Foundation

The NAA Foundation focuses on Newspaper In Education, newspaper youth content, scholastic journalism and diversity. In this blog, you'll learn about products, programs and resources that emphasize the use of newspapers and other media by young people. You'll also learn about programs and activities that can help news media companies transform their cultures in order to grow business and increase readership and audience.

September 2008 - Posts

• Online NIE training

  NAA Foundation Presents: NIE Management Skills You Need This one-hour online course is designed to help you understand the basics of maintaining an effective Newspaper In Education department. The course, developed by Hot Topics for the Foundation, contains five easy-to-navigate chapters: 1) Introduction -- developing a mission and a plan for your NIE program, understanding the history of NIE and identifying helpful resources 2) The NIE Professional -- defining your mission, understanding how a newspaper works and being business-savvy 3) Working With Schools -- understanding teachers' needs and choosing NIE curriculum materials 4) Soliciting Sponsors/Marketing NIE -- quantifying your sponsorship goals, developing sponsorship proposals, understanding the sales call process and understanding Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) regulations 5) Digital NIE -- understanding the relationship between technology and the newspaper industry, understanding the value of electronic editions to NIE and developing a sales plan for electronic editions. To access this free course, go to the Foundation home page (www.naafoundation.org) and look for the "Online NIE Training" link in the lower left portion of the page, under Digital NIE. When asked for the password, enter "naa."  We hope you will enjoy and learn from this new resource.   Posted Sep 30 2008, 06:32 PM by Marina Hendricks with 46 comment(s) Filed under: online, training, Newspaper In Education

• Youth Media DNA: In Search of Lifelong Readers

  "Youth Media DNA," the NAA Foundation's latest research study, suggests that there's an interest in news among a significant portion of young adults - and if newspapers move quickly to address the specific needs of younger readers, there are readership gains to be made. The study examines the media habits of U.S. young people ages 15 to 29. As many as 75 percent of the young people surveyed had some interest in news, from modest to strong. Seventy-two percent agreed with this statement: "If you are well-informed about current news, you get ahead in your school and your career." A look beyond the surface findings of "Youth Media DNA" offers opportunities for newspapers in terms of promotion, design and content changes that could provide help in growing readership among young adults. The study was conducted by DECODE of Canada as part of a global research effort launched by the World Association of Newspapers. The NAA Foundation sponsored the U.S. portion of the research. Want to know more? Click here for a link to a white paper detailing the findings as well as a podcast with research Robert Barnard. Posted Sep 29 2008, 05:01 PM by Marina Hendricks with no comments Filed under: Foundation research, young reader media habits

• Greetings!

  Hello, and welcome to NAA Community. NAA Community has all sorts of cool bells and whistles, but one of the ones we're most excited about is the NAA FOundation Blog. Here, you'll find up-to-date information about our latest programs and products for Newspapers In Education, youth content and scholastic journalism professionals - including the High Five curriculum, which introduces middle-school students to journalism concepts; and High School Journalism Matters, a research study that shows a link between high school journalism and academic achievement. Comments and guest posts are welcome. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at marina.hendricks@naa.org. Meanwhile, to learn more about what the Foundation has to offer, visit our Web site at www.naafoundation.org. Happy reading,   Marina Hendricks NAA Foundation Editor Posted Sep 24 2008, 06:20 PM by Marina Hendricks with 3 comment(s) Filed under: young readers

• Targeting New Audiences

  The Foundation and NewsU have done it again - teamed up on an online course that's designed to make your jobs a little easier. Our first course, "Coaching Tomorrow's Journalists," shows editors and scholastic journalism advisers how to help their student writers produce better copy. Our new one, "Targeting New Audiences - Finding Your Niche," is designed to make the process of developing a publication for a niche audience easier. Is print or online the way to go? This course will help you answer that question and more. You'll find out what data you need, where to get it and how to use it. You'll learn from some niche youth pubs' successes and failures, then brainstorm about your own ideas and goals. A really cool interactive feature, "Talk to Your Boss," lets you practice pitching your ideas. Both courses are free and accessible 24-7 at http://www.newsu.org/. Posted Sep 24 2008, 06:01 PM by Marina Hendricks with no comments Filed under: online training, coaching writers, niche publications

• Doing "TheMash" in Chicago

  From NAA's Online Publishing Update e-newsletter, Sept. 5: The Chicago Tribune's new high school weekly newspaper, TheMash, has launched. The newspaper has an agreement with Chicago Public Schools to distribute the newspaper to the school system's 100,000-plus high school students, MarketWatch reported. TheMash will cover a range of news and entertainment areas, and much of the content will be written by students under the guidance of Chicago Tribune staff members. The companion Web site, at www.themash.com, allows students to upload photos, comment on articles and connect with other students. Sources: MarketWatch, The Mash Posted Sep 05 2008, 03:55 PM by Marina Hendricks with 1 comment(s) Filed under: young readers, teen sections