Utah newspaper boosts revenue with monthly journalism supplement

Mar 19, 2024

The Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah, is publishing a free monthly summary of its best journalism, and it’s been profitable since just one month after launching in September 2023.

The publication, called The Digest, includes a tabloid-size Kid Scoop feature. The compendium has been so popular with readers that the publication may be offered more frequently.

Newspapers are finding that parents are hungry for reading material that will encourage their children to read more. After years of learning loss due to the COVID pandemic, Kid Scoop is a sparkling way for elementary-level children to practice reading and math skills beyond the school day. Recent Kid Scoop pages in The Digest have featured Polar Bears and “Kindness is Healthy.”

The Digest also connects young readers with quality journalism, a vital part of democracy. With the closing of some 3,000 newspapers since 2005, as reported in Editor & Publisher, it is crucial to introduce young readers to the best of journalism. Children learn how professional reporting brings them accurate information as opposed to misinformation often found on social media websites.

For more than 30 years, Kid Scoop has been devoted to helping parents and teachers enhance reading and math skills at home and in the classroom. The Kid Scoop pages present lively reading in the subject areas of science, geography, history, biography, and literature. The pages include puzzles, games, word searches, and informative illustrations. “Standards Links” printed near the activities show parents and teachers the required skills related to the activities.

Kid Scoop now appears in hundreds of newspapers in 42 states. The author is Vicki Whiting, who created Kid Scoop while teaching a third-grade unit on “Our Community.” Her students quickly decided that the best way to learn about their community was through the local newspaper.

The designer of Kid Scoop is Jeff Schinkel who also illustrates children’s books written by Whiting and published by Fox Chapel Publishing.

Kid Scoop is available in five different sizes: full page, half-page, narrow page, tab, and quarter-page.

To bring your choice of size to your newspaper or supplement, please contact Dan “Patio” Dalton at patiodan@kidscoop.com or 909-793-9890.