Students challenge media labels - Winning entry in national podcast contest addresses the issue of youth stereotyping

Ottawa, February 27, 2007 – Media Awareness Network today announced the winners of its first MyMedia video podcast contest for Canadian students in Grades 7 to 12. The MyMedia contest was designed to help young people consider ways in which certain members of society are portrayed in the media and how audiences perceive and respond to these representations. Using camcorders, digital video recorders, Web cams or cell phones, youth from across the country submitted 2-minute video podcasts on the topic of media representation.

The winning entry "Media Labels" by Skyler LaFreniere, James Dunster and Courtney Stone, Grade 11 students from St. Joseph Catholic High School in Ottawa, looks at how young people are labelled and stereotyped in the media. In the video, students' identities are defined by labels they are forced to wear. Ultimately, one student is able to break free from stereotyping by changing his label. The second and third place winning entries were created by students Krystyn Eastman and Samantha Tkachyk and Stephanie Johnson from Argyle Alternative High School in Winnipeg.

"By creating video podcasts on the topic of media representation students learn to think critically about the ways in which certain members of society are represented, misrepresented, or absent in the media they consume. Once students have a better understanding of media messages they are then empowered to bring about positive change through the process of creating their own media" said Warren Nightingale, a Media Education Specialist with Media Awareness Network.

More than a contest for youth, MyMedia was created as a tool for teachers to facilitate the integration of media education in the classroom. MyMedia's accompanying Teachers' Toolkit included twelve lessons on media representation for the classroom.

"As a media teacher, I jumped at the opportunity to use MyMedia in the classroom with my students," said Maria Dupont, a media education teacher at St. Joseph Catholic High School in Ottawa. "MyMedia created an excellent opportunity for my students to apply their theoretical knowledge in a creative, and most importantly, in a meaningful manner."

The contest judging panel included MuchMusic VJ Devon Soltendieck; Degrassi: The Next Generation star Adamo Ruggiero; Eve Duchesne, from Historica's YouthLinks Program; Francine Filion from the Canadian Teachers' Federation; and Dr. Michael Hoechsmann from the Faculty of Education (Media and Technology) at McGill University. Student prizes are generously donated from Degrassi: The Next Generation, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts.

MyMedia was launched during Canada's first National Media Education Week. The week, presented by Media Awareness Network and the Canadian Teachers' Federation in November 2006, was initiated to raise awareness of the importance of media education. This year's National Media Education Week will take place on November 5-9, 2007.

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About Media Awareness Network

Media Awareness Network is a non-profit Canadian organization whose mission is to support and encourage media and Internet education, and its widest possible integration into Canadian schools, homes and communities. Its aim is to help children and youth to develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of media, the techniques used in creating media products and media’s role and influence within society. MNet is sustained by the generous support of its sponsors and partners, who include: Bell Canada • CHUM Television • Microsoft Canada • Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet • TELUS • CTV Inc. • Canadian Recording Industry Association • National Film Board of Canada • AOL Canada Inc.

For more information, visit www.media-awareness.ca, or

Contact: Tatiana Nemchin, MyMedia Coordinator, Media Awareness Network. (613) 224-7721 ext. 230; (info@media-awareness.ca).