• Disney buys schools in China to teach English to locals (Wall Street Journal)
• Economy takes its toll on Hollywood studios’ marketing budgets (L.A. Times)
• Study finds 8.5% of US kids age eight to 18 are addicted to video games (Washington Post)
• Can the Nintendo DSi attract non-gamers? (Wall Street Journal)
• Young Adult zombie book series, the next Twilight Saga? (The New Zealand Herald)
• Full-length TV shows and movies to make their way to YouTube (New York Times)
• Meanwhile, video sites duke it out for content (Wall Street Journal/Total Telecom)
• Family Dollar stays afloat in the recession (Fortune)
• Retail recovery still months away (Forbes)
• Yo Gabba Gabba! creators talk church and pop culture (MormonTimes)
• Forget the dolls, kids want the shiny gadgets instead (Herald Sun)
• Watch out for that real life Pac Man (Boing Boing Offworld)
• Reminisce about the toys from the past, and the commercials that accompanied them (The Angry T)
• Even with tax cuts, retail sales continue to fall in the UK (Wall Street Journal)
• GameStop’s CEO on how to keep the video game industry recession-resistant (CNBC)
• A look at the technical, five-year creation process of EA’s Spore (Boing Boing Offworld)
• With Bandai’s somen toy, you can’t not let kids play with their food (Tokyo Manga)
• 10 things to do with the new Nintendo DSi (Wired/GeekDad)
• Check out this Pokémon X-ray machine (Kotaku)
• Will Pottermania continue to cast its spell with the sixth movie? (USA Today)
• A behind-the-scenes look at Disney XD’s boy-targeted research (The New York Times)
• Nielsen says online video usage soaring, Nickelodeon in top five most-streamed sites (Mediapost)
• Twitter set to clip the wings of third-party suppliers making money from the site? (BusinessWeek)
• Burger King likes SpongeBob’s square butt. Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood? Not so much (CBS.com)
• Global ad spend sees biggest drop in 29 years, print, TV take hit (Bloomberg)
• Hannah Montana: The Movie rakes in US$34 million on opening weekend (New York Times)
• Hasbro’s strong shares make the toyco one to watch (BloggingStocks)
• Even with weak sales, teen retailers improve outlook (Reuters)
• And though retail sales were up slightly in February, March isn’t looking too hot (Washington Post)
• Use your Nintendo DS to shop around Tokyo Disneyland (Kotaku)
• Who you gonna call? Dan Aykroyd on Ghostbusters III the video game (Newsweek)
• Star Wars: A Musical Journey reviewed (Times Online)
• How Pottermania contributed to Twilight‘s success (Examiner)
• Tween fashion takes a modest turn to being fashionable without going over the top (L.A. Times)
• Nike opens first kid-centric outlet store (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• Sears pushes advertising on Kidvantage program (AdAge)
• Marketers tap into the ‘warm and fuzzy’ nostalgia elements of ads past (New York Times)
• Can Blockbuster stay in business? (Boston Globe)
• Welsh school makes way for Muggle Quidditch à la Harry Potter (News Wales)
• What does the ‘i’ stand for in the Nintendo DSi, anyway? (Kotaku)
Newsletter