Essay 1167

Not kidding around with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• From The Associated Press…

Study: High-fat, high-sugar food ads abound on tot TV

When Susan Connor’s 3-year-old son started humming the McDonald’s jingle, a research project was born.

Connor knew where her son had heard the fast-food giant’s catchy tune--on the Disney Channel during “The Wiggles,” a show for preschoolers.

“He had absorbed that from watching TV,” said Connor, research manager of Cleveland’s Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital whose study on food ads aimed at toddlers appears in the October issue of Pediatrics.

Messages for high-fat, high-sugar foods permeate programming for preschoolers on Nickelodeon, the study found. On the Disney Channel’s shows for the youngest children and even on Public Broadcasting Service shows such as “Sesame Street,” companies woo tots’ loyalty by linking logos, licensed characters and slogans with fun.

The Federal Communications Commission last week announced plans to study links between the ads, viewing habits and childhood obesity.

A PBS spokeswoman said sponsors’ messages don’t interrupt programs and don’t go longer than two minutes, 17 seconds per hour. Nickelodeon’s Dan Martinsen said the channel has reduced food ads during its “Nick Jr.” programs for preschoolers by 20 percent in the last two years. A Disney Channel spokeswoman said sponsor messages are accepted “only when they are connected to a pro-social message.”

• Charly “Max B” Wingate, a lesser-known New York rapper, was charged with robbing two Miami men and killing one of them. If convicted on all counts, Max B faces a max life sentence in prison. Sorry, Charly.