A handful of places are still available at this seminar, to be held at Ofcom
in London next week:

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EMOTIONAL / POLITICAL LITERACY AND THE MEDIA

A seminar at Ofcom, Wednesday 24 November 2004, 2.00-5.30
Organised by Bournemouth Media School and Ofcom

Chair: Nick Higham, BBC Media Correspondent

'Media literacy' is often cited as an essential skill, for primary school
children as well as adults. Literacy in emotional communication, and in
political understanding, can be seen as equally important, and can also be
fostered by the media.

This event will open up new dimensions of the debate on media literacy, what
it is, and where and how to promote it. Panelists will draw on the latest
academic research and thinking, and set out some challenging ideas for a
mixed audience of media professionals, academics and journalists. The Rt.
Hon. Lord McIntosh of Haringey, Minister for Media and Heritage, will also
speak about media literacy.

Registration: The event is free, and open to all interested researchers,
journalists, teachers, and other individuals concerned with these issues.
However places are limited, so please do email [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> as soon as possible to reserve your place.

Session 1: The meanings of media literacies

* David Gauntlett, Professor of Media and Audiences at Bournemouth
University
* Annette Hill, Professor of Media Studies at University of Westminster

Gauntlett and Hill will begin by considering the relationship between
'emotional literacy' and 'media literacy'. Annette Hill has recently
conducted research for OFCOM which offers insights into viewers' emotional
relationships with the new and changing factual television programming
environment. David Gauntlett will outline a new research approach which aims
to get 'inside' media literacy, and people's emotional investments in
popular media, by asking individuals and groups to make, and then reflect
upon, media artefacts themselves.

Session 2: Emotional and political literacies

* Barry Richards, Professor of Public Communication at Bournemouth
University
* James Park, Director of Antidote, the Campaign for Emotional Literacy

In a dialogic presentation, Barry Richards and James Park will connect the
idea of media literacy, and the practice of promoting it, with broad agendas
for personal development and for citizenship which are now shaping practice
in many organisational and educational settings. The speakers will also
discuss the interrelationship between emotional and political literacies,
and will identify how both content-related and access factors may impede the
development of enhanced media literacy.

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
1.30 - 2.00pm  Registration, refreshments
2.00 - 2.15pm  Welcome & opening remarks
2.15 - 2.30pm  Rt. Hon. Lord McIntosh of Haringey, Minister for Media and
Heritage
2.30 - 3.45pm  Session 1 (Hill, Gauntlett, discussion)
3.45 - 4.15pm  Break
4.15 - 5.30pm  Session 2 (Park, Richards, discussion)
5.30 - 5.45pm  Closing remarks, by the Chair
5.45 - 6.30pm  Wine

Further information can be found at
http://media.bournemouth.ac.uk/events_ofcom.html

Registration: The event is free, and open to all interested researchers,
journalists, teachers, and other individuals concerned with these issues.
However places are limited, so please do email [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> as soon as possible to reserve your place.

This seminar has been jointly organised by The Centre for Public
Communication Research and The Centre for Creative Media Research at
Bournemouth Media School, and Ofcom.


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