FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE USE THE NEWS PRESIDENT DR. BETTY L. SULLIVAN ADDRESSES WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERSTHIRD INTERNATIONAL NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION CONFERENCE IN PARIS

(San Francisco, CA, September 9, 1999) Use The News President Betty L. Sullivan addressed the international conference of the World Association of Newspapers in Paris, France, on Monday, September 6, 1999. Dr. Sullivan spoke to newspaper industry leaders from around the world as part of the Third International Newspapers in Education Conference. The conference focused on the theme, "Reading for Life!" and Dr. Sullivan’s perspective reflects her leadership as founder of Use The News, one of America’s fastest-growing companies providing services to America’s Newspaper in Education (NIE) programs.

Dr. Sullivan’s topic, "Sex, Lies and Videotapes: NIE and the Tough Topics," is designed to address worldwide interest in how U.S. newspapers and Newspaper in Education programs have responded to difficult topics during 1998 and 1999. Dr. Sullivan examined headline stories, including recent school violence, the Clinton sex scandal, hate crimes and other controversial, high-impact news stories. She presented results of national research she has conducted among American and Canadian NIE professionals and reported on how these and other news stories were presented to teachers, students and their families.

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) is considered to be one of the most distinguished associations of media professionals in the world. It represents 15,000 publications on five continents; is composed of 57 newspaper publisher associations from 53 countries, individual newspaper executives in 90 nations, 17 national and international news agencies, a media foundation and seven affiliated regional press organizations.

"America is known for having more freedom of the press and expression than anywhere else in the world," said Dr. Sullivan. "As such, very controversial topics often make the front page of our newspapers — and the debate over what is appropriate for the reader, or what to do with the newspaper in schools, is a very charged topic. Whether it be the actions of the President of the United States, or hate speech and violence by individuals or members of radical groups, the questions raised at the intersection of journalism and education are extraordinarily timely and worthy of frank discussion."

Dr. Sullivan reported that "character education" has become a major topic among NIE organizations as they support a new kind of movement in American education. She also discussed ways in which the trend is being addressed by corporate sponsorship of materials.

Dr. Sullivan’s national research, which she shared with members of the conference, was developed at the urging of Dr. Aralynn McMane of the World Newspaper Association and with the help of Jim Abbott at the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, her colleague Dr. Sherrye Dee Garrett of Use The News and other key NIE leaders. She presented examples from local NIE programs in Colorado, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, the District of Columbia and Montreal, Canada.

WAN’s International NIE Conference, held every two years, examines the ways the newspaper industry creates educational partnerships with school systems. Through these NIE partnerships, programs are designed to enrich curriculum, to make textbooks more relevant for students at all grade levels and to help teach a variety of subjects — history, reading, social science, math, economics, composition, journalism and government, to name a few. In many countries, NIE programs can be found in prisons, senior citizen centers, institutions for the physically and mentally challenged, and in language classes for new residents from other countries. NIE programs also assist with literacy programs and can help to foster an active and informed citizenry, necessary for the functioning of a democratic society.

As evidence of its interest and leadership in the global exchange of ideas, WAN set up a permanent Newspapers in Education Committee in April 1991. Among its goals is to see how ideas can be applied to different countries and cultures.

Use The News is one of the nation’s fastest-growing educational services companies. It publishes a variety of distinguished educational resources for middle and secondary school curricula, most recently, "Here Comes the Millennium."

Use The News products are imaginative, colorful and designed to build a long-lasting student awareness of newspapers. Notable publications include: "Character Matters: Using Newspapers to Teach Character," a resource for elementary, middle and high school teachers and parents, provides classroom strategies and activities to teach eight values: respect, responsibility, caring, honesty, tolerance, courage, citizenship and justice; "Y2K Youth Education Program: Y2K and YOU," produced with the President’s Council on Year 2000 Conversion, is designed to help teachers educate students on the Y2K computer problem; "Reach for the Rings: Focus on Respect," produced with the United States Olympic Committee, examines concepts and values such as respect for self and others and citizenship through sportsmanship; "Newspapers and the ’Net," in which students compare the news reporting of their local papers with on-line coverage in the United States and around the globe; and "Welcome to the Newspaper," which introduces students to the essential aspects of producing a newspaper. It discusses major topics such as "What is newsworthy?" and the importance of features, sports and opinion pages.

Use The News Foundation was established in 1998 to serve as a nonprofit fiscal sponsor to Newspaper in Education programs nationwide. It provides technical assistance on strategies, grant proposal development, identification of partners and project verification and evaluation.

To read a full text of Dr. Sullivan’s speech, or for further information about Use The News, visit the Web site at: www.usethenews.com, call (415) 861-1637 or e-mail bettysnie@aol.com.