Worth or No : Working as a journalist/reporter

JAYNE LOO

Working in the media industry, especially in Malaysia, is not easy. As a child, I always wanted to grow up and work in the media industry. I enjoyed writing and I am a very talkative person so I applied for a journalist role at a publication for my internship. Within a week, I went through my interview and got the placement.

When I stepped foot in the building, I was filled with joy and motivation to start my first day of my internship. I made my way up to the Human Resources department and waited for my mentor to arrive. What surprised me was not only that I didn't have a mentor, but that the whole department was empty at 9am. My expectation of a print media company, especially Malaysia’s largest print company, would be packed with journalists and editors by 8am like how it's portrayed in movies where everyone is running around at 8am screaming at each other for news.

But no.

Even with the pandemic hitting the industry, some of the journalists and editors work from home, and they cover their stories from home too. I wasn’t given any assignments on the first and second day of my internship but it was mandatory to be at the office even if I didn’t have anything to do. On the third day, I received a call from one of the editors that I will be given my first assignment the next day with a senior reporter. I went and was given very vague instructions on how to cover a food story. Going without any experience, I would say it was a very bad experience as I was not briefed beforehand on what I was supposed to do. I went back to the office, only with that small information I was given earlier and started on the article. It was like this for weeks, and I went through it.

Soon, my articles were criticised, insulted that it was not up to the publication’s standard. I was disappointed by their way of guiding interns who are reaching for their dreams. I was told that it is their way of mentoring someone that is new to the industry but at the end of the day, I am just an intern working at Malaysia’s biggest print publication, who is more powerful? Old employees or a new intern?

I hated my job. At one point, I was thinking of transferring to another company. I started asking myself, “Are you sure you want to pursue a career in Journalism?”

While working in the publication, transportation was one of the things that truly annoyed me throughout my whole internship. I don’t drive a lot, so it was difficult for me to plan my transport the day before my assignments. It was always somewhere far and inconvenient. I was panicking everyday because I have to pre-plan my destinations and budget so I don’t overspend my allowance on transportation.

While deadlines were very flexible, it was also very troublesome where editors would only ask for the details when the article had space to be published, could be next week while you had other commitments or a later date when you are not even working at the publication anymore. If you have stories that involve interviews with high profiles, it would be a little troublesome as you need to call them again and confirm the details with your interviewee from an interview over two months ago.

Despite everything I just shared, being a journalist is not always miserable.

With the far and ridiculous interview time and locations, I still enjoyed working with interviewees, exploring their stories behind their successful backgrounds. I loved being able to be comfortable with how they lived their lives despite still having difficulties to manage. The smile on their faces while they spoke reflected on how comfortable they were while having the interview with me. It was heart-warming to see them sharing their stories with others who could be also suffering from similar difficulties. I once interviewed someone with ASD and ADHD and it was very brave of him to share what was his tactic to fight over his mental disorder.

Although it was annoying to contact interviewees, I still enjoy the flexible deadlines for some occasions when I am busy with other important commitments. Working as a journalist requires you to work 24/7, even if you are on your day off. Sometimes I would delay my article until they need it, although it is a bad habit, it is good to be able to focus on other issues first.

Not to mention free meals when you are assigned to a food article, you get to indulge in meals that you could never spend money on. I was once invited to a media testing event that sells a set meal for over 2 thousand ringgit. Not only do you get to get a taste of superiority, you also get to try new dishes from different cultures.

I can never forget to mention how being multilingual is such a big advantage to me. Interviewees can be more comfortable in speaking in their own fluent language while I translate everything while they are talking. It gives them a feeling of trust and not sounding like I am interrogating them like a suspect. It is always important to ask them whether they are more comfortable to communicate in their preferred language than speaking to them in a language that they can’t fully understand.

But it all comes to the final question, will I consider working at Malaysia’s leading print publication as a journalist again?

Probably not.

Personally, I feel like there is a lot of space to expand and improve for the media and print industry in Malaysia, but somehow something is stopping them from making changes to it. I wouldn’t say I had a completely bad experience while working with this publication, however I was let down with an expectation that I was not expecting and hoped for a better outcome for my experience at the company.

I genuinely still want to pursue a career as a journalist or a reporter, however I would try my chances in another country where news is more advanced and more fitting to all target audiences. I hope my experiences won’t scare the future talents in the media industry but encourage them to reach what they want no matter how the experiences are.