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Friday, December 18, 1998 Media Cynic | Forum | Advertising | Classifieds | Jobs HBO Launches New Website for Kids HBO has launched a new entertainment website for children at www.hbo4kids.com as a companion to its kids-oriented channel HBO Family. Separate from the grown-up site hbo.com, hbo4kids.com provides a place for children to find interactive stories, games, art and activities. Created for ages 6 to 12, the site encourages children to play online and off and to involve their parents in projects and experiments. "Our goal for this site was to create a stimulating and interactive place for kids that wasn't solely focused on TV programming," said Dolores Morris, vice president, HBO Family. "We think kids will like the content while their parents will like the non-commercial and educational aspects of the site." "We've tried to cater to kids' interests," said Diane Jakacki, executive producer of the site. "We did a lot of research and testing in designing the site and are very interested in ongoing feedback from kids and their parents about its content. The site will evolve and grow as we move forward." Houghton Mifflin Signs Contract to Enter Elementary School Science Market Houghton Mifflin Company has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Discovery Works, a Pearson Education K-6 market-leading science program, originally published by Silver Burdett Ginn. This will allow Houghton Mifflin to enter the elementary science market immediately with the current copyright of Discovery Works. Nader F. Darehshori, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Houghton Mifflin said, "One of our strategic goals is to expand our product lines to include science programs. The acquisition of Discovery Works is an excellent opportunity to enter the elementary science market -- the only major subject area in which the School Division has had no product offerings. We are extremely pleased to acquire such an outstanding science program, and we welcome the opportunity to work with the talented team responsible for the program's success. The timing for this acquisition could not be better -- the current demand for Discovery Works will generate revenue in 1999 and the new program will enable us to participate in the many statewide adoption opportunities that will be available in 2000 and beyond." Houghton Mifflin is a leading publisher of textbooks, instructional technology, assessments, and other educational materials for the elementary and secondary school and college markets. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works, fiction and non-fiction for adults and young readers, and multimedia entertainment products. Baptist Introduces New Internet Health Magazine Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation is offering Web surfers health information through its new electronic magazine, Baptist OnLine. Visitors to the site can find information on topics such as health and wellness; family communication; parenting; men's, women's, teens' and children's health; disease awareness; nutrition; and exercise. The site also features seasonal health tips. A unique feature of Baptist OnLine is personalization. Through this feature, visitors to the site can create their own personal health magazine by choosing the topics that interest them most. Then, every time they visit the site, those topics are readily available. Also, visitors can design workout programs specific to their needs, as well as complete interactive risk assessments. "Our vision for the e-zine was to provide people with an easy-to-access, easy-to-understand resource for health information -- one they can really use," said Mary Anne McCraw, member of Baptist's Web development team. "Personalization was a large part of that vision. We can offer a level of interactivity and customization that traditional print magazines can't." Readers of Baptist OnLine have access to another valuable health care resource found on the site, the Baptist Health Topic Library. It is designed to provide an overview of more than 1,200 health-related subjects in over 50 categories. The Baptist Health Topic Library can be accessed from Baptist OnLine by clicking on the Health Care tab located at the top of every page. Updates to Baptist OnLine are posted periodically and contain information on a variety of health-related topics of interest to the general consumer. Baptist OnLine is produced through a joint effort of the Baptist Memorial Health Care departments of Marketing/Communications and Information Systems. EAI and Callaway & Kirk Join Creative Forces Engineering Animation, Inc. has announced that it has been working with Callaway & Kirk Company to produce 3D computer-generated art for David Kirk's new children's book, Nova's Ark. The book marks the first time a world-renowned children's author and illustrator has used high-end 3D computer graphics, instead of hand-painting, to illustrate his work. Nova's Ark will be released in March 1999. "This unique marriage of art, children's literature and 3D computer graphics sets a new milestone in the children's publishing industry," said Nicholas Callaway, editorial director and publisher at Callaway & Kirk. "EAI's computer-generated graphics bring Kirk's masterful paintings into a 3D world where colorful characters, exquisite landscapes and breathtaking scenes leap off the page and come to life." To create the images, Kirk first makes a precise line drawing, then a concept color oil painting. Next Kirk, working with a team from EAI, builds 3D digital models of the characters and scenes in wireframe. Texture mapping and lighting design follow, with finishing touches applied using digital paint software. The book, published by Callaway and Scholastic Press, will introduce a robot named Nova and a new galaxy of characters in a mythic space adventure story about Nova's journey to discover the ultimate source of power in the universe. "The Miss Spider books have earned Callaway & Kirk a stellar reputation in children's publishing, and EAI is pleased to have created computer artwork that captures the richness and beauty of Kirk's unparalleled artistic style," said Linda Lannon, senior director of business development at EAI. "EAI is excited to join forces with this worldwide leader in children's publishing." New Internet Portal Targeted to the Affluent Millionaire.Com has announced the launch of its E-commerce and Auction Website, Millionaire.Com. The site, which is in final development, is expected to be active on or before Jan. 15, 1999. Robert L. White, CEO, creator and founder of the Robb Report stated: "We will be utilizing technology, popularized by companies such as Ebay and Cybershop, in order to connect buyers and sellers of luxury items offering a wide variety of items from fantasy shopping, art, antiques, exotic travel, yachts, classic autos, real estate, premium cigars, fine dining, interior design, high tech electronics, gems, collectibles, watches and wine to business topics and investments. If it is distinctive, upscale and world class, it will be available on Millionaire.Com." The site will include tools for users, such as site based e-mail access, unique personal shopping tools, a fully functioning financial section including financial news, stock reports, stock quotes and investment articles especially written for Millionaire.Com. The site has the capability to search the Web via numerous search engines, and will have a chat and forum section where people can maintain dialogue and participate in features such as interacting with speakers arranged by Millionaire.Com. All of the above categories are being designed to create a community atmosphere among the users of the Millionaire.Com site. Millionaire.Com also announced the acquisition of Millionaire Magazine, a lavishly produced advertiser supported "coffee table" publication focused on displaying upscale products and providing editorial content for the Millionaire lifestyle. The editorial department of the magazine is made up of a staff of twenty-three and is headed by Dan Gleason, former editor of the Robb Report. Impeachment Means Good Times for Political Cartoonists On-line A new website called PoliticalCartoons.com is now on-line. The site features the daily updates of political cartoons from the best newspaper editorial cartoonists around the world. "These are renaissance times for editorial cartoonists," says Hawaii cartoonist, Daryl Cagle, "when we're old we'll look back at Clinton's impeachment and Watergate as the good old days." This comprehensive new site includes current work by seventy top cartoonists, including eight Pulitzer Prize winners, and rotating work from hundreds of cartoonists around the world. "PoliticalCartoons.com is a news site," says Cagle, "the cartoons change everyday as the news changes. Today, the site is all about the impeachment vote. It was a huge undertaking to get permission to post so much talent in one place -- there is nothing else like this on the web." PoliticalCartoons.com features a teachers guide for using the cartoons in the classroom. Cagle also posts a growing collection of nearly 2,000 editorial cartoons about the Clinton scandal at: http://www.cagle.com/scandal and a collection of current cartoons about the most recent confrontation with Iraq, called "Saddam -- AGAIN" at: http://www.cagle.com/saddam. Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter.  www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2007 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
