- Our deputy editor explains some changes we have made to your Young Post from September 2021
- We have linked forms that you can fill out to get involved and submit responses for our new 24-page print edition
Young Post is getting a makeover starting in September 2021.Dear readers,
Over the years, Young Post has been your friend and mentor through thick and thin.
The paper began in 1951 as a Sunday publication called the Children’s Corner under the South China Morning Post. It was relaunched as the Young Post-Herald in 1968. Since then, its design and content have gone through many transformations.
What has not changed is our passion to explore the world with you, and to provide a platform for you to express yourself. To continue to grow as a friend and mentor to you, Young Post underwent a makeover in September and became a weekly publication providing richer content and better engagement.
For many years, Young Post has been a daily publication in schools, except for this summer when we published 12 pages every Sunday. We have heard feedback that you want a meatier newspaper that reports on issues you care deeply about, with more original content and ways to interact with us.
This summer, we interviewed Hong Kong’s Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey about her school years when she had to juggle studying and swimming; a man who has for the last 20 years been making sure that the dead are well fed and having fun; an artistic roller skater who sews and sells skating outfits and masks to keep her skating dreams afloat; and many more awesome people and organisations.
From September 6, we became a weekly newspaper, publishing 24 pages of compelling, engaging content every Monday that is now delivered to your schools. A condensed eight-page version is published the following Sunday, issued alongside the South China Morning Post. Our website is updated throughout the week with news that matters to teens in Hong Kong and around the world.
We have been strengthening our engagement with you by making our pages more welcoming to writers of all levels to join in the conversation. By renaming the Junior Reporters’ Club to Team YP, we hope to expand our club to include even more young aspiring writers and reporters.
Here is your guide to what the new Young Post is all about. If you want to see for yourself what our new 24-page edition will look like, click here to see a mock-up.
1. News and features
Our cover story takes a deep dive into issues you care about. We have introduced a vocab box in print and online to assist you with your reading.
For our features pages, which we’ve named Talking Points, we are lining up interviews with popular singers, interesting personalities and thought-provoking change-makers. Each of these stories now comes with a reading comprehension worksheet available online to test your understanding.
2. Get published
Your Voice: Two print pages every week are dedicated to publishing letters from you about topics you care about. Your letters can be as long as 500 words, or as short as 150 words. If your writing does not get published in print, we may still publish them online. Want to be heard? Drop us a line via this form.
You can even send us photos of your school activities if you want to share them with Young Post’s readers.
Show Off: Think you can write a funny photo caption? Each week, we present to you one photo without a caption, and it’s up to you to submit a wacky description of about 15 words. We will publish some of the best captions in the following week’s edition. Take part here (submission deadline: 11.59pm every Wednesday).
Brain Game: We start with a group of ten participants in this game. Each week, we give them one question to answer, and they must flex their creativity in their responses. In the past, we’ve had questions such as, “If you could create a variety show, what would it be about?” We eliminate one contestant each week until we have a winner nine weeks later. This season’s winners will be receiving exciting prizes such as a Nintendo Switch, Kindles, and Muji vouchers. (Applications for the next round starting November 2021 have opened and will be closing shortly. Click here to apply.)
Face Off: Each week, two of our readers debate a hot topic in a debate that doesn’t necessarily reflect their personal viewpoint. If you like discussing controversial questions, commenting on current events or arguing with your teachers about whether you should be allowed to sleep in class, this page is for you. Join the debate here.
Top 10: Test your expressiveness in response to our weekly questions, and we’ll reward your originality by publishing the top 10 most interesting answers. Click here to share your response (submission deadline: 11.59pm every Wednesday).
Asking for a friend: Need an answer to a personal question that you’ve never mustered the courage to ask? Whether it’s about family issues, school, or your social life, share your worries with us. We have invited clinical psychologists from the Department of Health to help answer your questions. Don’t worry, you will remain anonymous! Talk to us here.
3. Learning, games and entertainment
Study Buddy and Listen Up are back to help you hone your comprehension skills. Use the linked Kahoot! games to challenge classmates, teachers and even your parents.
Hot Topics will continue covering current events with questions to level up your thinking and a glossary to explain tricky words and new concepts.
On our Trending page, read reviews of the latest films, fashion trends, and video games. Your favourite comics – including Percy the Penguin – will be on our Light Bites pages.
The Sup Sup Sui page is there to help you learn how to explain Chinese idioms and Cantonese slang in English. On our new page, The Lens, you can break down important stories and events using award-winning infographics from the South China Morning Post.
4. Team YP
We have renamed the Junior Reporters’ club to Team YP because we want all of you to know that you are part of the YP team! If you haven’t already done so, join our club by filling out this form.
We will invite you to our online community where you can pitch us story ideas and have them published.
5. Best of the Month Awards
Every month, we will be announcing our Best of the Month Awards to show our appreciation for all the top-notch writing we receive from our readers. The prize? Each winner will get a YP certificate and a special YP gift mailed to their school.
- Best Letter: For this award, YP’s editors will pick one letter from the past month that has wowed us the most with its depth of thought, thorough research and original content.
- Best Face Off: We will pick the best debate submission every month based on how effective, original and well-supported the arguments are.
- Most creative submission: Every month, we will pick one reader who had the most creative submission for our Show Off or Top 10 pages. This award is a bit subjective, but there aren’t enough prizes for all the laughter and tears you bring to our pages.
- Other awards: These won't be on a regular basis, but we plan to recognise the best stories from our Team YP junior reporters and thank the most engaged schools who have sent us quality submissions.
6. Digital Subscription
Quality journalism is an investment. As we work around the clock to bring you all the news that matters and explore ways to make Young Post an even better publication, we are adopting a digital subscription model from November 10, 2021. Non-subscribers can still read some free articles every month, and some of our reader engagement pages can still be accessed without a subscription.
Click here to learn more about how you can become a digital subscriber.
If you have already subscribed to Young Post via your school, you already have an account to access our website, so reading our stories should be a seamless experience online and in print.
We are very excited about the new Young Post and hope you are too.
Best regards,
Phila Siu
Deputy Editor, Young Post
If you are interested in subscribing to this year’s Young Post, check out our subscription leaflet for schools here.
This article was first published in September 2021. It was updated on November 10, 2021.