Why should newspapers be only for adults? As editor of Young Times, I think it is vital that young people can find out what is happening in the world.

Young Times offers a young person’s perspective on the national news agenda. Whether Kaká’s transfer to Real Madrid or a new brand of sweet, a day in the life of a boy in Baghdad or an issue closer to home such as cyberbullying, children are both in the news and affected by it.

As editor, I arrive at the Times offices each morning and start the day with a good look at all the national newspapers and websites. I make a list of the stories everyone seems to be talking about, and those that children and young people might want to read more on. I have to think quickly as I need to decide on a story, write it, work out the layout, puzzles and photos, and have the whole thing finished by 6pm.

Of course, I do not do it all on my own. Once I know what the page is going to be about, I talk to our pictures team, who start looking for some colourful, eye-catching photographs to illustrate the story. Sometimes we want the photos to look beautiful, for example if we are doing a feature on stargazing. But, if we want to give our readers a fright, the team will look for a horrible photo of a big hairy spider.

Meanwhile, I get to work on the “copy”, or the words of the article. Sometimes it can be a bit stressful tapping away on my keyboard with the clock ticking, but in fact this is my favourite part of the day because I love writing.

I do have to be quite concise, as there is not a very big space to fill and, of course, I have to check my spelling, punctuation and grammar carefully. Luckily, I can use a dictionary to check spelling — unlike our Spelling Bee competitors who have to work it out on the spot.

I also have to make sure everything in the article is factually correct and that the information comes from a reliable source. Are there 35 species of sea horse or 36? This is one of the most important parts of a journalist’s job. Hundreds of thousands of people read The Times and if something I write turns out to not be true, the error will spread — and I will be in trouble!

Once the copy is done, it goes to the designer. She takes the words and the photos from the pictures team and starts to lay them out on the page. She has to think about how we can grab our readers’ attention and make them want to read the story. Often she uses a striking photograph and blows it up so it looks large on the page.

Next a sub-editor takes over. They have the very important job of writing the headline and a short introduction to the story. These have to be fun and catchy and give a clue to what the article is about — a bit like the name of a book. Then, as we approach the end of the day, we all look at black and white print outs so we can see what Young Times will look like. It is a very nice feeling to see an idea you had in the morning laid out in print by the afternoon.

At this point, we keep our eyes peeled for any spelling mistakes and can still make some last-minute changes. I have the rather fun task of doing all the puzzles to make sure they work, and I double check long, complicated names such as Tyrannosaurus rex or Mount Kilimanjaro.

Once everybody is happy, the page is sent . . . and we can take a breath.

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