Amolo emmanuel N
Investing in Future Readers: German Children Get Their Own Newspaper
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- Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main
- Market research followed to find out what children would read and parents would pay
- Grüner + Jahrs GEOlino
| Investing in Future Readers: German Children Get Their Own Newspaper
Generations of people accessing news and information, whether from newspapers or any other source, have a different set of expectations about the kind of news they will get, including when and how they will get it; where and who they will get it from (Murdoch, 2005). A report by Zeke Turner (2012) accessed how Newspapers for Children have tapped into the German Print publishing market, noting the challenges they faced and how they survive in a technologically changing environment. Turner (2012) notes that: “Newspapers may be dying out elsewhere, but in Germany broadsheets still enjoy substantial readership. New publication has decided to invest in keeping it that way, targeting children to cultivate the readers of tomorrow. But it's a difficult market that requires pleasing both kids and their parents”. According to the Federation of German Newspaper Publishers (BDZV), some 76 percent of German newspaper publishers have offerings aimed at children, including columns, and sections for young readers. But a newspaper dedicated solely to the interests of kids has remained risky. Meanwhile, an established print publisher Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main, which publishes regional dailies like the Allgemeine Zeitung in Mainz, created a children’s newspaper called “Kruschel”. The publisher not only aimed to develop a new generation of newspaper readers for his adult newspaper, but also teach them “brand loyalty” early enough. His children newspaper, Kruschel, first appeared in children's sections of the publisher's regional papers, but was later converted into a separate weekly newspaper aimed at 7 to 11-year-olds; it was the first such publication in Germany, which holds the biggest newspaper market in Europe. Kruschel ‘s editor Fauth says: "You don't just start a new newspaper, after discussing with the head of the company about whether or not to do it, Market research followed to find out what children would read and parents would pay. It was important, Fauth says, that children feel the sensation of having their own newspaper, and not just a page among their parents' broadsheets”. Although the market for children's monthly magazines is strong in Germany, with titles like Grüner + Jahr's GEOlino enjoying a circulation of 200,000 and SPIEGEL's own Dein SPIEGEL with over 60,000, the publisher of Kruschel, was able to tackle the challenge of creating a lasting children's newspaper focused on reporting current events by presenting the news in conformity with what children like. Financially, however, publishing a newspaper for children is a tricky proposition. German parents are uncomfortable with seeing traditional advertising in a children's newspaper, so to gain a big enough subscriber base to cover publishing costs requires giving away lots of free copies to schools, which gets expensive. So far Kruschel has sold some 2,100 subscriptions, which cost €4.90 ($6.32) per month. The number falls short of the amount of revenue needed to cover distribution and production costs, even with a lean staff of three employees working in one room in the publisher's headquarters. But five months into the project, the subscription numbers are still ahead of the publisher's projected circulation of 1,800. Everyone may love the idea of publishing children's newspapers, but nobody wants to do it. Ernest Henry, a children's author and the former publisher of OINK!, a financial newspaper for children that he began in Britain in 2002, stated that this was so because “it's very hard work and it's not terribly profitable.” Download 261.2 Kb. Share with your friends:
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