Media, Misinformation and Unhealthy Spin

August 14, 2009 I'm very thankful that Shaping Youth Nutrition Correspondent Rebecca Scritchfield, RD takes the helm today with her piece "The Price of Misinformation in Media," as I’m trying to manage some media of my own to make sure I’m not misinterpreted either! As you know by now, I’m quite media shy, not just because I'm a former journalist who can ‘spot the spin’ with … [Read more...]

Shaping Youth Is In the L.A. Times Today, Yawn

August 12, 2009 Well, it finally happened. Full tilt desensitization. I suppressed a huge yawn and a roll of the eyes reviewing Miley’s pole dancing antics at the Teen Choice Awards with a great big ‘meh, here we go again.’ All of the replays of video and trending topics in the Twittersphere landed on me as a great big cynical 'so what' example of the mouse house … [Read more...]

Teen Book Publishers Premiere Louder Than Words TV

August 10, 2009 It doesn’t get more real than this. Louder Than Words teen series developer Deborah Reber hosts a live chat online all this week with the fresh voices and real issues of the teen authors themselves starting tonight on Louder Than Words TV. 8-9pm EST (5-6pm PST) Kyte.TV is an online and mobile video platform in beta right now, hosting live and 'on … [Read more...]

Blame Drew’s Cancer For My Attitude of Gratitude

August 8, 2009 Who IS this hipster? Meet Drew Olanoff. Media geek. Mobile guru. Inspiration. Yesterday I wrote about kids' propensity to get their yucks at someone else's expense fostering an 'ouch, I can relate to that' empathy to bring humor to each life lesson... Today I want to focus on one of my favorite themes of 'turning a negative into a positive' and using new … [Read more...]

Pity Party? We Have An App For That!

August 6, 2009 Life’s most embarrassing moments, ill-fated bloopers, and misfortunes of OTHER people seem to rank high on kids’ comic-tragedy hit list, so it comes as no surprise that FML would sweep the teen scene in misery loves company user generated content. I could cite Psychology Today and get all analytical about basic human desire for empathy, understanding and … [Read more...]