Home   Ashford   News   Article

Charlotte, 8, becomes Guardian editor for the day

Charlotte Jones, Tenterden Primary School. Got to edit the Guardians G2 supplement. PD1587412
Charlotte Jones, Tenterden Primary School. Got to edit the Guardians G2 supplement. PD1587412

An eight-year-old girl has helped edit a national newspaper.

Charlotte Jones, a pupil at Tenterden junior school, was invited to take on the coveted role of G2 editor at the Guardian’s London office for Monday’s edition of the features supplement, after writing a letter complaining about the withdrawal of the paper’s Saturday comic section.

Charlotte’s busy day - during which she was accompanied by dad Jonathan - resulted in three pages of coverage in the edition she helped edit and included meeting with the Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger during a hi-tech brainstorming session.

The invitation to help edit came as a big surprise.

She said: "My brain blasted to the ceiling!

"It was really exciting. My favourite thing was deciding what would go into the shortcuts section. I chose the story about the biggest selling car in America."

But first she was included in a meeting with the editor.

"That was really cool - the editor of the whole paper went around the different editors and they told him what they were doing.

"The room had microphones hanging down. They looked like sprinklers. And there were cameras so other people in the building could watch it.

"There were a lot of friendly people."

So has the experience influenced Charlotte’s career decision?

She said: "I’m going to be an author, but I shall do journalism first."

Dad Jonathan said: "I probably had an even better day! I have been reading the Guardian since I was 16 and I got to sit in with the morning conference with people like Alan Rusbridger and Polly Toynbee and see how it all works."

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More