GuestColumn Kids Don't Read All About It in Newspapers

Selling to Kids, March 31, 1999

With an impressive range of interactive new media competing for kids' attention, publishers of print media are concerned about their relationship with the youth market. Magazines have been successful in courting kids with slick monthly publications that focus on sports, celebrities and teen life. But newspaper publishers see that kids - their future readers - find and often prefer other media than newspapers.

Kids question the appropriateness of newspapers and most find that the Internet is more suited to their style, according to recent Curiotelligence data (S2K, 2/15/99) gathered from Curiocity's FreeZone

(www.freezone.com). Visitors ages 8 to 14 were asked to respond to an online survey about newspapers.

The responses, posted by kids using screen names, are instructive to any company that wants to cultivate a relationship with kids now even if they are not yet the actual consumer or purchaser.

Some Read Papers Regularly

After the obvious interest in comics, kids say they are drawn to the sports, weather, entertainment, arts, travel, advice and TV sections. Not surprising, perhaps, for a global generation, many of the kids also seek out the international and front page news, though they do so with some reservations about how appropriate such content is for them. In fact, the majority of kids who responded to this survey seem to perceive newspapers as unfriendly and even inappropriate for kids.

"The only thing that kids read are the comics," says Storm82, 14. "Most of the articles are so strongly worded for children, therefore making it hard for them to understand."

"There are happy articles, but most of them are gruesome," says Bookworm123, 12. "That's one of the reasons I don't read [newspapers] so often."

"They only talk about adult stuff, and the information is presented in such a boring way with too much waffle in between," says PicGogh, 13.

"If a parent doesn't want their kids hearing about drugs and stuff like that, then the newspaper, especially the police news, is not kid friendly," says Seshan, 12.

"I mostly find [newspapers] boring," says Sally, age 9. "The front page is full of crap about the White House, and the sports [section] is about games I've already watched."

Kids believe it is easier to find what they want on the Internet. If Flower, 12, could read an article about her favorite topic in the newspaper or on the Internet, she would "read the Web because it probably has more information on the subject."

Rasberry87, 11, would also choose the Internet, "because I pay more attention to things on my computer rather than written on paper. It makes things more interesting."

"I'd use the Internet [to read articles about my favorite topics] because there are more people on it than in the newspaper," says Ryan, 12.

A Slow System

Kids who use the Internet are used to instantaneous information and see newspapers as a slow delivery system. Newspapers are not the best place to learn about current events, says Chriswn, 10, "because news about a particular story could change while you are reading that article."

The final word on the preference of the plugged-in generation is neatly summed up in the following quote: "If I could read an article about my favorite topic, I would go online [vs. a newspaper] because it would be easier to find stuff," says CoolBee, 11. "I know from experience. I'm a computer freak, and to me it's the easiest way to find anything."

The powerful allure of the Internet has not replaced print media, but kids seem to prefer reading magazines over other choices. A majority of respondents are magazine subscribers, often receiving more than one magazine a month. They listed American Girls, Boy's Life, Disney Adventures, Girl's Life, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Teen, Teen People, Seventeen, YM and Zillions as their favorite magazines. Some kids also report reading their parents issues of Reader's Digest and Newsweek.

And at least one young respondent put her finger exactly on the mark with the following insight: "If I were publisher, I would make a kids section at least once a week," says Storm82, 14. "This would include articles that children would enjoy reading. This would increase the number of children reading the paper and help the child read better. And they would, as they got older, begin to read more of the newspaper."

Front-Page Lessons

Kids are interested in local and global news, information and other editorial coverage of sports, weather, arts and entertainment. The Internet has changed the expectations that kids have regarding information and entertainment. Young readers expect and receive speedy delivery, interactivity, and areas designated just for them to contribute their thoughts and opinions on the Internet. They now have to be persuaded that newspapers can and should play a meaningful role in their lives. More than anything, the Internet has made interactivity an essential ingredient in kids lives.

To capture the interest of the next generation, marketers must find the intersection between print and online, and find ways to involve kids interactively with their print products.