Working in Media

Gr 11 Up—This brief program is intended to teach students about the prospects of a career in the media. While it shows many scenes of people working on film sets, using computer graphics to make video games, and spending time around conference tables with people in hip clothing, it doesn't offer much grounded, job specific advice. There are six brief chapters: Introduction, Communication, Personal Development, Effective Performance at Work, Quality Improvement Activities, Conclusion. In between each chapter, a graphic summarizes the information that was just presented. In the classroom, this will make note-taking easy. The female narrator speaks in a very proper British tone, but her seriousness, combined with a dry script, makes the presentation rather dull. The DVD acknowledges that "the media" is a broad phrase encompassing a large number of jobs, including actors, writers, researchers, managers, accountants, journalists, editors, photographers, graphic designers, game designers, and others. Since the topic is so broad, each chapter includes worthwhile, but rather generic advice, such as communicate with your fellow workers and supervisors in a respectful manner and take continuing education courses to stay relevant in your position. Since there is little specific advice tailored to media jobs, this program will not be useful in career counseling.—Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT