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BIOFORE
TEXT
HELEN MOSTER
PHOTOGRAPHY
NIKOLAI LINARES/SCANPIX
For
kids’
eyes only!
“All the news stories we see and
hear on television, the radio and the
internet are written for adults,” says
Jonas Stenbæk Christoffersen
, the
Editor-in-Chief of Kids’ News.
News often becomes part of chil-
dren’s lives at an early age, but what
do they understand about the complex
events taking place in Ukraine and
Syria?
Copenhagen-basedmedia
company BerlingskeMedia pondered
these questions and decided to launch
a surprising new product: a news-
paper for 6 to 12 year old kids, which
receivedmajor media attention when
it was published in April.
Some of the stories in Kids’ News
are written by children and the news-
paper is published in Denmark every
Friday. It was clear from the very
beginning that the newspaper would
be published in a printed format. The
publisher thought it was important to
offer kids an opportunity to concen-
trate on news in print formwithout
video clips or other distractions
constantly interrupting the reading
experience.
Interest in print news
The 24-page newspaper has found its
audience without major marketing
efforts and all feedback has been posi-
tive. Feedback about the content of
the newspaper is received from chil-
dren, parents, experts and politicians
alike.
Children and newspapers
– an impossible combination?
Not at all. Children really
appreciate reading and enjoy
holding a newspaper in their hands.
Danish newspaper Kids’ News
provides children with a new
reading experience – on their
own terms.