Straight Up

By Toni Guagenti

First Published: Summer 2007

It was the presentation anticipated by newspaper representatives from all over the globe at the World Young Reader Conference: a dozen teenagers from seven countries educating the old guard on what their generation wants and needs from newspapers to make them active readers.

But first, the talented 12 had something else up their sleeves for their presentation, which they prepared under the direction of Becky Fleenor, an NIE consultant from Nashville, and Guy Coviello, assistant managing editor at the Tribune Chronicle in Warren, Ohio. John Slack, a teen correspondent with the Tribune Chronicle, entertained the international audience of hundreds with his rendition of the “Mexican Hat Dance,” singing the names of all the nations of the world to the tune.

The crowd happily clapped along as Slack, wearing a giant sombrero, breathlessly belted out places around the globe. After that, it was time for business.

With a PowerPoint presentation (and a funny homemade video) prepared in the three-plus days leading up to the session, the teens took turns in groups of three explaining what they found engaging, and what newspapers can do to attract younger readers without compromising the older circulation base. The teens clearly established themselves as members of the Web generation, reiterating that with the Internet, possibilities are endless.

Here are some presentation highlights:

• Scrap long lead paragraphs and get to the point faster. Make headlines catchier, because guess what? Witty headlines capture teens’ attention, and big words turn them off.

• The Internet is here to stay, and newspapers need to reflect that. Online material should be cross-referenced with information in the newspaper, and vice versa.

• Engage teens with a lively Web site with a clear overview on its front page. Allow them to post comments online and read comments from others. Make sure they’re represented in stories elsewhere in the newspaper if the stories are about them.

• E-forums are a way to target teens interactively by giving them the information they want in a timely fashion.

• Teens are attracted to stories written in narrative style, and with subject matter relating to their lives. Emotion is vital.

• An attractive, vibrant, colorful section for teens is important. Big pictures are a must, and so is active teen participation – from writing stories to shooting photos and creating graphics. The section should include photos of teens, teen-on-the-street interviews, sports, editorials and entertainment reviews.

• Focus marketing efforts on places where young people hang out, as well as schools, restrooms, subway stations, bus stops, airports, cafeteria lines, vending machines and school buses.

• Newspapers with youth content staffs need to help cultivate future journalists by hosting monthly meetings, allowing teens to come up with their own story ideas, organizing workshops on journalism fundamentals, sharing resources and issuing official name badges for credibility.

Paying teen journalists is nice. Providing scholarships is better. And in talking about what doesn’t appeal to them, the group used an example of a story about teens sending text messages while driving. The story did not feature an interview with a single teen.

“When I read the newspaper, it feels like they’re not talking to me, but they’re talking at me,” said Khothatso Mogwera with Johncom Learning of South Africa. In addition to Slack and Mogwera, the World Young Reader Conference Youth Ambassadors were: Paige Cooperstein, Reading (Pa.) Eagle; Nolan Eskeets, The Santa Fe New Mexican; Andre Haughton, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale; BreAnn Hoffmann, Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah; Jack Jason Lengwe, Children’s Press Bureau, Zambia; Jeffrey Lu, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong; Sonja Magdalenic, Smalandsposten, Sweden; Milena Metrak, Fydenstidninge, Denmark; Clayra Shaira Morales Garden, Listin Diario, Dominican Republic; and Gabriella Athena Moses, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk.

Toni Guagenti, editor of 757: Teens Cover the Code at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, can be reached at 757.222.5498 or toni.guagenti@pilotonline.com.