New journal on media literacy launches

Recent news from the National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE):

New Media Literacy Journal Advances Field, October 2008

The National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) is launching a new interdisciplinary journal, which will be published in conjunction with NAMLE’s national conference in August 2009. The Journal of Media Literacy Education, to be published online three times a year, supports the development of research, scholarship and the pedagogy of media literacy education.

An extended conceptualization of literacy, media literacy education helps individuals of all ages develop habits of inquiry and skills of expression needed to become critical thinkers, effective communicators and active citizens in a world where mass media, popular culture and digital technologies play an important role for individuals and society.

‘The field of media literacy is at a crossroads,’ says JMLE co-editor Renee Hobbs, professor at the Temple University School of Communications and Theater and founder of the Media Education Lab. ‘It is widely accepted that people need skills beyond basic literacy in order to critically analyze our pervasive media culture and create their own messages. The Journal will bring together people from the diverse disciplinary perspectives that generate interest in media literacy.’

‘The Journal will address the research needs of academic scholars, as well as address the topics and issues important to practitioners, and policymakers,’ says co-editor Amy Petersen Jensen, assistant professor in the Theater and Media Education Program at Brigham Young University. ‘The Journal will fill a unique niche in the field by providing a voice for a diverse combination of scholars, practitioners and policy leaders from the fields of education, communication, and public health.’

The journal provides a forum for established and emerging scholars, media professionals and educational practitioners in both formal and informal education. ‘The next stage of development for the field is dependent on cross-pollination of voices and perspectives, of educators and media professionals, of cutting-edge creative producers and those using media as an advocacy tool,’ says NAMLE president Sherri Hope Culver. ‘NAMLE’s goal is to be the central place for the discussion and professional development to occur. That was also a strong reason for making this an online journal.’

The call for papers and information on the peer review process is posted on the NAMLE web site. The Journal will be available online and at no charge to help facilitate access and ease of use for all.