The Kaiser Foundation is hosting a number of luminaries today to discuss its new report, "Parents, Children & The Media: A Kaiser Family Foundation Survey." It'll feature representatives from Fox Interactive Media, TV Watch, Parents Television Council and the University of Mexico School of Medicine. Now the Federal Trade Commission is getting into the act. It's hosting its own forum, scheduled for next month on 7/18/07, entitled "Weighing In: A Check-Up on Marketing, Self-Regulation, and Childhood Obesity."
Here's a run-down of the agenda: "Food industry, media representatives, and self-regulatory groups will report on progress implementing initiatives that respond to the recommendations in the 2006 report. The forum also will provide an opportunity for consumer groups, advertising specialists, and other key experts to review the progress of actions undertaken to date, and to consider what steps should be taken next. Other speakers will discuss public education efforts addressing healthy eating and physical activity and will present new research on the amount and types of advertising children see on television."
SmartMedia observation: Protecting the children is always a great way for those inside the Beltway to score easy lay-ups and burnish their reputations. It's been a particularly active year with children's DTV requirement, obesity and violence all getting a lot of attention. Kellogg just put itself ahead of the curve last week, announcing a major initiative to curb its advertisements of nutritionally-suspect food items to the preteen set. All we know is that it is best to the word "voluntary" in front of the word "initiative," rather than the potential replacement word: "mandated."
