Alfred R. Kahn
- "Al Kahn" redirects here. For the city in the United Arab Emirates, see Al Khan.
Alfred R. Kahn (born in New York City, New York U.S. in May 29 1947) is Chairman and CEO of 4Kids Entertainment, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company that is a global provider of children's entertainment and merchandise licensing.
Career
Previously the head of the licensing division for Coleco, Kahn joined Leisure Concepts, Inc. in 1988, turning that company to 4Kids Entertainment, eventually to become the largest trading entity in North America in the 1990s due to its success of licensing Japanese anime series Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! among many others, as well as producing American series like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cabbage Patch Kids.[1]
In September 2002, Kahn founded the National Law Enforcement and Firefighters Children’s Foundation to help the children of law enforcement personnel and firefighters and fund anti-drug and anti-violence programs. Kahn also serves on the Board of Directors of the Federal Drug Agents Foundation, the Children's Tumor Foundation, the Stephen Gaynor School for Learning Difficulties, Long Island University, and Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project.[2]
Awards and recognition
In June 22, 2005, LIMA, the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association, inducted Kahn into the Murray Altchuler Licensing Hall of Fame for his "continual and outstanding" contributions to the licensing industry for over 10 years.[3] Over those 10 years, Kahn and 4Kids had licensed such huge and popular properties such as Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Kahn also won the 2006 Spirit of Achievement award from the National Center for Learning Disabilities.[4]
Controversy
Editing of anime
- See also: 4Kids Entertainment criticisms and controversies, Editing of anime in American distribution
Kahn has been criticized by fans of anime who believe that his "Americanization" and censorship of anime licensed by 4Kids tarnishes their original format.
"Kids today don't read"
Alfred Kahn incited controversy during a manga panel at the 2006 New York Comic-Con when he bluntly stated "Kids today don't read, they read less today." This incited a negative reaction from many of those present in the room, mainly librarians and other representatives of the book world. Kahn elaborated on his comment by saying that, "In every survey, we find that they're watching more television, they're on the Internet more, and that content, although being king, is very disposable. Because the way content gets put out now, it gets put out free. "[5] Viz Media's Liza Coppola responded to Kahn's words by bringing up Viz's partnership with the Read for America literacy campaign, stating "Manga is a great medium to bring kids back to reading." Publishers Weekly went on to note in their online article that "(Kahn) noted that many people in the U.S. walk around with MP3 players or other electronic devices, whereas in Japan, everyone on the subway seems to have a '3,000-page manga'."[6]
References
- ^ Pennington, Steven. Alfred R. Kahn interview. Anime News Network: April 24, 2005.
- ^ http://www.nleafcf.org/president.php
- ^ 4Kids CEO Honored Anime News Network. Accessed 13 January, 2005.
- ^ http://www.ncld.org/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=886
- ^ 'Manga Is a Problem' And Other Highlights from the ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference icv2.com March 05, 2006 accessed September 1, 2006
- ^ Manga: Essential or Disposable? publishersweekly.com Accessed 24 February, 2006