Former FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Academy Award winner Geena Davis (pictured) are teaming with an extensive roster of people with media connections to try an upgrade the way women and girls are shown in the media. The Healthy MEdia Commission is getting set for its initial Washington meeting.
“We are extremely proud to announce our committed partners in promoting positive images of women and girls in the media,” said Davis and Tate.
The group has a five-point plan of action:
* Host the national discussion on best practices to promote positive and balanced images of girls and women. * Convene industry leaders, subject-matter experts, youth representatives, media leadership, and the creative community to develop a blueprint on how to create a positive media environment for kids.
* Produce concrete recommendations to media and policy leaders.
* Champion media leaders who are promoting positive content and balanced images of girls and women.
* Work to secure industry-wide, public commitments to take steps toward positive change.
Here’s the list of media leaders that are part of the Commission:
* Co-chair Geena Davis, Academy-Award winning actor and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
* Co-chair Deborah Taylor Tate, former FCC Commissioner
* Maria Brennan, President and CEO, Women in Cable Telecommunications
* Alice Cahn, Vice President, Social Responsibility, Cartoon Network
* Danielle Carrig, Senior Vice President, Advocacy & Public Affairs, A&E Networks
* Salaam Coleman Smith, President, The Style Network
* Sean Cunningham, President and CEO, Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau
* Madeline Di Nonno, Executive Director, The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
* Carmen DiRienzo, President and CEO, V-me Media, Inc.
* Emme, Social Reformer, TV Host and Founder, EmmeNation.com
* Ivelisse Estrada, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Community Relations, Univision Communications
* Janice Ferebee, founder and CEO, National Council of Negro Women
* Erin Fuller, President, Alliance for Women in Media
* Marie Gallo Dyak, Executive Vice President, Program Services and Government Relations, Entertainment Industries Council
* David Honig, President and Executive Director, Minority Media Telecommunications Council
* Sherri Hope Culver, President, National Association for Media Literacy Education
* Myung Kang-Huneke, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Sesame Workshop
* Jean Kilbourne, Creator of the “Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women” Film Series
* Linda Kinney, Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, Motion Picture Association of America
* Jeanine Liburd, Executive Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, Black Entertainment Television
* Vicki Lins, Chief Marketing Officer, Canoe Ventures
* April McClain-Delaney, Washington Director, Common Sense Media
* Cindy McConkey, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Scripps Network
* Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Children’s Media, Public Broadcasting Service
* Katherine Schwarzenegger, author, Rock What You’ve Got
* Ann Shoket, Editor-in-Chief, Seventeen Magazine
* Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Director, Miss Representation
* Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Chief Medical Editor, NBC Nightly News
* Belinda Van Sickle, President and CEO, Women in Games International
* Alexa Verveer, Senior Vice President, Discovery Communications
* Jess Weiner, Author, Self-Esteem Expert and Dove’s Global Self-Esteem Ambassador
RBR-TVBR observation: We’re all for positive portrayal of women and girls in the media. We’d also like to see something for the altitudinally-challenged. We still remember the atrocities committed by that Randy Newman cat, and we are also certain that we won’t be getting much help from the statuesque Ms Davis – but we can still dream.
