日本報紙推新應用 讓孩子也能讀懂新聞

如何才能讓小孩子也能讀懂報紙上的新聞？日本《東京新聞》報紙與某廣告公司合作推出的一款新聞應用程序可以解決這個問題。據介紹，智能手機中安裝這款應用程序後，小朋友拿手機對着報紙上的新聞，看到的就是兒童故事版本的新聞報道，有卡通人物講解報道內容，還會着重強調報道中的關鍵詞語。這樣一來，原本艱澀難懂的政經報道和社會問題搖身一變成了適合兒童閱讀的有趣卡通故事，家長和孩子可以一起看報紙，對孩子來說也多了一個學習渠道。

An augmented-reality app that "translates" grown-up newspapers for children has been developed in Japan.

The Tokyo Shimbun, one of the country's biggest daily titles, has worked with advertising firm Dentsu to create the AR News software.

It allows children to hold a smartphone over the newspaper to see a child-friendly version of the text.

In a promotional video, Dentsu said the app could "create a future for the old media newspaper".

"Newspapers were not made for children," the clip said.

"If newspapers became readable to children, they will contribute to family communication and child's education."

The demo video shows a father laying a newspaper out on a table as the child holds his smartphone over the page. Cartoon characters appear on the screen, explaining stories and drawing attention to important words.

"Difficult articles and social problems, economy and politics became interesting subjects for children," Dentsu said.

"The newspapers became a media read by both parent and child. And also an educational tool for children."

Paul Bradshaw, university lecturer and blogger on new technology in journalism, told the BBC he was impressed with the idea.

"What it's really about is something that's been talked about for a long time, about content being presented in different ways depending on who the user is," he said.

"It means two versions of the content - a grown-up one and the kids one. That has enormous potential. It also tackles a big gap in young readership.

"Are kids going to be interested in the same subjects as adults, even when treated differently? That's a nut to crack."