As you probably read here on OOM, we're looking for a new batch of kids to join the 2018–19 Scholastic News Kids Press Corps! The award-winning editorial team is comprised of kids from all over the world, ages 10–14, with a passion for journalism. They've covered everything from breaking news, current events, entertainment stories, and sporting events – no story is too big or too small!
The Scholastic News Kids Press Corps launched in 2000, just in time to cover the presidential election. Keeping that year in mind, Deimosa and I browsed through the bound volumes of Scholastic News (the magazine that puts the "Scholastic News" in Scholastic News Kids Press Corps!) to see if we could find any coverage from (or of!) the first batch of kid reporters... and we were successful!
In the February 7, 2000 issue of Scholastic News: Teacher Edition, we found a letter from Suzanne Freeman, the then-editor of Scholastic News (not to be confused with Suzanne McCabe, the current editor for the Kids Press Corps), thanking teachers and parents who helped get kid reporters to various electoral events all over New Hampshire. At the end of her letter, Suzanne notes:
A great big thank you to the reporters. They showed true professionalism, from the way they approached the candidates, to the challenging questions they asked. And guess what else? It isn't over! Scholastic student reporters are preparing now for more election coverage. Keep reading!
(Although Suzanne was probably talking about election coverage through 2000, little did she know that kids would be on the ground covering elections over the next 18 years!)
Below is the cover and full article from the Senior Edition of the February 7, 2000 issue of Scholastic News documenting the work by the kid reporters. (Click the images to open a hi-res version!)
Then, we found another article featuring a number of kid reporters' first-hand accounts from the campaign trail in the March 6, 2000 Senior Edition of Scholastic News.
So, do you know a kid with a nose for news? If they're between the ages of 10 and 14, encourage them to apply to the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps! You can learn more here. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2018.
Special thanks to Librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her ongoing help with this series!
