'Chicago Trib' Aims at Teens

Jen: What do we have here?! The Chicago Tribune is launching a weekly newspaper and Web site called TheMash (all squished together) for Chicago public high schools. It's for teens, written by teens -- Mash contributors Ruth Tomuta and Monica Bator at left -- and will go out to 100,000 of them.

Chicago Trib staffers will oversee the paper, training teens and even helping them with access to public figures and celebs. In a statement, Brad Moore, GM at TheMash, said: "Developing new and targeted media choices furthers our goal of an informed and engaged community."  TheMash has already lined up Verizon and Nike as advertisers. Here is what Carol Damit, director of marketing communications at Verizon, said in a statement: "This demographic can be a challenge to reach through print media but we are hoping this vehicle distributed in the Chicago Public school" -- 130 schools -- "will help promote younger newspaper readers and present a new resource of information."

Kudos to Tribune Tower for sharp thinking especially at a time when newspapers all over the country are tripping towards the exit doors of N.I.E. programs.

Comments

[anon]

The Mash, huh? Sounds like more white haired men acting positively rad to attract a young audience. Good luck dinosaurs.

[Jen]

Such cynicism anon! Actually teens are at the wheel, not the dinosaurs. Maybe it will fail. Or not. Who knows? At least they are trying something.