The leader in English language educational multimedia newspapers for children

"I love Daily7 and Daily10. I know they're supposed to be for children, but they are WAY more appealing than the grown-up newspapers I have to read every day!"

Nury Vittachi, award-winning journalist, newspaper columnist and children’s author

Who are we?

Step Max Ltd is a Hong Kong-based company that publishes print and digital newspapers and educational products for children.

What is our mission?

To provide quality products that encourage reading, stimulate curiosity about the world and promote English literacy among children in the Asia Pacific region with the use of interesting, age-appropriate news-driven content.

What do we do?

Step Max Ltd publishes Daily7 and Daily10 print and digital newspapers six days a week for children aged 5 to 11 years; My Little Paper, an early education weekly paper for preschoolers aged 2 to 5 years; and cartoon, travel and educational books for children. We offer news, views and valuable resources for children, parents and educators with these publications and in our regularly updated blog, and on Facebook and Twitter.

How did we start?

Step Max Ltd was founded in Hong Kong in 2004 by Christine Brendle, Junri Konii Egerton and Sarah Leventhorpe, three successful professionals and long-term residents of Hong Kong. They started by providing consultancy services to a series of international publishers. Among them was Playbac Presse, a successful book and newspaper publisher established in France. In the process, they realised that there was no English language newspaper for children in the region. They also saw how it was important and beneficial for countries within Asia Pacific to promote a good standard of English among children. Following an initial test and using Playbac Presse for support and as a model, Daily7 and Daily10 were successfully launched towards the end of September 2004.

A brief history

• 28 September, 2004: Daily7 and Daily10 launched.
• 16 July, 2005: Daily7 and Daily10 initial website launched.
• 26 April, 2009: Daily7 and Daily10 content made available online with audio narrative by a native English speaker.
• 28 September, 2009: Daily7 and Daily10 celebrate their 5^th birthday.
• 5 February, 2010: My Little Paper launched.
• 25 April, 2010: Website and online editions relaunched with more interactive features.

Who reads us?

Daily7 and Daily10 are widely read by primary school students in Hong Kong and around Asia. About 50% of children attend English-medium schools, and 50% attend schools that offer English as a second language. Schools, individual teachers, private tutors and learning centres also subscribe to the papers as an aid to the courses that they offer. My Little Paper readers attend preschool or kindergartens in Hong Kong and around Asia. Readership includes an equal mix of first and second language English readers.

Who are we licenced to?

Step Max Ltd publishes under licence from Playbac Presse http://www.playbac.fr/, a successful publishing company in France that produces daily newspapers, books and other educational products for children.

A caring company

• We support the Hong Kong Government's Online Safety policy, and encourage parents and children to sign the Family Contract at http://www.safekids.com/contract_kid.htm
• We are concerned about our environment. Packaging used in the delivery of our products is 100% degradable and recyclable.
• We retain the services of professional educational and editorial consultants to ensure that our products offer the most benefit to our readers. 

Community outreach

• We visit schools offering talks on journalism, communication and newspapers and other relevant topics.
• We endorse the development of young authors, and sponsor literary awards and events for this purpose.
• We provide sponsorship for community events.
• We develop partnerships with organisations that provide valuable services to the community. 

Our team

Publisher: Melanie Holloway
Editor: Jolene Otremba
Assistant Editors: Ophelia Kwong, Elizabeth Turner
Designer: Heather Martino
Educational Consultant: Amy Stewart
Circulation Executive: Phoebe Fung
Sales & Marketing Manager: Kaling Man
General Manager: Fanny Ling
Founding partners: Christine Brendle, Junri Konii Egerton, Sarah Leventhorpe