Mon Quotidien. Most other national daily newspapers in France are losing readers "in droves," but Mon Quotidien, a newspaper for kids, is "growing steadily," reports Emilie Boyer King in The Christian Science Monitor (3/1/05). "Children like to read it because it's written for them," says Francois Dufour, founder and editor-in-chief. "Parents like their kids to read, and teachers are happy because anything that encourages pupils to read is good. It's what I call a virtuous triangle." But kids are not only Mon Quotidien's readers -- they are also its editors: "To make sure the newspaper reflects children's interests, kids from schools around the country take part in editorial meetings twice a week." They "apply for the jobs by calling a phone number printed in each issue," and are "chosen on a "first-come, firsted served basis."

"We always go with what the children want," says Olivier Gasselin, deputy editor-in-chief. "There are no vetoes." Sometimes the results are a little bit hard for the adult editors to accept: "One day there was a very important European Union election, but there was also this story about a bear in a zoo," reports Jeff Mignon, www.5winfographic.info, who helped launch the 10-year-old paper, which now has a circulation of about 200,000. "The children chose to lead with the story about the bear! The journalists found it extremely difficult to go with that choice, but they did." And that's exactly the way Francois, a 10-year-old editor likes it: "If it was [adults] who chose, it wouldn't be the same," he says. But for the most part "Mon Quotidien doesn't shy away from hard news," such as the proposed European ban on the display of Nazi symbols, and prisoner abuse in Iraq. The kids didn't like the pictures, but "all agreed that the news was important and should be mentioned."

Jeff Mignon comments: "There are a lot of misconceptions about kids ... In fact, they are very open at this age. You can talk about most things, as long as you do it in a way that's adapted to them. If Mon Quotidien works as well as it does, it's because it has the courage to look at its readers' interests." The newspaper's format, naturally, is "colorful ... with illustrations and graphics on every page and a good dose of humor." It takes about ten minutes to read -- and its readers include "many parents ... including some who do not subscribe to any other paper." An American version is now being tested by the Miami Herald, and the Associated Press is also planning "to syndicate the newspaper's formula." In combination with three sister publications -- all of them published by Play Bac Presse, www.playbac.com, and written for 5-to-18-year-olds, Mon Quotidien is turning a profit of about $1.3 million. But that's not the ultimate R.O.I. as far as Jeff Mignon is concerned: "Investing in kids is worth it," he says. You can download a PDF sample of the paper here.

Tim Manners, editor