It’s Thursday morning, and the children of NEWSWEEK parents-in the office for the company’s annual Take Your Kids to Work Day program-were sitting in on the magazine’s daily story meeting for the upcoming edition.

For the kids, the privilege of being allowed to listen to what is usually a confidential planning session was something of a mixed blessing.

“It’s boring because everything here is work, work, work,” says Lincoln Sherman, 8. “But it’s more fun than being in school,” he confides. Adds David Noonan, 13: “Anything is better than school. School is like prison.”

“Are you having fun?” Molly Alter asks her sister, Charlotte, 11. “Yes,” says Charlotte." Truthfully?" asks Molly. Charlotte’s real opinion? “No one cares about politics and drugs”-some of the subjects that came up during the staff meeting. “They care about their kids,” she says. Molly, 7, thinks there might be other interesting topics the meeting should have addressed. “They should be talking about famous people like George Bush or John Lennon,” she says.

Others happened to enjoy the morning meeting, thank you very much. “It was interesting to see the debate about the way the stories were supposed to go,” says Alex Nagorski, 13. (Alex had another reason to be pleased. A movie crew is currently filming in the NEWSWEEK building, and Alex got a souvenir in the form of a bottle of Poland Spring water meant for star Lisa Kudrow.)

Daniel Begley-Groth, 12, and Tommy Alter, 9, didn’t get any water, but they liked the meeting, too. “It’s interesting-I learned something today,” says Tommy. “They actually talk about very interesting issues in the meetings,” adds Daniel. “It might not be as interesting to younger kids because they do not keep up with what’s happening in the world.”

Anna Bryant, 10, liked the fact that she could “see what our parents do all day.” And Ray Noonan, 11 “learned that being an editor is important, but it doesn’t look like any fun. You spend a lot of time sitting in meetings discussing things I have no interest in.”

Besia Friedel, 8, was disappointed to have missed the breakfast which came before the meeting. “I had to drop my sister off at school and walk the dog,” she explains. Besia’s mom is an art director at NEWSWEEK, so another participant, Hallie Wilson, 8, asks if Besia wants to be an art director too.“Maybe,” says Besia.

What does Hallie’s mom do at NEWSWEEK? “She’s a researcher. She looks up information in the computer.” And her dad? “He’s a therapist-he doesn’t work at NEWSWEEK.” (Not yet, anyway.)

So what’s on tap for the rest of the day? Daniel Iskaros, 9, pulls a crumpled schedule out of his pocket. Lunch is up next, he determines. Rumor has it there will be hot dogs and make-your-own sundaes. “I just hope they have all the toppings I like,” says Daniel. “Oreos and rainbow sprinkles. I’m a picky eater.”

After lunch, it’s off to a “Peri Panel,” to learn about the different sections of the magazine. Then there’ll be a photo shoot in the studio. “If I smile it will be a fake smile,” says David Noonan, who hates being photographed. Rachel Shabad, 8, plans to stick her tongue out.

The official Take Your Kids To Work Day program concludes in the early afternoon, but some kids will spend the rest of the day hanging out at NEWSWEEK with their parents. Rachel Shabad thinks her dad could stand a little help around the office. “Me and my sister are maybe going to clean his office,” she says, “It’s a mess.” Most of the others chime in that their parents’ offices are messy too. We didn’t ask them about the state of their rooms at home.