The National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF), founded by psychologist David Walsh in 1996 and closed in 2009 was a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. It was a nonsectarian

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

which sought to monitor

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

for content that it deemed is harmful to children and families. The group characterized itself as "an international resource center for cutting-edge research and information" and denied playing any role in media

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

MediaWise movement

The MediaWise movement is the publicity and community outreach arm of the NIMF. Through it the organization sponsors speaking engagements given by its staff throughout the country, although most events take place at educational and religious institutions in the state of

. David Walsh is notable as the spokesperson for the NIMF, having given numerous interviews to national news programs and newspapers in this capacity.

Video Game Report Cards

The primary publication of the MediaWise movement is an annual report on the marketing, distribution, and impact of video games to minors. This "Video Game Report Card" comprises results to national surveys, summaries of recently completed research projects, and a

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

-based assessment of the

Entertainment Software Association The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...

's efforts to regulate the sales of video games to minors. The 2005 MediaWise Video Game Report Card criticized the

Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...

's system of rating video games for age-appropriate conduct in its annual series of report cards, noting the scarcity of "Adults-Only" rated games and citing the perceived inadequacy in retailer enforcement. Several days after the report was released, the United States National Parent Teacher Association issued a press release condemning it, stating that " he report cardcontained erroneous statements about National PTA's position on the Entertainment Software Rating Board's (ESRB) rating system. In fact, National PTA does not endorse NIMF's report. Further, it does not agree with the report's characterization of ESRB and its rating system."

Controversies

In 2005 the NIMF made the controversial claim that the video game industry was promoting cannibalism after analyzing stills and video clips from a

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

-themed game titled ''

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse ''Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse'' is a reverse horror video game developed by Wideload Games and published by Aspyr Media. It was released on October 18, 2005, for the Xbox video game console, and was released for Microsoft Window ...

''. Dr. Walsh was asked about this in a podcast interview with Dennis McCauley, owner of

gamepolitics.com GamePolitics.com was a blog which covered the politics of computer and video games. GamePolitics was launched by freelance journalist Dennis McCauley in March 2005. At the time, McCauley was the video game columnist for ''The Philadelphia Inqui ...

. During the interview Dr. Walsh did not acknowledge the NIMF's apparent error, instead claiming that video gamers tricked him into thinking there was cannibalism in the game. In late 2003 Walsh proposed the coining of a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

to fill what he sees is a gap in English vocabulary: ''killographic'', to be defined as the "graphic depiction of brutal violence." This is intended as an analogy to " pornography, pornographic", which he defines as the "graphic depiction of sexual acts". This term has been the subject of considerable public debate. Doug Lowenstein, head of the

, described it as a "clever phrase", but noted that the average age of video gamers is 28, and that "as adults they should be allowed to pick their entertainment." On December 6, 2005, the ESRB assigned a failing grade of "F" to NIMF for its seriously flawed Video Game Report Card released the previous week.ESRB gives NIMFa failing grade
/ref> The ESRB cited inaccuracies, incomplete and misleading statements, omission of material facts, and flawed research as key factors in assigning the failing grade. In addition to the overall failing grade, NIMF was given a demerit for elevating its political and media agenda over their stated concerns for consumer welfare, particularly those of children and teenagers.

References

External links

*http://www.mediafamily.org/ {{Authority control 1996 establishments in the United States Video game censorship Non-profit organizations based in Minnesota Entertainment rating organizations Organizations established in 1996 Organizations disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in the United States