12 newsrooms win awards for their pandemic journalism
for children
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bayonne, France - 6 July 2021
Children doing the reporting, gamified cartoons explaining the science and a museum partnership that provided elegant showcasing of pandemic art from children worldwide are among the innovations revealed today as winners of the Global Youth and News Media Prize honoring pandemic journalism for children.
“We already know that producers of news for children represent the best that journalism has to offer in so many ways,” said Dr. Aralynn McMane, director of the prize. “Amid the uncertainty of a global emergency, these highly trusted sources provided their young audiences with as much clarity and as many solutions as could be had, in accessible formats and with phenomenal audience engagement and interactivity.”
An international jury gave gold and silver awards to 12 organizations in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Full descriptions of all the laureates can be found here.
ASIA
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Kompas.com (Indonesia) produced a Viron series that used webtoons and gamification to help children understand the science of the pandemic. (GOLD)
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The Straits Times (Singapore) empowered children to play a role in fighting misinformation and spreading awareness within their families and communities. (GOLD)
EUROPE
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Børneavisen (Denmark) used child reporters to interview authorities and encouraged children to ask questions through its mobile app. (GOLD)
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DIE ZEIT (Germany), together with the International Museum for Children's Art in Oslo (Norway) and supported by several partners from all over the world, created #kidspaintcorona that resulted in children from 64 countries sending more than 5,000 pieces of artwork about how they experienced the pandemic. Partners in this project received special commendations: The Washington Post and News-O-Matic (USA-France), Joca (Brazil), Anorak (UK), Le Journal des Enfants (France) and Mi Super Diario (Mexico). (GOLD)
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RTV Slovenia, the public broadcaster, created a daily children’s news show to answer children’s questions about the pandemic, including from other countries. (SILVER)
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SVT Lilla Aktuelt, the Swedish public broadcaster’s children’s news operation, did its coverage from a children’s perspective with high interactivity. (SILVER)
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First News (United Kingdom) created resources for both teachers and students and profiled “Local Heroes.” (SILVER)
AMERICAS
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Teaching Kids News (Canada) gave children a mental health break by providing some positive news. (SILVER)
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CBC Kids News (Canada) , the public broadcaster’s children’s news operation, had teenagers instead of adults do the explaining of basic terms linked to the pandemic. (SILVER)
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News-O-Matic (USA) used a multifaceted approach in Spanish, French, English and Arabic to attract thousands and thousands of artistic and written interactions with children, all with a focus on creative helping. (GOLD)
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NBC Nightly News (USA) created a Kids Edition with coverage -- including medical expertise -- totally based on questions from children. (SILVER)
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Kid Scoop (USA), a veteranvprovider of news-related activities, created a deceptively simple kind of comfort in the form of free, downloadable and printed coloring books. (SILVER)
Global Youth & News Media, a nonprofit based in France, aims to strengthen the linkages between young people and news media through honoring media that truly serve the young, promoting news/media literacy through a journalistic prism and amplifying the journalism of young people. A 18-member international jury assessed the entries.
For more information, info@youthandnewsmedia.net.
