Administrative History
Founded in 1975 in New York by former attorney Bob Clampitt, Children's Express (CE), 1975-2000, which later evolved into Children's PressLine, 2001-2010, was a private, non-profit news service reported by children (ages 8-13) who worked with teen assistant editors (14-18). Children's Express was established to give young people a voice in media, and teach them civic engagement, social justice, and youth rights.
CE reporting was syndicated in newspapers throughout the world, in both local markets and national publications that subscribed to the AP Newswire, including the New York Amsterdam News, Bermuda Royal Gazette, Indianapolis Star, The Mining Journal, New York Times, New York Daily News, The Plain Dealer, and many others. Children's Express expanded beyond its New York headquarters and established bureaus in Salem, MA, Washington, D.C., Oakland, CA, Harlem, NY, Marquette, MI, Newark, NJ, Springfield, OH, and Indianapolis, IN. In the 1990s, Children's Express founded bureaus in the United Kingdom and Tokyo.
Children's Express created youth-produced magazines, TV shows, radio pieces, magazine articles, a news service, books, training manuals and videos, guide book, and newspaper articles. Columns written by CE focused on serious, real-world issues with impact on children. Reporters presented youth viewpoints on topics such as drug abuse, AIDS and abortion among teens, youth-oriented legislation, child abuse, school violence, and interracial dating. In 1980 after the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, two CE reporters visited the country and neighboring Thailand, where they interviewed survivors, refugees, and doctors. In 1995, CE staffers from New York toured war-torn Bosnia and had their work published nationally and broadcasted by NPR. Most notably, Children's Express also covered every presidential election and Democratic and Republican convention from 1976-2008.