Cultivating critical thinking and activism in our media culture to build healthy and just communities.
New Mexico Media Literacy Project - www.nmmlp.org


URGENT: Analog TV shutoff test to be conducted on Dec. 17 & Jan. 17.

All full-power TV stations in Washington D.C. and 29 states - including New Mexico - will conduct two tests in preparation for the transition to digital television (DTV) on February 17th. The one-minute tests will be conducted at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, Dec. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 17.

At that time, televisions receiving analog TV signals will display a red banner with text on the screen alerting viewers that they must take action to continue receiving TV programs after the DTV conversion on February 17, 2009.  Televisions receiving digital TV signals will display a green banner with text confirming that their TV is ready for the DTV conversion. People are encouraged to watch a local TV station at 7:30 pm on Dec. 17 or Jan. 17 to confirm whether or not they need to take action.

Digital television
is coming!
February 17, 2009
Are you ready?

Deconstruct this!

What groups of people does this movie trailer empower? What groups does it disempower? How does this serve the media maker's interests?

watch the trailer and see our deconstruction questions

read a sample deconstruction

browse our deconstruction gallery

All media messages – TV shows, newspapers, movies, advertisements, etc. – are made or constructed by people. One of the most important media literacy skills is deconstruction – closely examining and “taking apart” media messages to understand how they work.
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Media justice in New Mexico

Have you ever watched a news program that misrepresented your community? Or been offended at a prime time television show for its use of stereotypes? Can you afford cable or internet? Would you like the media you read, watch, and listen to be more representative of your community, town, or city?

We believe that communication is a human right, yet our communities are denied this fundamental right every day. To gain power in our social justice movements we must hold all institutions, public and private, to a higher standard of accountability, one that ensures that media serves the needs of all the people.

For this reason, the New Mexico Media Literacy Project (NMMLP), the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) and Quote Unquote Channel 27 have formed a partnership to work on issues of media justice in our state.  Our three organizations are part of the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net), a project of the Center for Media Justice.

As media justice organizers, we are working to build meaningful participation from communities of color, poor communities, and indigenous communities to claim the undeniable right to communicate -- to liberate our airwaves, networks, and cultural spaces. We aim to fundamentally change the ownership structure, language usage, and policy discourse around media within New Mexico and the U.S.

New Mexico’s upcoming legislative session offers an opportunity for our state to take a step towards media justice. Representative Antonio Maestas will be introducing a bill mandating that all NM high schools offer a media literacy course as an elective.

Media literacy education seeks to empower students to access, analyze, evaluate and produce media. Someone who is media literate is better able to decipher the complex messages they receive from television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, billboards, signs, packaging, marketing materials, video games, recorded music, the Internet and other forms of media. They can understand not only the surface content of media messages but also the more important meanings hidden beneath the surface. People who are media literate can also create their own media, becoming active participants in our media culture.

It is our hope that you will join us in our support of the media literacy bill as part of our fight for media justice in New Mexico.

January 15 deadline for Bad Ad and Counter Ad contests

Advertising dominates our world. In our media, in our schools, in our communities, the values of commercial advertising permeate many aspects of our lives. It is that time of year again when concerned students, teachers, and community members can talk back to advertisers by participating in the New Mexico Media Literacy Project's Bad Ad and Counter Ad contests.

Here's how the contests work: Interested students in grades 6-12 select a current advertisement or advertising campaign that they find annoying, misleading, or offensive, and "talk back" to the ad by deconstructing the bad ad or creating a counter ad.

counter ad one2008 Bad Ad Contest
Find a bad ad in a magazine, newspaper, or other print source.  Write an essay about why it's bad and how it could be better.

- Contest rules
- Scoring guidelines
- Entry form
- See the winning entries in last year's contest

Winners in each category (middle school & high school) receive $100.  Runners-up receive $50.


counter ad2008 Counter Ad Contest
Take an ad and change it into a counter ad, delivering a more truthful or constructive message using altered images, words, or persuasion techniques.

- Contest rules
- Scoring guidelines
- Entry form
- Sample counter ads

Winners in each category (middle school & high school) receive $100.  Runners-up receive $50.

NMMLP event calendar: Where we've been and where we're going

The New Mexico Media Literacy Project continues to expand its reach nationally and internationally. Here is a look at where staff have been recently:

Executive Director Andrea Quijada attended the Media Justice Institute on November 22-25 in Austin, TX. The institute was an opportunity for MAG-Net members to strategize goals and outcomes for this funding year. She will be attending the NGLTF Creating Change Conference in Denver, Colorado on January 28th to February 1st.

counter adDirector of Media Production Denis Doyon did tobacco counter-marketing trainings in conjunction with the Talk Back to Big Tobacco! Script & Storyboard Contest at Zia Pueblo on November 18th and Wilson Middle School in Albuquerque on December 4th. He also presented on December 2 at a STOMP disparities training in Albuquerque on how to use media literacy resources to address tobacco-related disparities.

The 2008 Annual Youth Summit at the Hotel Albuquerque welcomed Associate Program Director Jessica Collins for a workshop on Media Literacy 101, Big Tobacco and Media Activism on December 3rd.

Check back with NMMLP to see if we are coming to a community near you, or invite a speaker to your school, organization, or community.

The New Mexico Media Literacy Project
The New Mexico Media Literacy Project, founded in 1993, is nationally recognized as a leader in media literacy education.  

Our mission is to cultivate critical thinking and activism in our media culture to build healthy and just communities. 

Media literacy -- the ability to critically consume and create media -- has become an essential skill for the 21st century. We no longer communicate only through the spoken and written word; these days, we receive most of our information from television and radio, the Internet, and a variety of other media, and we create our own media messages, too.

More about media literacy

NMMLP delivers dynamic multimedia presentations at conferences, workshops and classrooms across the country.  Our media literacy curricula and action guides, including DVD-ROMs, CD-ROMs and videos, are used in countless classrooms and communities in all 50 states and abroad.  NMMLP’s Catalyst Institute and other training programs have empowered thousands of people to be advocates and activists for a media literate society. 

More about NMMLP

NEW MEXICO MEDIA LITERACY PROJECT