoalition.org/page.cfm?ID=26 for our
membership information.
Need more convincing? Here are just a few reasons why you might
consider supporting ACME.
1. We are the only INDEPENDENTLY-FUNDED media education coalition on
the continent. We take NO BIG MEDIA FUNDING from Time/Warner, Comcast,
Channel One, or any other giant multi-national media corporation. Read
our ETHICS CODE at http://www.acmecoalition.org/page.cfm?ID=56
2. We offer a (brand new) INTERACTIVE WEB SITE, BLOG and LIST SERVE
(http://www.acmecoalition.org) for our members that features:
Our searchable and updatable MEDIA AND PUBLIC HEALTH and INDEPENDENT
MEDIA databases.
Our free, discounted, low-cost media education resources.
Our regularly updated URL hot links to all of our dues-paying members
and partners.
Our bi-monthly bulletin - BACME - chock full of useful media-education
related information.
3. We arrange for SUBSTANTIAL DISCOUNTS on some of the world's best
media education resources. Beginning right now, dues-paying and
card-carrying ACME members enjoy 50% DISCOUNTS (that's right - 50%) on
dozens and dozens of Media Education Foundation (MEF at
http://www.mediaed.org) DVDs, New Mexico Media Literacy Project (NMMLP
at http://www.nmmlp.org) CD-ROMS, and other provocative media education
resources. Click here for our discount list, growing by the week:
http://www.acmecoalition.org/page.cfm?ID=81
4. We support the creation of LOCAL, STATE and PROVINCIAL ACME CHAPTERS
by donating 50% of our membership dues to existing officer-led ACME
chapters, including chapters in San Francisco, St. Louis, New York
City, New Mexico and Vermont. Read about starting an ACME chapter at
http://www.acmecoalition.org/page.cfm?ID=72
5. We organize AFFORDABLE CONTINENTAL MEDIA EDUCATION SUMMITS that
offer SOLUTIONS to the problems that plague our corporate commercial
media culture. Our next Summit will be held in Burlington, Vermont in
October 2006, and ACME members enjoy a 10% DISCOUNT on the cost of the
Summit.
6. We offer a wide variety of FREE CLASSROOM RESOURCES, including our
"Media Education Monthly" resource, for students and teachers. Visit
the home page of http://www.acmecoalition.org for a representative
sample.
7. And, if you join or re-commit to ACME right now, you will receive,
ABSOLUTELY FREE, our ACME Fall 2005 Membership Package, including Media
Education Foundation DVD "Captive Audience: Advertising Invades The
Classroom," the New Mexico Media Literacy Project's "Media and
Consumerism: Media Literacy For Success" CD-ROM," and Robert
McChesney's latest book "The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication
Politics In The 21st Century" (not to mention an ACME "What the FCC
Button" and "Media Buy The People" bumper sticker.") (As supplies
last).
That's a MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE WORTH MORE THAN $350. Absolutely FREE, for
the first 100 people or organizations who participate in our membership
drive.
Join ACME today by visiting our secure online pledge page or simply
sending us a check. It's that easy.
Click on http://www.acmecoalition.org/page.cfm?ID=26. We hope you'll be
a part of our ACME community.
Who are we? A brief history. We founded ACME in Albuquerque during
October 2002 because we wanted to create a media education organization
that would bring to the table the best teachers, reformers, students,
public health advocates, citizens, and parents to create a grassroots
nonprofit coalition that would champion media education, independent
media production, and media reform and justice initiatives locally and
globally.
There was magic in the New Mexico air three years ago - as well as
hope, and the promise that we could collaboratively work together to
create something bigger than ourselves.
Now, three years later, all of us who have supported ACME can look back
with pride on what we've accomplished.
As we launch our second annual fall e-membership drive, we're hoping
you'll take just ten seconds and join or re-commit to ACME today.
Simply click on http://www.acmecoalition.org/page.cfm?ID=26 for our
membership information. We've made it easy for you.
And thanks for supporting independent media education!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rob Williams
ACME Board President
On behalf of Alison, Bill, Bob, Elizabeth, Lynn, Pepi, Peter, Sara and
Veda - the ACME Board
