by Tatiana Repkova

Thousands of children across South Africa receive a free newspaper via email in a language they easily understand, an education conference heard on April 18. Editor Duncan Guy told the Meraka Innovate Conference for Educators in Pretoria the innovation started two years when he made a newspaper for his son.

Guy is a reporter at the SA Press Association, which is also the newspaper's media sponsor. "I decided to marry the news I deal with at work with his bedtime stories and what came of it was a little newspaper I later presented to his school, St James Preparatory School in Belgravia, Johannesburg," he said. "Soon his friend's school took an interest. Today we have The Times I Am Living In and its Afrikaans translation 'Die Tyd Waarin Ek Leef' going to around 700 e-mail addresses, twice a week."

News is selected and written with circumspection while trying not to avoid major issues, said Guy. He gave the example of writing about the war in Ivory Coast through a story with a happy ending, about a boy who became separated from his family and was eventually reunited when neither thought the other was even alive.

"I am a journalist, not an educator," Guy told the conference. "The experience I use in putting this publication together is simply having once been a primary school pupil myself." Guy said around 300 schools are on his subscriber list. Developed with feedback from teachers, each issue carries a world news story, an Africa news story, an environment news story, a business news story and a sports news story. Each news story was first written in "kids' speak," followed by the wire copy aimed at adults.

"Difficult words in the adult copy are highlighted and explained in their context in a glossary," Guy said. He likened the function of his newspaper to that of an earthworm. "Just as an earthworm breaks down the soil to enable seeds to grow in it, this newspaper breaks down the news to enable kids to use it to develop their minds," he said. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3015&art_id=nw200704181... April 18, 2007