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No-holds-barred chats with influencers on hot-button topics. A video series on youth financial literacy. Interviewing then-Presidential Election candidate Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam on his campaign trail.
Meet content producer Zhang Xi Ying who plays host and interviewer in these videos produced by SPH Media. At other times, she is also the main producer, working behind the scenes in the control room to coordinate camera switches, monitor audio levels and cue hosts.
Since it was launched in April 2022, the new social media brand HeyKaki has garnered over 21,000 subscribers on YouTube, 91,000 followers on Instagram, and 60,000 followers on TikTok.
The 27-year-old has produced hundreds of videos and interviewed many well-known personalities since joining HeyKaki two years ago. The SPH Media brand uses conversational Mandarin to create entertaining and informative Chinese video content for young adults.
It is a sharp contrast to a career in print journalism she had initially envisioned, having studied Chinese language and literature at Peking University on the SPH Media Journalism Scholarship.
Xi Ying’s journalism career started when she developed a passion for writing. As a child, she was a voracious reader of Chinese literature and started contributing to Lianhe Zaobao’s student creative writing column (“字食族”) when she was in junior college. Applying for the SPH Media Journalism Scholarship was a natural next step.
“I’ve always wanted to tell the stories of people, and of things that matter. I want my words to mean something and positively impact other people’s lives,” she says.
While studying in Beijing, she interned as a foreign correspondent with Lianhe Zaobao’s China desk to write news and commentaries on China’s political, economic and social issues.
Through her stints at the local Chinese dailies, she had the opportunity to put together full-page features such as reporting on the disappearance of Chinese-medium schools in Singapore and contributing to the coverage of the accident that killed five people at Tanjong Pagar Road in 2021.
“It was a tough situation because it was a very difficult time for the family who had just lost a son,” she says. “However, I thought it was important that they be given a voice to share their stories, as a way to preserve their son’s memory, and I am glad they eventually agreed.”
These experiences in print journalism taught Xi Ying the power of storytelling. However, she also saw how traditional media was not reaching younger readers.
Her observations showed young Singaporeans gravitating towards short videos over traditional news articles. This trend, along with concerns about their declining interest in the Chinese language, convinced her that news needed to be reported in a relatable manner.
When the HeyKaki team was formed in 2022, she jumped at the opportunity to try her hand at doing so.
While the videos are packaged in a light-hearted, bite-sized manner, content producers like Xi Ying ensure that the topics discussed are issues that youths are concerned about – such as inter-religion dating, casual racism and mental health. She chooses her guests based on their popularity with young viewers and their ability to share relatable stories. Guests on the show include social media personalities, content creators and local influencers.
Conversational Mandarin, peppered with Singlish and English, is used in all the videos to make the content more accessible – even to those who may be intimidated by the language.
This, she says, also helps to counter the phenomenon of “news avoidance”, where people actively avoid the news out of a desire to protect their mental and emotional well-being.
“I have the opportunity to tell meaningful stories of people from all walks of life, bring together different perspectives and speak about the issues that matter.”
– Zhang Xi Ying, recipient of the SPH Media Journalism Scholarship
Joining HeyKaki is also a personal breakthrough for Xi Ying, who admits that prior to her role, she was unfamiliar with the digital media landscape and rarely used social media.
“I never thought that I would be able to host and appear in front of the camera, as I was more accustomed to being behind the scenes,” she says. “Having the opportunity to front these videos has enabled me to develop another skill set, which has helped greatly in my personal growth.”
With the skills she acquired through her days as a journalist – such as empathy and active listening – she is also able to put her guests at ease so that they are willing to share their opinions freely.
Despite moving from behind the keyboard to hosting in front of the camera, Xi Ying says she is still doing what she loves about being a journalist, just through a different medium.
“I have the opportunity to tell meaningful stories of people from all walks of life, bring together different perspectives and speak about the issues that matter. By being relatable, I hope to accompany our audience on their ‘adulting’ journey while helping to improve their Chinese as they watch our videos.”
