Mechanic of a newsroom

The Mechanic of A Newsroom

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A British journalist, Gilbert Keith Chesterton once quoted as saying, "Journalism is popular, but it is popular mainly as fiction. Life is one world, and life seen in the newspapers another." I remembered bringing an intern to an assignment and she was frustrated seeing the real work. She thought being a journalist had meant the ability to enter a glamourous world. Often after that, I experienced similar issue with young and new journalists that have different idea about journalism.

Seeing that, I think it is important for public to know the real work that a journalist do so that they have some kind of perspective on the challenges they faced everyday. Budget 2012 was recently presented by the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in the Parliament, an important event held every year, which focused on the people's well being and provides impetus for further growth in the country's economy.

This time around, Najib, clad in a red baju melayu seems confident in presenting his third budget after assumed the post on April 3, 2009. However, there were others who experienced the first budget ever. They are the young journalists who just joined the news agency few weeks ago. This will be the first big event that they are covering.

Zairina, 25, joined Bernama Economic Service less than a month ago, was nervous as this is one of the big event handled by the desk. She has gotten used with the long working hours but covering pre-budget news was still new to her. She said in order to adapt to the working environment, she need to adapt fast.

For these journalists, they knew that hard work is the key to their success. Many, before them has even quit as they failed to adapt and found the job was not their calling. Passion is one thing but to retain it, it's another. It is indeed an uphill battle waiting for them ahead. This time around, Budget 2012 was not only to provide better insight on the economy but also a platform for these journalist to learn the mechanic behind the operation of a newsroom during a big event.

Fast and Furious: The Expensive Experience

Ever wonder how some people ease their adrenaline rush? Fast and furious is one of the answers. However, their happiness comes in a small package -- remote control racing cars (RC). For racing car enthusiasts, it was not just an expensive hobby but it is a way for them to show their skills in handling cars which have technicalities as complicated as Formula 1 car.

For Zainal Sojar, one of the fan, has been involved in this since 2008, mooted by interest in motoring sports. "I came here (Titiwangsa Lake Garden RC racing track) every Saturday and Sunday. The difficulty in dealing with RC makes this more interesting and make me addicted even though it is an expensive hobby," he said while cleaning his RC for a race session today.

He said for people who are interested in this hobby, they need to prepare an initial investment of RM4,000 to RM5,000 to get at least a RC and basic equipment for it.

Meanwhile, the caretaker of the Titiwangsa Lake Garden RC racing track, who wants to be known as Am, looked at this as way of releasing stress after a long day at work. "I have been in this sport for two years now and it is a stress reliever for me. I even sold my car to buy RC and the equipment that is needed. Even now, I never regretted my decision," he said. He said even though it is an expensive hobby, everybody is treated as equal once they entered the RC racing track.

"It is important for us to sharpen our skills in driving and managing RC to minimise the risk of accidents. While driving these RC cars, fokus is the utmost important element as even with a small fly, can affect the concentration of the owner who is holding the remote control," he said.

RC are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialised transmitter. The term RC mean either remote-controlled or radio controlled, where remote-controlled includes vehicles that are connected to their controller by a wire but common use of RC today usually refers to vehicles controlled by a radio-frequency link.

Zainal pointed out that there is some scepticism among the public which seen this as mere entertainment for children which is not truth. "The technology that it has is quite similar with the robot, so how come some people still see it as a child's play. The technology even has similarity with Formula 1 cars," he said.

Even though it is an expensive hobby, Zainal together with other RC racing cars enthusiasts are still determine to make it popular among the youth.