A Woodford-based,national newspaper for kids had a special milestone over the Easter school holidays – it turned one.
And to celebrate its first birthday, the only national newspaper for kids has called on children in the Mountains and across Australia to put on their editor's hat.
The Crinkling News national junior assistant editor program will give young people the opportunity to see how a real newspaper is put together, said the newspaper’s co-founder and editor, Saffron Howden
A former Fairfax Media journalist, Ms Howden, said the latest initiative was important to help address media literacy.
Ms Howden said successful junior applicants will be taken through editorial decisions, contribute ideas for the paper, help with story and photographic selections, and write editorials.
“Crinkling News takes seriously its role in giving young people a voice and providing opportunities for them to take an active role in the newspaper,” Ms Howden said.
“Children can already contribute by writing reviews, covering events and writing opinion pieces.
“Our junior assistant editor program is a way of including young Australians in the news-making process and improving their understanding of news gathering, fact checking, news values and ethics.”
Crinkling News is a 16-page weekly newspaper which tells all the news adults consume, but it is written especially for children aged between seven and 14. Howden and her graphic designer husband Remi Bianchi self-funded the venture, which is subscriber and sponsorship-based. They quickly found “there's a children's angle to every story”.
When Howden launched her paper a year ago she said kids newspapers around the world were largely print driven and “parents don’t want their kids in front of a screen all the time”. The paper’s readership is more than 25,000 nationwide, growing from the initial print run of 5000.
"It's so exciting that Australia's only national newspaper for kids has been produced out of the Blue Mountains for a whole year now.”
"We hope to see lots of Blue Mountains young people applying to become junior assistant editors of Crinkling News!"
Ms Howden said there was a “rapidly-growing number of local kids reading the paper too - both at school and at home”.
The latest issue of Crinkling can be viewed at Rust and Timber Chocolate Bar in Lawson where there are stories about breaking the mean girl/boy code, how a principal had to resign after a student-led investigation and a kids take on Anzac Day.
Crinkling News is produced by a team of experienced journalists, photographers and editors and delivered weekly to individual subscribers, schools and libraries in Australia and overseas. Details of the new program can be found at www.crinklingnews.com.au.