May 19, 2015 Once upon a time, call-in centers were helpful first responders to direct levels of care, staffed with human specialists not robots, touch tone prompts, and layered redirected voicemails … [Read more...]
Hawking Hydration Low: Gatorade Tells Kids To Avoid Water
January 10, 2014 by 2 Comments
Aug. 20, 2015 Update: Now Gatorade's G-Force is forcing their bottled neon into schools under the guise of 'hydration education?' Seriously? Paging media watchdogs! Crickets. Jan. 10, 2014 I’ve … [Read more...]
Fed Up With Food Marketing to Kids? Nosh On Food MythBusters Film
September 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Sept. 21, 2013 Tired of the $2 billion/year endless barrage of hard sell food advertising hawking toxic crud to children to turn them into life long consumers? You’re about to get some ammo in the … [Read more...]
Marketing Tactics Undermine Parent Authority: Moms Not Lovin It.org
July 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
July 8, 2013 Update: Join the #MomsNotLovinIt Twitter chat about McDonalds and other fast food giants specifically targeting kids of color, and the new study in Journal of American Medical Assn on … [Read more...]
Media Messages and Binge Drinking Influence On Teens
December 31, 2012 by 1 Comment
Dec. 31, 2012 Prequel to New Year's Eve... Long gone are the days when I could host a “New Year's at Noon Bubble Wrap Stomp” and watch little kids gleefully squirt silly string at each other in … [Read more...]
CCFC: A Positive Pick, Even When Calling Out Negative TOADY Toys
December 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Dec. 4, 2012 No question I continue to land hard on watchdogs that aren’t woofin’ when it comes to media and marketing’s impact on kids, but nobody does it better than Campaign for a Commercial Free … [Read more...]
Fast Forward Health Film Fest Oct 30, Celebrate Food Day 2012
October 24, 2012 by 1 Comment
Oct 24, 2012 Food Day 2012! “I don’t need any finger-wagging salad munchers scolding me about junk food” ---no worries, not happening. But if you'd like to be more informed about the reason for … [Read more...]
Kids, Media & Intimacy: What’s Love Got to Do With It?
February 14, 2012 by 5 Comments
Update Feb. 13, 2018 Related research and an excellent NYT read on the need for "porn literacy" given that teens exposure to online porn sites is distorting their lens of peer social norming, healthy … [Read more...]
Lego Friends: Please Build on Possibility, Brain Plasticity
January 1, 2012 by 37 Comments
April 28, 2016 "37 year old son of Lego billionaire takes the helm as Vice Chairman" Congrats, Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, now that you've inherited the Lego legacy, and named your daughter and five … [Read more...]
Using Media to Uplift and Inspire: When to Tune In, Not Out.
December 20, 2011 by 2 Comments
Dec. 20, 2011 True confessions, it’s been a heckuva challenging year, and it got me thinking about what different people do to bootstrap themselves out of adversity in its many forms whether it’s … [Read more...]
Glee Teen Sex: Facts & Opportunities Using CDC vs. Hollywood TV
November 21, 2011 by 13 Comments
Nov. 20, 2011 Truth is, Hollywood is lying about teen sex. Big time. New CDC research points to numbers that might as well frame Hollywood shows as a public health statistical version of ‘The Lying … [Read more...]
Meetup.com: Bringing Communities Together Post 9-11
September 11, 2011 by 3 Comments
9-11-11 On this decade anniversary of a horrific worldchanging event, with media spinning stories of heroes, hearts and homelands forever impacted, I’m turning to the positive births of OFFLINE … [Read more...]
CCFC Puts Energy Into Cleaning Up School Commercialism
May 16, 2011 by 5 Comments
May 16, 2011 Continuing our ‘positive picks’ series on media and marketing that matters, a gigantic ‘Howard Beale’ style shout from the windows “w00t!” to champions of change at CCFC, Campaign for a … [Read more...]
Media That Uplifts & Inspires: Positive Picks For Youth Outreach
May 11, 2011 by 16 Comments
Sept. 10, 2016 Update World Suicide Prevention Day is flooding my Twitter account, with poignant posts pointing to the desperate need for mental health resources and outreach, especially among youth … [Read more...]
Bin Laden’s Death, Media, & Kids: Teach Your Children Well
May 2, 2011 by 9 Comments
May 2, 2011 (At left, forthcoming Time magazine cover this week) Hmn. Thoughts? As one tweet said, I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, … [Read more...]
Lessons From Youth On Screen Free Week: Perception Vs. Reality
April 20, 2011 by 2 Comments
Apr. 20, 2011 Screen Free Week April 18-24 If I’m "Captain of this Ship," then there’s been a mutiny and I’m walking the plank. Some of the youth crew have called me out and dressed me down for what … [Read more...]
Spring Break Sanctuary: Ideas To Celebrate Screen Free Week
March 23, 2011 by 12 Comments
May 6, 2015 This year, "Screen Free Week" has been hardest on me for work related immediacy, as Twitter and 'livestreaming' events have made me feel like Gumby with people pinging and pushing their … [Read more...]
Shaping Youth is Expanding: Sneak Peek and Needs Please?
February 22, 2011 by 2 Comments
Feb 22, 2011 Breaking into The Power of Play series for a sneak peek into what's occupying so much of my time...expanding Shaping Youth's web presence. No secret that I’m a media maven that's media … [Read more...]
Power of Play Pt3: Active Video Games In Schools?
February 15, 2011 by 8 Comments
Feb. 15, 2011 “What if…?” Those two words have ignited innovation for centuries, so what better way to harness the Power Of Play than pairing health science thought leaders and industry entrepreneurs … [Read more...]
AHA & Nintendo: Tag-Teaming Innovation To Get Kids Moving (Pt2)
February 3, 2011 by 5 Comments
Feb 3, 2011 When I was invited to attend the “Power of Active Play” summit hosted by the American Heart Association and Nintendo, my synapses were firing in Howard Rheingold mode, wondering if this … [Read more...]
