Media Watch

http://www.mediawatch.com/welcome.html

"Challenging racism, sexism, and violence in the media through education and action."

This is a pretty cool site for news and information. As far as news goes, it's mostly links to other alternative news sources that parallel to their cause. Basically they organize information relevant to their mission. "Our goal is to challenge abusive stereotypes and other biased images commonly found in media. Media Watch, which began in 1984, distributes educational videos, media literacy information and newsletters to help create more informed consumers of the mass media. We do not believe in any form of censorship, especially the silencing of marginalized groups. Corporate owned media will use any image or story to manipulate buying power and opinions, regardless of the harm engendered by their images. We believe people's safety should come before profit." While Media Watch isn't exclusively by or for women, they recognize women's role in media and the objectification of women.

Media Watch was founded by Ann Simonton who was a fashion model. From her experience in the industry, she created the site, gives lectures, and as appeared on Oprah, CNN, and has written articles on the greedy world of advertising. Once a victim and a contributer to the norms, she now is a prime advocate against media bias.

To navigate around the site there is a remote control on the left hand side. This is a really cool feature. It is a really cool idea. If one clicks on 'gallery' there is a collection of spoof ads as well as offensive images from magazines. Particularly the Vogue, 'Make Love Not War.' Seriously offensive.

On the remote, there is a 'Take Action' button, providing ways to make a difference, rather than just getting mad. Among the 'Take Action' page, there is a call to boycott magazines like Vogue and to boycott shows like America's Next Top Model. There is a link to to join the National Feminist Anti-Pornograhpy Movement (who knew!). Ultimately, to stop the the production of such images, advertisements must prove to fail in selling products. The change starts with us, the consumers.