At a distance, one may dismiss the place as it looks fairly casual. This is from the seats outside to the location of it. There is quite a huge difference from an individual`s expectations.
Once an individual enters the place, reality sinks in. An open office layout welcomes you with lots of people situated differently. Before you realize it, nervousness envelopes your inner self and you wish a ‘superhero’ would come to save you.
Just then, a senior reporter orientates you by showing you around. The first bit is the introduction where you get to know the names of those individuals and the roles they play. Then you are assigned a place which serves as a temporary place for your internship. Let us replay. It is an internship, not a job.’’
Once that is done, you are informed of the day to day activities. First things first, meetings. As a newbie, you are expected to be punctual and attend those meetings. Mostly, these meetings determine the base of a newspaper the following day.
The assignments vary as some reporters have specialized in different fields. There are individuals who handle politics, crime, health, education among others. However, as an intern, it is different altogether.
The first few weeks is a learning process for you. You get to go with a pro in that area. This forms the basis of more to come in the recurring days.
In as much as you are learning, an individual has to show interest. According to Muthoni Kamau who is a writer he stated,“One needs to possess interest especially in certain fields.’’ The person you are going out with needs to see some level of interest and effort too.
Try to convince him or her that you can do it. Show that aggressiveness in you. Sometimes there may be “dry days’ whereby either fewer stories are in or no stories at all.
This is a perfect opportunity for you to delve in other fields as well. Feature stories are a big edge for an individual whereby you carry out a comprehensive research of a particular topic. As a newbie in that field, one may choose to read other feature stories of others or pitch such a story to the editor for guidance.
The idea maybe either newsworthy or needs some modification. Do not give up. Pitch the idea severally to other editors as well.
Some weeks ago, I pitched an idea to a business editor. I was guided to use another angle for the story. I did my bit and I am still waiting for feedback. So far I cannot complain as it has been an awesome experience.
Tune in for the next bit……
Annette Wangechi Kariuki is a student and online writer, studying Mass Communication at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
