Merrifield said he was looking for ways to incorporate learning -- what he called educational "fiber" -- in the game. Publishing a "newspaper" seemed an obvious way to encourage reading by offering information that users care about, such as the latest igloo upgrades.
"We know there's a value in reading but also a value in kids keeping up with the news, keeping up with what's going on in our world," Merrifield said. "The paper is one of the best sources for that."
Yasmin B. Kafai, a professor of learning sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, said the Club Penguin Times doesn't have a monopoly on faux news dissemination. The Whyville Times, the ersatz paper of record for that virtual world for teens and preteens, provides a mixture of standard newspaper features, such as TV reviews, along with reader-submitted essays.
Such digital forums can promote literacy, Kafai said, because they encourage kids to do it on their own, without prodding from teachers or parents.
"The more we can get kids engaged in reading and writing outside of [the] school context, it is actually a tool to help them," Kafai said.
Whether the Club Penguin Times will spark a lifelong love of newspapers remains to be seen.
"It's too premature to say that," said Sandy Woodcock, director of the Newspaper in Education program, which promotes newspapers as an educational resource. Nonetheless, she described Disney's melding of social networking and news dissemination "interesting" and an approach that merits study.
"If the Disney project has a news component and not just a social component, that might be an opportunity for young people to be exposed to information that can help them develop those skill sets -- like civic engagement -- that can carry them through the rest of their lives."
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dawn.chmielewski@latimes.com
