Children get Media Smart in the UK

Interviews Paul Jackson, chairman of Media Smart, which is a UK media literacy programme founded in 2002 and focusing on advertising; it is aimed at schoolchildren aged six to 11, is funded by the media industry and supported by Ofcom, the UK government and the European Commission. Introduces the Responsible Advertising and Children group, which Jackson also chairs and which represents European advertisers, agencies and media; it believes that media literacy for children is more effective than outright advertising bans. Outlines the Media Smart programme, which consists of three modules with materials and a DVD, and includes an introduction to advertising, commercial advertisements aimed at children, and non‐commercial advertising; perhaps the most interesting section is on controversies. Notes Jackson’s intention that Media Smart stay focused on advertising, rather than widening its scope in the way that Concerned Children’s Advertisers has done in Canada.