NY Times Reaches Out to Younger Readers

Rhonda AdamsThe New York Times wants to get kids interested in reading in-depth news coverage, and they want to create a new generation of readers in a culture that is fast forgetting the value and importance of newspapers. To help move that along, the Times has unveiled a “sponsor a subscription” program. Already, just over a month in, more than 1.3 million students have been afforded access to the publication thanks to this work.The program, which kicked off February 3, asks people to donate digital subscriptions to public school students in the United States. For every subscription a donor sponsors, the NY Times gives an additional subscription to a student … so, two for the price of one. More than 15,000 people have already contributed to the program.Entrepreneur Daniel Palmier noted, “Perhaps the best thing about the program is that it’s largely reader-initiated. According to a release from Times publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., “The genesis of the 'sponsor a subscription' program came directly from readers who approached us with the desire to help support independent journalism and promote news literacy after the U.S. elections…””In other words, Americans, distressed about the state of news literacy in the country, offered to pay for kids to have access to good journalism. And, due to the success of the program, the Times is already expanding it by introducing a series of webinars on topics including news literacy, personal finance, persuasive writing, climate change, immigration and the Supreme Court…”Astute readers will quickly pick up on the list of political hot potatoes in that list. The Times is not shying away from accusations of political motivations in this program, but organizers believe these are the issues requiring the most additional help from quality journalism. Others will certainly disagree, and this may spark a competitive program from a more conservative leaning media outlet.Regardless, the Times isn’t done… VP of Consumer Revenue Hannah Yang told CNBC: “We are still in the planning phase, but we are exploring ideas like an online interactive platform where teachers can share their ideas and experiences on teaching with Times content, live events and workshops, and adding more teaching and learning tools to The Learning Network…”This initiative could be the precursor to a new way of doing the news, which puts traditional brands in the driver’s seat as to what happens next in consumer media. They certainly have the opportunity, but it’s up to these agencies to present the ideas and let the market test them. [author]About the Author: Rhonda Adams is a NYC based entrepreneur. [/author]