Newspapers across the country have strong ties to a hard-to-reach market: primary, middle-school and high-school students. Over time, the partnership between newspapers and schools has become a practical way for teachers to supplement dated textbooks, to engage students in learning and to add a sense of reality to the classroom.

Newspapers today face a rapidly changing audience. One part of that audience, the NIE audience of young people, is changing even more rapidly than some of the older constituencies. A great deal of research has been done on young readers, and it is clear that they see the newspaper as a valuable, reliable and comprehensive source of information. However, the newspaper is not delivered in ways and at times that are attractive to them. Electronic editions (e-editions) of the newspaper are powerful tools for engaging these young, multitasking individuals in our products. The transition from a traditional NIE program to a digital NIE program, is a natural extension of the current partnership between newspapers and schools.

The young reader today is connected at all times and in all places. So it becomes vital for newspapers to reach this generation with quality information at the time and place and in the format of their choosing. It is critical to brand the newspaper, however it is delivered, as a reliable and available source of up-to-date information. Digital NIE programs are one way to introduce this young generation to the realities of the future newspaper. The delivery of a NIE program by electronic means may include an e-edition of the newspaper; downloadable teacher guides; interactive teacher training; access to extended services such as archives and digital libraries of other organizations; and more. Some newspapers are calling this “virtual NIE.”