Community Newspapers – Hear Them Roar

Four youth-oriented groups collaborated on a just-released report about youth ages 13-24 and where they’re getting their health information. The answer : more than half of it comes from the Web, and many head to WebMD for the answers. The most-sought answers are about sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) including AIDS, and drug and alcohol abuse.  So, what does this suggest to community newspapers?

What it should suggest is that the way to create an audience of 13-24 year olds is to answer their  health-related questions – but in a non-threatening and anonymous environment.  It should have social /conversationial aspects but also offer access to professionals who can respond to questions.  You might also include one or two guest columns that run on a regular basis, and two- way links with important youth-focused sites.  Monetize with agency sponsorships, and advertising.  And I would think that collaboration with YPulse or ISIS would be a smart move as well.

Here’s MarketWire’s summation of the report.