Not everybody is a journo

K.S Sivakumaran

High School students after their studies and even continuing their University career may like to be freelance journalists in the press or even in the electronic medium. For your benefit I by virtue of my experience as a fulltime journalist in The Island, Daily News, Virakesari and Navamani and presently a freelance columnist for Lankan English and Tamil newspapers claim that I can suggest some helpful hints for you.

Here are some:

* Observe carefully and attentively. An average person is a poor transcriber of what he or she sees, a careless and fragmentary recorder of what he or she hears.

A witness describing an incident	Some journalists reporting an incident

* If you ask him/her to describe the details of some incident which he/she has witnessed, his/her account will have glaring errors, inferences, gusses, emotional exaggeration, bungle names and addresses will always be inaccurate.

* Alertness, capacity for investigation, a retentive memory of things seen and heard will make he or she a trained journalist. Such journalists take nothing for granted. Permits no additions or omissions to distort or twist the accurate weighing of facts.

* By instinct a journalist pursues the scientific method of attack, approaches each situation critically, searches through hidden facts and motives, especially when somebody is trying to see a dummy. Seldom does the journalist offers a questionable or controversial matter of his or her own authority.

* In a controversy the journalist cites both sides of the issue. Warning: If you are a gullible soon you will be a victim of your profession.

* A journalist equipped with a rich and varied educational background unquestionably holds the odds at the starting point.

* Everyday of the year the journalist will find his or her store of information, a variable ally especially if the journalist has studied history, literature, economics, government or politics, social sciences- at least a basic knowledge of sciences, modern languages and law. All contribute to the journalist’s understanding of the network of events the journalist is called upon to untangle and explain.

* Background knowledge comes handy, especially during interviews. A multi-disciplinary approach is always helpful.

* If you do not know the philosophies of Karl Marx or Sigmund Freud of great thinkers or the difference or between hydrogen and oxygen, you will lose your weight.

Essential practice

* Read regularly and critically. A competent journalist keeps up with the times. He / she should read all the newspapers, magazines and books avidly and critically storing information.

* A journalist should build up a wide acquaintanceship. The facts a journalist should know count heavily in his or her favour, but the people the journalist knows count even more.

* Display imitative and resourcefulness. If you are lazy until your hairs grave, you will be writing stories about onions and potatoes only. Resourcefulness means that if one road is blocked to get an information or to breakthrough a story, you wait until you get the secondnd, thirdrd and fourth.

* Exercise diligence and patience. Never feel defeated. Have patience and stick to an assignment like a martyr.

* Use imagination but do not fake a healthy imagination often marks the difference between a top and a low rung in journalism. This does not mean distortion of essential facts but their clarification- excellent for human-interest stories.

* Write and keep on writing. Even if something should go to the dustbin you should try writing. Once you finish the page of a copy analyse and criticise the work. Write slowly, thoughtfully, painstakingly every phrase and sentence. Even experienced writers had said that they slow after a vacation.

* Think clearly and accurately. Honest thinking with clear cut results should be the foundation for the entire journalist.

Every step on the discovery of development and presentation of facts calls for clarity, tempered by sober minded judgment carful planning.

Muddled head has no place in journalism Footwork without brain work takes one no where. Modern world is drifting from its old anchorage of authority new economy and social forces are in the making and we need better trained breed of journalists.

* Make wise use of leisure time. Make it profitable. You must know when to use your leisure time profitably. One is a journalist 24 hours a day. Otherwise your efficiency will be impaired.

Some notes on critical reading and writing

In a creative civilisation, language- words- have a flexible responsive agent. It changes and grows with changes made upon its resources and at times such as ours when new knowledge challenges our expert, thousands of new words, meanings and symbols appear to communicate the findings.

- We should have a basic idea of what language means and does. Spoken language differs from writing. Language in its transmitting capacity preserves a common culture and thereby perpetuates as well as fosters civilisation.

- Language continually undergoes change. Its old words take on fresh meanings and new terms multiply during periods of social growth. Sounds, grammatical structure and usage also change.

- Language includes special vocabulary which gives us special insight into ourselves and nature.

- The language gives the individual both the sense of personal identity and the recognition in social community.

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