Third year (time) is a charm

For a third year journalism student I must admitted that the first semester was quite a ride, a roller coaster kind of ride. The week is filled with class schedules making a to-do-list become a must-do-list. Editorial and article writing class is a challenge to my Monday morning, it calls for a Starbucks venti hot soy latte to keep me awake and ready to learn. I once heard that good learners should act like sponge, which absorbs things around them because knowledge is not only from textbook because as part of skills, experience is obtained outside the classroom.

This class taught me more than its title, not only it trains me to become a good writer, but also a quality person. From week one until now, Editorial and article writing course has changed the way I understand journalism and its role to the society clearer.

“Late, Late, Late…”

‘Late’ is the word that I always keep in mind that helps me get my morning routine done faster since time doesn’t wait for nobody. The first thing I learnt the moment I got to class on the first day was, even you are 10 minutes early, you are late. Being punctual means to be on time, but in journalism world it means ahead of time.  Every second matters because news could happen at any time so we must be prepared. Most of the time journalist will work under time restraint that could make the working environment seem stressful sometimes, but by managing time wisely, stress could become excitement as to get the story done by deadlines. When we write, we rely information from sources, which is mostly done through interviews, so as an interviewer, it is very important to show up earlier than your source in the appointment as to show respect and for a good image of yourself and the publication. Punctuality is not just a class rule but it is actually an everyday life rule.

Guardian of Rights

Human rights should be promoted and protected. Through out the course, my perception about the world has widened in terms of noticing the differences. I see problems and issues that occurred in our world. Discrimination is one of those issues, with different cultures and norms; it is inevitable for people to not discriminate others for their sex, race, religion or complexion. LGBTQQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) are third-gender people who are being judged by the world for who they are regarding loving the same sex. Until now, many gay couples still remain closeted and struggle for their rights. However, in many parts of the world, gay marriage is now legalized.

In my opinion, protecting basic human rights is not the duty of just individual but it is the duty of everyone because we are living together as global citizens sharing equal rights. The main duty of journalist is to report about the issue, event and people that affect the society in order to bring to light the unseen issues. But from what I have learned, journalists’ duty doesn’t end there because the purpose of our writing is not just to report but also to bring about change in the society - to make the world a better place. The criteria to good story are good grammar, correct spelling and persuasive quotes et cetera, but the most important thing to consider when we come up with a story is to be ethical and unbiased. The story should not be written for certain people and left out the others. However, the writer can be biased by expressing his or her opinion about certain subject in the opinion section of the newspaper. Journalist has an incredibly powerful role in conflicts and solution in the society.

Good writer reads

I think it is time for me to put my phone down and start reading. Unlike using cell phone during free time, reading a book of any kind has less harm to your eye-sights and it can be your mentor or mentor text to guide you when you write. Many well-known writers have their own style of writing that includes techniques such as sentence variation that the story will include different sentence lengths. Long sentences will take the readers on a journey while the shorter ones will make them stop and think. It is one of the 7 tools that I have learnt from webinar, which use to create good flow and rhythm within the story. The concept is basically to look below the surface of text when we read and see how the meaning is made. For a beginner like me the best thing is to learn from the pro and adapt it to my own style. So far, descriptive writing is one of my favorite styles because when I read whether article or editorial piece that is written descriptively, it creates picture inside my head and makes me enjoy reading the story despite of how lengthy it is. The introduction of a story should act as an appetizer to the whole story or the main course. After I had done couple analysis on good articles, I noticed that introduction is the key to good story because if you can’t hook the reader early in the story, you’ll loose their attentions.

The purpose of writing is to inform and create understanding, so it is best to write in a reader friendly way by avoiding jargons and make it conversational.

 People always want to know more

News such as corruption, sex scandal or crime often draws the public attention and arouses public debate. Every issue and events all have impact on the lives of people within society and they rely on the media to further investigate about them. For instant, corruption, people want to know more about who and what is behind the unethical actions or how did they get caught. With the luxury of advanced technology, it has made investigative journalism become more accessible and possible. Online data also enhances the ability to find multiple sources that can add credibility to your information. The process of collecting data in investigative journalism is time-consuming to put all the puzzles of information together. It requires all journalistic skills from good reporting to asking good question. However, each situation need to be handle differently and we should keep in mind to not use any unethical method in getting information.

It has been thirteen weeks of unforgettable experiences and countless log in on Haiku website. All of what I have learned in class will surely benefit me in my future career, from punctuality to working ethically. I found my strengths and weaknesses through individual assignments and group project in terms of grammar and time management. Everyone in class become even closer as we got to work with new friends when groups are arranged randomly which I think the magic of this, is it allows each group members’ potential to shine. For a journalism student, there is no fixed rule that we must graduate and become a journalist because with such diverse skills, we can go far. Lastly, even the course has come to the finish line; it will continue to inspire me to always put my heart and soul into everything I do.

Class dismiss.