Andrea Quijada, Director of Educational Programs for NMMLP, joined 50 activists from across the country in Washington, DC February 25-26, 2008 to lobby for Low Power FM radio. The gathering was organized by Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project to support the Low Power Community Radio Act of 2007.

This piece of legislation would re-instill power to the FCC to provide licenses for LPFM radio stations in urban areas. The FCC's power was blocked by an act of Congress in 2000, which requested that a study be done to ensure that LPFM radio stations did not cause interference with full power stations. The $2.2 million study was completed in 2003, revealing that no interference is caused by LPFM stations. Andrea, along with Colleen Gorman and Autumn Chacon from Quote-Unquote Channel 27 in Albuquerque, met with the offices of Congressman Tom Udall, Representative Heather Wilson, Senator Pete Domenici, and Senator Jeff Bingaman.

Want to learn more? Visit http://www.prometheusradio.org/take_action to fight for low power FM at the FCC and in Congress now!

New Mexico Media Literacy Project is now accepting applications for the 2008 Catalyst Institute to be held July 22-25, on the beautiful natural campus of Albuquerque Academy.

Each Catalyst Institute is limited to 30 attendees. NMMLP does offer applications for limited scholarship assistance.

The Catalyst Institute offers an intensive four-day training experience in media literacy concepts and skills. NMMLP staff and guest speakers lead participants in workshops, exercises, video screenings and discussions designed to deepen understanding of media issues and provide a solid foundation for media activism. The Catalyst Institute is ideal for teachers, health professionals, community activists and others who want to make a difference.

We encourage you to register online. If you need more information on how to register, please e-mail or call us at 505-828-3129.

The activity and discussion guides teach media literacy concepts, skills and techniques of persuasion. Topics include body image, alcohol, tobacco, race, class, and aging, and illustrate the new marketing techniques of stealth and viral marketing.  Media Literacy Toolbox looks beyond the frame to investigate our media system and the power of Big Media, independent media, media justice and media activism. While it can be used for individual study, Media Literacy Toolbox is designed to be used in classrooms, community groups and other group settings to:

• Teach basic media literacy concepts to people of any age
• Learn how to deconstruct media messages
• Understand our changing media system and current media issues
• Access ideas and resources for making your own media
• Discover ways to improve our media environment
  
  

Did you know that spit tobacco is the only growing segment of tobacco sales in the US? It’s true. Cigarette sales in the US continue to fall, so tobacco giants like Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds need to develop new products in order to survive. One new tobacco product is called “snus” (rhymes with “noose”). A type of snuff tobacco, snus comes in a small, teabag-type pouch.

Snus is one way for tobacco companies to try to make tobacco look appealing. Since there is a growing number of states in the US that have banned or are planning to ban smoking in public places, it makes sense that tobacco companies would step up their marketing in an effort to expand their niche. Hoping to capitalize on their well-known names, both Marlboro and Camel have entered the market with snus products. Marlboro Snus is currently being test marketed in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area and Camel Snus is being test marketed in Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon.

If you would like to learn more about snus and other spit tobacco marketing, New Mexico Media Literacy Project is offering an educational CD titled Hard to Swallow: Spit Tobacco Marketing. Updated for 2008, Hard to Swallow contains movie clips, magazine ads, tobacco website images, and graphs with spit tobacco data. In addition, the Hard to Swallow CD contains discussion guides, two PowerPoint presentations, website information, and other printable resources for you to use in classes or trainings about tobacco education. This CD is appropriate to use with teens and adults in schools, clubs or community settings. 

Thanks to our grant from the New Mexico Department of Health, Public Health Division, Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program (TUPAC), we can offer this CD free of charge to any organization or individual. If you would like a copy of Hard to Swallow, or know of any organization or individual that might be interested in receiving this CD, please order online.