Links

Here are links that may be useful when trying to learn about media effects and media research.

National Institute on Media and the Family	A non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to maximizing the benefits and minimizing the harm of media on the health and development of children and families.  Has fact sheets and other resources for parents, educators, and health care professionals.
Center for the Study of Violence	A university research center with the mission to promote research on understanding and reducing aggression and violence in modern society. Includes academic papers and media reports about aggression research.
Center for Media and Child Health	A university-affiliated organization dedicated to understanding and responding to the effects of media on the physical, mental, and social health of children.  Includes tips for parents and educators and an excellent searchable database of media effects research.
Movie Mom	This is my favorite site for movie reviews when choosing movies to see with my daughter.  It includes questions and topics for parents and children to discuss.
Other media rating sites	Parents want and need good information about media products in order to make intelligent decisions about what media their children should consume.  Unfortunately, research shows that the official ratings are too often unreliable and invalid.  Here are several other places parents can get ratings information:  Movie Mom, Screen It, Kids in Mind, Commonsense Media
Kaiser Family Foundation	This organization does some of the best national research on children's access to media, and has many useful reports
New Mexico Media Literacy Project	Probably the best organization focused specifically on providing media literacy training for educators and schools
Action Coalition for Media Education	One of several organizations that focuses on media literacy and media education.
Dr. Gentile's Iowa State Website	This is Dr. Gentile's website at Iowa State University