2 days ago
How to make news for kids: 11 useful tips from Ukraine
Vlad and Yuliia host the TikTok kids' news program Here they give practical advice on producing content for young audiences.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne has faced the challenge of creating informative and creative content for children growing up in a war.
Vladyslav Rudnitskyi (23) and Yuliia Petrenko (21) host the Ukrainian teen news program ' on TikTok. They're each experienced in media: before joining Suspilne, Vlad already worked as a journalist and blogger, and Yuliia as a video producer for UNICEF's projects.
Every week, they set out to find new and appealing topics and then produce creative videos for young audiences. But how exactly does this happen?
The Ukrainian YouTube format 'Ta Nevzhe?' is also aimed at young target groups Image: Suspilne Ukraine
'My first lifehack is making a cup of tea and wearing computer glasses to concentrate,' says Yuliia. Vlad focuses on making a connection to the audience: 'My advice is to try to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. What would you be interested in watching? Pay attention to what is popular among young people. Become their friend and they will listen to you, trust you and come back again!'
With that, check out this list of things that help zero in on young viewers and listeners:
1. Start with a bang
Young audiences in all countries have an increasingly short attention span, so you may have less than three seconds to capture their attention. Try to find the most important aspect of your story and place it at the beginning to get your message out before your viewers even think about scrolling.
2. Make it appealing
Kids are interested in the world around them but they may not be enthusiastic about classic news formats. So, make sure to present news in an interesting and youthful way. This means looking for hooks or curious insights that ensure your audience bears with you until the end. It also means using slang or memes and staying on top of current internet trends.
3. Form follows function
Try out alternative formats such as blitz polls, sketches, or vlogs and make sure your format fits the topic. But don't be afraid to think outside of the box: sometimes even the most complicated topics can be told in a funny and light-hearted way, and this might even help your audience understand and process difficult news. Providing a weekly news digest can moreover help your audience stay on track.
4. Get real close
Audiences of any age like to connect personally with media. To help them, you can offer practical tips, manuals and how-to-stories like 'How to use AI correctly' or 'How to distinguish fake information from true information'. But also focus on things that that your audience can try out or recreate in their own lives, e.g. go to the movies and take your audience with you, or share some personal recommendations for books or games.
5. Know your audience
Knowing your audience means doing your research but also meeting young people in the field, and trying to interact with them as much as possible. One way to do so is conducting interviews on the streets and collecting opinions. But also allow for comments and discussions with your stories and get into meaningful conversations with your viewers and listeners.
Another way to connect with audiences is visiting schools and offering workshops where you explain your work but also let young people try out journalism. Let them experiment in front and behind the camera. Visiting schools and youth centers is a great way to address topics such as Media and Information Literacy, Disinformation, cyber security and opportunities for working in journalism.
6. Get the parents on board
Depending on the age of your target group, you will need parental permission to broadcast content that shows their kids, for instance if you are doing interviews on the streets. To make this easier, you can record their consent via video on the spot. Offering background material for parents is also a good way to tell them how they can support their children in understanding news, especially when stories are sad or difficult to understand.
7. Do I know this face?
Vlad and Yuliia already had audiences before they started to produce kids' news so they had built trust in what they were reporting. Working with familiar faces establishes authenticity and you know well in advance that your audiences will connect with your hosts.
8. Know your platforms – or learn along the way
Beware of certain limitations when publishing on platforms other than your own website. Most social media platforms have rules and regulations that may censor or block certain content or graphic images even if it is published with the best (and educational) intentions. The only way to learn this is through experience, so don't be afraid of trial and error.
9. Be positive - the world out there is daunting enough
There is a lot of horrible and shocking news out there and children can be sensitive to this, especially when they already live in a country or region affected by conflict. You don't need to sugarcoat the news but try and find silver linings, giving your audience a break from terrifying and negative stories. Look for constructive solutions or inspiring people who try to fix things around them, including success stories of young people who are close to your audience.
10. Get experts involved
Are you working on a difficult topic and can't find the right language? Get in touch with a child psychologist and ask for advice. Or just take your camera and microphone along when doing background research while your audience is watching. This way you establish yourself as a reliable source, who doesn't avoid diving deeper and starting an investigative journey, and it shows young people that it is always okay to ask questions.
11. Meet your audience at eye level
Your audience is young, smart and curious and you can trust them to understand and process even complicated or scary information if presented in the right way. It is your job to find a language they understand and build a path to knowledge for them. Your chosen topic seems too big or complicated to explain in one go? Break it up into smaller bits and create a series.
Together with the Ukrainian public broadcaster (Suspilne) and the media organization Lviv Media Forum, DW Akademie is working on the project 'Strengthening Independent Media for a strong democratic Ukraine' (2024-2026), financed by the European Commission and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.
The project aims to sustainably increase the capacity of independent media, including Ukrainian public service broadcasting, to promote constructive and open dialogue among the Ukrainian population and to support the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting on its way to meeting EU standards.
DW Akademie provides comprehensive support to the Suspilne Kids News team in its professionalization and international networking. This is done through strategic consulting, mentoring, training and providing equipment, as well as through targeted exchange with German and European public broadcasters.
