The fundamentals of bringing news to teenagers

I’ve spent more years in school than probably most others (barring school teachers of course). In addition to my own 14 years of schooling, I’ve now completed close to 12 years with The HinduIn School – The Hindu’s stable that brings out a daily broadsheet that goes to schools and a weekly tabloid that is delivered to homes for children, teens and young adults.

Bringing out a newspaper for young adults is unlike any other media job. Here are some observations based on the challenges that arise while creating and curating content for future thought leaders.

Relevance is the key. When the Newspapers in Education (NiE) programme was born, it was envisaged as a way to help teachers the world over tell children about the relevance of news in everyday lives. Most Indian media houses began by sending their existing newspapers to schools.

While these well-rounded products catered to the interests of adults, large sections of them were irrelevant to schoolgoers. At times, they carried content to which tweenagers could not be exposed. This prompted the beginning of dedicated products, tailor-made for children with content – news and knowledge – that appealed to them and piqued their curiosity.

Sensitivity is another aspect that is often stressed upon in journalism circles, in a day and age where sensationalism sells and click-baits are an everyday reality.

When working with this particular target audience, it is not only important to think about news selection, but also about the way we deliver it – be it the choice of words, headlines or even a photograph.

Should we celebrate zoos? Would “human-made” be a better choice than “man-made”? These are some of the questions and smaller details that we grapple with every day.

Even though there is a need for constant innovation in almost every sphere of the news cycle, nowhere is it more pronounced. With respect to children, who always seem to know more these days than we did at their age, evolving and adapting is a necessity to keep them engaged.

This obligation to innovate provokes you to experiment and adopt unorthodox means of conveying information, some of them even unthinkable in general newspapers. From full-page board games to posters and comic strips, we have had a slew of initiatives to communicate news and general knowledge. Teenagers are not only receptive to such new ideas but are brutally honest with their feedback (I’ve often had a smile reading them and even been reduced to tears on occasions).

Earlier this week, we were discussing in our team as to how even languages are a commodity that we sell these days. English is definitely at the top of the pile in this respect, and for a working journalist in one of India’s leading English-language newspapers, writing could well be a form of craving.

When writing for tweens and teens, however, getting the ideas across comes first and foremost. Verbosity makes way for succinctness. Simple, straightforward sentences take precedence over flowery language or even writing flair.

Considering ours is a pan-India product that reaches every nook and corner of the country, it is crucial to bear in mind the varying demographics. The writing and language, therefore, should not only educate, but also be accessible to both first-generation learners, and first-generation learners of the English language, without necessarily dumbing down.

While lowering attention spans is a situation that we are all confronted with, it is all the more heightened with today’s teenagers – the first-generation born in an uber-connected world. Catching their attention is tough. Holding on to them is tougher. In addition to unconventional formats, a dash of colour and new-age designs help attract youngsters.

These are some of the issues that are particular to a newsroom that handles content for students. There is a fine line between being overprotective and conveying news to them in a sensible manner. We tread that line every day.

A.S.Ganesh can be reached at ganesh.a.s@thehindu.co.in