Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. air (v.) [air] – to make a program available to the public through the television or radio
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. air (v.) [air] – to make a program available to the public through the television or radio
Example: Disney channel airs cartoons for young children.
2. junk food (n.) [juhngk food] – a kind of food that is unhealthy
Example: French fries,
hamburgers and pizzas are examples of junk
food.
3. publicize (v.) [puhb-luh-sahyz] – to announce information to the public
Example: The bad effects of
obesity were publicized by the World
Health Organization.
Additional info: The words ‘promote’ and ‘broadcast’ have similar meanings.
Additional info: The words ‘promote’ and ‘broadcast’ have similar meanings.
4. prohibition (n.) [proh-uh-bish-uhn] – the act of banning something
Example: A lot of people
protested against the prohibition of
smoking.
5. calculated move (n.) [kal-kyuh-ley-tid moov] – a carefully planned action
Example: Speculators think that
the release of the new Ipad was a calculated
move by Apple.
Article
Read the text below.
Walt Disney Co. announced
that they will not air advertisements
of junk food in the channels
dedicated to children starting three years from now.
Robert Iger, the
CEO of Walt Disney Co., publicized
that these changes in their
advertisement policies will be applicable to all the Disney websites for
kids. The announcement was made when
Iger met with Michelle Obama who recently launched a campaign against
obesity.
Based on the
guidelines Disney has provided, children’s meals which contain too much
sugar, salt and other fattening ingredients may not be shown during Disney programs.
As a result, McDonald’s Happy Meal and Kellogg’s Fruit Loops cereals will not
be able to advertise on Disney channels.
However, the prohibition of junk food ads will not
be implemented on adult-oriented Disney networks, such as ESPN or ABC. Junk
food ads on these channels generate most of the profit for the company.
Iger mentioned that
the ban is Disney’s way to show support to the parents who are concerned
about their children’s health. In addition to that, disallowing the ads was a
calculated move because it would
be able to attract new markets to Disney and endear them to families all over
the world.
According to a
government survey, an estimated $1.6 billion of food and drink advertisements
are shown every year in the US, and most of these ads feature unhealthy food.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
How will Disney be affected if they ban junk
food ads?
·
Will the demand for unhealthy food decrease if
there are fewer ads about them? Why or why not?
Discussion B
·
Do you think that children will eat less junk
food if they watch advertisements on healthy food?
·
What other ways can be used to encourage
children to eat healthy food?
