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.