Well, what a year it has been – elections, scoops, lead stories, internships, awards and finally my National Diploma in Journalism (multi-media).
I have to start by saying thanks to all of our tutors at Whitireia: Jim Tucker, Virginia McMillan, Destina Munroe, Faye Harrison, Queenie Rikihana, Dave Lee, Bill Southworth and Terry Brown.
The course which I received has been enlightening, empowering, entertaining and expertly taught.
The guest speakers we had are too numerous to list but thanks to all of you who spent time with us in 2008/09.
As the course progressed it was obvious that this course is far ahead of the others when it comes to educating reporters on usage of different media.
When I initially applied for the course I was expecting print and photography. What I got was television, radio, photography, internet, print and slide-shows, which I feel enables journalists to tell stories in the most effective and interesting way.
I would say my writing skill has increased by a huge amount. I just have to look back on my first attempts to see how far I’ve actually come.
As for Shorthand, well it wasn’t easy but now I’ve got it i’ll never forget it. I was warned that it was hard, and the warnings proved to be well-founded. But yes, shorthand is a very useful skill for any media professional.
Highlights:
Flying Dave Lee across the globe to come and teach us. With his help we set up www.NewsWire.co.nz.
Having a multimedia recording and editing booth in the back of our classroom. A long and costly process, but oh so worth it. We also got our hands on a nice 3CCD camcorder and other video recording gear.
Turning our classroom into a news room during Election night. Interviewing politicians, catching them out, What more could a journalist ask for?
Internships at papers/radio stations. I went to work for the Hawkes Bay Today paper for two weeks – it was awesome. Although I have a far more passion for video and web media the atmosphere of a regional daily was very challenging and exciting.
Meeting people. I must have met thousands of new people while doing this course.
The course also came without the hefty university price tag. In short, I would recommend it to anyone looking into journalism, be it radio, TV, print or web.
So, off I go into the world to tell some stories.
In the mean time, I am working for a small media company producing picture stories for airports and banks. There is also a good chance that I will be employed by Whitireia to teach certain components of the course in 2009, which I’m looking forward to.
2 Comments
April 21, 2009 at 7:56 am
Hi Luke, just read your blog, darn brilliant mate well done, kudos to you. Hope to see you next time you are in Napier. We think of you often. Regards….Liz and Pete
March 25, 2009 at 7:07 am
I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road.