What We're Reading 2-23-2011
Media Decoder: Effort to Provide TV Ratings by Brand Moves Ahead
For decades, advertisers and agencies involved in advertising on television — meaning, practically all of Madison Avenue — have been seeking something their counterparts overseas have long had: brand-specific ratings, or the ability to track TV ratings on a commercial-by-commercial basis.
American Medical News: FDA regulation of e-cigarettes rebuffed again
The agency has one more legal option -- the U.S. Supreme Court -- to prove why the popular products should face the same tests as medical devices.
The Food and Drug Administration has lost another battle in its fight to regulate what goes into so-called electronic cigarettes.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Jan. 24 said it would not review a decision blocking the products from FDA regulation as medical devices. An FDA spokesman said the agency is considering its legal and regulatory options. The FDA still could try to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
LA Times: 'Do Not Track' Internet privacy bill introduced in House
The bill would allow the Federal Trade Commission to force online advertisers to respect the wishes of users who do not want to be tracked for marketing purposes.
A privacy bill introduced in Congress on Friday raised the possibility that Internet users will be able to prevent advertisers from tracking what they do online.
Excite News: China limits smoking in films, TV shows
China is ordering makers of films and TV shows to limit the amount of smoking depicted on-screen, the latest effort to curb rampant tobacco use in the country with the largest number of smokers in the world.
Progressive Grocer: Front-of-pack Labels Influence Shopper Food Choices
A recent study from HealthFocus International has found that nearly half (45 percent) of U.S. shoppers say food manufacturers should be required to disclose such information as calories, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium clearly on packaging labels. The top reason given by shoppers for wanting label information on food and beverage packages is so they can decide which products have too much of something they wish to avoid, primarily calories.
