strangely happy

my first story based on the interview i conducted with tay ping hui about his triatlon participation was canned this afternoon for a lack of news writing panache. and then i got assigned to cover a 24 hours 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the national youth park at 3am this sunday! my boss told me to get my picture taken and apply for media accreditation for the ioc session in july.

i was busy the moment i stepped into the newsroom at 11.30am today, but i was strangely happy.

truth be told, despite what may seem like a dampener that my first story was canned, i was really thankful for a helpful sub-editor who came over and told me why the story was canned. i adopted a straight news reporting style for the article, when a more creative news angle would have been more appropriate. and i also learnt to incoporate direct quotes from the newsmaker so that it would seem like i really did interviewed people.

and a fellow intern pointed out to me that the reason why i found myself so busy was because of the feature i am doing currently. i have been running around and talking to a lot of people the last 2 or 3 days, and the one thing i realised as a journalist is how you do not want to write anything that is not helpful to your news source at all.

there are some things that your news source may reveal to you that may make some juicy scope, but a lack of tact and sensitivity in using such information could not only potentially ruin relations with your news source, but destroy your credibility as a person as well as dry up any potential stories from that same person.

it has only been less than a week, but i have learnt enough to suggest that i should really do the 2 media writing modules next year. but perhaps not enough for me to decide that despite my desire to go into journalism, that it would something i would really do...yet.

i may be busy, and my weekend may be potentially burnt, and even as i remember what God told me about to make sure i don't get too busy with life and living, but i am strangely happy and tremendously grateful for this internship position.