UW won't bow to Disney's demand

The University of Washington is standing behind a news release that upset the Walt Disney Co. and prompted the company's chief executive to demand a retraction.

UW President Mark Emmert, in a letter today to Disney's chief executive officer and president Robert Iger, said he will not retract the release, which summarized a study on baby videos and their possible effects.

Iger had complained that there were inconsistencies between the news release issued earlier this month and the study, conducted by researchers from the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute.

In a letter addressed to Emmert on Monday, he expressed dissatisfaction that Disney's "Baby Einstein" was called out in the release by name as a baby DVD that may hinder vocabulary acquisition in some infants.

Iger said the news release "blatantly misrepresented what the study was about."

Emmert agreed to review the news release with the study authors to find if there was "appropriate accord" between the two items.

Emmert earlier this week said he had "great confidence in our media staff."

"The authors of the study and I believe the news release reflects the essential points made in the research publication," Emmert said in his letter today. "The researchers find no inconsistencies between the content of the news release and their paper."

The study, titled "Associations Between Media Viewing and Language Development in Children Under Age 2 Years," was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Disney representatives weren't immediately available for comment.

Christina Siderius: csiderius@seattletimes.com