The Scoop On Kid Scoop

By: Dave Astor When it comes to "Kid Scoop," NIE stands for Newspaper In Education and Number Is Excellent.

The feature goes to 180 papers, a very high total for a self-syndicated product. And the Sonoma, Calif.-based Kid Scoop (KS) operation soon will have more subscribers with the launch of "My Kid Scoop" for younger children.

How does a self-syndicated feature find 180 clients -- in tough economic times, no less? One reason is that KS founder Vicki Whiting is frequently on the road marketing "Kid Scoop" and related content (including teaching materials) as well as doing NIE training. And the former elementary-school teacher is offering educational yet entertaining content that can help attract the next generation of readers.

"Children need to be reading a newspaper. I believe our democracy depends on it," said Whiting, who is CEO, president, and editor of KS -- and still does some teaching on a volunteer basis.

"Kid Scoop" started during the 1980s in the twice-weekly Sonoma Index-Tribune and entered nationwide syndication in the mid-1990s. The weekly feature aimed at 6-to-12-year-olds includes games, puzzles, cartoons, stories, safety tips, and more. It's available in various sizes up to a page, in color or black and white, in English or Spanish, and can be customized with content by local children. Clients carry "Kid Scoop" in feature sections, the Sunday comics, or NIE supplements -- with some selling ads against it and others not.

"My Kid Scoop" -- which has run in The State, Columbia, S.C., on a pilot basis for about a year and is now available to other papers -- is aimed at children 3 to 6 (and their parents). The half-page feature is weekly, but has content on the bottom outlining daily activities for kids using their local newspapers.

Whiting -- who works with a full-time staffer, freelance artists, and others -- said KS also has Web sites aimed at customers (http://www.kidscoop.net) and the public (http://www.kidscooponline.com).

What about signing with a major syndicate? Whiting said it's possible, but noted that when one such syndicate expressed interest, it wanted a percentage of revenue from clients KS already had found in addition to clients the syndicate would sign.

Next up for KS: it soon will offer NIE training via telephone.

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Telnaes Draws For Women's Enews

Pulitzer Winner To Do Weekly Cartoon

Ann Telnaes will draw a weekly editorial cartoon for the Women's Enews Web site starting next month.

Telnaes, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, said this will be separate from the four cartoons she does each week for Tribune Media Services (TMS).

"Her work is extraordinary and I am delighted we will be able to offer this to our readers," said Rita Henley Jensen, editor in chief of Women's Enews, which provides content to newspapers, other media, and individual subscribers.

Why did Telnaes approach Women's Enews? "I was really impressed with the content," she told E&P Online. "'Finally!,' I thought. 'Real news about women's issues without pieces on dieting and fashion.' Women's Enews fulfills a need for this type of coverage, which is sorely lacking in print."

Telnaes added: "I've always felt that issues such as reproductive rights, unequal representation, and the economic and social inequality of women are paramount in understanding the political realities of our world."

The Women's Enews site (Syndicate World, June 10) will also continue to run the "Sylvia" comic by Nicole Hollander of TMS.

Telnaes does a comic herself as one-sixth of the team that creates "Six Chix" for King Features Syndicate.

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International Syndicate Renamed

It's Now Tribune Media Services International

Los Angeles Times Syndicate International (LATSI) has been renamed Tribune Media Services International (TMSI).

This comes two years after the Tribune Co. purchased the Times Mirror Co., including the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and LATSI.

"The name change reflects the synergies we have developed over the past two years in our combined domestic and international syndication operations, and represents the final step in unifying our operations under one brand," said Tribune Media Services (TMS) President and CEO David Williams in a statement.

"It makes sense for us to bear the same name. We wanted to be what we are, not what we were," added Jesse Levine, who founded LATSI in 1982 and will continue to head the renamed operation under the titles of vice president for international syndication at TMS and president of TMSI.

How is the international market these days? Levine said the economy has made sales more difficult, but noted that TMSI has been helped by doing increased business in places such as Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia, and the Arab world.

TMSI (http://www.tmsinternational.com) edits, markets, and distributes about 250 features - some exclusively for overseas markets and some also available domestically. It has offices in Los Angeles, London, and Hong Kong.

TMS features were sold abroad between the spring of 2000 and the fall of 2001 by Atlantic Syndication, a joint venture with Universal Press Syndicate and Editors Press Service.

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'Curtis' Counters Smoking

Comic Comes To Lung Association Site

To coincide with October's "Healthy Lung Month," the "Curtis" comic made its debut on the American Lung Association's (ALA) public Web site.

Ray Billingsley's strip often shows the 11-year-old Curtis trying to get his father to quit smoking. ALA President/CEO John L. Kirkwood said having a black cartoon character on the site "is especially important because the African-American population is disproportionately affected by lung disease."

Visitors to the site (http://www.lungusa.org) can subscribe to a "Curtis" e-newsletter that alerts them by e-mail when the next comic will be posted.

Billingsley, whose strip appears in more than 250 newspapers via King Features Syndicate, is a volunteer for the ALA's Southeast Florida division and a recipient of the ALA's President's Award.

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Gay Commentary From the Right

New Column Is By Q Syndicate's Founder

Q Syndicate is launching a right-of-center gay commentary column.

The biweekly "Over the Rainbow" is by syndicate founder David Bianco, who discusses news, politics, and culture from a more conservative perspective than many gay writers take.

Bianco is a historian who started Q Syndicate in 1995 and now serve as its vice president for content. He is the author of Gay Essentials: Facts for Your Queer Brain and Modern Jewish History for Everyone.

Also, the syndicate's progressive "Lesbian Notions" Op-Ed column is moving from biweekly to weekly. The feature is by syndicate Editor in Chief Paula Martinac.

And Q Syndicate (http://www.qsyndicate.com) named David Gardner account manager.

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Et cetera ...

The New York Times Syndicate is offering "Nigella's Table," a recipe column by TV host and author Nigella Lawson. ...

Religion News Service's G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Mark O'Keefe, and Kevin Eckstrom won the top three Templeton Award slots for religion reporting. RNS is owned by Newhouse News Service (which O'Keefe writes for) and distributed in the U.S. by Universal Press Syndicate. ...

The Tribune Media Services marketing staff won multiple awards in a Graphic Design:usa magazine contest. ...

The National Society of Newspaper Columnists (http://www.columnists.com) is seeking new members by offering a syndication guide and extra months of 2002 membership for paying 2003 dues.

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