COLUMBUS, Ohio (AFX) - That scamp Goofus and his do-gooder companion, Gallant, look more animated and colorful in the Highlights magazine hitting mailboxes and dentists' waiting rooms across the country next month.
The lessons conveyed through the cartoon panels -- asking parents before adopting a puppy and fulfilling one's promises -- are largely unchanged, however, from those that have long modeled good behavior for children.
Highlights, which turns 60 this month, has freshened its look as it competes with video games, television and dozens of other children's magazines, many of which tie into cable networks or spin off of grown-up publications.
'Our competition is really for kids' time in a crowded world,' said Kent Johnson, 37, chief executive and the great-grandson of the magazine's founders.
Highlights' pages pop with more vivid colors and illustrations that have a three-dimensional feel, but the changes are subtle enough that its 2 million readers won't be dismayed. They'll still be able to hunt for the needle in 'Hidden Pictures,' a feature that challenges readers to find smaller objects in a full-page illustration. And Ma, Pa, Mabel and Tommy Timbertoe, the family of wooden people, will still be there with their dog, Spot.
The 'smiling H' -- the jaunty capital letter with its upturned middle line -- still leads the title, and the cover remains a full-page illustration showing kids and animals having fun.
The August issue -- which included the magazine's billionth copy printed this week in Clarksville, Tenn. -- adds cover teases, widely used in the industry.
Like other mass magazines, Highlights has lost readers in recent years because of competition in the industry and from other media sources, said Samir Husni, chair of the journalism department at the University of Mississippi, who tracks the magazine world. He has been consulting with Highlights to help the magazine revamp its look.
In the last 10 years, about 140 children's magazines have been launched, although the majority have since folded, Husni said. According to the Magazine Publishers of America, about 190 children's magazines were in circulation in 2005.
Highlights, which doesn't accept ads and is sold primarily through subscriptions that cost about $30 a year, hit a peak in circulation a decade ago at about 2.5 million. To grow again, the magazine will need a bigger presence on the newsstand, Husni said. Other magazines, such as those tied to the kid-focused Nickelodeon television network and Disney, have built-in publicity.
Still, of the about 6,500 consumer magazines available, Highlights is one of about 40 that have a circulation of 2 million or more, Husni said.
Highlights features articles on topics ranging from T. rex to teenage soccer star Freddy Adu, as well as jokes, games and crafts such as making a dragonfly using pipe cleaners. Several pages are filled with drawings and poems produced by readers.
It is popular with kids ages 5 to 11. Most other children's magazines target a narrower age range, said Donald Stoll, a writing arts professor at Rowan University in New Jersey. Others focus on a particular genre, such as Sports Illustrated for Kids or the nature magazine Ranger Rick.
'There's no other general interest children's magazine,' Stoll said. 'They all tend to segment the market, and they do that because Highlights is a huge entity and to go up against it is an undertaking.'
Highlights can be even more relevant now than it was 60 years ago, Johnson said, because it provides a balance to technology, a chance for children to turn away from the television and find the teacup in 'Hidden Pictures.'
The feature is one of the best parts of the magazine for Katie Hammond, 7. Her brother, Tyler, who turns 10 on Sunday, said he likes that the magazine involves his whole family. 'It's not just a thing that kids can do. Families can sit down and look for things,' he said.
'Hidden Pictures' has been part of Highlights since longtime educators Garry Cleveland Myers and Caroline Clark Myers put out the first issue in June 1946. Over the years, new features have joined old favorites such as 'Goofus and Gallant,' which compares the actions of two boys -- Goofus, who makes poor decisions, and Gallant, who does the right thing -- to promote good social skills.
A reality version that began in 2004, 'Gallant Kids,' shows children who meet needs in their hometowns by collecting books for homeless shelters or refurbishing used computers for low-income families.
The magazine also pairs most of its content with companion pieces on the Web, and the site provides make-your-own stories and animated games.
The children's magazine industry is changing as younger children become more interested in using computers to access information, Stoll said. Magazines also see the Internet as a cheaper way to distribute their content in an age of high printing and postal costs.
Highlights can better weather the ups and downs of the industry because the company has expanded into other arenas, offering Highlights-approved toys, games and crafts to parents through a catalog and Web site and developing classroom resources for teachers, said Johnson, who works at the corporate offices in Columbus. The editorial offices are in Honesdale, Pa.
The magazine's endurance speaks to the faith parents have in it, said Steve Cohn, editor-in-chief of Media Industry Newsletter.
'These days there's not all that much you can trust anymore,' Cohn said, adding, 'It might be a little white-bread for some, but it works.'
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