Newspaper & Mailroom
Newspapers for Young People
Friday 14. November 2008 - World Young Reader Award for manroland newspaper printers
The printing sector is doing its best to gain more young readers. The international Young Reader Award from the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has since 1998 been singling out newspapers that offer outstanding attractions for young readers. This years prize-giving ceremony was held at the WAN Readership Conference in Amsterdam in October.
With campaigns like newspapers in schools, a program for young journalists, and youth marketing, the WAN is encouraging young people to actively engage with newspapers as a medium. After all, in recent years adults have radically changed their behavior patterns in terms of media usage. Adults select the media categories they prefer, and pass them on to their children, unconsciously and unfiltered. Thus many parents are depriving their children of an important learning vehicle – reading newspapers.
Prize winners from all over the world
Newspaper publishers and the printing press manufacturer manroland AG are therefore firmly committed to encouraging the generation of young newspaper readers. The company is proud to note that newspapers from its own customers have won accolades for their outstanding quality. The WANs World Young Reader Award in 2008 went to the following manroland customers, for example:
Le Journal de Montréal (Canada, COLORMAN) – for Le Ptit 5 minutes, the page with information graphics for children in the editorial category.
Media 24 (South Africa, UNISET and GEOMAN) – for the National Teachers Strike Recovery Initiative project in the public good category.
Honorable mentions by the jury went to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung and to the Braunschweiger Zeitung (both Germany, COLORMAN customers).
Many manroland customers provide impressive examples of how a well-positioned publisher can survive and prosper in a competitive environment. In order to remain successful in the future, newspapers are utilizing synergies with other media, have introduced new business models, and are proactively endeavoring to gain young readers. The newspapers core values, like high quality in both printing and journalism, plus an attractive, reader-friendly design, are irreplaceable. They are important constituents of a reading and learning culture – for young and old alike.