Abstract
This study was intended to help children to cultivate and develop a sound attitude toward food consumption and eating habits through the analysis of food and nutritional information in news articles and advertisements in three major daily children's newspapers in Korea: The Chosen Children's Daily Newspaper, The Hankook Children's Daily Newspaper, and The Donga Children's Daily Newspaper. The monitoring period was for twelve months, January to December 2003. Two hundred seventy-nine articles and three hundred thirty-five advertisements were analyzed. The results were as follows. 'Cooking and health' were the most frequent subject in food and nutrition articles. The articles' contents are evaluated positively in morality and explanation; but negatively in fairness, specialization, and objectiveness. The articles were insufficient in the explanation of professional terms, scientific bases, and practical measures for real life. It therefore seems that they were difficult for children to understand well. The most frequent themes in the advertisements were 'processed fats and sugars' such as chocolate, candies, and cookies. Frequently, they were exaggerated and accompanied by phrases promoting consumption. They did not provide sufficient well-grounded information, and focused too much on events or gifts to instigate consumer sentiment. In conclusion, the most serious problem was that most food and nutrition information in these children's newspapers was lacking in specialization. More specialized and objective information should be provided in order to enhance the educational value of children's newspapers and their utilization in school education programs. Continuous monitoring should be carried out to discover those news articles and advertisements that contain correct food and nutrition information.
