MINI PAGE MILESTONE: THE MINI PAGE MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY

KANSAS CITY -- Three decades ago, an elementary school teacher in Raleigh, N.C. was looking for materials to use to teach her students about Thanksgiving.

"As I looked, I found myself wondering why the newspaper didn't have a special section just for children where kids could read bite-sized bits of information of special interest to them," said Betty Debnam, an educator with 11 years of classroom experience,

Debnam, who also came from a family with deep roots in journalism -- both her father and grandparents were journalists, and Debnam had fond memories of accompanying her grandmother when she went out on stories -- came up with an idea for getting children to read newspapers and learn at the same time.

Her idea: Why not create a section of the newspaper with information just for kids?

"From the time I was a child, I had always found newspapers so exciting and stimulating," Debnam says. "I knew that if newspapers offered children information specially geared to their interests, younger readers would discover how fun reading the newspaper can be."

From that initial inspiration, Debnam created The Mini Page, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this summer. Considered one of the first newspaper news pages targeted specifically to children, The Mini Page has become one of the most popular children's newspaper features in the world. It is syndicated in approximately 500 newspapers, has become a staple of Newspaper in Education (NIE) programs, and has become a popular teaching tool in literacy programs and classes in English as a foreign language.

Several area teachers use The Mini Page as part of their classroom tools.

Second graders at Washington Elementary School get some current events lessons when they read The Mini Page. "It's kind of neat because they have their own newspaper," said Kathy Miller, who uses The Mini Page each week in her classroom.

The students love the puzzles and activities in The Mini Page and any articles about teen-age celebrities, she said. "It's a fun Friday activity. We read it and talk about it."

Since The Mini Page helps explain current events or important historical events and people, it is a great classroom tool. Even though teachers use a specific curriculum, it is always good to have the update, Miller said.

The weekly feature, found each Tuesday in the Southeast Missourian, has provided millions of children with their first introduction to newspapers and has grown to include a successful line of educational books, posters, a Web site, and other tools for teachers and NIE coordinators.

The Mini Page debuted in the Raleigh News & Observer on Aug. 31, 1969. Although the newspaper's editor initially had rejected the feature, then advertising director Dave Jones told Debnam he'd give it a trial run.

"Betty was charming and The Mini Page a great idea," Jones says. "But my job was to sell advertising, so I said, 'If you can sell 12 ads in it, I'll print it.' She went out and sold 12 ads."

The feature was an immediate hit with children and teachers, and within a few years The Mini Page was in more than 200 newspapers. Universal Press Syndicate began syndicating the feature in 1977.

An award-winning journalist herself, Debnam initially produced the feature single-handedly -- researching and writing the stories, selling the local ads, laying out the feature and doing all the illustrations. Today she is assisted by a full-time staff, as well as an editor and production artist at Universal who help put the feature in final form.

Since its first issue, The Mini Page has distinguished itself through solid research and access to excellent sources. Just a few years ago, The White House Historical Association asked Debnam to write "A Kids' Guide to the White House," which was published in 1997 by Andrews McMeel Publishing. To assist Debnam in producing the book, the White House curator showed her parts of the White House not seen by the general public. She also was given special access to historical documents and photos that were part of the White House collection.

Debnam and The Mini Page staff also have worked closely with staff from the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress and many other institutions in developing stories for the feature.

This year, Debnam has received some of the most prestigious awards of her career.

In April, Debnam was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame, joining such journalistic luminaries as Charlie Rose, Tom Wicker and the late Charles Kuralt.

In May, Debnam received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Newspaper Association of America Foundation (NAA). She also was named the first permanent member of the NAA Foundation's NIE Hall of Fame.

In announcing Debnam's Lifetime Achievement Award, NAA Foundation Senior Vice President Toni Laws stated: "Betty's work over the past 30 years has produced an entire generation of newspaper readers, and we know that many of today's Mini Page readers are being encouraged by parents who were Mini Page readers themselves. She is truly a leader in developing the youth market for newspapers."

Debnam says she knew there was a need for The Mini Page but admits she is still a bit astounded by the degree of the publication's success. "When Dave Jones agreed to give The Mini Page a trial run, neither of us had any idea it would someday be in 500 newspapers," she says. "I think the reason we've been so successful is that we've always stayed true to our original mission of providing solid educational information in a way that is fun and interesting to children."

But perhaps the last word should belong to one of the many NIE coordinators who promote the use of The Mini Page in the classroom.

NIE Services Director Kay Haffey of The Pottsville (Pa.) Republican said: "When Betty Debnam started The Mini Page 30 years ago, newspapers were only for adults. Debnam saw their importance to youngsters. When The Mini Page began, there were fewer than a dozen newspapers working with schools. Now there are more than 750. Debnam was in the vanguard of a movement that benefits millions of youngsters annually."