MediaChannel is a nonprofit, international Web site focused on the media, featuring Readings, Resources, Teaching Tools, Issue Guides and access to a worldwide network of organizations and publications concerned with media and education.

In the 21^st century the ability to understand, evaluate, access and use media is a form of literacy as important and basic as reading and writing.

Teaching media can:
* build critical thinking and questioning skills
* support creative youth expression
* inspire active, informed citizens
* address issues of self-esteem and respect for others
* engage students through the news, advertisements and pop culture that surrounds them

The global focus of MediaChannel also enables students and teachers to explore and discover the world's people, places and cultures through the common connections of media.

For guides and tools to help teachers incorporate media and media literacy into the K-12 curriculum, visit:

Teachers' Toolkit
A searchable database of Teaching Units, Lesson Plans, Activities, Handouts and other tools from teachers and experts around the world.

Media Literacy Classroom
Articles and information on WHY and HOW to bring media into the classroom.
• Advertising/Marketing, consumerism, propaganda and privacy
• Representation: gender, race, ethnicity, social relationships, body image and stereotypes
• Violence in news and entertainment
• News/Journalism, bias, PR and ethics
• Teaching Media in any subject
• Making Media: students as media producers

Navigating MediaChannel:
The bar at the bottom of the screen has a pop-up menu with links to major site sections. This menu will stay on the page whether you are on a MediaChannel page or if you follow a link to one of our Affiliated Sites.
On MediaChannel pages, the left column also offers links to main areas of the site.

The SITE MAP offers a quick, bird's-eye view of the site.
The FRONT PAGE presents what's new on MediaChannel: the day's headlines and the week's new features.
The TOPICS PAGE is an index to articles and features organized thematically by media issue. We also offer an index organized by country.
The SEARCH PAGE (in development) is a specialized search engine that enables thematic searching of all sites in the MediaChannel network.
The ISSUE GUIDES are collections of articles providing in-depth analyses and diverse perspectives on key media subjects.

ISSUE GUIDES include: politics and election coverage, sex and race in sports, online journalism, the business of hip-hop, communication for social change and media law and policy.

SPECIAL REPORTS on current events include: coverage of AIDS, the AOL-Time Warner Merger, Russia's press crisis and censorship in Zimbabwe.

MEDIA ARTS is a special section of news, reviews and commentary about artists using and responding to mass media. Featuring THE FILE ROOM, an artwork and interactive archive of 2,000 years of cultural censorship created by Antonio Muntadas.

THE JOURNALISTS' TOOLKIT: perfect for a journalism class or school newspaper project, also provides online writing and research tips valuable for any student.

GLOBAL NEWS INDEX: links to hundreds of local newspapers worldwide, organized by region and country.

AFFILIATE DIRECTORY: the index to MediaChannel's global network of organizations and publications. A special YOUTH AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT highlights groups worldwide working to help youth become media producers.

BOOK CORNER: find books for journalism, media studies, communication or cultural studies curricula, with excerpts, reviews and quick links to buy (purchases support MediaChannel). We will be featuring teachers' bibliographies in the coming months and invite your submissions.

Are you teaching with MediaChannel? Please let us know so we can share your ideas with others.

We at MediaChannel are always eager for new, creative, provocative and insightful material. If your students are interested in producing media-related work that would be appropriate for the Web — short videos, cartoons and graphics, audio projects, media criticism 'zines, articles, reports or commentaries — MediaChannel could be a possible host for this material. Please contact us if you are interested in exploring possible collaborations between MediaChannel and your students (editor@mediachannel.org).

MediaChannel is very much an evolving project and we welcome and encourage your feedback and input. Teachers interested in helping us improve MediaChannel as an educational resource should contact Aliza Dichter, Senior Editor and Education Coordinator ( liza@mediachannel.org).

AS THE MEDIA WATCH THE WORLD, WE WATCH THE MEDIA.