As a journalist and executive editor at Slovenia’s national daily newspaper Delo, Sonja Merljak Zdovc quickly realised the inevitable loss of an entire generation as news readers. “We have a generation of parents that are not reading newspapers. Leading to a generation of children who not only don’t read but don’t know what a newspaper is.” The loss of future generations as news readers is a serious concern.

European Union authorities have realised the scarcity of informative online content for children. Most online content kids encounter is on TikTok and other social media platforms. These platforms usually have no regulations and no quality control. But that is the only space where children are addressed. “Nobody [from traditional media outlets] addresses children as future voters or consumers. Children will not jump from TikTok to serious newspapers by themselves. I am surprised how we can expect these children to eventually become voters,” comments Merljak Zdovc.

The birth of Časoris: reimagining news for young readers

Merljak Zdovc decided to change this and create the next generation of news readers. Časoris was hence founded in 2015 as an online free newspaper aimed at Slovenian children aged 6 to 12 years. The name itself is a wordplay on “newspaper” (časopis) and “drawing” (risati). Despite its target audience, Časoris functions as any traditional newspaper. It has sections on politics, business, sports and entertainment. “Časoris is like any newspaper for adults but for little people, little in height that is.”

At present Časoris has 13,000 monthly visitors on its websites. This number is not a reflection of their readers as many children access this online newspaper from their school’s IP address. During Covid-19 Časoris had around 27,000 visitors.

The outlet remains free by conducting workshops and by receiving grant funding. They have hosted multiple media literacy workshops and events, more recently through the Google News Initiative News Equity Fund, and received grants from Internews, the US Embassy in Ljubljana and others.

Časoris’ experience can help media publishers learn how to engage children as consumers and also help them expand their reader base. Merljak Zdovc says “I would of course recommend that legacy media include content that’s for the benefit of children. Not only would this help them with their business but also help children gain reading and literacy skills.”

Merljak Zdovc mentions “A newspaper for adults can learn a lot from a children’s newspaper – on how to engage the audience, how to talk to the audience and how to include the audience. This is what we are doing with children all the time. We always try to figure out what’s important to them and how to deliver it.” Here are the four ways to deliver news to children.

How to engage children as news consumers

1. Accessible content

Merljak Zdovc says that the rules of traditional journalism apply to journalism for children too. Keep the sentences short and simple but do not make them sound boring. To engage children with news, Časoris employs many techniques. The first is to address them with care.

We write news topics in a language that’s easy for children to understand and we never approach them from a patronising point of view
Merljak Zdovc. founder and editor-in-chief of the Časoris

Časoris makes articles engaging by using literacy journalism and multimedia techniques for their little readers. For example, their article on American elections used simple sentences to explain but also added Instagram posts and YouTube videos for the readers. Their article on COP29 included the connection between global warming and Spanish floods, making topics more relevant for readers.

2. Activity and interaction

A unique thing Časoris does is provide its readers with a glossary at the end of every article. In this way, they ensure that the readers get exposed to difficult words without compromising their understanding of the article. Časoris also adds three questions at the end of each article. The goal is to push the readers to engage more with the news by discussing it with their peers. These questions are instrumental in a classroom set-up where the teachers can prompt the students into a healthy discussion.

*Example of questions asked at the end of the article (*
*source: “Na spletu se lahko zavaruješ z digitalno ključavnico”, translated with Google Translate)*

3. Include children in the news creation process

Časoris truly believes that children have a lot to contribute. This is why they push for them to contribute to the newspaper. Merljak Zdovc says, “We ask them to contribute when we find some topic or they come to us with some news. We always invite them to write and we will happily and gladly publish their work.”

The inclusion of children has brought a lot of benefits. Their most read and resonated piece at Časoris was written by a first-year high school student on a popular trend among Slovenian youth. The topic was later picked by legacy media outlets.

4. Embrace slow journalism

News fatigue is a real thing. But it could be more overwhelming for children. That is why Časoris publishes one article a day. Merljak Zdovc acknowledges that this prohibits them from publishing timely news. “We don’t want to overwhelm [our readers] with crises all the time.” With back-to-back floods in Spain and Bosnia, Časoris decided to delay publishing a piece on the former. Slow media can lead to more mindful consumption of content.

Source of the cover photo: Amanda Jones via Unsplash

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Children as news consumers – a Slovenian newspaper’s blueprint for child-friendly journalism