Mom, where is the Amazon, and why are there fires there? Dad, where do migrants come from? If the whole family keeps up with the news, it’s normal that the desire to understand what is happening in the world will be fostered. A good way to help them learn more is to bring them closer to newspapers and magazines that are made for the new generation, that explain the news in a simple and clear way. A way to both answer their questions and encourage them to read, and to help them grow up to become conscious citizens. Although kids’ journalism is more popular in other countries compared to Italy (there are great examples in France and Great Britain in particular), even here there are some good options to familiarize children and teenagers with the news world. If we take into account a constant growth of children’s publishing in the last few years, combined with a growing number of activities and workshops at schools tied to newspapers and the ability to distinguish true and false news, it is easy to understand how this is a sector that will continue to flourish. Here are some newspapers to start from.
Popotus,the supplement byAvvenire
Since 1996, with this special supplement, the catholic newspaper took on a serious commitment towards children, to explain the news in a professional but accessible way. The successor of the Corriere dei Ragazzi (the kids’ Corriere) that years ago already told the stories in the news with focuses on current affairs and historical happenings, Popotus aims at being more than a simple container of comics and pop culture news, but rather a magazine that encompasses current news completely. Eight black and white tabloid style pages, where they can read about politics and finance, culture, sports and entertainment and that will make kids feel more grown up. Information produced by journalists but in a style that is understandable by kids provides an exceedingly high quality editorial product that helps them become more aware but with a positive interpretation. At the end of the day, reading a newspaper can teach us that it is especially the people of good will that will have to change the world.
The kids’ version of the most famous and appreciated foreign weekly newspaper in Italy has been structured to include foreign news content, carefully selected and translated to stimulate curiosity and bring children closer to the world news.
E20, La Stampa
The Turin-based newspaper has also lately created a journalistic experience for kids. It’s calledE20 (Eventi) and, curated by Enrico Caporale with the publishing house De Agostini Scuola, it is aimed at middle school students. It’s a product created to not only to help kids in their discovery of the news, but also teachers themselves, who can use it in class for focus sessions and specific projects. “Since 2014, we offer teachers and students from middle and high schools an updated selection of the main items on the news and topics to discuss in depth in class, simplifying and adapting the language to communicate to children. The history, geography manuals and anthologies from the De Agostini Scuola refer to our Web page as a teaching aid”, Caporale says. Because even the youngest children have the right to access information and deal with tough topics, such as the war in Syria or populist movements. There is also the possibility to carry out historical research, thanks to the La Stampa digitized archive that reaches back to 1867.
Internazionale Kids
The kids version of the most famous and appreciated foreign weekly newspaper in Italy has been structured to include foreign news content, carefully selected and translated to stimulate curiosity and bring children closer to the world news. French, German, Australian, American newspapers and many more are collected in a colorful and fun monthly newspaper, with lots of drawings and games to accompany the articles. A newspaper that can be read “from the index to the crossword page” without having to necessarily follow the order of pages, but rather feeling free to go from one topic to the next while looking for key words that are recurrent within the various sections. And there are posters and lots of pictures, too!
