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Weekly Reader
Cover of the November 7–11, 1955, issue
CategoriesClassroom magazine
FrequencyWeekly
Founded1928
Final issue2012
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
WebsiteWeeklyreader.com

Weekly Reader was a weekly educational classroom magazine designed for children. It began in 1928 as My Weekly Reader. Editions covered curriculum themes in the younger grade levels and news-based, current events and curriculum themed-issues in older grade levels. The publishing company also created workbooks, literacy centers, and picture books for younger grades.

In 2012, Weekly Reader ceased operations as an independent publication and merged with its new owner, Scholastic News, due primarily to market pressures to create digital editions as well as decreasing school budgets.[1][2]

History

[edit]

Formerly My Weekly Reader, the Weekly Reader was a weekly newspaper for elementary school children. It was first published by the American Education Press of Columbus, Ohio, which had been founded in 1902 by Charles Palmer Davis to publish Current Events, a paper for secondary school children.[3] The first issue appeared on September 21, 1928.[4]

The first editor was Martha Fulton, who had been hired that summer by Preston Davis, the major owner of the Press, and Harrison Sayre, who became managing editor. Sayre, also the editor of World News, a paper for high school students, had been urged to start a paper for grade schools by teachers he had met in June 1928, while on a sales trip in Indiana. Martha Fulton, who was a friend of Sayre's wife, Mary, and a graduate of Wells College, enjoyed travel and adventure. During World War I, she had been an American Red Cross worker in France. She also had "a remarkable rapport with children and had lively interests in every direction."[4] The lead article was about the boyhoods of Herbert Hoover and Al Smith. There were two shorter articles: "Wings for Safety", about street crossing guards; and, "Sky Medicine", which was about the healthful qualities of the Sun. The most popular was a letter from "Uncle Ben" about a ride in a German glider on Cape Cod.[5] Fulton wrote all these articles. Her sister Peg was the first artist, though soon replaced by her friend Mary Sherwood Wright.[6] Beginning with the third issue, Eleanor Johnson, director of elementary schools in York, Pennsylvania, designed tests for the back page.[7][8]

My Weekly Reader was an instant success. By December, circulation was 99,000. In 1929, a second edition was started for younger children, and their combined circulation was 376,000. By 1931, there were four editions, with a combined circulation of 1,099,000.[9]

The keys to its early success were the timely news articles that had a children's angle, and the Uncle Ben letters describing new inventions and discoveries that excited children's imaginations. For example, the second issue's lead article, "A Village Moves to the South Pole", was about Admiral Byrd's 75-man expedition, their sled dogs, and Paul Siple, a Boy Scout who was with them. Uncle Ben wrote about planned "Seadromes", floating airports that airplanes could use to hop across the Atlantic. The third issue, published on October 5, 1928, began with "How Mother Nature Prepares for Winter". Uncle Ben described seeing his "first radio television set", even though the paper itself had yet to print even a photograph—illustrations for the Reader having only been drawings to date. On October 12, he wrote about Zeppelins, and the first Reader photographs appeared. They depicted "Mr. and Mrs. Hoover" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Grandchildren".

Harrison Sayre, who became president of the American Education Press while remaining managing editor of My Weekly Reader, gave Martha Fulton the major credit for the newspaper's popularity. In his memoirs, Sayre quoted Gertrude Wolff, another editor who shared an office with Fulton: "As I had had some editorial experience, she at times sought my advice on minor details, but the conception and execution of those first issues were hers alone. With her imagination, enthusiasm, intuitive understanding of a child's world, she sensed what would appeal to her young readers. Her very personal stamp on the new publication distinguished the succeeding issues during her years as editor."[10]

As the new editions for upper and lower grades were added, Fulton remained the principal writer, even after her marriage in 1930 (to Clarence L. Sager, a New York City lawyer) and her moves to New York City and Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Sayre remembered that Fulton wrote for the papers for twelve years, adding that "men of the composing room...testify that with her square, legible, longhand copy, she never missed a deadline".[11]

Other people who were important to the newspaper's early years were Laura E. Zirbes, a reading expert at the Ohio State University laboratory school, and Dr. Charles H. Judd of the University of Chicago, who introduced Sayre to Dr. William S. Gray, who in turn supplied Fulton with graded vocabulary lists.[11] In 1930, Eleanor Johnson moved from York to Lakewood, Ohio, where she was assistant superintendent of schools until 1934, when she moved to Columbus and later became a managing editor.[12]

In 1934, a fifth edition was added for the fifth and sixth grades. The price was twenty cents per semester. Circulation continued to rise, passing two million in 1942. Many people still fondly remember the papers they read as children and how they looked forward to Friday afternoons when their teachers handed out the latest issue.

In 1949, the American Education Press was sold to Wesleyan University and became American Education Publications, a division of the Wesleyan University Press. Editorial offices were moved to Middletown, Connecticut, but printing continued to be done in Columbus, Ohio. There were then six editions, one for each elementary grade, with a total circulation of 4,269,000. Total circulation of AEP papers was 5,605,000. In 1965, Wesleyan sold American Education Publications to the Xerox Corporation to form Xerox Education Press. By then, there was also a kindergarten edition. Eleanor Johnson was editor-in-chief of all editions.[12] A pre-kindergarten edition was added in 1980. There were also curriculum-specific magazines for middle and high school students, including areas such as health, science, careers, reading, and writing.

In 1988, Xerox sold the company to the Field Corporation headed by Marshall Field V, heir to the Marshall Field's department store fortune to form Field Publications, which in turn became Newfield Publications after being sold to K-III Communications, a holding company owned by KKR.

Weekly Reader Publishing, which began with the publication of the first Current Events on May 20, 1902, celebrated its 100th birthday in 2002.

At various times through its publishing history, the magazine was known as My Weekly Reader or Weekly Reader.

In 2007, Weekly Reader Corporation became part of The Reader's Digest Association, based in Chappaqua, New York. Weekly Reader's main office was relocated from Stamford, Connecticut, to Chappaqua at the end of May 2007. Financial difficulties marred the publication during its time under Reader's Digest ownership; the magazine made efforts to launch an online presence for the magazine but were unable to secure the funds from the parent organization to do so, a factor in the magazine's decline.[1]

In February 2012, Weekly Reader was acquired by Scholastic,[13] which operated the competing Scholastic News. Scholastic announced that it would be shutting down Weekly Reader publication and moving some of its staff to Scholastic News.[1] Following the completion of the merger, the merged magazines are:[14]

  • Let’s Find Out / Weekly Reader Pre-K
  • Let’s Find Out / Weekly Reader K
  • Scholastic News / Weekly Reader Edition 1
  • Scholastic News / Weekly Reader Edition 2
  • Scholastic News / Weekly Reader Edition 3
  • Scholastic News / Weekly Reader Edition 4
  • Scholastic News / Weekly Reader Edition 5/6

Polls

[edit]

One of the best-known events in the magazine's history is its quadrennial "Weekly Reader Student Presidential Election Poll". The poll is an educational exercise in which Weekly Reader-subscribing teachers conduct mock elections to find their students' preference for president. Teachers tabulate the results, then send them to Weekly Reader. (Since 2000, the surveys have been developed with, and tabulated by, the Zogby International polling organization.) This survey of students in grades K through 12 began in 1956, when readers chose Dwight Eisenhower over Adlai Stevenson.

The poll was conducted 14 times, the last being in 2008 and the students had voted for the candidate who became president a remarkable 13 out of 14 times.[15] The one exception was in 1992, when George H. W. Bush garnered more votes than Bill Clinton.[16] Notably, third-party candidate Ross Perot, whose presence on the national ballot was important during the actual election, was not on the Weekly Reader ballot that year.

Read

[edit]

In 2005, Weekly Reader Publishing's literary magazine, Read, launched Word, a blog that features student writing and other literary news. It also offers interactive opportunities for reading and writing, including its "What's Your Story?" program, which features "The Weekly Writer", where students can help authors such as Stephen King and R. L. Stine finish an original story. Read magazine has pioneered "electronic issues" around literary themes, including Canterbury Tales, William Shakespeare, and Edgar Allan Poe; these interactive websites incorporate video and film, music and sound effects, rap renditions and flash animation. In the 2009–2010 school year, the company extended these "e-issues" to four other Weekly Reader publications, including Weekly Reader editions 3 and Senior (4-6 grades), Current Events and Current Science magazines.

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Weekly Reader

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
![My Weekly Reader, November 7-11, 1955][float-right] Weekly Reader was a weekly educational targeted at elementary children, offering simplified news stories, exercises, and curriculum-aligned content to foster and awareness of current events. Launched in 1928 as My Weekly Reader by the American Education Press in —a company established in 1902 by Charles Palmer Davis initially to publish the adult-oriented Current Events periodical—the quickly became a staple in American classrooms, reaching millions of students across grade-specific editions. By the mid-20th century, it had expanded to cover topics from national politics to scientific discoveries, with empirical studies later demonstrating its positive effect on children's knowledge of contemporary issues, particularly in lower elementary grades. Among its notable features was the quadrennial Weekly Reader National News Survey, a student poll on presidential elections that often foreshadowed broader voting trends, underscoring its cultural influence on young readers. The publication endured ownership changes, including acquisition by Reader's Digest Association and later Scholastic in 2012, at which point it was discontinued as a standalone title and integrated into Scholastic's offerings after over eight decades of operation.

History

Founding and Early Development (1928–1940s)

The My Weekly Reader was founded in 1928 by educator Eleanor M. Johnson, who sought to provide elementary school children with accessible current events and educational content to supplement classroom instruction. As director of elementary education in , Johnson conceived the idea of a simple newsweekly tailored for young readers, emphasizing factual reporting over fairy tales to foster reading skills and awareness of real-world issues. The first issue, published on September 21, 1928, by American Education Press in , targeted fourth graders and featured a lead story on the childhoods of 1928 presidential candidates and under the headline “Two Poor Boys Who Made Good Are Now Running for the Highest Office in the World!” Harrison Sayre, a salesman for the press, proposed the distribution model to publisher William C. Hattery, while children's author Martha Fulton served as initial editor before Johnson joined as a freelancer in 1928 and became full-time editor in 1934. The publication quickly gained traction, achieving a circulation of 100,000 copies in its debut year through subscriptions sold to schools, with content including captioned photographs, cartoons, puzzles, and short articles linked to ongoing events. In the 1930s, My Weekly Reader expanded by introducing grade-specific editions, reaching first through sixth graders by decade's end, alongside features such as a column with "Uncle Ben" travel letters to enhance curricular ties. Johnson, as editor-in-chief, guided content to reflect economic challenges like the while maintaining an age-appropriate focus on facts and comprehension activities. During the , the periodical adapted to by covering global conflicts in simplified terms suitable for children, sustaining its role as a weekly resource amid wartime paper shortages and heightened demand for educational materials. Circulation continued to grow, solidifying its position as a staple in American elementary .

Expansion and Maturity (1950s–1980s)

In the post-World War II era, My Weekly Reader—the primary publication under the Weekly Reader banner—benefited from the and expanding elementary school enrollment, driving substantial growth in readership. Circulation, which stood at around 100,000 in its early years, surged amid increased demand for materials that simplified current events for young students. By the late , the publication had established editions tailored to specific grade levels, reflecting maturation in its educational approach. By 1959, Weekly Reader offered dedicated editions for through , enabling age-appropriate content on topics ranging from national news to science developments like the emerging . This expansion coincided with ownership transition in 1949, when American Education Press was acquired by and reorganized as American Education Publications, a division focused on educational periodicals. The structured grade-specific format supported teachers in integrating timely articles with , fostering and civic awareness among millions of students. Circulation peaked at 13 million copies weekly during the late and early , distributed across seven grade-specific editions to over 50,000 schools, underscoring its dominance in elementary education. Content evolved to cover pivotal events such as the Apollo missions and civil rights advancements, with simplified reporting and comprehension questions enhancing engagement. In the and , efforts intensified to diversify illustrations and stories, incorporating more inclusive representations while maintaining a focus on factual news and activities. Graphics modernized in the for a contemporary aesthetic, adapting to preferences. A edition launched in 1980 further broadened accessibility.

Decline and Final Years (1990s–2012)

During the and early , Weekly Reader encountered mounting pressures from evolving educational policies and fiscal constraints in schools. The enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 intensified these challenges by prioritizing standardized testing in core subjects like reading and math, thereby diminishing allocated time and budgets for supplementary materials such as current events periodicals. School budget cutbacks further eroded subscriptions, as districts sought to trim non-essential expenditures amid broader economic shifts. Compounding these issues was a period of ownership instability beginning in the late 1990s. After decades under relatively stable management, the publication cycled through multiple owners, including Primedia and the Reader's Digest Association, which limited investments in adaptation to digital formats and content innovation. The Reader's Digest Association filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009, prompting the sale of Weekly Reader to Scholastic Corporation in February 2012 for an undisclosed sum estimated between $10 million and $20 million. This transaction, involving a direct competitor, left the brand with constrained resources to compete in a print media landscape disrupted by internet access and digital alternatives. In July 2012, Scholastic announced the cessation of Weekly Reader as an independent publication after 84 years, folding its content and operations into its own Scholastic News line while retaining only five staff members from the prior team. This merger effectively ended standalone print issues, reflecting broader industry trends where traditional classroom magazines struggled against free online resources and reduced demand for physical periodicals. Former president Neal Goff attributed the closure partly to Scholastic's acquisition strategy, which prioritized consolidation over sustaining the rival brand.

Content and Features

Grade-Specific Editions and Format

Weekly Reader offered grade-specific editions to align content with students' reading abilities and curricular needs, spanning from through high school levels. In its early years, under the name My Weekly Reader, separate versions were developed for grades 1 through 6 by the end of , each tailored with vocabulary, sentence complexity, and topics suitable for the respective age group. These editions were numbered accordingly—Edition 1 for first graders, Edition 2 for second graders, and so on up to Edition 6—featuring curriculum-aligned themes such as basic and for younger readers, progressing to more advanced current events coverage in higher elementary grades. For middle and high school, specialized magazines like WR News targeted grades 3–6 with news-focused content, while older students received issues emphasizing analytical articles on global affairs. The publication format resembled a compact newspaper or , issued weekly during the school year, typically comprising 4 to 8 pages with short articles, illustrations, photographs, and interactive elements like quizzes or discussion prompts to facilitate group reading and classroom discourse. This tabloid-style layout, printed on newsprint for affordability and ease of distribution, prioritized accessibility and engagement, allowing teachers to integrate issues directly into lesson plans without requiring advanced skills.

Core Educational Elements: News, Articles, and Activities

The core educational elements of Weekly Reader centered on delivering accessible , informative articles, and engaging activities tailored to elementary students' reading levels. content consisted of simplified summaries of current events, drawn from national newspapers and wire services, to familiarize children with real-world developments in , , and society without overwhelming complexity. For instance, issues often highlighted major happenings like elections or scientific breakthroughs, presented in short, illustrated paragraphs to promote awareness and discussion in classrooms. Articles formed the backbone of instructional material, covering curriculum-aligned topics such as , , safety, and language arts through nonfiction narratives that built and . These pieces emphasized factual reporting with photographs, diagrams, and captions to enhance comprehension, often integrating themes like historical events or to align with school standards. articles, for example, explained phenomena like patterns or animal behaviors with straightforward explanations and visuals, fostering curiosity and foundational understanding. Activities encouraged through puzzles, cartoons, , and comprehension questions embedded within or accompanying the readings. Puzzles such as crosswords or matching exercises reinforced and concepts from the news and articles, while cartoons provided humorous yet educational commentary on topics like civic responsibility. These elements promoted and retention, with teachers using them for group discussions or to extend engagement.

Reader Polls and Engagement Mechanisms

The Weekly Reader engaged its young readership through structured polls and surveys that encouraged active participation in current events and civic education. These mechanisms, distributed via classroom editions, prompted students to vote on topics ranging from political candidates to social issues, with results aggregated nationally and published in subsequent issues to foster discussion and awareness. A flagship feature was the Presidential Election Poll, launched in 1956 for the Eisenhower-Stevenson contest and conducted quadrennially through grades one to twelve. Students cast ballots in mock elections mirroring national races, with tallies reflecting preferences that often aligned closely with parental views, providing an indirect gauge of broader electorate sentiment. The poll demonstrated notable predictive accuracy, correctly identifying the winner in every U.S. presidential election from 1956 to 2008, outperforming some professional surveys in consistency. For instance, in the 1980 election, Weekly Reader students favored Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter by a margin that anticipated the adult outcome, as noted by editor Terry Borton, who highlighted the polls' practical reliability over certain adult forecasts. This track record, spanning over a dozen cycles without error until the publication's 2012 cessation, stemmed from high participation rates—reaching millions of students annually—and the polls' focus on straightforward candidate preferences without complex issue weighting. Beyond elections, Weekly Reader polls addressed diverse subjects to stimulate reader input and . Surveys queried opinions on national challenges, such as perceptions of U.S. problem-solving capacity, revealing divergences between youth and adult views; for example, a collaboration with IBOPE Zogby International found students more optimistic about governmental efficacy than polled adults. These initiatives, often accompanied by explanatory articles, integrated polling as an educational tool, with teachers facilitating votes and result analyses to reinforce concepts like and data interpretation. Participation was voluntary yet widespread, leveraging the publication's distribution to over 80% of U.S. elementary classrooms at peak, thereby embedding engagement within routine reading activities. The polls' design emphasized simplicity and anonymity to maximize honest responses from children, whose selections were influenced by family discussions rather than media spin, contributing to their reputed reliability. While not scientific in adult polling terms, they served primarily as pedagogical devices, prompting letters and debates in follow-up editions that extended reader interaction. This approach cultivated lifelong habits of civic involvement, as evidenced by anecdotal recollections of participants crediting early polls for sparking interest in voting.

Ownership and Operations

American Education Press Era

The American Education Press (AEP), established in 1902 by Charles Palmer Davis in , to publish Current Events for high school students, launched My Weekly Reader in September 1928 as its first publication aimed at elementary school children. Harrison M. Sayre, an AEP salesman, proposed the concept of a simplified weekly to engage young readers with current events, securing funding from company owner Preston Davis to initiate production. The inaugural issue achieved an initial circulation of 100,000 copies, distributed primarily to classrooms for teacher-led discussions on simplified news stories, basic , and reading comprehension exercises. Under AEP's operations, My Weekly Reader expanded rapidly during , introducing grade-specific editions for students from first through by the decade's end to align content with developmental reading levels and needs. The publication was printed and managed from AEP's facilities in Columbus, including an eight-story building adjacent to starting in , which housed editorial, printing, and distribution functions tailored to weekly school delivery cycles. Circulation growth reflected increasing adoption by public schools amid rising emphasis on and current events , though exact figures for remain limited; by the early , the title had established itself as a staple in American elementary classrooms. Sayre assumed the role of president of AEP in 1940 while retaining oversight as of My Weekly Reader, guiding content to emphasize factual reporting on national and international news adapted for children, such as World War II developments, without overt editorializing. Operations focused on cost-effective newsprint production and direct sales to educators, fostering a model of integration that prioritized empirical engagement over entertainment. This period ended in 1949 when AEP was acquired by , transitioning the publisher to American Education Publications as a division of the .

Corporate Changes and Challenges

In 1999, , a New York-based , acquired Weekly Reader Corporation along with its supplemental educational materials division for an undisclosed amount, marking a shift from its earlier independent publishing structure. This ownership change introduced a focus on financial restructuring, but development stalled amid broader industry pressures. In 2007, Ripplewood merged Weekly Reader with Association (RDA), integrating it into a larger that faced mounting operational difficulties. The merger exacerbated challenges for Weekly Reader, as RDA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2009, citing over $1 billion in debt and declining revenues from print media. Post-bankruptcy, Weekly Reader received minimal investment, leading to plummeting circulation—reportedly dropping significantly by 2012—and an inability to adapt to digital formats or compete with online educational resources. School budget cutbacks further compounded these issues, reducing demand for classroom subscriptions amid a shift toward cost-saving digital alternatives. Ownership instability peaked in February 2012 when purchased Weekly Reader from RDA for an estimated $10–20 million, aiming to consolidate its position in elementary education publishing. However, Scholastic announced in July 2012 that it would discontinue Weekly Reader as an independent title, folding its content into Scholastic News editions due to overlapping markets and insufficient viability for separate operations. This closure ended over a century of standalone print issues, reflecting broader challenges in the educational publishing sector, including competition from free online news and reduced print circulation.

Impact and Reception

Educational Achievements and Literacy Contributions

The Weekly Reader significantly contributed to elementary education by distributing age-appropriate, classroom-focused periodicals that encouraged regular reading and exposure to current events, , and among millions of American students. At its peak in the late and early , the publication achieved a circulation of 13 million copies, reaching approximately two-thirds of all elementary school students nationwide. This widespread dissemination positioned it as a staple in U.S. classrooms for over eight decades, from to , fostering foundational skills through short, illustrated articles tailored to grade levels. Empirical evidence supports its educational value, particularly in enhancing via reading. A study published in Evaluation Review analyzed the impact on lower elementary students (grades 2 and 3) and found that classrooms with the Weekly Reader present exhibited higher levels of current events knowledge compared to those without, as measured by standardized assessments. This outcome underscores the periodical's role in promoting comprehension and retention through consistent, engaging content, indirectly bolstering by incentivizing weekly reading routines integrated into curricula. Beyond direct knowledge gains, the Weekly Reader's format—featuring polls, activities, and vocabulary-building elements—supported broader development by making informational reading accessible and interactive. Its grade-specific editions ensured materials matched developmental reading levels, aiding skill progression from basic in pre-K to analytical reading in upper grades. While comprehensive longitudinal studies on metrics like reading proficiency scores are limited, the publication's endurance and high adoption rates reflect teacher endorsements of its efficacy in cultivating reading habits and civic awareness. By 2002, it still maintained about 7 million subscribers, demonstrating sustained relevance in instruction despite evolving media landscapes.

Cultural Role and Long-Term Influence

The Weekly Reader served as a cornerstone of American elementary classroom culture from its inception in until its print discontinuation in 2012, functioning as a ritualistic Friday distribution that introduced children to age-appropriate summaries of current events, thereby embedding journalistic literacy into routine schooling. With editions tailored by grade level, it facilitated teacher-led discussions on topics ranging from presidential elections to global happenings, such as the 1928 U.S. campaign in its debut issue on September 21, , promoting early civic awareness and without reliance on or home media access. Empirical evidence supports its efficacy in this domain: a study of grades 2 and 3 students found that access to the periodical correlated with significantly higher knowledge of contemporary events compared to non-subscribing classrooms, attributing this to its structured, illustrated format that enhanced retention and engagement. Over its 84-year print run, the magazine's influence permeated generations, achieving peak circulation of 13 million copies weekly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which estimates suggest exposed approximately two-thirds of American adults to its content during their school years. This broad reach fostered a collective , evidenced by persistent among who recall it as a pre-digital gateway to worldly curiosity and independent reading habits, distinct from textbooks or entertainment media. Its coverage of pivotal events—from to —helped normalize news consumption for young audiences, potentially contributing to lifelong patterns of informed citizenship, though long-term longitudinal data on individual outcomes remains anecdotal rather than rigorously tracked. Post-2012, following its merger into Scholastic News and shift toward digital formats, the Weekly Reader's legacy endures in educational paradigms emphasizing periodical-based learning, with analogs in modern classroom tools that prioritize accessible, timely content to combat declining recreational reading rates among youth. Its model influenced subsequent publications by demonstrating the value of serialization for building comprehension skills, as reflected in ongoing for similar integrations in curricula to bridge informational gaps in an era of fragmented media. While direct causal links to broader societal literacy trends are unproven, its historical ubiquity underscores a pre-internet benchmark for scalable, classroom-centric information dissemination.

Criticisms and Controversies

Allegations of Bias and Narrow Perspectives

Critics have alleged that Weekly Reader maintained a narrow perspective by prioritizing a sanitized, patriotic framing of American history and current events, often at the expense of broader global or social complexities. Coverage of , for instance, emphasized positive outcomes such as wartime inventions (e.g., non-spoiling butter and unbreakable dishes) and the resourcefulness of "thousands of brave American boys," while largely omitting hardships or international viewpoints. The publication's approach extended to minimal or absent treatment of contentious issues, including scant references to the , complete avoidance of the , and negligible coverage of the , which some observers attributed to a policy of steering clear of controversy to suit elementary audiences. This selective focus was said to limit exposure to diverse historical narratives, fostering an insular understanding of societal change. Allegations of substantive surfaced in specific instances, such as a October 14, 1994, article in the fifth-grade edition titled "Do Cigarettes Have a Future?," which explored smokers' rights and the adverse effects of taxes and bans on companies, prompting activists to decry it as slanted toward industry interests amid growing anti-smoking campaigns. A subsequent in the critiqued the magazine's overall reporting as disproportionately favorable to the industry, linking it to influences under K-III Communications. During the Cold War, My Weekly Reader faced claims of ethical lapses in its current events sections, where depictions of communist regimes and adversaries were accused of exhibiting prejudice through uncritical, alarmist portrayals that prioritized anti-communist sentiment over balanced journalism. Such criticisms underscored broader concerns that the magazine's editorial choices reflected institutional preferences for and national exceptionalism rather than comprehensive inquiry.

Credibility and Business Practice Issues

In the mid-1990s, My Weekly Reader drew scrutiny for advertising practices that critics argued eroded its as an unbiased educational resource. A study by researchers examining issues from 1989 to 1994 found that 68% of smoking-related articles aligned with perspectives, compared to only 38% promoting anti-smoking messages. This coverage shifted notably after the 1991 acquisition by K-III Holdings, with anti-smoking articles dropping from 62% pre-acquisition to 34% afterward, raising questions about influenced by ownership ties to commercial interests, including indirect links to . Exemplifying these concerns, the cartoon mascot—developed by and widely criticized for its appeal to children—appeared in eight issues during the study period, blurring lines between promotional content and journalism in a publication reaching millions of elementary students. Broader analyses, such as one in Phi Delta Kappan, noted Weekly Reader's lower emphasis on tobacco risks (38% of stories framing smoking negatively) relative to competitors like Scholastic News (79%), including a 1994 issue that downplayed health dangers. Consumer advocacy reports highlighted how such ads exploited schools as a "captive " for , with Weekly Reader executives acknowledging the ethical tension but defending selective ad acceptance to sustain operations. These practices fueled debates over in , where revenue dependencies potentially prioritized advertiser-friendly narratives over rigorous, child-focused reporting, though no formal regulatory actions ensued.

Legacy

Post-2012 Developments

In February 2012, acquired Weekly Reader Publishing Company, which had faced financial difficulties following its 2007 merger with Association and subsequent corporate restructurings. On July 23, 2012, Scholastic announced the cessation of Weekly Reader as an independent print publication after 84 years, citing declining subscriptions amid the rise of digital educational resources and intensified competition in classroom media. The content was integrated into Scholastic News, with only five of Weekly Reader's editorial staff retained to support the merged product line. This merger marked the end of Weekly Reader's standalone operations, reflecting broader industry trends where print-based educational periodicals struggled against free online news and interactive digital tools adopted by schools. Scholastic shifted focus to hybrid print-digital formats under brands like Scholastic News and Let's Find Out, which incorporate current events coverage similar to Weekly Reader's model but emphasize standards-aligned digital supplements. No independent revival of the Weekly Reader brand has occurred as of 2025, though archival issues remain accessible through educational nostalgia collections and secondhand markets.

Nostalgia and Ongoing Relevance

Former students frequently express for Weekly Reader, recalling it as a cherished element of elementary routines that fostered early engagement with reading and current events. Generations who encountered the in classrooms from the mid-20th century through the early often describe the anticipation of receiving weekly issues, which provided accessible news summaries alongside educational content tailored to young audiences. This sentiment appears in online communities and personal anecdotes, where individuals highlight its role in sparking lifelong interests in and learning. Vintage copies of My Weekly Reader and later editions remain collectible, with issues from the to available through online marketplaces, reflecting enduring appeal among adults seeking to recapture childhood memories. Sales of preserved sets, such as those from the or 1970s, underscore its status as a of mid-century American . Despite ceasing independent publication in 2012, Weekly Reader's format and mission persist through its integration into Scholastic News, which continues to deliver grade-appropriate current events to pre-K through 6th-grade classrooms. Scholastic's successor magazines, including Let's Find Out for kindergarteners, maintain the tradition of weekly nonfiction texts on , , and , adapted to digital resources and standards-aligned instruction. This evolution ensures the core value of introducing children to timely, curriculum-relevant material, with over 1.5 million annual readers for related online content. The magazine's legacy also informs modern educational discussions on , as alumni credit it with building foundational habits of informed citizenship.

References

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  27. https://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/r0497-20.shtml
  28. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/youth-presidential-polls-have-impressive-record-but-not-all-can-be-right/2004/11
  29. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/polls-find-kids-and-adults-disagree-on-whether-us-can-solve-its-problems-135243128.html
  30. https://www.pekintimes.com/story/news/politics/government/2012/07/12/kids-will-pick-next-president/49459119007/
  31. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/11/13/Reagan-also-won-school-kids-election/4207342939600/
  32. https://www.dailypress.com/2000/11/14/kids-pick-bush-in-weekly-reader/
  33. https://www.tampabay.com/content/weekly-reader-cease-killed-testing-fervor/2097829/
  34. https://www.sentinel-echo.com/opinion/points-east-weekly-reader-mock-election-memories/article_4e0680be-dc38-11e7-a37e-9bb5fbd13113.html
  35. https://www.thewashingtondailynews.com/2023/05/08/it-all-started-with-the-weekly-reader/
  36. https://www.columbusmonthly.com/story/lifestyle/features/2024/01/26/american-education-press-produced-weekly-reader-from-downtown-columbus/72366344007/
  37. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/05/17/archives/harrison-m-sayre-79-education-publisher-dies.html
  38. https://www.wesleyan.edu/about/history.html
  39. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/business/media/18mag.html
  40. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-23/scholastic-to-shut-down-weekly-reader-magazine-n-y-post-says
  41. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/today-in-nostalgia-scholastic-shuts-down-weekly-reader/2012/07
  42. https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/225159-end-classroom-favorite-rip-weekly-reader
  43. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0193841X0002400302?download=true
  44. https://www.seattlepi.com/national/article/Weekly-Reader-newspaper-for-students-hits-1078561.php
  45. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/01/29/weekly-reader-100-years-of-helping-kids-to-understand/6bb655fa-3a09-4eb2-bdc3-48dfc2d40f4c/
  46. https://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/2024-11/yl-37022419.pdf
  47. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-14-me-50053-story.html
  48. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/12/us/a-rarity-an-uproar-at-weekly-reader.html
  49. https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdfplus/10.2105/AJPH.85.12.1650
  50. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%257CA21273477&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00270520&p=AONE&sw=w
  51. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1995/11/13/weekly-readers-credibility-at-risk/
  52. https://www.ibiblio.org/commercialfree/channelonetext.html
  53. https://kappanonline.org/profits-commercialization-americas-schools-kaplan/
  54. https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/captive-kids-a-report-on-commercial-pressures-on-kids-at-schools-part-two/
  55. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-23/scholastic-to-end-independent-publication-of-weekly-reader
  56. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/
  57. https://eightyearoldme.blogspot.com/2012/03/weekly-reader.html
  58. https://www.ebay.com/shop/my-weekly-reader?_nkw=my%2Bweekly%2Breader
  59. https://www.etsy.com/market/1960s_weekly_reader
  60. https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/products/lets-find-out.html
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