Why not Raggedy Ann?

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jan 11, 2002

NORWALK, Conn. (AP) -- Mr. Potato Head is there. So is the Hula Hoop, Barbie, the Slinky and even Silly Putty. So Susan Gunn wants to know why Raggedy Ann hasn't yet been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. The floppy doll with reddish yarn hair, candy heart and red-striped legs has been rejected four times by a panel that selects who goes into the hall. A fifth vote will be announced March 27. There are 90 nominees this year, including tough competition from other popular toys including GI Joe, whose owners have been known to torment Ann dolls.

Gunn, 49, is among the many passionate advocates who want to see Raggedy Ann in the same league as the teddy bear. Growing up in Westport, she considered a Raggedy Ann doll her best friend. "I loved her," Gunn said. "She was a companion. She was my confidante at one point. I still have her -- she's part of my childhood."

Raggedy Ann supporters are circulating a petition that so far has more than 3,000 signatures. "It's to recognize her place in the hearts of probably millions of people worldwide who have loved her and enjoyed her," Gunn said.

Raggedy Ann hasn't yet made it because of the stiff competition involving many popular toys, said Kim Baldwin, a spokeswoman for the National Toy Hall of Fame in Salem, Ore. The doll was sixth on a list of 82 toys considered last year. "It's not that she isn't a popular toy," Baldwin said. "She is an icon in American childhood culture. She's not being barred."

Many of Ann's supporters are particularly miffed that the hall has rejected Ann but inducted the Barbie doll. They consider Ann far superior to that accessory-obsessed plaything. "She's lovable, you can hug her," said Joni Gruelle, who runs a Raggedy Ann museum in Arcola, Ill. "You can drop her on the floor. You don't have to put her on a shelf and protect her clothes." But, then again, Gruelle might be biased. Her grandfather, Johnny Gruelle, created Raggedy Ann in 1915 to entertain his sick daughter. Raggedy Andy, the doll's brother, was born in 1920.

Ann and Andy have starred in numerous books, comics, cartoons, movies and even a musical. Raggedy Ann was especially popular during the Depression and World War II, said Patricia Hall, who has written books on the doll. "She reminded people of a time gone by," Hall said. "When life gets a little hard, everybody wants to get nostalgic for the good old days."

Will it cover his divorce?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Basketball superstar Michael Jordan is getting his own magazine courtesy of Nike, which is paying Hearst Magazines to make and distribute the publication. Jordan, which is to make its debut next month, will be sold on newsstands and sent to readers on a mailing list maintained by Nike. Hearst plans to publish two editions of the magazine this year and four next year, with an initial print run of 300,000.

Hearst did not go into detail in describing the contents of the new magazine other than to say it would be an "aspirational" lifestyle title aimed at young men between 16 and 21. Hearst declined to say how much Nike was paying to have the magazine published.

Jordan, who endorses Nike gear, returned to basketball this season after retiring to spend more time with his family. His wife Juanita filed for divorce last week.

Unlike regular magazines, custom-published titles like Jordan are paid for completely by corporate sponsors and do not generate significant revenues on their own. Companies like Chrysler and Aetna have paid to have specially made magazines published and distributed to their customers as form of promotion. Custom publishing has become an important new source of revenues for magazine publishers as advertising spending continues to slump, forcing numerous titles to close.

CNN-NBA?

ATLANTA (AP) -- CNN plans to scrap the struggling CNN-Sports Illustrated and replace it with a new cable network, which will be operated with the NBA. About 200 people work for CNN-SI, but it is not clear how many positions will be eliminated. It could be the largest number since CNN eliminated the jobs of 400 employees a year ago in a 10 percent across-the-board reduction.

The 5-year-old network has never made a profit. It is available in about 20 million households, half what executives say is needed to be consistently profitable. AOL Time Warner, which owns CNN, has been in negotiations with the National Basketball Association about building on the remains of CNN-SI to create a jointly owned network. The network's focus would be on sports events rather than sports news. It would air several live NBA games a week, as well as archived games and other programming.

Catch a rising star and put it in your pocket

LAS VEGAS (NYT) -- At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Sony introduced two digital video cameras billed as the smallest and lightest ever made. The two Handycam models, the DCR-IP5 and the DCR- IP7BT, weigh 12 ounces and measure about 3 inches long by 4 inches high by less than 2 inches thick -- small enough to fit in a pocket. They use a new tape format, called MICROMV, to record up to 60 minutes of video at DVD resolution, on a cassette that is 70 percent smaller than a MiniDV cassette. Suggested prices are $1,300 for the IP5 and $1,700 for the IP7BT. The cameras display a thumbnail image of the first frame of each scene; touch the image and the tape fast- forwards to it. Users can also electronically enter a title for each cassette, which appears once the cassette is reinserted. The more expensive Handycam model stores still digital images on Sony's removable Memory Sticks. It can also be used as a wireless Bluetooth connection to the Internet, to e-mail short video clips and stills or to view Web pages on the camera's swivel screen.