''Kidz Magazine'' (1995–2007) was a Boulder County-based publication launched in 1995 by entrepreneur and father of six, Scott Smith.Brokaw, Annie. "For Kids, By Kids." The Daily Camera. April 8. 2006: C01 Smith developed the idea for the magazine with Glenn Meyers, another father and Spanish instructor at the

University of Colorado-Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

, as they stood outside their children's school discussing ways to further inspire kids towards reading and writing.Taylor, Barbara. "A New Kidz Magazine Pays Budding Writers." The Daily Camera. October 14. 1996: A1 Their belief was that kids would be more interested in reading things that were written by their

peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh internationa ...

than content created for them by adults. They also believed that children would be more inspired to write if they knew that an audience of their peers would end up reading the material. "I thought they might enjoy what each other wrote better, and indeed they do," said Smith.

Content

''Kidz Magazine'' collected submissions from school children in the form of poems,

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are differe ...

s, drawings,

invention An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...

ideas, and

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with dialogue, ...

s. Those authors and artists who were published in the magazine were paid $25 for puzzles and jokes, $50 for various forms of art and writing, and $100 to both the child and their school for

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...

. In addition, published contributors received a

certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial p ...

of accomplishment. But recently from the start of 2011 they started giving KidzPoints instead.

Circulation

At the height of its existence, ''Kidz Magazine'' received an average of 1,000 submissions each month, and was distributed in 32 countries with a circulation of 578,009.

''Kidz Magazine's'' International Reach

Discontinued Publication

Smith funded the publication by collecting investment and selling ad space in the magazine to classroom-friendly sponsors. As the company grew rapidly from a local publication into an international media channel, however, the local sales staff was unable to keep up. In turn, ''Kidz Magazine'' decided to postpone publication in December 2007 while the corporation was

restructured Restructuring or Reframing is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs. ...

to handle its

success Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person mi ...

Acquisition and Relaunch (Youth Intermedia and KidzEra)

In 2009, ''Kidz Magazine'' was purchased by Youth Intermedia, which plans to relaunch the magazine in September 2009 under the name ''"KidzEra"'' as part of a multimedia platform that will extend kids' ability to share their work with peers around the world."Scott Smith, Youth Intermedia." LA Talk Radio Show. http://answers4thefamily.com/blog/?p=292. June 1. 2009 They have changed the magazine completely. Now it is much harder to get published, you no longer get money, and you don't get a certificate of publication as publishers used to.

References

External links

The Kidz Magazine Site

Youth Intermedia's corporate site

The KidzEra Site

Audit Bureau of Circulations
1995 establishments in Colorado 2007 disestablishments in Colorado Defunct children's magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1995 Magazines disestablished in 2007 Magazines published in Colorado Mass media in Boulder, Colorado {{italic title