• Early-learning content not a vocabulary builder for one- to two-year-olds (The Guardian)
• Web-to-TV devices in 24% of US homes (MediaPost)
• Best Buy to launched revamped digital video download service (The Wall Street Journal)
• Former MySpace CEO jumps into social online games biz (L.A. Times)
• The Smurfette principle – A quick history of gender and animation (Salon)
• BBC unveils planned cuts, radio, websites most affected (The Guardian)
• US Journal of Pediatrics study says too much media could hurt kids’ health (CBC)
• Jockeying for advertisers underway as US kids upfront season begins (Broadcasting & Cable)
• How Lionsgate intends to ‘kick ass’ on Twitter to promote new comic book-based movie (AdAge)
• Random House to start scripting video games (Wall Street Journal)
• Twilight Saga’s Taylor Lautner chooses Hasbro’s Stretch Armstrong over Mattel’s Max Steel (TV.com)
• Facebook social game maker Playfish targets retail distribution (MVC)
• Walmart pressures Chinese suppliers to raise production standards (The Washington Post)
• Widespread cuts planned for digital, radio and mag operations at the BBC (The Financial Times)
• John Grisham, master of the legal thriller, gets into kids publishing (Publishers Weekly)
• Disney’s Alice not so wonderful? (L.A. Times)
• Private label giant Li & Fung acquires UK apparel manufacturer for US$264 million (Bloomberg)
• Can geek culture exist without brands like Marvel and LEGO? (Geek Dad)
• Disney rolls out Cars virtual world (L.A. Times)
• Deets on Hasbro/Universal flick Battleship, no 3-D planned (MTV)
• DreamWorks Animation’s profits down at year end (Hollywood Reporter)
• Walmart, Procter & Gamble fund second ‘family film’ on NBC (Variety)
• Twitter pacts with Yahoo! to drive distribution, create ad revenue (AdAge)
• Video games score 5% of entertainment budget in US households (Nielsen)
• Walmart to re-enter digital video distribution space with pending VuDu acquisition (L.A. Times)
• Warner Bros. takes control of game studio Rocksteady (paidcontent.org)
• US consumer confidence hits a 10-month low (Bloomberg)
• Five Lego video games that should exist, but don’t (Geek Dad)
• Toys ‘R’ Us prepping for an IPO? (New York Post)
• Apple pushing to cut TV prices to 99 cents per ep on iTunes (New York Times)
• Lessons from Farmville – How social games make money (L.A. Times)
• The low-down on the DICE (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit (Wired)
• 3-D TV a headache for viewers? (Rapid TV News)
• Wal-Mart dumping brand-name products at faster rate (CNN Money)
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