Researchers Admit To Fabricating Interviews for Study on HIV/AIDS Prevention Model for Teenagers
Three University of Maryland-Baltimore researchers have admitted that they fabricated interviews with teenagers for a study on HIV/AIDS prevention, which received more than $1 million in NIH funding in 1999, the Washington Times reports. Researchers Lajuane Woodard, Sheila Blackwell and Khalilah Creek, who were employed by the university's department of pediatrics, said that they made up some of the interviews for a study to evaluate an existing AIDS prevention model, called "Focus on Kids." The model is a "widely used" comprehensive sex education curriculum, according to the Times. The study, titled "Effectiveness of Standard Versus Embellished HIV Prevention," involved 817 African-American youths ages 12 to 16 and was originally published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics by a group of nine researchers led by Ying Wu of West Virginia University. The study concluded that youth whose families participated in the Focus on Kids program showed "significantly lower rates" for several HIV risk behaviors, including sex without condoms and cigarette and alcohol use, according to the Times. The editors of Pediatrics on Thursday said that they were investigating the claims of fabrication.
Reaction
"It is terribly troubling that federally funded research on a topic as sensitive and important as HIV prevention for children ... would be intentionally manipulated," Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), chair of the House subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources, said, adding, "If not caught, the lives of countless children may have been put at risk by ineffective, perhaps dangerous, prevention messages developed from this fabricated research." Constance Burr, a spokesperson for the National Institute for Mental Health, which funded the study, said, "We would not comment on this," the Times reports. In addition, officials at the Office of Research Integrity had no response to the report of fabrication, according to the Times.
Closer Scrutiny
House Republicans in the past year have repeatedly criticized NIH grants for research projects on sexual issues (Stacy McCain, Washington Times, 12/5). For several months, conservative House members have questioned at least 10 NIH research grants, including grants for studies on emergency contraception, Asian sex workers in San Francisco and women's response to pornography. Congress recently investigated hundreds of NIH-funded research projects -- including studies on sexual health and HIV/AIDS -- that were included on a list prepared by the Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative group that claims to represent 43,000 churches nationwide. In what many people said was a mix-up, a congressional staff member in October sent NIH a list of more than 200 grants representing more than $100 million in funding instead of the shorter list of 10 grants.
No Room for Interest Groups
Many researchers and some Democrats, including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), have criticized Republicans' examination of such studies (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/30). In response to the TVC list, Waxman in October sent a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson stating, "Imposing ideological shackles on this research would be a serious public health mistake." In the Dec. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Public Health, NEJM Editor Jeffrey Drazen said that such scrutiny from Congress could turn sexual health research into a "political football" (Washington Times, 12/5). When grants are awarded following the peer-review process, researchers should then be "left to focus on their work and should not be diverted by wasting time responding to the whims of interest groups," Drazen wrote (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/4). However, Souder said that the admissions of fabrication by the Maryland researchers show the importance of congressional oversight. "This scandal underscores the need for oversight of all federal programs -- even NIH -- to ensure taxpayer dollars are not misspent and science is not manipulated," Souder said (Washington Times, 12/5).
December 10, 2003
Child poverty adverts banned
After record number of complaints to the advertising watchdog, Barnardo's is forced to axe its pre-Christmas campaign
John Carvel, social affairs editor
Wednesday December 10, 2003
The Guardian
Barnardo's, the children's charity, was forced to axe a pre-Christmas advertising campaign yesterday after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled the content to be too shocking.
The ads, including one showing a computer-generated image of a new-born baby with a cockroach crawling out of its mouth, were likely to cause serious or widespread offence, the authority said.
Accepting the ruling, the charity said it was saddened that it was being thwarted in its attempt to highlight the issue of child poverty and "challenge the blinkered views of those who claim it does not exist".
The £1m campaign, prepared by the advertising agency BBH, was launched four weeks ago in the Guardian and other national newspapers, provoking a record 466 complaints to the ASA.
The wording on the cockroach ad said: "Baby Greg is one minute old. He should have a bright future. Poverty is waiting to rob Greg of hope and spirit and is likely to lead him to a future of squalor."
Other ads in the series, also banned, showed a baby with a syringe in her mouth with a warning that childhood poverty could lead to a life of drug abuse; and a baby with a meths bottle in her mouth warning of a link between poverty and alcoholism.
The ASA said: "The authority acknowledged the serious message of the advertisements, but nevertheless considered the advertisers had used shocking images to attract attention and that the photographs were likely to cause serious or widespread offence." It told the advertisers not to repeat the ads.
Barnardo's said it had taken care before launching the campaign to get the material vetted by the copy advice team of the committee of advertising practice, the body which drew up the ASA's code. It said the team had raised no objections.
Andrew Nebel, the charity's marketing director, said: "We felt we had complied fully with the advertising guidelines, so we are disappointed with this outcome. While the adverts may have shocked some sensibilities, they succeeded in highlighting the very serious issue of child poverty."
An NOP poll for the charity had shown 86% of the public were unaware that high levels of child poverty existed in the UK. Mr Nebel said the publicity generated by the campaign before the ads were withdrawn in the first week raised the level of debate and made the public react.
Three previous campaigns for Barnardo's generated complaints, but the ASA ruled on each occasion that they should be allowed to go ahead.
A spokeswoman for the authority said the charity's "heroin baby" campaign had been accepted in 2000 despite advice from the copy advice team that it should not be shown.
Barnardo's said last night it would continue to fight for disadvantaged children."We hoped readers of the ads would be able to look beyond the challenging images and realise that the real issue is the shocking fact that the UK has some of the worst child poverty of all developed nations, with 3.8 million children officially living below the poverty line," Mr Nebel said.
The ASA rejected a second line of complaint against the ads from people who though they were irresponsible and might encourage emulation by children.
After record number of complaints to the advertising watchdog, Barnardo's is forced to axe its pre-Christmas campaign
John Carvel, social affairs editor
Wednesday December 10, 2003
The Guardian
Barnardo's, the children's charity, was forced to axe a pre-Christmas advertising campaign yesterday after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled the content to be too shocking.
The ads, including one showing a computer-generated image of a new-born baby with a cockroach crawling out of its mouth, were likely to cause serious or widespread offence, the authority said.
Accepting the ruling, the charity said it was saddened that it was being thwarted in its attempt to highlight the issue of child poverty and "challenge the blinkered views of those who claim it does not exist".
The £1m campaign, prepared by the advertising agency BBH, was launched four weeks ago in the Guardian and other national newspapers, provoking a record 466 complaints to the ASA.
The wording on the cockroach ad said: "Baby Greg is one minute old. He should have a bright future. Poverty is waiting to rob Greg of hope and spirit and is likely to lead him to a future of squalor."
Other ads in the series, also banned, showed a baby with a syringe in her mouth with a warning that childhood poverty could lead to a life of drug abuse; and a baby with a meths bottle in her mouth warning of a link between poverty and alcoholism.
The ASA said: "The authority acknowledged the serious message of the advertisements, but nevertheless considered the advertisers had used shocking images to attract attention and that the photographs were likely to cause serious or widespread offence." It told the advertisers not to repeat the ads.
Barnardo's said it had taken care before launching the campaign to get the material vetted by the copy advice team of the committee of advertising practice, the body which drew up the ASA's code. It said the team had raised no objections.
Andrew Nebel, the charity's marketing director, said: "We felt we had complied fully with the advertising guidelines, so we are disappointed with this outcome. While the adverts may have shocked some sensibilities, they succeeded in highlighting the very serious issue of child poverty."
An NOP poll for the charity had shown 86% of the public were unaware that high levels of child poverty existed in the UK. Mr Nebel said the publicity generated by the campaign before the ads were withdrawn in the first week raised the level of debate and made the public react.
Three previous campaigns for Barnardo's generated complaints, but the ASA ruled on each occasion that they should be allowed to go ahead.
A spokeswoman for the authority said the charity's "heroin baby" campaign had been accepted in 2000 despite advice from the copy advice team that it should not be shown.
Barnardo's said last night it would continue to fight for disadvantaged children."We hoped readers of the ads would be able to look beyond the challenging images and realise that the real issue is the shocking fact that the UK has some of the worst child poverty of all developed nations, with 3.8 million children officially living below the poverty line," Mr Nebel said.
The ASA rejected a second line of complaint against the ads from people who though they were irresponsible and might encourage emulation by children.
December 8, 2003
December 8, 2003
ADVERTISING
TV and Movie Characters Are Selling Children Snacks
By COURTNEY KANE
ORGAN NACE, 3, of Madison, Conn., loves the Brach's Wiggles fruit snacks, while his sister, Olivia, 6, prefers the Betty Crocker Disney Princess version. And if buying them each a box means a moment of peace for their mother, Liz, in the supermarket, then it is a no-brainer decision.
This is the reality for parents who shop with their children, and it is the driving force for rapidly rising sales of fruit snacks. The marketing of gummy snacks has intensified, making the treats even more appealing to the highly receptive consumers, as companies continue to produce more multiflavored shapes in the form of characters licensed from popular toys and hit children's television shows and movies.
Though nutritionists note that fruit snacks, often with added sugar, are not health foods, and children's media watchdogs worry about the potential for manipulation, marketers embrace the licensing trend.
In June, for example, General Mills added Dragon Tales to its line of Betty Crocker fruit snacks, based on the popular PBS series, while about three months ago Brach's began selling "The Cat in The Hat," fruit snacks in anticipation of the film starring Mike Myers. Those brands join at least 50 others battling for market share in the $700 million dry fruit snacks category.
The boxes with characters "just pop out," Ms. Nace said. Forty-five percent of fruit snacks now have licensing agreements, compared with 10 percent in 1996.
Aiming at children through licensing is hardly new. What has changed is the scope and intensity of the blitz as today's youth become unwitting marketing targets at ever younger ages through more exposure to television, movies, videos and the Internet. By the time children are around 2, they can often recognize characters, logos and specific brands. Marketers are tapping into that audience with the product tie-ins, placed at a child's eye level, on about everything - Scooby-Doo vitamins, Elmo juice and cookies. Problems could result from the eagerness among fruit snacks to establish licensing partnerships with popular characters if characters become overexposed. But marketers remain upbeat.
"Licensing can provide a sustainable competitive advantage,'' said Stu Seltzer, president at Marketing on Demand, a licensing agency in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
A typical licensing deal is 2 percent to 6 percent of gross sales with minimum royalty fees guaranteed.
One edge that licensing provides is an "instant sell-in" for grocery stores to provide shelf space because of "built-in consumer acceptance."
Information Resources Inc., a Chicago company that tracks sales in supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandise outlets, other than Wal-Mart, said that for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 2, sales of dry fruit snacks reached $541.6 million, up 5.5 percent from the same period a year earlier. That came atop growth of 3.2 percent for 2002; 8.7 percent for 2001, and 5.6 percent for 2000.
Licensing is "a way to sort of infuse the emotion and popularity of a current kids' hit into a product," said Terry O'Brien, president and chief executive of Brach's Confections Inc. in Chicago. Mr. O'Brien said that its Cat in the Hat fruit snack recently broke its highest sales rate. Some fruit snacks marketers view their licensed products as a means to remain relevant with consumers.
Tom Nientimp, marketing manager for Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, said that they "provide an opportunity for us to bring news to the shelf." Other top Betty Crocker licensed fruit snacks include Scooby-Doo, Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear.
The courtship of children is no surprise since increasingly that is where the money is. In 2004, children under 12 will spend $35 billion of their money and influence $200 billion of household spending, Mr. Seltzer said. Children influence 43 percent of purchases, he said.
"The idea is these children are active consumers at very young ages, so lets get them now before somebody else does," said Sally Lee, editor in chief at Parents magazine in New York, a Gruner & Jahr publication. "The problem with that," Ms. Lee said is "these kids can't make informed decisions, and up until the age of 6 they don't understand the issue of persuasion or manipulation."
Most licensed fruit snacks do not spend money to advertise, because Mr. O'Brien said "That's part of the point of the licenses is that you're actually hitchhiking on a larger media or food company's advertising."
Selina Guber, president of Children's Market Services Worldwide Inc. in New York, and the author of "Marketing to and Through Kids," pegged the sales growth "to parental belief that dried fruit snacks are healthier than'' other sweets. Ms. Lee said: "It would not be honest to market them as a healthy snack. There are many, many, many better nutritional choices, but you have vitamins added, so they're better than candy."
While marketing to children has been criticized with obesity related lawsuits, product tie-ins are a complicated issue for parents. "Parents are very concerned about these cross-promotional tie-ins since marketing puts a lot of pressure on kids to buy things that are sometimes unhealthy or too expensive," Ms. Lee said. "Using the cartoon characters and using the animated characters in the tie-ins, can also work for parents."
Ms. Lee said that she buys Barbie toothbrushes because it gives her two girls an incentive to brush. But parents cannot abdicate responsibility for what comes into their homes, Ms. Lee said. "We do have a responsibility to make our feelings felt on this issue with our pocketbook because the children can't."
Nella Pignataro, the mother of Nicholas, 4, and Andrew, 2, who avoids certain aisles at the Food Emporium in Greenwich, Conn., admits to giving in to fruit snacks but says she draws the line elsewhere. "It's a waste of money," she said.
Nevertheless, most marketing executives predict that food and snack licensing will only continue to grow.
"We've been growing double digits for the last three years,'' Mr. O'Brien said, "and we expect much the same for 2004."
ADVERTISING
TV and Movie Characters Are Selling Children Snacks
By COURTNEY KANE
ORGAN NACE, 3, of Madison, Conn., loves the Brach's Wiggles fruit snacks, while his sister, Olivia, 6, prefers the Betty Crocker Disney Princess version. And if buying them each a box means a moment of peace for their mother, Liz, in the supermarket, then it is a no-brainer decision.
This is the reality for parents who shop with their children, and it is the driving force for rapidly rising sales of fruit snacks. The marketing of gummy snacks has intensified, making the treats even more appealing to the highly receptive consumers, as companies continue to produce more multiflavored shapes in the form of characters licensed from popular toys and hit children's television shows and movies.
Though nutritionists note that fruit snacks, often with added sugar, are not health foods, and children's media watchdogs worry about the potential for manipulation, marketers embrace the licensing trend.
In June, for example, General Mills added Dragon Tales to its line of Betty Crocker fruit snacks, based on the popular PBS series, while about three months ago Brach's began selling "The Cat in The Hat," fruit snacks in anticipation of the film starring Mike Myers. Those brands join at least 50 others battling for market share in the $700 million dry fruit snacks category.
The boxes with characters "just pop out," Ms. Nace said. Forty-five percent of fruit snacks now have licensing agreements, compared with 10 percent in 1996.
Aiming at children through licensing is hardly new. What has changed is the scope and intensity of the blitz as today's youth become unwitting marketing targets at ever younger ages through more exposure to television, movies, videos and the Internet. By the time children are around 2, they can often recognize characters, logos and specific brands. Marketers are tapping into that audience with the product tie-ins, placed at a child's eye level, on about everything - Scooby-Doo vitamins, Elmo juice and cookies. Problems could result from the eagerness among fruit snacks to establish licensing partnerships with popular characters if characters become overexposed. But marketers remain upbeat.
"Licensing can provide a sustainable competitive advantage,'' said Stu Seltzer, president at Marketing on Demand, a licensing agency in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
A typical licensing deal is 2 percent to 6 percent of gross sales with minimum royalty fees guaranteed.
One edge that licensing provides is an "instant sell-in" for grocery stores to provide shelf space because of "built-in consumer acceptance."
Information Resources Inc., a Chicago company that tracks sales in supermarkets, drugstores and mass merchandise outlets, other than Wal-Mart, said that for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 2, sales of dry fruit snacks reached $541.6 million, up 5.5 percent from the same period a year earlier. That came atop growth of 3.2 percent for 2002; 8.7 percent for 2001, and 5.6 percent for 2000.
Licensing is "a way to sort of infuse the emotion and popularity of a current kids' hit into a product," said Terry O'Brien, president and chief executive of Brach's Confections Inc. in Chicago. Mr. O'Brien said that its Cat in the Hat fruit snack recently broke its highest sales rate. Some fruit snacks marketers view their licensed products as a means to remain relevant with consumers.
Tom Nientimp, marketing manager for Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, said that they "provide an opportunity for us to bring news to the shelf." Other top Betty Crocker licensed fruit snacks include Scooby-Doo, Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear.
The courtship of children is no surprise since increasingly that is where the money is. In 2004, children under 12 will spend $35 billion of their money and influence $200 billion of household spending, Mr. Seltzer said. Children influence 43 percent of purchases, he said.
"The idea is these children are active consumers at very young ages, so lets get them now before somebody else does," said Sally Lee, editor in chief at Parents magazine in New York, a Gruner & Jahr publication. "The problem with that," Ms. Lee said is "these kids can't make informed decisions, and up until the age of 6 they don't understand the issue of persuasion or manipulation."
Most licensed fruit snacks do not spend money to advertise, because Mr. O'Brien said "That's part of the point of the licenses is that you're actually hitchhiking on a larger media or food company's advertising."
Selina Guber, president of Children's Market Services Worldwide Inc. in New York, and the author of "Marketing to and Through Kids," pegged the sales growth "to parental belief that dried fruit snacks are healthier than'' other sweets. Ms. Lee said: "It would not be honest to market them as a healthy snack. There are many, many, many better nutritional choices, but you have vitamins added, so they're better than candy."
While marketing to children has been criticized with obesity related lawsuits, product tie-ins are a complicated issue for parents. "Parents are very concerned about these cross-promotional tie-ins since marketing puts a lot of pressure on kids to buy things that are sometimes unhealthy or too expensive," Ms. Lee said. "Using the cartoon characters and using the animated characters in the tie-ins, can also work for parents."
Ms. Lee said that she buys Barbie toothbrushes because it gives her two girls an incentive to brush. But parents cannot abdicate responsibility for what comes into their homes, Ms. Lee said. "We do have a responsibility to make our feelings felt on this issue with our pocketbook because the children can't."
Nella Pignataro, the mother of Nicholas, 4, and Andrew, 2, who avoids certain aisles at the Food Emporium in Greenwich, Conn., admits to giving in to fruit snacks but says she draws the line elsewhere. "It's a waste of money," she said.
Nevertheless, most marketing executives predict that food and snack licensing will only continue to grow.
"We've been growing double digits for the last three years,'' Mr. O'Brien said, "and we expect much the same for 2004."
December 5, 2003
Teachers TV plans confirmed
14:49 GMT, Tuesday 25th November 2003 -- by Neil Wilkes
A dedicated TV channel for teachers will launch early next year, the government have confirmed.
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has selected Education Digital - a consortium comprising Carlton, London's Institute of Education and Brook Lapping - to run the pilot for Teachers' TV early in February which, if successful, would lead to a full launch in autumn 2004.
Proposed programming includes Against the Odds, a series where teachers tell the story of how their school overcame serious problems and crises; a fly-on-the-wall clasroom analysis show giving tips and advice; as well as a regular education news bulletin.
"I am confident that Education Digital will develop quality programmes for school workers," said David Miliband, School Standards Minister. "The consortium has an impressive broadcasting track record and a real understanding of the needs and interests of the target audience.
"Teachers' TV is an innovative and exciting proposition for teachers. It will provide unique support for people who work in schools and will bring useful information together in one place to save time and add value."
The channel will run for 18 hours a day on Sky, ntl, Telewest and Freeview.
14:49 GMT, Tuesday 25th November 2003 -- by Neil Wilkes
A dedicated TV channel for teachers will launch early next year, the government have confirmed.
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has selected Education Digital - a consortium comprising Carlton, London's Institute of Education and Brook Lapping - to run the pilot for Teachers' TV early in February which, if successful, would lead to a full launch in autumn 2004.
Proposed programming includes Against the Odds, a series where teachers tell the story of how their school overcame serious problems and crises; a fly-on-the-wall clasroom analysis show giving tips and advice; as well as a regular education news bulletin.
"I am confident that Education Digital will develop quality programmes for school workers," said David Miliband, School Standards Minister. "The consortium has an impressive broadcasting track record and a real understanding of the needs and interests of the target audience.
"Teachers' TV is an innovative and exciting proposition for teachers. It will provide unique support for people who work in schools and will bring useful information together in one place to save time and add value."
The channel will run for 18 hours a day on Sky, ntl, Telewest and Freeview.
December 4, 2003
Mag Finds The Really Lost Boys: Male Teens
by Larry Dobrow
Asked recently how magazines could overcome their inability to reach teenage males, one publisher didn't hesitate before answering: "We should get into the video game business." When it was suggested that plenty of titles cater to young video game enthusiasts, the publisher said, "No, I mean that we should start making video games. That's probably our only chance."
Indeed, while teenage girls have been known to devour several titles per month, boys between the ages of 12 and 18 are almost written off by magazine publishers. They lead active lifestyles, the argument has traditionally gone, and don't stop to read much beyond the sports section of the newspaper or maybe the trifecta of major sports titles (Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and Sporting News, each of which boasts an average reader age of 30 or older). "They're just as likely to be shooting hoops on the [television] screen as they are in the playground," says SchoolSports chief executive officer Jim Kaufman. "What they're not likely to be doing much is reading magazines."
SchoolSports, a six-year-old title that covers high school sports, doesn't claim to be the entity that will awaken teenage boys to the glory of the printed word. But the publication has been successful in offering younger readers detailed regional and national sports coverage they are unable to find elsewhere. And with its planned 2004 expansion - a circulation jump from 400,000 to 650,000 and entry into the sports-crazed Denver, Detroit, Houston, Phoenix, and Seattle markets - SchoolSports may well prove one of the more effective marketing vehicles through which advertisers can reach male teens.
It's not that high school sports haven't registered on the radar of major publishers. Sporting News recently unveiled a special issue dedicated to high school basketball (jointly produced with SchoolSports), while Sports Illustrated and ESPN have upped their coverage of younger athletes in the wake of the LeBron James phenomenon. It's just that few publishers saw the upside in writing about high school sports, especially since the primary audience for such a publication rarely bothered with magazines.
This hasn't deterred SchoolSports, which believes the key to attracting these readers lies in regionalizing coverage. "Sports is the way you reach these kids, but you have to localize everything," Kaufman notes. "There are thousands and thousands of high school athletes out there who want to read about themselves and their peers, but they're getting pushed off the pages of newspapers in major metro areas."
Launched in Boston in 1997 by current Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Segal,SchoolSports didn't make its push for the varsity squad until 2000, when it launched nationally in ten markets. Each market receives its own edition of the magazine, which is distributed at 4,000 schools across the country.
Considering that there are about 17,000 high schools in the United States, there's room for growth. But since schools in the 15 metropolitan markets are usually significantly larger than those in other areas, SchoolSports is blanketing a significant part of the country.
Still, Kaufman's primary concern is generating awareness for the title. "We're not published by a Time Warner or a Rodale or a Conde Nast," Kaufman says. On the other hand, none of those behemoths publish a title whose primary audience is teenage boys, which is why SchoolSports has done quite well in attracting big-name advertisers. Longtime supporters include Gatorade, Reebok, Nike, Champion, and all four branches of the armed forces, and the magazine has recently added music/entertainment companies (Paramount plugged "School of Rock" in the September issue) and "Got Milk?" to its mix.
"Once [advertisers] know who we are, they're usually really willing to sit down and listen to what we have to say," Kaufman explains. "We're still small and relatively new, so we have to be very regimented in going after them." Future targets include Adidas (one of the few shoe/athletic gear companies not running in SchoolSports) and urban clothing lines like Rocawear, FUBU, and Sean John.
One important consideration for Kaufman and his staff is limiting the mag's slate to "appropriate" marketers. SchoolSports doesn't run tobacco or liquor ads, and has been supportive of government anti-drug and anti-violence programs. The problem, as Kaufman freely acknowledges, is that teens tend to gravitate toward racier editorial and marketing content ("they see it everywhere they go"), meaning that SchoolSports often finds itself walking a fine line. "What we do has to be edgy and relevant, but it also has to be appropriate for schools," he explains. "Sometimes those goals are mutually exclusive."
Kaufman admits that he's fielded calls from school athletic directors about the mag's advertisements, although not as many as he's received about its editorial content. "Most of what we hear is 'how can you rank our team so low in the greater L.A. area?'" he laughs. "I guess that if we're generating that kind of debate, we're probably doing something right."
by Larry Dobrow
Asked recently how magazines could overcome their inability to reach teenage males, one publisher didn't hesitate before answering: "We should get into the video game business." When it was suggested that plenty of titles cater to young video game enthusiasts, the publisher said, "No, I mean that we should start making video games. That's probably our only chance."
Indeed, while teenage girls have been known to devour several titles per month, boys between the ages of 12 and 18 are almost written off by magazine publishers. They lead active lifestyles, the argument has traditionally gone, and don't stop to read much beyond the sports section of the newspaper or maybe the trifecta of major sports titles (Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and Sporting News, each of which boasts an average reader age of 30 or older). "They're just as likely to be shooting hoops on the [television] screen as they are in the playground," says SchoolSports chief executive officer Jim Kaufman. "What they're not likely to be doing much is reading magazines."
SchoolSports, a six-year-old title that covers high school sports, doesn't claim to be the entity that will awaken teenage boys to the glory of the printed word. But the publication has been successful in offering younger readers detailed regional and national sports coverage they are unable to find elsewhere. And with its planned 2004 expansion - a circulation jump from 400,000 to 650,000 and entry into the sports-crazed Denver, Detroit, Houston, Phoenix, and Seattle markets - SchoolSports may well prove one of the more effective marketing vehicles through which advertisers can reach male teens.
It's not that high school sports haven't registered on the radar of major publishers. Sporting News recently unveiled a special issue dedicated to high school basketball (jointly produced with SchoolSports), while Sports Illustrated and ESPN have upped their coverage of younger athletes in the wake of the LeBron James phenomenon. It's just that few publishers saw the upside in writing about high school sports, especially since the primary audience for such a publication rarely bothered with magazines.
This hasn't deterred SchoolSports, which believes the key to attracting these readers lies in regionalizing coverage. "Sports is the way you reach these kids, but you have to localize everything," Kaufman notes. "There are thousands and thousands of high school athletes out there who want to read about themselves and their peers, but they're getting pushed off the pages of newspapers in major metro areas."
Launched in Boston in 1997 by current Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Segal,SchoolSports didn't make its push for the varsity squad until 2000, when it launched nationally in ten markets. Each market receives its own edition of the magazine, which is distributed at 4,000 schools across the country.
Considering that there are about 17,000 high schools in the United States, there's room for growth. But since schools in the 15 metropolitan markets are usually significantly larger than those in other areas, SchoolSports is blanketing a significant part of the country.
Still, Kaufman's primary concern is generating awareness for the title. "We're not published by a Time Warner or a Rodale or a Conde Nast," Kaufman says. On the other hand, none of those behemoths publish a title whose primary audience is teenage boys, which is why SchoolSports has done quite well in attracting big-name advertisers. Longtime supporters include Gatorade, Reebok, Nike, Champion, and all four branches of the armed forces, and the magazine has recently added music/entertainment companies (Paramount plugged "School of Rock" in the September issue) and "Got Milk?" to its mix.
"Once [advertisers] know who we are, they're usually really willing to sit down and listen to what we have to say," Kaufman explains. "We're still small and relatively new, so we have to be very regimented in going after them." Future targets include Adidas (one of the few shoe/athletic gear companies not running in SchoolSports) and urban clothing lines like Rocawear, FUBU, and Sean John.
One important consideration for Kaufman and his staff is limiting the mag's slate to "appropriate" marketers. SchoolSports doesn't run tobacco or liquor ads, and has been supportive of government anti-drug and anti-violence programs. The problem, as Kaufman freely acknowledges, is that teens tend to gravitate toward racier editorial and marketing content ("they see it everywhere they go"), meaning that SchoolSports often finds itself walking a fine line. "What we do has to be edgy and relevant, but it also has to be appropriate for schools," he explains. "Sometimes those goals are mutually exclusive."
Kaufman admits that he's fielded calls from school athletic directors about the mag's advertisements, although not as many as he's received about its editorial content. "Most of what we hear is 'how can you rank our team so low in the greater L.A. area?'" he laughs. "I guess that if we're generating that kind of debate, we're probably doing something right."
December 3, 2003
2003 NCM EXPO & Awards Celebrate Ethnic Media’s Vital Role in American CommunicationsNCM, Press Release,
NCM, Nov 26, 2003
Over 2,000 Attendees plus hundreds of exhibitors, speakers and civic leaders convene at conference hosted by the country’s most diverse media network
Photos from NCM EXPO (1) & the NCM Awards (2)
San Francisco – November 25 – On November 18th and 19th, more than 200 media outlets serving California’s millions of ethnic and minority residents gathered to mark New California Media’s annual EXPO and Awards. They were joined by representatives of ethnic media from Houston, Miami, Atlanta and New York, as well as over 2,000 representatives of mainstream and youth media, advertising and multicultural marketing agencies, elected officials and NGO leaders who came to meet the communicators of California’s new majority communities.
“Such a rich collection of ethnic media I have never seen in my life, and everyone was enjoying it. The oneness of the EXPO was something to see,” said Vivek Sharma, senior manager of the New York-based publication India Abroad.
For this year’s heavy turnout from the business and advertising sectors, “the exuberance and diversity of the EXPO was eye-opening,” said PG&E ethnic media outreach coordinator Claudia Mendoza. As the country’s largest event showcasing ethnic media, the NCM EXPO & Awards offer one-stop access to the publications, broadcast stations and websites serving a dizzying range of audiences from Afghan to Vietnamese, and constituting the fastest-growing sector of the media landscape today. “The [EXPO] leaves me even more convinced than ever that we are on the edge of an enormous change,” said Lawrence Wilkinson of the corporate and venture strategy firm Heminge and Condell.
The NCM Awards, dubbed “the Ethnic Pulitzers” by the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, were presented at a gala banquet at the Westin St. Francis hotel on November 18th. Emceed by ABC7 news anchor Thuy Vu, the ceremony honored 19 ethnic media journalists in categories ranging from investigative reporting to health and environmental coverage. The NCM Awards constitute the first multi-ethnic awards program in the country to recognize journalistic excellence in non-English language media. Tavis Smiley of The Tavis Smiley Show on National Public Radio also received a Special Communicator Award, along with Bill Imada of the Asian American advertising and public relations firm IW Group and Sandra Hernandez, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation. “I was in awe of the size, passion and intent of attendees and award recipients,” noted Melissa Bradley, founder and president of the New Capitalist, a business development and consulting firm.
The NCM EXPO itself was an all-day event on November 19th that combined general sessions and workshops with over 150 ethnic and youth media exhibitors. Guest speakers included Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, Schwarzenegger aide and spokesperson Sean Walsh, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, California State Senator Jackie Speier, Radio Unica vice president and Miami-Dade County mayoral candidate Jose Cancela, national multilingual pollster Sergio Bendixen and civil rights veteran Dr. Benjamin Chavis. Many of them addressed the vital role that ethnic media play in stimulating civic participation and diversifying communications in the U.S.
During a panel discussion on the new media ownership rules that the FCC approved this year, Commissioner Adelstein noted that there was a general lack of understanding at the federal level of how ethnic media operate, and was congratulated for reaching out to this sector by addressing the EXPO. Along with Schwarzenegger aide Sean Walsh, Mayor Brown discussed ethnic media’s ability to reach swing voters, as proven by his own experience in San Francisco, and Senator Speier addressed a group of women in ethnic media, emphasizing their role in encouraging civic participation at a time when voter participation among minorities is weakening. During a discussion on the future of Hispanic broadcast media, Cancela, who is a former top executive at the Telemundo and Univision Spanish-language television networks, said that the Hispanic media should be regulated by the FCC as a separate market from English-language media. Dr. Chavis and Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Summit Action Network hosted a special reception for representatives of over 30 youth media organizations from Los Angeles to New York. Other workshops addressed issues ranging from multilingual polling to the future of multicultural advertising.
"What distinguished this fourth EXPO was not only the great diversity of exhibitors – we had more national representation than ever before and representatives from key American Indian and Pacific Islander media, for example – but the significant increase in participation from business, social marketing, investment and philanthropic sectors – as sponsors, speakers and attendees,” said NCM executive director Sandy Close. “From giant national companies like Boeing, Valassis, Hewett, Eli Lilly, Pfizer – to government agencies like Flex Your Power and the Peace Corps to major funders like The James Irvine Foundation, The California Endowment, The Community Technology Foundation and The Ford Foundation – we believe these attendees will be vital in spreading the word about ethnic media and growing the advertising pie.”
“It was overwhelming,” said Jinx Macabenta of the recently founded Filipino Ang Panahon Newspaper. “The sheer number of ethnic media out there came as a big surprise to me, and the networking opportunities that this event provided are invaluable to publications like ours.”
“It is clear that through NCM a spirit of dialogue and community is beginning to gel among these outlets,” noted Pete Mackey, director of public affairs at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “The more organization they develop, the more clout they will inevitably gather. Indeed, their energy and passion remind me of the buzz of the dot.com companies: innovative, driven, specialized and entrepreneurial. I expect that from this fresh media community will arise outlets and individual leaders who will help shape U.S. media in decades to come—not least because they represent and serve a burgeoning cross-section of the new America.”
“NCM is deeply grateful for the powerful show of support from our corporate sponsors – especially Bank of America, Southern California Edison, PG&E, Kaiser Permanente and The Boeing Company – and to our media partners who devoted time and resources to put on the EXPO” said Close. “It's a huge boost for NCM that I know will pay off not only in new contracts for our network but in more inclusive communications overall.”
Photos from NCM EXPO (1) & the NCM Awards (2)
Additional Attendee Quotes:
“Sessions and exhibitors included everyone from a managing partner of Ogilvy Worldwide to Ben Chavis, formerly of the NAACP and now of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, to the heads of national Latin American-oriented television and radio networks. While many of the outlets are small, serving distinct populations such as immigrants from one country living in a particular city such as San Francisco, a number of them started out that focused and have since attained national reach.” – Pete Mackey, director of public affairs, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
“Congratulations on another successful New California Media EXPO. I regret that my schedule did not permit me to participate, but was glad to know that State Senator Jackie Speier addressed the guests at your Women as Civic Communicators breakfast. Thank you for your publication, the NCM National Ethnic Media Directory. These directories have been an invaluable resource to my offices.” – Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
“Congratulations on an outstanding EXPO. It was well-run, well-positioned and well-attended. It was by far one of the best EXPOs I have ever been to. Let me also commend you on the relationships you have brokered to make ethnic media viable and sustainable. It was quite inspiring to see the number of investment heads, sponsors and advertisers in decision making positions present.” – Melissa Bradley, founder and president of the New Capitalist
“The EXPO was a phenomenal event. My dream is to become a newscaster, and attending the EXPO opened a lot of doors toward my future plans. One thing I loved was that everyone wanted to, and were willing to listen to your dreams and hopes to see how they could help. It made me very happy to see that someone would take time to listen to me.” – Krystal Sipp, 16, The Beat Within (a publication produced for incarcerated youth)
“I very much enjoyed the opportunity and look forward to the EXPOs in the years to come. You are really doing some groundbreaking work, and it’s an honor for our foundation to be supporting this vital work.” – James Canales, CEO of the James Irvine Foundation
“The EXPO was great, as usual, only bigger and better.” – Robert Deen, managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
“It was truly an honor to learn from the ethnic and youth press. The entire event was exceptional!” – Meghann Mulherin, program director, The McCormick Tribune Foundation
“I felt honored to be appointed an [NCM Award] judge, and very proud to see those journalists I voted for win. NCM makes dreams come true for so many young talented people–as anyone could see during the ceremony!” – Emma Krasov, freelance journalist
“The ethnic media challenged corporations to do more inclusive marketing and communications. So too, the ethnic media has a responsibility to its audience to provide hard news coverage. The more you cover hard news, the more relevant it is in the eyes of the companies you become, and together our collective issues are advanced.” – Guillermo Rodriguez, senior director, Public Affairs, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Humor for the day: “And now for the 500th award of the evening,” – Frank Quevedo, Sr. vice president of Southern California Edison while presenting an NCM award on Nov. 18th.
Over 2,000 Attendees plus hundreds of exhibitors, speakers and civic leaders convene at conference hosted by the country’s most diverse media network
Contact:
Catherine Black
415-503-4170
Catherine@pacificnews.org
NCM, Nov 26, 2003
Over 2,000 Attendees plus hundreds of exhibitors, speakers and civic leaders convene at conference hosted by the country’s most diverse media network
Photos from NCM EXPO (1) & the NCM Awards (2)
San Francisco – November 25 – On November 18th and 19th, more than 200 media outlets serving California’s millions of ethnic and minority residents gathered to mark New California Media’s annual EXPO and Awards. They were joined by representatives of ethnic media from Houston, Miami, Atlanta and New York, as well as over 2,000 representatives of mainstream and youth media, advertising and multicultural marketing agencies, elected officials and NGO leaders who came to meet the communicators of California’s new majority communities.
“Such a rich collection of ethnic media I have never seen in my life, and everyone was enjoying it. The oneness of the EXPO was something to see,” said Vivek Sharma, senior manager of the New York-based publication India Abroad.
For this year’s heavy turnout from the business and advertising sectors, “the exuberance and diversity of the EXPO was eye-opening,” said PG&E ethnic media outreach coordinator Claudia Mendoza. As the country’s largest event showcasing ethnic media, the NCM EXPO & Awards offer one-stop access to the publications, broadcast stations and websites serving a dizzying range of audiences from Afghan to Vietnamese, and constituting the fastest-growing sector of the media landscape today. “The [EXPO] leaves me even more convinced than ever that we are on the edge of an enormous change,” said Lawrence Wilkinson of the corporate and venture strategy firm Heminge and Condell.
The NCM Awards, dubbed “the Ethnic Pulitzers” by the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, were presented at a gala banquet at the Westin St. Francis hotel on November 18th. Emceed by ABC7 news anchor Thuy Vu, the ceremony honored 19 ethnic media journalists in categories ranging from investigative reporting to health and environmental coverage. The NCM Awards constitute the first multi-ethnic awards program in the country to recognize journalistic excellence in non-English language media. Tavis Smiley of The Tavis Smiley Show on National Public Radio also received a Special Communicator Award, along with Bill Imada of the Asian American advertising and public relations firm IW Group and Sandra Hernandez, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation. “I was in awe of the size, passion and intent of attendees and award recipients,” noted Melissa Bradley, founder and president of the New Capitalist, a business development and consulting firm.
The NCM EXPO itself was an all-day event on November 19th that combined general sessions and workshops with over 150 ethnic and youth media exhibitors. Guest speakers included Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, Schwarzenegger aide and spokesperson Sean Walsh, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, California State Senator Jackie Speier, Radio Unica vice president and Miami-Dade County mayoral candidate Jose Cancela, national multilingual pollster Sergio Bendixen and civil rights veteran Dr. Benjamin Chavis. Many of them addressed the vital role that ethnic media play in stimulating civic participation and diversifying communications in the U.S.
During a panel discussion on the new media ownership rules that the FCC approved this year, Commissioner Adelstein noted that there was a general lack of understanding at the federal level of how ethnic media operate, and was congratulated for reaching out to this sector by addressing the EXPO. Along with Schwarzenegger aide Sean Walsh, Mayor Brown discussed ethnic media’s ability to reach swing voters, as proven by his own experience in San Francisco, and Senator Speier addressed a group of women in ethnic media, emphasizing their role in encouraging civic participation at a time when voter participation among minorities is weakening. During a discussion on the future of Hispanic broadcast media, Cancela, who is a former top executive at the Telemundo and Univision Spanish-language television networks, said that the Hispanic media should be regulated by the FCC as a separate market from English-language media. Dr. Chavis and Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Summit Action Network hosted a special reception for representatives of over 30 youth media organizations from Los Angeles to New York. Other workshops addressed issues ranging from multilingual polling to the future of multicultural advertising.
"What distinguished this fourth EXPO was not only the great diversity of exhibitors – we had more national representation than ever before and representatives from key American Indian and Pacific Islander media, for example – but the significant increase in participation from business, social marketing, investment and philanthropic sectors – as sponsors, speakers and attendees,” said NCM executive director Sandy Close. “From giant national companies like Boeing, Valassis, Hewett, Eli Lilly, Pfizer – to government agencies like Flex Your Power and the Peace Corps to major funders like The James Irvine Foundation, The California Endowment, The Community Technology Foundation and The Ford Foundation – we believe these attendees will be vital in spreading the word about ethnic media and growing the advertising pie.”
“It was overwhelming,” said Jinx Macabenta of the recently founded Filipino Ang Panahon Newspaper. “The sheer number of ethnic media out there came as a big surprise to me, and the networking opportunities that this event provided are invaluable to publications like ours.”
“It is clear that through NCM a spirit of dialogue and community is beginning to gel among these outlets,” noted Pete Mackey, director of public affairs at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. “The more organization they develop, the more clout they will inevitably gather. Indeed, their energy and passion remind me of the buzz of the dot.com companies: innovative, driven, specialized and entrepreneurial. I expect that from this fresh media community will arise outlets and individual leaders who will help shape U.S. media in decades to come—not least because they represent and serve a burgeoning cross-section of the new America.”
“NCM is deeply grateful for the powerful show of support from our corporate sponsors – especially Bank of America, Southern California Edison, PG&E, Kaiser Permanente and The Boeing Company – and to our media partners who devoted time and resources to put on the EXPO” said Close. “It's a huge boost for NCM that I know will pay off not only in new contracts for our network but in more inclusive communications overall.”
Photos from NCM EXPO (1) & the NCM Awards (2)
Additional Attendee Quotes:
“Sessions and exhibitors included everyone from a managing partner of Ogilvy Worldwide to Ben Chavis, formerly of the NAACP and now of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, to the heads of national Latin American-oriented television and radio networks. While many of the outlets are small, serving distinct populations such as immigrants from one country living in a particular city such as San Francisco, a number of them started out that focused and have since attained national reach.” – Pete Mackey, director of public affairs, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
“Congratulations on another successful New California Media EXPO. I regret that my schedule did not permit me to participate, but was glad to know that State Senator Jackie Speier addressed the guests at your Women as Civic Communicators breakfast. Thank you for your publication, the NCM National Ethnic Media Directory. These directories have been an invaluable resource to my offices.” – Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
“Congratulations on an outstanding EXPO. It was well-run, well-positioned and well-attended. It was by far one of the best EXPOs I have ever been to. Let me also commend you on the relationships you have brokered to make ethnic media viable and sustainable. It was quite inspiring to see the number of investment heads, sponsors and advertisers in decision making positions present.” – Melissa Bradley, founder and president of the New Capitalist
“The EXPO was a phenomenal event. My dream is to become a newscaster, and attending the EXPO opened a lot of doors toward my future plans. One thing I loved was that everyone wanted to, and were willing to listen to your dreams and hopes to see how they could help. It made me very happy to see that someone would take time to listen to me.” – Krystal Sipp, 16, The Beat Within (a publication produced for incarcerated youth)
“I very much enjoyed the opportunity and look forward to the EXPOs in the years to come. You are really doing some groundbreaking work, and it’s an honor for our foundation to be supporting this vital work.” – James Canales, CEO of the James Irvine Foundation
“The EXPO was great, as usual, only bigger and better.” – Robert Deen, managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
“It was truly an honor to learn from the ethnic and youth press. The entire event was exceptional!” – Meghann Mulherin, program director, The McCormick Tribune Foundation
“I felt honored to be appointed an [NCM Award] judge, and very proud to see those journalists I voted for win. NCM makes dreams come true for so many young talented people–as anyone could see during the ceremony!” – Emma Krasov, freelance journalist
“The ethnic media challenged corporations to do more inclusive marketing and communications. So too, the ethnic media has a responsibility to its audience to provide hard news coverage. The more you cover hard news, the more relevant it is in the eyes of the companies you become, and together our collective issues are advanced.” – Guillermo Rodriguez, senior director, Public Affairs, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Humor for the day: “And now for the 500th award of the evening,” – Frank Quevedo, Sr. vice president of Southern California Edison while presenting an NCM award on Nov. 18th.
Over 2,000 Attendees plus hundreds of exhibitors, speakers and civic leaders convene at conference hosted by the country’s most diverse media network
Contact:
Catherine Black
415-503-4170
Catherine@pacificnews.org
December 2, 2003
NY1: Living: "U.N. Exhibit Features Artwork Of Bosnian Children Of War
NOVEMBER 14TH, 2003
NY1's Stephanie Simon reports on a new exhibit at the United Nations featuring the artwork of Bosnian children of war:
They may look like your average teenagers, but the Bosnian teens, whose artistic memoirs are now on display at the United Nations, are children of war.
The exhibit, called “Aftershocks: Art and Memoirs on Growing Up in the Aftermath,” is the result of a program by New York City nonprofit, the Children's Movement for Creative Education, which has spent the last eight years bringing creativity and self expression to New York City schools. Two years ago, it began working with teens in Bosnia.
“Giving them an opportunity through writing and visual artwork, primarily, to talk about their experiences as children, about what happened to them during the war there,” said Kate Chumly, the co-director of the Children’s Movement, “and talk about what present life is like and what they anticipate and hope for in the future.”
One photo essay depicts daily life in Sarajevo.
“When you go to that hill you just overlook Sarajevo. It’s beautiful, you have the view over mosques, over Jewish temples, over churches,” said Nermina Nuhodziv, a Bosnian student. “And this actually is a very sad part of our city, that we have so many graveyards because of this cruel war that happened.”
In addition to the artwork by Bosnian teens, there are also pieces by New York City Students who witnessed the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Artwork by fifth and sixth graders shows parallels in the experience of those young witnesses to September 11, and children of war.
“They know "
NOVEMBER 14TH, 2003
NY1's Stephanie Simon reports on a new exhibit at the United Nations featuring the artwork of Bosnian children of war:
They may look like your average teenagers, but the Bosnian teens, whose artistic memoirs are now on display at the United Nations, are children of war.
The exhibit, called “Aftershocks: Art and Memoirs on Growing Up in the Aftermath,” is the result of a program by New York City nonprofit, the Children's Movement for Creative Education, which has spent the last eight years bringing creativity and self expression to New York City schools. Two years ago, it began working with teens in Bosnia.
“Giving them an opportunity through writing and visual artwork, primarily, to talk about their experiences as children, about what happened to them during the war there,” said Kate Chumly, the co-director of the Children’s Movement, “and talk about what present life is like and what they anticipate and hope for in the future.”
One photo essay depicts daily life in Sarajevo.
“When you go to that hill you just overlook Sarajevo. It’s beautiful, you have the view over mosques, over Jewish temples, over churches,” said Nermina Nuhodziv, a Bosnian student. “And this actually is a very sad part of our city, that we have so many graveyards because of this cruel war that happened.”
In addition to the artwork by Bosnian teens, there are also pieces by New York City Students who witnessed the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Artwork by fifth and sixth graders shows parallels in the experience of those young witnesses to September 11, and children of war.
“They know "
December 1, 2003
Turner to launch new kids' channel
ECONOMICTIMES.COM[ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2003 12:58:14 PM ]
Click for more >>
NEW DELHI: "We understand the kids market like no one else does. We know that with increase in age, kids tend to develop wider taste in TV programming and hence we offer POGO," said a confident Ian Diamond, Senior VP and GM, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc.
POGO will primarily be targeted at kids between 7-14 age group but it will also have informative and entertaining programmes for the younger audience. POGO has been created exclusively for kids in India and along with Cartoon Network will provide a complete multi-genre entertainment package for kids.( Are there enough kids’ TV channels in India? )
The channel will be sold along with other Zee Turner channels and according to Anshuman Misra, MD, Turner International India private limited, "It has got a positive feedback from the advertising community." He further added, "We will begin the branding exercise of POGO in next 10 days which will include a mix of both on air and below the line activities."
Programming on POGO will be genre-based and has been divided under three key day parts including 'Young kids', 'Kids prime' and 'Family & Special Events'. The shows have been designed to promote learning and development such as Barney and Friends, Teletubbies, Miffy & Friends, Tweenies and Ethelbert The Tiger.
POGO has also lined up programmes for the whole family with animated series Lois & Clarke: The new adventures of Superman and Walking with...franchise (including Walking with Dinosaurs).
The channel will be launched on January 01, 2004 and will be broadcast via PAS-10 satellite. "After the launch we will be looking at programming in Hindi too," added Anshuman Misra.
Turner India currently runs two channels in India, CNN and Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network will continue to air a mix of Hindi and English language toon-related series.
The launch of the new kids channel comes at a time when Disney is slated to re-launch its channel in the country in the coming months. Nickledeon is the other channel that is also targeting the kids' space.
ECONOMICTIMES.COM[ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2003 12:58:14 PM ]
Click for more >>
NEW DELHI: "We understand the kids market like no one else does. We know that with increase in age, kids tend to develop wider taste in TV programming and hence we offer POGO," said a confident Ian Diamond, Senior VP and GM, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc.
POGO will primarily be targeted at kids between 7-14 age group but it will also have informative and entertaining programmes for the younger audience. POGO has been created exclusively for kids in India and along with Cartoon Network will provide a complete multi-genre entertainment package for kids.( Are there enough kids’ TV channels in India? )
The channel will be sold along with other Zee Turner channels and according to Anshuman Misra, MD, Turner International India private limited, "It has got a positive feedback from the advertising community." He further added, "We will begin the branding exercise of POGO in next 10 days which will include a mix of both on air and below the line activities."
Programming on POGO will be genre-based and has been divided under three key day parts including 'Young kids', 'Kids prime' and 'Family & Special Events'. The shows have been designed to promote learning and development such as Barney and Friends, Teletubbies, Miffy & Friends, Tweenies and Ethelbert The Tiger.
POGO has also lined up programmes for the whole family with animated series Lois & Clarke: The new adventures of Superman and Walking with...franchise (including Walking with Dinosaurs).
The channel will be launched on January 01, 2004 and will be broadcast via PAS-10 satellite. "After the launch we will be looking at programming in Hindi too," added Anshuman Misra.
Turner India currently runs two channels in India, CNN and Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network will continue to air a mix of Hindi and English language toon-related series.
The launch of the new kids channel comes at a time when Disney is slated to re-launch its channel in the country in the coming months. Nickledeon is the other channel that is also targeting the kids' space.
Turner Int’l Plans To Beam Pogo In Regional Languages
OUR CORPORATE BUREAU
HYDERABAD, NOV 28: Riding the success on the Cartoon Network’s regionalised contents in the last few months, Turner International India (P) Ltd has proposed to make available its new exclusive kids channel - Pogo - in the regional languages within a month of its launch in January 2004.
The new channel will have programmes in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, etc. said Ian Diamond, senior vice-president and general manager, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc.
Addressing the press conference here on Friday to announce the launch of Pogo, Mr Ian Diamond said that the company would bring in lot of localised contents to enable the viewing more attractive and vibrant for the kids.
“The Pogo will not compete with the Cartoon Networks but will complement. Both together make the kids viewing a big thing,” he said, adding that Pogo will have more non-animated programmes for children than that of Cartoon Network.
Pogo will be the first exclusive kids channel to be launched worldwide from the Time Warner’s stable and it will serve the desired purpose. Based on the survey among children, families and cultural habits of Indian, Pogo will bring in the exciting and new programmes for children.
OUR CORPORATE BUREAU
HYDERABAD, NOV 28: Riding the success on the Cartoon Network’s regionalised contents in the last few months, Turner International India (P) Ltd has proposed to make available its new exclusive kids channel - Pogo - in the regional languages within a month of its launch in January 2004.
The new channel will have programmes in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, etc. said Ian Diamond, senior vice-president and general manager, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc.
Addressing the press conference here on Friday to announce the launch of Pogo, Mr Ian Diamond said that the company would bring in lot of localised contents to enable the viewing more attractive and vibrant for the kids.
“The Pogo will not compete with the Cartoon Networks but will complement. Both together make the kids viewing a big thing,” he said, adding that Pogo will have more non-animated programmes for children than that of Cartoon Network.
Pogo will be the first exclusive kids channel to be launched worldwide from the Time Warner’s stable and it will serve the desired purpose. Based on the survey among children, families and cultural habits of Indian, Pogo will bring in the exciting and new programmes for children.
Monday, Dec 01, 2003
Agency Finds Some Young People -- The Youngest Ones -- Still Like TV
by Paul J. Gough
Young people – especially men and women 18-24 – may be abandoning the tube, but television apparently still holds an attraction for children 2-11.
Total day usage for children 2-11 is at a five-year high for October, finds a report released last week by Magna Global USA. The study, based on an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data for Sept. 20 through Nov. 10, finds that the gross rating for kids 2-11 has actually grown to a 12.9 this year from a 12.5 in October 2002 and a 12.0 in October 1999. Magna’s Lisa Quan said that individual dayparts show mild fluctuations but no severe declines.
For October 2003, the highest level was 22.8 registered Monday-Sunday 8-11 p.m., up from 22.0 in October 2002 and 21.9 in October 1999. Another popular kids’ TV daypart, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, posted a 22.0 in October 2003 compared to 22.7 in October 2002 and 22.1 in October 1999.
Magna said it was a battle between Nickelodeon and Kids! WB for top ratings, with gender separating the two networks. Nickelodeon wins in total kids 2-11, helped by its dominance in girls 2-11 although WB has both boys 2-11 and total teens. But Nickelodeon’s total kids 2-11 rating of 4.39 is about the same as it was a year ago, according to Magna, and its young kid demos have stayed the same or are up slightly except for boys 2-11 where Nickelodeon dropped 2 percent and total teens, where Nickelodeon dropped 13 percent.
Disney Channel is in third place among kids 2-11 on Saturday mornings with a schedule aimed at younger viewers. Cartoon Network is in fourth place, with ABC’s Saturday morning in fifth place.
MediaPost Communications
http://www.mediapost.com
Agency Finds Some Young People -- The Youngest Ones -- Still Like TV
by Paul J. Gough
Young people – especially men and women 18-24 – may be abandoning the tube, but television apparently still holds an attraction for children 2-11.
Total day usage for children 2-11 is at a five-year high for October, finds a report released last week by Magna Global USA. The study, based on an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data for Sept. 20 through Nov. 10, finds that the gross rating for kids 2-11 has actually grown to a 12.9 this year from a 12.5 in October 2002 and a 12.0 in October 1999. Magna’s Lisa Quan said that individual dayparts show mild fluctuations but no severe declines.
For October 2003, the highest level was 22.8 registered Monday-Sunday 8-11 p.m., up from 22.0 in October 2002 and 21.9 in October 1999. Another popular kids’ TV daypart, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, posted a 22.0 in October 2003 compared to 22.7 in October 2002 and 22.1 in October 1999.
Magna said it was a battle between Nickelodeon and Kids! WB for top ratings, with gender separating the two networks. Nickelodeon wins in total kids 2-11, helped by its dominance in girls 2-11 although WB has both boys 2-11 and total teens. But Nickelodeon’s total kids 2-11 rating of 4.39 is about the same as it was a year ago, according to Magna, and its young kid demos have stayed the same or are up slightly except for boys 2-11 where Nickelodeon dropped 2 percent and total teens, where Nickelodeon dropped 13 percent.
Disney Channel is in third place among kids 2-11 on Saturday mornings with a schedule aimed at younger viewers. Cartoon Network is in fourth place, with ABC’s Saturday morning in fifth place.
MediaPost Communications
http://www.mediapost.com
Curb on junk food adverts to combat child obesity
Health 'crisis' prompts government action
Jackie Ashley, Patrick Wintour and Mark Oliver
Monday December 1, 2003
The Guardian
The government is to intervene in Britain's obesity crisis by asking the new television regulator Ofcom to draw up a tough code on junk food and drinks advertisements directed at children.
In an interview with the Guardian, the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, said she was worried about the "growing crisis of obesity in children" and would call on Ofcom to revise the "inadequate code" on advertising.
She said she wanted it tightened up "in the light of the emerging evidence about the impact of advertising, and I hope that it will reflect the willingness of the food manufacturers to promote healthy eating".
Her plan was angrily rejected by the food and drink industry, which claimed an exemplary code already existed that had been rigidly followed by the industry.
The initiative comes alongside a consultation by the Food Standards Agency on a new approach to advertising children's food due to be completed in the new year. Options proposed by the FSA include setting criteria for independent broadcasters on "the numbers and types of food adverts for less healthy foods to be shown during children's television".
It also suggested banning food adverts aimed at pre-school children and restricting the use of children's TV presenters, cartoon characters and celebrities to persuade children to buy food that is high in sugar or salt.
Ms Jowell's decision at this stage to back a toughened code, rather than simply banning food advertising during children's TV outright, will disappoint some campaigners.
She did not rule out an outright ban, saying that if the food industry failed to work for the public interest the government had a "protective responsibility" to shield children from forces beyond their control.
Latest figures show that 8.5% of six-year-olds and 15% of 15-year-olds are obese, according to Health Check, the 2002 annual report of the chief medical officer for England.
Figures released yesterday showed that Scottish children experience some of the highest levels of obesity in the developed world, with one in five 12-year-olds meeting the clinical definition of the condition.
Ms Jowell has been reluctant to expose herself to charges of running a nanny state, but there is a growing mood in Downing Street that better preventive measures are vital to cutting health inequalities, curbing an escalating NHS budget and producing a healthier society.
The food and drink industry, anxious to protect its markets, has been vociferously lobbying against a ban, or the alternative of a tax on fatty foods. The industry blames the child obesity epidemic on unbalanced diets and lack of physical activity, but says it is willing to cooperate on clearer food packaging labelling.
A spokesperson for the Food and Drink Federation, which represents the industry, said: "There is already a strict code in existence which the food and drink industry has an exemplary record of obeying."
The spokesperson said the code was overseen by the Independent Television Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority and promoted by the Advertising Association, which represents advertisers.
Jeremy Preston, a former head of a cereal firm who is currently the director of the food advertising unit - which acts under the auspices of the Advertising Association - said there was a "real willingness in the industry to engage with the serious problem of obesity".
Ms Jowell's move is part of a wider plan to radically cut obesity in Britain over the next 15 years. The government's big conversation document last week warned: "A growing contribution to health inequalities now comes from the higher rates of smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity among poorer people."
The document raised the prospect of a ban on the advertising of unhealthy food aimed at children.
The FSA last month published a report by Professor Gerard Hastings which concluded that advertising to children does have an effect on their food preferences, purchasing behaviour and consumption, and that these effects occur not just at brand level, but also for different types of food.
The Commons health select committee is expected to report in January on the issue, after being told last week by some of the biggest corporations, including McDonald's and Cadbury, that the obesity epidemic is not their fault.
MPs have already suggested that foods and drinks should carry indications of how much physical exercise would be needed to burn off the calories in the product, an idea that the government is likely to look favourably on.
The big supermarkets, including Tesco, will be questioned on the plan by MPs on Thursday.
Health 'crisis' prompts government action
Jackie Ashley, Patrick Wintour and Mark Oliver
Monday December 1, 2003
The Guardian
The government is to intervene in Britain's obesity crisis by asking the new television regulator Ofcom to draw up a tough code on junk food and drinks advertisements directed at children.
In an interview with the Guardian, the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, said she was worried about the "growing crisis of obesity in children" and would call on Ofcom to revise the "inadequate code" on advertising.
She said she wanted it tightened up "in the light of the emerging evidence about the impact of advertising, and I hope that it will reflect the willingness of the food manufacturers to promote healthy eating".
Her plan was angrily rejected by the food and drink industry, which claimed an exemplary code already existed that had been rigidly followed by the industry.
The initiative comes alongside a consultation by the Food Standards Agency on a new approach to advertising children's food due to be completed in the new year. Options proposed by the FSA include setting criteria for independent broadcasters on "the numbers and types of food adverts for less healthy foods to be shown during children's television".
It also suggested banning food adverts aimed at pre-school children and restricting the use of children's TV presenters, cartoon characters and celebrities to persuade children to buy food that is high in sugar or salt.
Ms Jowell's decision at this stage to back a toughened code, rather than simply banning food advertising during children's TV outright, will disappoint some campaigners.
She did not rule out an outright ban, saying that if the food industry failed to work for the public interest the government had a "protective responsibility" to shield children from forces beyond their control.
Latest figures show that 8.5% of six-year-olds and 15% of 15-year-olds are obese, according to Health Check, the 2002 annual report of the chief medical officer for England.
Figures released yesterday showed that Scottish children experience some of the highest levels of obesity in the developed world, with one in five 12-year-olds meeting the clinical definition of the condition.
Ms Jowell has been reluctant to expose herself to charges of running a nanny state, but there is a growing mood in Downing Street that better preventive measures are vital to cutting health inequalities, curbing an escalating NHS budget and producing a healthier society.
The food and drink industry, anxious to protect its markets, has been vociferously lobbying against a ban, or the alternative of a tax on fatty foods. The industry blames the child obesity epidemic on unbalanced diets and lack of physical activity, but says it is willing to cooperate on clearer food packaging labelling.
A spokesperson for the Food and Drink Federation, which represents the industry, said: "There is already a strict code in existence which the food and drink industry has an exemplary record of obeying."
The spokesperson said the code was overseen by the Independent Television Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority and promoted by the Advertising Association, which represents advertisers.
Jeremy Preston, a former head of a cereal firm who is currently the director of the food advertising unit - which acts under the auspices of the Advertising Association - said there was a "real willingness in the industry to engage with the serious problem of obesity".
Ms Jowell's move is part of a wider plan to radically cut obesity in Britain over the next 15 years. The government's big conversation document last week warned: "A growing contribution to health inequalities now comes from the higher rates of smoking, poor diet and lack of physical activity among poorer people."
The document raised the prospect of a ban on the advertising of unhealthy food aimed at children.
The FSA last month published a report by Professor Gerard Hastings which concluded that advertising to children does have an effect on their food preferences, purchasing behaviour and consumption, and that these effects occur not just at brand level, but also for different types of food.
The Commons health select committee is expected to report in January on the issue, after being told last week by some of the biggest corporations, including McDonald's and Cadbury, that the obesity epidemic is not their fault.
MPs have already suggested that foods and drinks should carry indications of how much physical exercise would be needed to burn off the calories in the product, an idea that the government is likely to look favourably on.
The big supermarkets, including Tesco, will be questioned on the plan by MPs on Thursday.
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