Kid Scoop News awarded Global Youth & News Media Prize

Kid Scoop, a weekly page of learning activities for children published in more than 300 newspapers, and a monthly non-profit newspaper for children, is one of 12 international laureates awarded the Global Youth and News Media Prize. Among the other laureates are NBC Nightly News Kids Edition and The Canadian Broadcasting Company Kids News.

What Kid Scoop is being honored for:

Kid Scoop News, the monthly newspaper for children in California, created and published a 24-page Coronavirus coloring and activity booklet in English & Spanish in May 2020 and distributed a total 70,000 copies at no cost through food distribution programs, family service centers, libraries, schools and medical clinics. Children could explore how their lives had changed at school and at home and about how their feelings had changed as the pandemic progressed. The company’s more extensive Kid Scoop clients—300 community newspapers throughout North America—included a 2-page version print editions adding another 7.5 million readers and made it available (still) as a free download in both Spanish and English. Related activities included a Virus Education Mask Project with the local branch of Rotary International with the results posted at businesses.

What the Jury had to say:

“We love that 70,000 copies were disseminated for free to family service centers, food distribution programs, libraries, schools and medical clinics. It was an awesome way to give children something meaningful to do and express their creativity while also learning about the social measures put in place to combat the virus. We think you should get a mask producer to use some of the designs!”

About the Prize

The prize, begun in 2018, honors organizations that innovate as they strengthen engagement between news media and the young while reinforcing the role of journalism in society. This year’s prize was devoted to journalism that explained the coronavirus to children. The director of Youth & News Media at the World Association of Newspapers, Dr. Aralynn McMane.

“This latest, deceptively simple, innovation from Kid Scoop comes as no surprise. For more than 30 years, since the company first created activity pages as a means to develop community newspapers into a valuable teaching tool for children, Vicki Whiting and her tiny team have persuaded hundreds of community newspapers in North America to answer the call to provide at least a page a week of entertaining activities that teach the basics. Kid Scoop News, the organization’s own newspaper, provides an oasis of calm for its young readers who face an increasing array of bewildering realities. Bravo on your fine work!”
– Aralynn Mcmane