Website of Ed Markey
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
The proposed legislation, which BMSG and the Public Health Institute support, would prohibit targeted marketing directed at children under 13 and require consent before companies could collect data from 13-to-15-year-olds. “Big tech companies know too much about our kids … It’s time to hold them accountable,” said bill co-sponsor Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). See additional coverage from The Drum.
by Lori Dorfman | The New York Times
Friday, February 15, 2019
In this letter to the editor, BMSG’s Lori Dorfman highlights the link between two recent book reviews for “Zucked” and “Breaking News.” “Together,” she writes, they “underline the importance of well-supported and well-executed journalism for illuminating the shenanigans behind the corporate curtains if we are to keep our democracy intact.”
by Sam Sanders and Anjuli Sastry | NPR
Thursday, February 14, 2019
A year’s worth of news coverage of events like the Parkland school shooting hasn’t turned into the attention that many young people are asking for: a spotlight on the everyday gun violence they experience in their neighborhoods. This article, which elevates the perspectives of students from Castlemont High School, features BMSG’s Pamela Mejia speaking about the importance of addressing all types of gun violence in the media — not just high profile mass shootings, which only account for about one percent of gun deaths in the United States.
by Levi Sumagaysay | East Bay Times
Thursday, January 17, 2019
An alliance of more than a dozen groups — including Color of Change, Center for Media Justice and Berkeley Media Studies Group — are making the case for an agency that would have rule-making authority to allow it to better protect data. The data-protection framework would include limiting the collection of personal data and calling for more transparent algorithms.
by Diana J. Mason and Barbara Ann Glickstein | USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism
Tuesday, January 08, 2019
A recently published study of nurses’ representation in health news media found that they were cited as sources in only 2 percent of stories. The research, conducted in partnership with Berkeley Media Studies Group, is a replication of the 1997 Woodhull study on the same topic; there has been no improvement in nurses’ visibility in health news since that time.
by Ethan Schaffer and Margaret Morales | Sightline Institute
Friday, December 21, 2018
This analysis of two states’ ballot measures to ban soda taxes looks at how the campaigns differed and what’s at stake for health. Coverage notes that soda contributes to nutrition-related diseases and, citing a BMSG report on the subject, notes that soda companies market their products more aggressively to communities of color — the very groups at higher risk of health issues.
Common Dreams
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Berkeley Media Studies Group joined 21 other public health and consumer advocacy groups in asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and sanction Google for the deceptive marketing of apps for young children. “[T]he Federal Trade Commission has for too long ignored this problem, placing both children and their parents at risk over their loss of privacy, and exposing them to a powerful and manipulative marketing apparatus,” said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD), which co-led the effort along with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC).
by Larry Peiperl | PLOS Blogs
Friday, November 16, 2018
BMSG’s Pamela Mejia was among several presenters at this year’s annual meeting of the American Public Health Association who addressed gun violence prevention. Mejia noted that the way the media report on the issue — with a focus on firearm injuries as isolated events — can limit broader action by absolving governments and institutions of accountability.
by Shiva Stella | Public Knowledge
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Berkeley Media Studies Group is among the organizations urging members of Congress to pass privacy legislation that ensures fairness, prevents discrimination, advances equal opportunity, protects free expression, and facilitates trust between the public and companies that collect their personal data.
by Jake Goldstein-Street | The Daily
Thursday, November 01, 2018
In a presentation to students at the University of Washington, BMSG Director Lori Dorfman introduced students to the ways in which news coverage can highlight or obscure the role of our environment — and government — in influencing health.
