Working Experience Part 4: Intern Journalist at NSTP

Helping a senior by becoming her 'subject' for her article. :D

Assalamualaikum readers, how have you been doing? Believe it or not, it's already the third week of May or in other word, it is the 144th day of the year! (today is Sunday, 24 May 2015). I hope that everyone is doing well and happy with whatever you are doing, ameen. 

So this is the fourth part of the Working Experience series. In shaa ALLAH  will write about the internship experience I gained being an intern journalist at New Straits Times Press (NSTP). 

I studied at Kolej Profesional Mara Indera Mahkota (KPMIM), in Kuantan, Pahang. I completed my programme which is called Diploma in English Communication (DeCOM). In short, this programme is a combination of little bit of education, communication, journalism, as well as project and presentation. I loved this programme because it built confidence in me when talking in front of people as we do presentation almost everyday.

In the final semester of the programme, we are expected to do a three-month internship at any place where we can practice our English; speaking, or writing especially. Anywhere, except schools. We cannot teach at school given that we were yet to obtain a diploma nor any teaching certificate or so. 

I applied at many places, and one of it was NSTP. I heard that many of my seniors have got great experience when doing their internship there. Plus, at that time, I thought of making journalism as my career so NSTP is a perfect place to do my internship. I forgot whether I applied at STAR or not. If I didn't, probably because the place is not commutable from where I live. I did get a place at other companies but NSTP was my aim though I got response from the company was quite late. Nonetheless I still got it, alhamdulillah. 

A few days before I started my internship, Amirul and I went to NSTP for the first time just to get familiar with the route and the buildings around so that I do not get lost on my first day. It was a brilliant idea to do that because we did get lost on that day. For your information, the journey started from LRT Ampang Line; Terminal Ampang to Masjid Jamek Station. Then from there, we had to make an interchange to LRT Kelana Jaya Line in order to get to Bangsar station. It really was a tiring journey really. 

So when we arrived at Bangsar station, we had no idea where to go. There was no mobile data at that time where we could have used Waze or Google Maps. No. As far as I remembered, I drew the map on a paper but it wasn't really helpful. We asked the LRT staff at the ticket counter and he confidently gave us the direction. Hence we walked accordingly and NSTP was nowhere to be found. The weather was hot! I literally cursed the LRT guy for giving us the wrong direction!

We asked an aunt at a 'pisang goreng' stall for the correct direction. She said we were supposed to take left from the LRT station, not to the right. Huarghhh!!! I got so mad at the LRT guy that I felt like wanting to go back to the LRT station there and then and punch him in the face. Please bro, next time if you do not know the direction, just say you don't know. As easy as that. 

Next, we continued walking according to the direction the aunt gave us. It was quite a long walk. Finally we found the building. Yeah...alhamdulillah... Pheww...  It took us about 15 minutes to reach there. Upon found NSTP, we strolled around and looked for possible shortcuts that I can take on later. But nah..there wasn't any. Hence, it is 25 minutes journey from Terminal Ampang to Masjid Jamek station, plus another 5-10 minutes from Masjid Jamek to Bangsar, and an add-on of 10-minute walking from the Bangsar station to NSTP. It really is a long commute, people. I did this for three months and felt exhausted. I salute other people who do it everyday their whole life.

Okay, so that's about how I commute and the location of NSTP. Now, let's start with the first day of internship. Myself, and other interns were brought to a meeting room and were given briefing about our allowance and such. If I'm not mistaken, we got RM15 per day. College's allowance stopped when we do industrial training. Thus to get some money from the place we do internship is crucial given I was obviously moneyless at that time. NSTP only gave the allowance at the end of the internship. Thus, I asked money from Omma and Baba everyday in order to survive my daily routine; food, LRT tickets, taxi fare, etc. 

Later I went to New Straits Times (NST) department. It is the biggest in the building. It is on the second floor. On the upper floor, there are Berita Harian and Harian Metro departments, both on the same level. Not NST, it conquered the whole second floor of the building. A senior journalist was then introduced to me. He is an Indian who I forgot his name (I actually already forgot everyone's name in the department.... :( ) This guy introduced me to almost everyone relevant in the department, as well as the most important ones.  There were four to five of them, which again I have forgotten their names. Let's assume their name was Azizah, Syarif, Kak Ros, Subra, and Mimi. They are the ones who decide the roster of the day, create headlines, and which news are to be featured in the newspaper. Of course they do more than that but we don't have to go to that depth. Azizah was the one who I need to refer to when it comes to the college's assessments which needed someone to supervise or sign them.

Then, once I have chosen my desk, Azizah called me and asked me to follow a senior journalist to cover a news. His name was.... let's assume that it was Faizal. Faizal and I went to lunch before going to the assignment venue. It was at Puduraya. Dato' Hishamuddin will come and do a press conference regarding the... bla bla bla. Faizal gave me his voice recorder and asked me to put it on the press' table. Then there was a Q & A session, where journalists and reporters pour out their questions to Dato' Hishamuddin. Certainly as a newbie, I didn't ask anything but observed this whole-new-experience and started jotting down some notes.

We got back at NSTP quite late due to traffic jam. It was almost Maghrib when we wanted to start writing the news. I already felt uneasy. Am I going to be home late today? On my very first day? Arghh!!! Of course I cannot ask to go home early. After all, I was just an intern. So after asking Faizal's permission to perform Maghrib prayer, I continued helping him with the news article.  

We managed to finish it at almost 9pm. I quickly asked to be dismissed for I have to walk alone to go to the LRT station so it was better to leave as soon as possible. I walked and ran because I was afraid. I was yet to be familiar with the area. Imagine if something happens, I could be in trouble! Thus, I walked so fast and ignored people around me. Now, guess what time did I reach home? 10.15pm! Omma and Baba got worried because I forgot to contact them. Thanks to the first day experience, I told myself that I would not become a journalist in the future. 

The next day, I came to work with tired body and mind; extremely unmotivated. I just hope that I would not get assignment as hard as yesterday, or best if there is no assignment for me at all. As an intern, it was not everyday that I got assignment to do (cover news). Sometimes those people give me 'dummy' news to cover just for the sake that I have something to do for that day. Why do I call it 'dummy'? Because I could not find the news on newspaper on the next day. Hahahaha. 

I wasn't being myself in that three months of internship. I was very quiet and almost invisible. People around me sometimes forgot about my existence. I didn't blame them because it was me who didn't take the effort to interact and socialize more with them. I don;t know, I just didn't feel like doing it given that 'mind-your-own-business' attitude was very transparent in the news department. 

On top of that, did you know that there were more Indians and Chinese in the NST department compared to Malay? I mean, I'm not being racist here but I just want to share this fact with you. I was surprised myself when witnessing this situation. Only then I knew that Indian conquered the English writing industry in Malaysia; specifically in journalism. Chinese is the second most 'population' in this arena, followed by Malay. 

I'm not saying that I only befriended Malay. That is nonsense. But given that there was little number of Malays, as well as age gap among all the journalists regardless of race, and many other excuses; I didn't get along too well with people there. I just do my own stuff, just like them. It was a terrible working atmosphere I tell you. I was literally suffocating in the department.

Then I got to know some friends who were also doing internship; they were Syahirah and Poh Lean. Syahirah was currently studying at Murdoch University, Australia. While Poh Lean was studying at HELP University. Syahirah was doing the internship only to get some experience being in the industry. It was not her programme requirement to do the internship but it was her own effort to do it just because she thought it would be beneficial for her in the future. She is a nice girl; tall and pretty. Her English is very fluent and she is so natural when it comes to talking and interacting to other senior staff there. That was something that myself and Poh Lean were very bad at. 

I got to do lots of assignments with both Syahirah and Poh Lean, and not so often with senior journalists. Although I could learn more from the seniors, I prefer doing the assignments with Syahirah and Poh Lean. Why? Again I told you, people in the department were not friendly, especially towards a lost-looking-girl like me. They can be seen not too comfortable when having to tag me along doing the assignment. Hence made the situation as awkward as it could be. *sigh*

Syahirah left in the middle of February if I'm not mistaken. So only Poh Lean and I left in the department. We hung out together almost all the time. It was like we only had each other to go through everything everyday. From having lunch, covering news about Thaipusam, to Firefly ticket promotions, we did it all together. Poh Lean may not know this, but I was so relieved that she was around. She was like the only reason I had to not feel devastated going to work everyday. Thank you so much Poh Lean for being such a great human being when I was almost lost the reason to smile. She literally was the reason I survived!!!! (It's such a shame that we don't have a single photo together though).

Poh Lean could see that I was unhappy in the news department. I never told her that but she could sense it. When we talked about it, I almost cried because it was like I hit the rock bottom; I just could not stand it anymore. She gave me the most brilliant idea of all; to switch into the feature department where I will be writing about gadgets, entertainment, skin care, etc (the Life & Times section). When she suggested that, I felt like I could live again... It didn't take me long to speak about this to Azizah. Azizah asked me if I didn't like being in the news department. I just smiled and said that it could be a good exposure for me to try a different writing style in the feature department. 

Azizah told me that I need to get the approval from Syarif. Then one day, without hesitating, I went to speak to Syarif. He said that it was okay, but I need to wait until March then I could go to the feature department. Upon waiting until March comes, I diligently do my assignments assigned to me in the news department. 

March came, finally! Alhamdulillah!!! So I moved my stuff to an empty spot in the feature department and got to know with people there. I remembered only three names; Syida Lizta, Ridzwan A. Rahim and Suzanna Pillay. The atmosphere is a bit different here; they were friendlier than people at news department. I experienced less stress because most of the time my job is to write reviews on product or album, which means I didn't have to go out as much. The best assignment was to get to see Michelle Yeoh in person. I got the chance to follow Ridzwan to cover news on Anlene's event and at that time Michelle Yeoh was the spokesperson. We even got to eat lunch at a five-star hotel nearby where the event took place. So yayyy!!!! I got to be featured in the Life & Times section once when I helped Suzanne to become her 'subject' for her article called something like "simple exercise on couch". My face was featured in the two-pages article. Hahahaha. 

When it was nearing the end of internship, I was the happiest person on earth. I could not wait to leave NSTP. Though my final month was not as miserable, I just couldn't help it but looking forward to bidding goodbye to that place. 

I learnt tons of things being an intern journalist at NSTP. Despite being unhappy, miserable, and unlike myself, I must admit this experience was really invaluable.

First of all, it thought me to be out and about; extremely independent. I didn't have my driving licence at that time. Hence, when I needed to go somewhere for my assignment, I had to take the train, cab, and sometimes bus! There were many times when the venue is not reachable by train or bus, I had to use my own money to pay for the cab in order to get to the place. Sometimes I had to borrow money from friends because I didn't have enough! So sad...  In the beginning, I will go to the venue on my own, alone. On top of that, smart phone application such as Waze and Google Map are both not available yet. Hence I had to jot down the address, check it out on the internet, draw the map, and of course, to ask people around so I do not get lost. When I made friends who are also interns from the Berita Harian and Harian Metro departments, I would contact them and ask if they are going to the same place. If yes, we will go together either by public transport or if she has a car, she will drive her car.   

Second; working environment. Personally, I think the ambiance at the  NST department was too selfish. People almost ignore and forget each other's existence. This opinion might be biased because I was only there for three months, and as intern on top of that. Probably if I were to work there as a permanent staff, I might have a different idea. But it was what I witnessed, and how I felt during that time. Mind-your-own-business is actually a good attitude to be practiced when the right time comes. I mean, of course we dislike people who are busybody, right? But if it is too much of minding your own business, then it could result in suffocation like what I have experienced. I became quiet, depressed, sad, and alone :(

Third; goodies, and sometimes cash for the journalist. I got lots of goodies when I worked there. As someone who doesn't come from the journalism background, I never thought that at times journalists were given these stuff as 'bribe', so they would write good things about the event, or the person involved. Certainly I do not know to what extent this principle is implanted in the journalists' minds. Perhaps only minority have this kind of thought. Poh Lean did tell me once that from what she learnt, it is not ethical to receive the goodies or the cash. However, we did take the cash that we got from covering news on Thaipusam. Poh Lean said, "Never mind ah, we interns are poor!" Indeed, intern journalists work almost like the senior journalists but we were very poor. So we used the cash to pay for cab and bus fare. I would not go in depth concerning this 'bribe'-in-journalism issue for I have too little knowledge about it. So you might want your journalist friends about this, if you want to know more, ya?

Fourth; to do whatever it takes to get 'great article'. A senior journalist shared a story with me about other senior journalist who spent time drinking with a police officer and waited until the police got drunk so he will pour the story to her. Scary aye? Wow! This is just wrong. When I heard this story, I knew I will only be in this field until the internship ends. This industry does not suit me at all. Why would I go and dig stories which are not of my concern at all? Duh! I actually wanted to be a reporter. I got it mixed up with journalist. Nevertheless, I guess a reporter's job is not so much different from a journalist's. So goodbye! 

I got tons of other life-lessons that I embraced in that three months. But some just can't be expressed in words. In short, I can say that "what an eye-opener it was!" Though that period was a bit like hell to me, I could not deny that I learnt a great deal of stuff. My lecturer said the same thing when she read my internship daily log. She was surprised when I told her I didn't like being there. But alhamdulillah despite that negative feeling and thinking, I managed to survived it all and according to her, I obviously learnt more compared to my other friends.  

I was offered a full-time job there. I went through an interview before I left the company. I could say that the panels had faith in me given that everything I said was very convincing. I would have been given the job anytime because I know they really wanted to increase the number of Malay in the NST department. Guess what? I passed the interview! Nonetheless, I know that I would be bullied like crazy if I accept the job. Why? I only had my diploma at that time, and in fact I was not even graduated yet. Now do you think I would get the same pay as others who hold a degree? When I definitely will be working my ass off just like them? NO WAY! So I politely declined the offer. 

I also applied for the Tabung Yayasan NSTP to get scholarship to continue my study in the relevant field. I know I can get the scholarship easily because I already have the experience working at NSTP. The scholars will definitely be working at NSTP once graduated. That's the most important clause of all.  Alhamdulillah, I got the scholarship. But I had to decline it because at that time, I was already offered to continue studies in Wellington, New Zealand. 

Looking from other perspective, it can be said that I was totally confused at that time. Dear readers, I have stated many times that I didn't like it there. Hence, why did I go for the interview? Why did apply for the scholarship? I guess I was confused, and still lost. But at the same time, I probably just wanted to try my luck. Alhamdulillah I have had great luck! However myself and journalism just not meant to be, and I am glad that I decided it like that. 

We are coming to the end of the post. Truthfully it took me days to finish this one. In the introduction I wrote that it was 24 May. But today is already 26th. I even edited the first paragraph a few times to change the date actually. Hahaha.      

Hope you enjoy reading this post.

Till next post,

Love, 
Nusaybah.

p/s: just had a chat with Poh Lean after soooo long. She continued working at NSTP after the internship as a permanent staff. She left after two years because she too, felt that it was terribly suffocating in there (NST department). She migrated to Italy not too long after quitting her job. It's her third year now living in the beautiful city of Sicily. How cool is that? I'm planning to visit her someday, somehow. :)

A few articles with my byline when writing for the news department.

The Thaipusam article that I did with Poh Lean.

Main news article, written by me, Poh Lean, and some other journalists.

Articles for Life & Times (feature department).

Got the chance to meet Michelle Yeoh in person. She's really thin!