Move over USA Today. Move over Weekly Reader. Here comes Young American, which bills itself as "America's newspaper for kids" - circulation 4.6 million and growing.
What started as an experimental newspaper in the Pacific Northwest aimed at improving the reading habits of children expanded in January to become a national publication distributed in the top 20 markets in the United States.Its circulation had stood at just over 1 million in Oregon, Washington and northern California. Now it will be distributed coast to coast as a monthly supplement to more than 65 newspapers ranging from small weeklies to the New York Daily News.
Millions of students in both suburban and inner-city schools will receive copies from their teachers, who are provided with a special Young American curriculum guide telling how to use the newspaper to study current events.
"From day one, our goal was to grow Young American into the nation's newspaper for kids," said publisher Mike Forzley. "Now we have achieved our goal. The next step is to reach the top 40 markets with circulation of 9 million."