special report

DISCOVERY GIRLS
A Magazine for Girls Ages 8 and Up

Readership: 8 - 12 years

From the website’s About Us: “Discovery Girls is all about the things you love most - it's packed with cool quizzes, hot new sports, fantastic stories, the latest fashions, celebrity scoops and much, much more. It's a fun, colorful place where you can discover new things and learn more about yourself and your world.”

WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING FOR:

Senior Editor Sarah Verney tells us that Discovery Girls will consider submissions in the following areas:

• Girls Focused Technology/Science – They’ve done past articles on nanotechnology and on cool gadgets of the future. The tone needs to be fun and the slant needs to catch ‘tween girl interest. Readers are especially interested in saving the world, helping people so that should play a part in article choices – very contemporary, very light.
• Sports – They have someone who writes sports pieces for them regularly but they are interested in more. Again, snappy and fun. For example: they ran a past article with quotes from women’s athletes on things they’ve learned.
• Crafts – They are very interested in craft articles. The finished piece needs to be easy enough for tween girls but look very professional, very good on the page.
  Oddz-and-Endz – cool blurbs about things of interest to girls. Short, light, not too educational. High interest.
• Quizzes – they have writers who do quizzes regularly but they are interested in quizzes that are very unusual – cool format, something that will look good on the page, not to lesson-y.

Sarah warns that Discovery Girls is privately owned so they aren’t one of the highest paying of the tween/teen magazines but they are growing.

From the Masthead:
Publisher and Founding Editor: Catherine Lee
Senior Features Editor: Sarah Verney
Features Editors: Naomi Kirsten, Jim Hale

Editor Sarah Verney says, “I really prefer email submissions sarah@discoverygirls.com--but snail mail is okay too.”

Discovery Girls
4300 Stevens Creek Blvd,
Suite 190
San Jose, CA 95129

ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC ISSUE

Contents:
DISCOVERY GIRLS
April/May 2006

Note: Discovery Girls is fairly ad heavy, including Wal*Mart, Hasbro, Pop-Tarts, Scholastic, Build-a-Bear Workshop, and Disney.

Catherine’s Page [Catherine Lee] The letter looked at a mom’s changing role in the life of a ‘tween girl.

Mailbag [Readers] We get reader response to a past article on Martial Arts, and a feature called “Are Pop Stars Ruining Your Self-Esteem?” Also a past “worst day” story on Hurricane Katrina. It’s a great way to see older content through viewer eyes.

The Great Debate [Readers] much of Discovery Girls content is made up of topics/questions with responses by girls in the readership age. This one is on whether a boy can be as close of a friend as a girl. A future debate topic: Should everyone be allowed to play on school spots teams, regardless of ability?

Meet the Discovery Girls of Florida – each month the magazine chooses a group of girls to feature from a given state. This batch ranged in age from 10 – 12.

How Well Do You Know Your Stars? [Lisa Beebe] A quiz with unusual facts about young celebs.

Ask Ali…[Advice column] Girls ask about feuding friends, disappointing dads, missing moms, and what to do when your friend gets a bad boyfriend.

Two-Faced Friends and Meanies [Phoebe Kitanidis] Mixes quotes from girls who have experienced two-faced friends with advice on how to deal with the situation.

Fashion Flashback [John Dela Cruz/illus] graphic feature showing clothing trends in the 60s, 70s, and 80s – fun for those of us who were tweens in the 60s, teens in the 70s and young adults in the 80s.

Dakota Fanning: Living the Dream [Naomi Kirsten] Nice feature on Dakota Fanning. Uses bulleted list, lots of subheadings, and a sidebar with fun facts…very reader friendly on the page. Looks like a piece based on research, not interviews, as quotes are sourced.

Spotlight on Hockey [Allison Forbes] Gives history of the sport in a paragraph, why it’s good for girls, and some tips on important hockey moves. It also includes hockey lingo and hockey gear.

Are You Totally Crushed? [Aruna Rangajaran] A cute quiz on how to tell how hung up you are on a guy. Underlying point seems to be to enjoy the crush, don’t let it become an obsession.

Embarrassing Moments [Readers] 7 short embarrassing anecdotes from readers.

10 Secrets to Success [Phoebe Kitanidis] 10 tips for becoming proactive in life…overcoming shyness, goals, avoiding ruts, self-esteem issues and friendship tips.

Matters of the Heart [Discovery Girls] The month’s team of girls respond to a problem – this time to whether it’s okay for a mom to be a best friend. How involved is too involved. The team was strongly in favor of mom involvement and friendship.

New Stuff for Your Room [product features] Lots of pastel accessories (an inflatable chair, phone, stool, lots of pillows), who makes them, and how much they cost.

Your Poetry [Readers] Poetry from girls aged 11 and 12.

Fashion: Spring into Summer [product features] suimsuits, towels, flip-flops, hats, etc.

Are You’re a Good Role Model? [Naomi Kirsten] Quiz about how one behaves around friends and siblings.

Changes…for the Worse [young reader story for “the worst day”] A divorce and remarriage and how the girl felt about it. Written in first person though the tone and style suggest she may have had a lot of editorial help.

Over There…Thailand [Halley Gatenby] This is a regular feature that focuses on a ‘tween girl in another country. This one included subheadings: “Home & Family,” “Friends & School,” “Traditions & Holidays,” “Food,” “Fashion” – all of which had one paragraph underneath – plus “Curiosities and Facts” which had eight facts.

Oddz ‘n Endz [Multiple shorts]

• Surviving Money Traps [Bill Rancic] A collection of money saving tips.
• It’s All About Fashion [no byline] A website that let’s girls design clothes.
• Hurricane Helpers [readers] Girls tell things they’ve done to help Katrina victims.
• SPELLING Star [celeb] Mini interview with tween girl in new movie.
• Dynamic Downloads [tv] websites connected with popular tween shows.

A Memory Book for Mom [Sarah Verney] A Mother’s Day craft. A Mini memory book in a unique format – includes idea starters for nice things to say in the book.

Ravin’ Reviews [Naomi Kirsten] Book, CD and DVD reviews/recommendations – all positive.

Be A DG Star [regular feature] Tells girls how to apply to be one of the Discovery Girls.

This page last updated on 01 April 2006