Globalisation:Media Smart

Chantal Bennett, Leigh Gallagher, Ludo Mayo & Kirstin Walker

Media Smart Official Website: http://www.mediasmart.org.uk/

Media Smart is an organisation funded by fast-food, media and toy industries. Its website states it is a

"non profit media literacy programme for school children aged 6 to 11 years old, focused on advertising. Media Smart develops and provides, free of charge and on request, educational materials to primary schools that teach children to think critically about advertising in the context of their daily lives. Our materials use real examples of advertising to teach core media literacy skills.

The Organisation

The office address is given as:-
Abford House:
15 Wilton Road:
London:
SW1V 1NJ

This office is also the address of the Advertising Association, which suggests that Media Smart is based inside the Advertising Association's offices.

• The domain mediasmart.org.uk is also registered by Media Smart, but a 'who is' with the British internet registry gives out a different address for Media Smart:
  

29 Cloth Fair
London
EC1A 7NN

This address houses the offices of Hudson Sandler and the Global Consulting Group(GCG) both of which are subsidiaries of Huntsworth. The GCG entry in the APPC register lists Media Smart as a client between December 2004 and November 2005. Prior to that Media Smart was represented by Ergo Communications Services which was acquired by Huntsworth in 2004.

• In 2008 the Media Smart website listed a new address:-
  

7th Floor North:
Artillery House:
11-19 Artillery Row:
London SW1P 1RT:
Telephone: 020 7526 3615 :
Fax: 020 7526 3699 :
Email: info@mediasmart.org.uk

This office is also the new address of the Advertising Association.

Directors

• Globalisation:Media Smart:Paul Jackson, chair

In 2005 Jackson was recorded as:

• Vice President of the World Federation of Advertisers
• Chairman of the Responsible Advertising and Children Group which represents the interests of European Advertisers,agencies and the media.

People

Mediasmart does not name its employees on its website.

Expert Group (as of November 2008)

• David Buckingham Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, Institute of Education
• Rebekah Willett Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, Institute of Education
• Paul Jackson Media Smart’s Chairman
• Simon White Department for Culture, Media and Sport
• Jenny Grahame English and Media Centre
• Matteo Zacchetti European Commission
• Richard Cornish Hasbro
• Laura Simons Independent consumer affairs advisor
• Robin Blake Ofcom

Independent report

In 2006 Media Smart commissioned an independent evaluation of their BeAdwise 2 teaching materials from The Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, Institute of Education, University of London. In 2007 the centre produced their independent report. The overall conclusions of the report were positive.

The authors of the report were

• Professor David Buckingham
• Dr Rebecca Willett
• Dr Shakuntala Banaji
• Dr Susan Cranmer

Buckingham and Willet are members of Media Smart's expert group.

Media Smart: Activities

The media smart website runs activities though their web-site for younger children to enjoy outside of the school environment. Aimed at children between the ages of 5 and 11 they provide stimulating and enjoyable pastime to make them realise how much advertising plays in their daily lives. Globalisation: Media Smart:Activities

Suggestions for sub-pages

Just suggestions - feel free to change/add to this - although it is recommended that you create several main pages linked to from this main project page so group members can edit simultaneously.

Globalisation:Media Smart: History and aims Globalisation:Media Smart: Funding and connections Globalisation:Media Smart: Views on tackling obesity