Liz Smith’s post on wowOwow yesterday put it plainly – what’s up with media outlets that obsess over young viewers/readers and ignore mature Americans?

[T]he upshot is, if I owned a newspaper, magazine or a TV network, I would concentrate for now on the older demographic and give them what they want for the next 20 years. To hell with trying to build an audience of the young; they will seek their own interests and the world will change into we-know-not-what.

Also, it is useless to project what may happen after the next two decades. Many of us will be gone and forgotten, so we might as well now seize the mature nettle and shake it for all it’s worth. I would think the massively increasing older audience would be valuable to media experts; instead they treat it as a nuisance and behave as if it doesn’t matter.

Amen, Ms. Smith.  The Creating Results choir is behind you.

We had a similar reaction to Jenny Craig’s new choice of spokesdieter. 

Health experts have been sounding the alarms for some time over obesity, diabetes and Baby Boomers.   By the year 2030, “more than one out of every three Boomers – over 21 million – will be considered obese,” the American Hospital Association reports.  “The incredible surge in diabetes cases and correspondingly high medical costs will largely depend on the aging population of Baby Boomers,” notes TIME.com.

Why, then, did Jenny Craig – whose business it is to teach Americans how to change their eating habits – pick a 31-year old spokesperson? 

There are between 46 and 55 million Gen Xers, while Baby Boomers number upwards of 80 million.  The size, purchasing power, immediate health concerns and “I can achieve anything” attitude of mature consumers should indicate great value to a company that sells weight loss products and programs. 

Personally, I dig Sara Rue.  But Jenny Craig’s choice of a Gen X actress sends a message to older demographics that they don’t matter.

What’s up with that?