AP launches youth-oriented news sites on Virgin Mobile

Do youngsters care about the news? Many say no, but the Associated Press aims to find out for sure. Yesterday they announced two youth-oriented mobile websites, which they hope will resonate with users of Virgin Mobile USA. Not that they’re serving up actual news. It’s more like the fluff of the wire service’s wide range of news items. Yet, they think they can capture an audience elusive to most major news organizations.

The two channels are the AP Entertainment channel, and an odd news section called CUBI (Can You Believe It?). This will cover stories on films, television, music, celebrities, and of course the odd tidbits. Celebrity photos will be included in the offering.

Strategically, this makes sense. When kids talk about news, they’re mostly talking about pop culture. Weird news makes sense, too, as that always makes for good entertainment. If news organizations are going to latch kids onto their service, they’re going to have to cater to their wants. AP seems to be doing just that.

The service, available on VirginXL, will be ad-supported, at least to start. AP would do well to consider adding more images and videos, as that type of media can be shared with friends.

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