When you learn that a teen is in foster care, what is your reaction? Empathy? Curiosity? Apprehension? News stories and popular media portrayals of young people involved with the child welfare system, paired with selective statistics about how this population is faring, can feed apprehension at the expense of a more positive view of the strength that can come from overcoming adversity. La Terra Cole, an intern with Connect For Kids, reflects on some recent "mainstream media" portrayals of foster care.

Youth Communication, the non-profit founded by Keith Hefner in New York City to give young people a voice on the things that matter to them, is now 25 years old—a notable milestone in the notoriously under-funded world of youth media. Lisa R. Rhodes, a former Youth Communication writer herself, looks at how Hefner's organization has grown and thrived, transforming young lives along the way.

While parents worry about potential dangers to their children lurking in our web-surfing, IM-ing, text-messaging culture, their efforts to help can be hampered by their own lack of knowledge. The Teenangels program—which trains young people to protect their peers online—is one way around that problem. Tamekia Reece takes a look.

Increased competition from kid-oriented cable networks like Nickelodeon and uncertainty about continued levels of public funding make these difficult times for the producers of children's programming at PBS. Rob Capriccioso spoke with some media experts about the challenge PBS faces, and how it can continue to provide top-notch educational programming.

While leading a series of journalism workshops in Beijing, for kids aged 7 to 18, Cliff Hahn was reminded of some global truths about kids.

While teens use the Internet day in and day out, new research indicates that many struggle to find their way through the Web's vast stores of information. Rob Capriccioso reports on how educators and Web designers can help create a more teen-friendly Internet.

Picture books on the radio? It sounds strange, but expert grandmother Nancy Pekarek thought it could be a great imagination workout for video-saturated 4-to-6 year olds, and she’s made it a reality, thanks to the low-power FM radio station WVLP in the Chicago suburb of Valparaiso, Indiana.

Are today's teenagers indifferent to such keystone First Amendment rights as freedom of speech and freedom of the press? A recent report from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation raised concerns that they might be. Caitlin Johnson, however, isn't so sure.

How can you give illiterate or limited-English parents the information they need on children's health and development? Julieta Santana reports on how local radio fills a critical informational need in immigrant communities. This article originally appeared in the May-June 2004 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

On March 24, Connect for Kids hosted its second interactive Talktime on-line discussion, fielding questions from non-profits around the country about how to generate good publicity for their good works. Here’s a summary and a transcript.