Agency

STOPPING VIOLENCE ON TV by governmental mandate?

That would be like trying to stop any widespread behavior, according to Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). “We tried it once,” he said. “It was called prohibition.”

Alcohol, like fictional violence, is tough to keep away from human beings. Regulating behavior never works, Lautenberg said, speaking at a Senate committee hearing on violence. But having parents monitor kids’ entertainment habits isn’t enough, many senators said. At the same time no one could come up with a reasonable way to curb or change the preponderance of violence in TV show — especially with freedom of speech concerns.

This year’s study indicates that 2007 will be another strong season for online holiday shopping, with 84 percent of respondents planning to spend as much as or more online than they did during the 2006 season.

In a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive, bottled water was the Number One choice of consumers when asked to identify the bottled beverage they most associate with living a healthy lifestyle.

I’ve got a suggestion for what should be required reading for the politicians on Capitol Hill who pandered to the racist, anti-immigrant hysteria whipped up by Lou Dobbs, Pat Buchanan and the rest of their fear-mongering ilk. By: Jose Cancela

Harris Interactive released the 2007 results from EquiTrend, a renowned annual brand equity study that measures and compares over 1,000 brands across 39 categories.

Phoenix has become the nation’s fifth most populous city, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. As of July 1, 2006, this desert metropolis had a population of 1.5 million.

New York continued to be the nation’s most populous city, with 8.2 million residents. This was more than twice the population of Los Angeles, which ranked second at 3.8 million.

MediaDay details the daily media usage of American consumers—including when they use particular media, where they are when they use them, what else they are doing at the time and how engaged they are with each medium.

Top-line results show that TV and radio are the most heavily used media on an average day; fewer consumers, however report they were “very focused” when using these media when compared with the number who said they were “very focused” when surfing the Internet or reading magazines or newspapers.

The most successful retailers in the industry are constantly reinventing themselves to stay one step ahead of the competition, according to the STORES Top 100 Retailers ranking.

Farmers Insurance Group announced that actor and community activist, Edward James Olmos will be featured in two action-packed television commercials that will air nationally beginning this month through Accentmarketing.

Aflac announced that it is adding Momentum Worldwide and Zubi Advertising as the latest members of its marketing agency roster. The two agencies will add event activation and Hispanic consumer outreach capabilities to Aflac’s marketing strategy.

A number of groups including the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) have opposed the merger outright.

Yet, Hispanic market interest groups including LULAC, Latino Coalition, New York Federation of Hispanic Chambers and the Hispanic Federation have responded very favorably and have sent letters in support to the FCC. By Julio Rumbaut / Rumbaut & Company.