Mark Smyka
Today’s teens reject cooler-than-thou Gen X credo
NEWSThe image of today’s teen as self-absorbed and uncaring, if it still persists as a popular notion in the adult media world, appears to be further and further from the truth. In fact, there’s every reason to believe that today’s young…
Going for all the Marbles
NEWSThe reaction at our company last summer when the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi asked whether we would be interested in joining an industry initiative to somehow celebrate the best in children’s advertising was similar to what I imagine takes place…
Editorial: Kids deserve better
NEWSLast year at about this time, The Wall Street Journal ran a small item on its second front page about a woman in public relations who was curious to know just how do the media judge news. The article appeared on…
Toys are saying ‘Hi’ to tech
NEWSThe timing may be coincidental, or there may be some cause and effect link between the spectacular growth of virtual pets and a general increase in the number of toys with high-tech electronics that have made their way into manufacturers’ product…
Editorial: The essential Toy Fair
NEWSThat the American International Toy Fair is a bit of a circus, there can be little dispute. Perhaps it is less so today compared to years ago, now that retail buyers are more eager to close deals and more disciplined and…
Special Report on American International Toy Fair: Company Profiles: Tiger Electronics: ‘The product is king’
NEWSAlthough toys are the marquee product at the American International Toy Fair, they are really just the focal point of a much larger panorama of marketing strategies, entertainment programs and emerging cultural trends that are on display at the annual event…
Editorial: Searching for the real teen
NEWSFor us adults, walking into the high-tech, laser-beam kinetic of one of today’s video game palaces is rather like stepping back into the sci-fi movie world of our youth. It was only a couple of decades ago that we were viewing…
Editorial: Science versus art
NEWSThe conflict that naturally exists between the hard argument of science and the soft persuasion of art is something that will probably never be fully resolved. There has always been a healthy tension between the clinicians and the craftspeople, and for…
Discovery finds niche in the real world
NEWSLooking back to about a year ago, with the kind of fast-paced expansion that had taken place in children’s television, it was difficult to imagine that there were still many programming niches left unserved….
Editorial: Building the franchise
NEWSLike most fables, the story of the shoemaker and his children has an enduring moral behind it: sometimes you can become so absorbed in your own work that you overlook the most obvious applications….
The definitive kids ent resource.Photos
Kidscreen Summit 2010 -