Hi there!

I’m Ryan Somers, Kidscreen’s new digital editor. I have two young children, and I’m really thrilled to have joined a publication that means so much to the people who create and distribute the things we share with our kids.

I come to Kidscreen from a very different world. I’d been covering New York politics for years, and let me tell you something: People in that space are occasionally ruthless. They are sometimes cutthroat. Heck, they can be downright mean.

So imagine my relief when I arrived here and realized that our community is so, well, nice!

Because the fact is, this industry is made up of people who go out of their way to support one another. People who are fans of each other. People who celebrate each other’s wins. And that’s rare. 

In that spirit, I’m launching a new weekly feature celebrating the community’s successes. It’s called Kidscreen’s Gold Star. Every Friday, we’re going to highlight five people, companies or organizations we think had a great week. Maybe they launched a project. Maybe they closed a deal. Who knows—maybe they made the world a brighter place somehow. And then we’re going to let you, our readers in the industry, vote to decide who deserves Kidscreen’s Gold Star. We’ll announce the previous week’s winner every Monday. 

Now, some ground rules. Feel free to get your co-workers and industry friends to vote for your favorite winner—but please don’t try to break the system and vote for yourself a thousand times. That’s just poor sportsmanship.

And this next part’s important: These nominations are not endorsements—we reserve the right to highlight undignified wins. Can somebody come on top with a hostile takeover, or by deftly handling a public relations nightmare? You bet.

The first edition comes out tomorrow. So enjoy. Play fair. Have fun. We’re going to have a blast!