Readers of the Junior Graphic have congratulated the paper on its 14th anniversary, which fell on September 6, 2014.
They also extended their appreciation to the Editor and staff of the paper for the various ways the paper had helped them.
One of the avid readers of the paper who is now a journalist with Ghana Television (GTV) and a GJA Award winner, Miss Fanny Nana Ampon, in a congratulatory message said she became a staunch reader of the Junior Graphic since the first edition came out.
“I loved the short stories, debates and the Auntie Betty columns and was over the moon when I participated in one of the debates and won a Junior Graphic T-shirt as my prize. I became quite popular in my school after that,” Miss Nana Ampon said.
She said her joy became full when she had the opportunity to work with the Junior Graphic during her National Service.
Kudos to staff
She urged children to keep on reading the paper because “looking back, I can say my reading and writing habits back then, have helped in shaping me into the fine journalist I have become. Kudos to the staff and long live, Junior Graphic.”
Master Emmanuel Jones, a student, in an anniversary message also said he liked reading the paper and his most interesting column was the Short Story page which usually came with the glossary to assist readers understand the words.
He said he got to know about things happening around the country and the world in general through the news pages.
Young Master Justice William, a JHS graduate, also wished the paper a happy anniversary as it marked its 14th birthday.
He said the counselling in the Auntie Betty column, the news pages, short stories and Request Time as well as the lyrics were what made the paper interesting to him.
Master William said the advice from Auntie Betty had, for instance, helped him to abstain from sex.
Before the birth of the Junior Graphic, the most informative and educative newspaper for schoolchildren in the country, the publication of a special newspaper for children also known as the Junior Graphic had begun in the 1950s as a pull-out in the Daily Graphic, but it folded up later.
However, in the year 2000, the management of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, publishers of the newspapers in the Graphic stable, realised the need to assist children to cultivate the habit of reading and thus reintroduced the paper.
Maiden edition of new Junior Graphic
On September 6, 2000, the maiden edition of the new Junior Graphic appeared on the newsstands, with Mrs Mavis Kitcher as the Editor. In pursuit of the objective that informed management in coming up with the paper, the company subsidises the paper to enable all schoolchildren to buy copies to read.
The paper is published every Wednesday and is mostly supplied to schools throughout the country .
Over the years, through its Rack Your Brain, Speak Good English as well as the Senior High School Zone columns Junior Graphic has been providing students in junior and senior high schools with questions they are likely to meet when they sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination and the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination.
The paper has also been able to address some of the reproductive health concerns of young people through the Auntie Betty column. The Letters Page has also offered the children the platform to write about problems in the society, as well as their communities.
Besides these, it organises a number of inter-school competitions such as the Essay Competition, the National Spelling Competitions, quizzes among others to improve their writing and spelling skills.
The paper also boasts a huge fan club base which has been transformed into the Junior Graphic Fan clubs in a numeber of basic schools throughout the country.
