The German publisher, M.DuMont Schauberg, which owns the daily newspaper Berliner Kurier, has announced its intentions to launch a news supplement aimed directly at a younger audience later this year. The exact date of publication is not yet known.

The move comes after news magazine Spiegel successfully launched Dein Spiegel last year, a separate publication from its news magazine and aimed at young readers between the ages of nine and twelve. Since its debut in September, with the first edition focusing on the then hot topic of Germany's general election, the publication has enjoyed considerable success and now lines the shelves of newsstands across the country.

Likewise, weekly newspaper die Zeit also launched a similar initiative with "KinderZeit", providing news and entertainment to its target audience of eight to twelve year olds.

Now it's Kiku's turn. Berliner Kurier's newest venture is expected to take the form of a Sunday supplement sold as part of the weekend publication. The launch has been labelled an effort to safeguard the survival of print by introducing a younger audience to the medium at a time when digital news seems the likely way forward.

Incidentally, all three newspapers have well developed digital new sites, so not only are young readers being recruited to the concept of print, but perhaps more importantly for the publishers, a brand also.

Source: Werben und Verkaufen