Primary School Journalists Hit the Beat

Interviewing a Minister and training under Channel NewsAsia news anchor Suzanne Jung – all at the tender age of 10 or 11. These are just some of the opportunities that Greenridge Primary School’s News Team pupils have enjoyed, as they’re groomed from Pri 4 to 6 to become snappy young reporters.

“I feel the best part about being a reporter is to be at the heart of the news, right there, to see everything with my own eyes, and feel the atmosphere around me build up, whether it is good, bad or exciting,” says Pri 5 pupil Tanvi Thombre. For Pri 4 pupil Celine Chua, the best part also includes “meeting new people and getting to speak in front of the camera!”

No wonder these self-assured young newshounds were as cool as a cucumber when they were given the opportunity to interview Education Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen a few months ago.

Face to face with giants

The interview on 14 April 2009 was conducted by Pri 5 pupil Yoo Yi Jie, on the sidelines of the minister’s official visit to the school to announce the acceptance of recommendations by the Primary Education and Implementation Committee. Yi Jie’s composure during the interview was proof of the skills that have been honed by the student reporters, and the interview was even picked up by the local media.

“We’re very happy when our older reporters mature and gain confidence in conducting interviews,” says Ms Trinity Wang, teacher-in-charge of the school’s News Team programme, which is part of the school’s talent management programme. One of the challenges of the programme is how to build confidence in the young pupils.

Ms Wang explains, “Our goal is to build not just literacy, but also the character of the students through youth journalism. It is more difficult to develop sufficient confidence in primary school pupils since the people whom they interview are usually much older than themselves, and many a time, they are public figures.”

To equip them with the right skills, the teachers have designed a basic journalism course to help hone the News Team pupils’ interview skills. Through role-play and observing real-life reporters at work, pupils pick up tips on how to be a reporter on a beat. They also attended a three-day workshop on basic news reporting with Channel NewsAsia anchor Suzanne Jung this year.

Reporting on the ground

The News Team’s stories certainly aren’t limited to school-related issues. In June, Pri 4 pupil Ho Jiayi and her Pri 5 schoolmate Amy Ho produced a broadcast news-style report on life in the Bukit Panjang neighbourhood. Their video bagged one of the top three prizes in the Singapore category for the ASEAN Newsmaker Competition, out of 28 entries from primary schools.

For their next story, the News Team will be reporting on Greenridge Primary School’s contribution to “Rice That Binds, Cranes @ North West”, a three-month long campaign organised by North West Community Development Council as part of its food ration scheme. Tong Seng Produce will donate 100 grams of Song He rice for every crane folded, and Greenridge Primary School is one of several schools that have pledged to do their bit for the community by folding paper cranes. The New Team’s video will be shown to the whole school at assembly.

So what do these young journalists think could be the next breaking story? Yi Jie says, “I would like to cover the latest yo-yo craze in my school. The craze of pupils in my school changes all the time – it used to be the Rubik’s cube, and then it was erasers. I am very curious as to why they have chosen the yo-yo to be the latest form of entertainment!”