Greetings on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Media Ecology Association! We are now well into a new calendar year, which means that membership fees for 2010 are due. For those who joined MEA last year, it is time to renew. For those who joined in previous years but let membership lapse, it is time to return to the fold. For those who have never been a member, we hope you will consider joining this year. We especially invite those who have already participated in MEA activities but are not yet members to join the MEA now.
By joining the MEA, you are engaging in a public good and partnering with a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the study, research, criticism, and application of media ecology in educational,industry, political, civic, social, cultural, and artistic contexts. The open exchange of ideas, information, and research among the Association’s members and the larger community is part of our ongoingpassion and effort to continue the work of scholars such as Marshall McLuhan, Jacques Ellul, Harold Innis, Lewis Mumford, Walter Ong, and Neil Postman.
Joining the MEA is easier than ever. To join online and pay via PayPal, see instructions on our Web site (http://www.media-ecology.org/joinmea). To use regular postal service, you can download a printable membership form on our Web site (http://www.media-ecology.org/joinmea/mea-memform2010.pdf), and then mail it to the address indicated on the form, with a check made payable to the Media Ecology Association. Whichever way you choose, we encourage you to join soon, so you can enjoy in full the benefits that MEA membership includes, such as:
* Venues for showcasing your own scholarly work, such as the annual MEA Convention, as well as featured panels at the yearly NCA, ECA, ICA, and NYSCA conventions
* Forums for professional and intellectual exchange with other MEA associates, including our active electronic discussion list, where you can “talk” directly with leading media ecology scholars and practitioners from around the world
* Special rates for membership in sister organizations and attendance at their conventions
* Discounts on selected books and publications
* Resources for keeping abreast of new developments, including our own newsletter, In Medias Res
* Participation in MEA elections and governance
* Opportunities to contribute professional service and to help shape the direction of this new field
* Annual subscription to our print journal, Explorations in Media Ecology {EME}, published quarterly (2010 membership includes Volume 9 of EME, in its entirety)
As President of the Association, I also encourage you to become further acquainted with the wider membership and friends of the MEA by participating in our electronic discussion list. The MEA list is the online conversation of friends and members of the Association, a space for reasoned, informed, and civil discussion about communication, media, and culture among persons interested in themes or subjects relevant to the field of media ecology. Subscribers use this list to share views, exchange information, and learn about interesting events related to media ecology. If you are not already subscribed to the MEA list, we invite you to visit the MEA Web site for further detail (http://www.media-ecology.org/list). Questions relating to the list may be directed to the list managers (listhelp@media-ecology.org), me and Jim Morrison. In addition, our membership newsletter, In Medias Res, is sent out twice yearly to keep you informed of Association activities. Please send items worthy of note, inquiries, or contributions to our newsletter editor, Stephanie Gibson (communications@media-ecology.org)
As you renew your membership, you may notice we have not increased our fees since 2008. Nevertheless, our operating expenses continue to increase, and institutions which in the past subsidized some MEA expenses no longer are able to do so. So the MEA must stand on its own, and we hope you will see, as we do, that your interest in and commitment to the MEA are essential to our work and our future.
So we encourage you who are involved in media ecology to demonstrate your support of our emerging field of inquiry by becoming a 2010 MEA member. and making the Media Ecology Association your intellectual home. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the MEA,
Sincerely,
Janet Sternberg
President, Media Ecology Association
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