The wonderful Lisa Ray, formerly Two Knives, has done something amazing. She has taken what emerged as a parental concern / important political issue for her and taken it beyond the blog! Lisa has founded a new organization, Parents for Ethical Marketing, where those of us concerned with such issues can turn for information and for guidance on how to best take action outside of bloggy land. I am in awe. The site looks incredible and is packed full of great information. Now, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood and Commercial Alert do not have to bear this burden alone. Lisa is interested in creating a forum that will spotlight the unethical behvior of corporations attempting to reach children. A little bad PR can do wonders, she hopes. Me too!
But, fear not — bloggy land will still benefit from Lisa’s incisive critique and watchful eye, as PEM has a blog, delightfully named, Corporate Babysitter. Be sure to check it out.
Thanks Lisa!
Well, we had the big meeting yesterday and it went fairly well. Because the teachers in the preschool have Master’s degrees in child development or education and the director has an EDD, I made the mistake of going in ready to talk about solutions/alternatives, but presumed I didn’t really need to “teach” why this is a problem. In fact, I specifically avoided professor mode, since I only study media – they are the experts on Read the complete Post.
Dove’s newest viral video “film,” Onslaught is making the rounds. In case you haven’t seen it, it’s certainly well worth the 1 minute and 15 second time investment. Check it out here.
But, poor Onslaught is getting shredded by the feminist blogosphere, and yesterday even some of my very, very faves like Jill over at Feministe and Two Knives… had at it — both making extremely good Read the complete Post.
Mini-post? Why a mini-post? Because I should NOT be doing this at work when I am supposed to be finishing my chapter draft. If dh busts me, I’ll never hear the end of it…
BUT! I have to share this gem from the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) website:
Congressmen Tackle Product Placement
By Ira Teinowitz
TV Week
9/27/07
Warning that increasing use of product placement and product integration are “blurring” the line between TV ads and TV content, two congressional committee chairmen are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to
Read the complete Post.
This weekend, Alison asked some advice (on the Caveats Page, above), she wrote:
“Need advice: I’m not completely opposed to my kids doning online social networking and gameplaying, but the most popular sites are all about shopping (Webkinz, Club Penguin). I’d love to know if there are any cool, fun sites that aren’t so blatantly trying to turn my kids into little shoppers
Read the complete Post.
I just watched the premiere of CBS’s much-maligned reality show Kid Nation (Where 40 kids are left for 40 days in a “ghost town” with minimal adult interference to organize their own society). For backstory on the hullabaloo, see yesterday’s Washington Post story or today’s brutal Baltimore Sun column. I turned it on, expecting to be outraged (awful conditions, unchecked anti-social behavior, exploitation Read the complete Post.
Well, I watched WordGirl with Thing 1, dh, and a good friend this morning. The 30-somethings in the room enjoyed the embedded adult humor (e.g., when resident bad guy, “the butcher” –who rather hilariously hurls meat products at victims– is debilitated in a vegetarian restaurant after being pelted with tofu.) Thing 1 laughed a lot and was excited for the screening. This is the only tv show she’s seen other than Sesame Street (well, Read the complete Post.
We’re still in vacationing at the lake house — ahhh. Today dh, dd, and I went out in kayaks for a paddle – a loon landed near us, we saw lilypads, fish jumping, it was great. Sunny, peaceful…I was so happy even the waterbugs seemed cute. And I’m no nature-queen, believe me. Thing 1 has been having a ball — miss formerly-petrified-at-swimming Read the complete Post.
If you are here, I am dying to get suggestions from you!
Please write (either as a comment, or feel free to email me at mom@outside-the-toybox.com) with your suggestions for: Read the complete Post.
Well, here I am, the stinking would-be high priestess of media issues in kids lives, and I have dirty laundry. Here is my Dear Abby moment (Is Abby out there? Anyone wanting to pretend to be Abby? We need advice!)… Read the complete Post.