Smart newspapers win at attracting youth

"Prize winners show that newspapers can successfully appeal to younger audiences in the digital age," said Aralynn McMane, executive director of WAN-IFRA young readership development.

"This year's winners offer a fantastic set of examples for how to capture and captivate this audience at that key point in their lives when they will or will not become interested for life in a multiplatform relationship with their newspaper."

A full list of winners, from 13 countries, can be found here: http://www.wan-ifra.org/node/58916.

In addition to taking the Young Reader Newspaper of the Year award, India's I-Next also won the top award in the public service category for a project that encouraged 18- to 25-year-olds to vote. Part of the work was a survey that found youth interested in change, especially getting rid of corruption. The elections saw the highest turnout in 30 years and the election of the youngest-ever state chief minister.

Excellent job

"I-Next did an excellent job," the prize jury noted. "We found it especially interesting that youth considered corruption the number one topic of concern. The other two projects entered, which contributed to its Newspaper of the Year status, also showed creativity and relevance. The investigative report and campaign about heavy back-packs truly made a difference, and the folk singing contest was a fresh approach to youth entertainment."

Awards to all the winners will be presented on 10 July in Bangkok during WAN-IFRA's first Asia-Pacific Young Reader Summit. Details about the event, which is open to participants from anywhere, can be found at http://www.wan-ifra.org/events/young-reader-asia-pacific-summit

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) annually awards the World Young Reader Prizes to newspapers that have devised the best project or activity to attract young readers. Support for this year's prizes comes from Norske Skog, the Norway-based global paper producer.