Wall to Wall CEO to lead Media Literacy Taskforce
Alex Graham, CEO of Wall to Wall - the company behind the hit show Who do you think you are? - has been appointed the new Chair of the Media Literacy Task Force.
LONDON – 29 September 2008: Alex Graham, CEO of Wall to Wall - the company behind the hit show Who do you think you are? - has been appointed the new Chair of the Media Literacy Task Force.
The group was set-up to inform and empower everyone to be media literate in today's world - especially in relation to creative content, citizens, audiences and consumers. It has been spearheaded by Heather Rabbatts CBE since it was established in 2004 and launched a Charter for Media Literacy in 2006.
Alex Graham founded Wall to Wall in 1987 and since then the company has won almost every major international award including several BAFTAs, Emmys, Peabodys and RTS awards. Wall to Wall is regularly voted one of the top five independent production companies by other independents in the Broadcast Peer Group Poll, and last month it was voted one of the seven most creative factual producers in the world by Real Screen. Who do you think you are? and New Tricks are two of its current hits. Before setting up Wall to Wall, Graham worked at London Weekend Television and was Editor of Channel 4's Diverse reports.
Commenting on his appointment Alex Graham said: "I think Media Literacy is one of the key political issues in today's converged world. The common misunderstanding is that this is merely an education issue concerning only young people. In fact it affects all of us not just as consumers but as users and potential producers too.
"Media is now embedded in our daily lives in ways which were unthinkable just a few decades ago. I see the Media Literacy Task Force as playing a key role in grappling with the changing world of content creation, delivery and consumption.
"The Task Force, especially through its Charter for Media Literacy, has played a leading role in highlighting issues of access and critical understanding. Speaking the language of media is increasingly central to our ability to function as citizens. Governments – both here and in Europe – need to see Media Literacy as fundamental to the creation of a just and equal society."
Graham is a visiting fellow of the University of Bournemouth's Media School and a fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He recently stood down as the Chair of PACT and currently sits on the board of the Sheffield Documentary Festival.
Graham will take up the position of leading the Media Literacy Task Force immediately.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Tara Milne
UK Film Council
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7861 7901
Email: tara.milne@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- The Media Literacy Task Force was set up with the support of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in 2004 and was previously chaired by Heather Rabbatts, CBE (formerly Head of Education at Channel 4, and a member of the UK Film Council Board). It comprises senior representatives of the BBC, the British Board of Film Classification, the British Film Institute, Channel Four, ITV, the Media Education Association, Skillset and the UK Film Council. DCMS, Ofcom, the Broadband Stakeholder Group and Andrea Millwood Hargrave sit as observers.
- See www.medialiteracy.org.uk for the text of the Charter, a list of its Patrons, and the current Signatories to the aims and objectives.
