So, you're going to be a ...?

As the weeks pass us by (slowly or quickly - you decide) I'm sure we've all wondered what's next for us. Some may be turning to the 'dark side', others may be taking some time off, or following the journalism 'straight and narrow'... But really, who knows where we'll end up?

I thought to my self yesterday: in two weeks time I'll be an official 'adult', with a tertiary education. A professional. But I doubt this is really the case. While University has provided me with some great experiences and knowledge, I don't think I can change my status from 'young person' to 'adult' that quickly. And I sure as hell won't become a professional over night.

So many times I've said to people, "I'm studying Communication" and got the reply, "So what will you be when you finish?" I still can't really answer that question wholeheartedly, the opportunities are endless. When I came into this degree I had a black and white description of what I wanted to be when I 'grew up' and good luck to anyone who tried to persuade me. After my first semester studying, I was lost. Did I really want to be doing the death knock, scandalising celebrities and politicians, demanding the tough questions get answered?

Thanks goodness I stuck it out.

While the uncertainty sent me around the twist for a while, it's now one of the things I love most about Comms. Journalist one year, PR practitioner the next. Who knows? I love that when I feel I am no longer being challenged, I can up and move into a different role. I'm a person who has two speeds: fast and off. And Comms is a career path that I believe will keep my on my toes for many years to come, ticking off my to-do-list, one career at a time.

All I know is I'm looking forward to the endless possibilities out there, whatever they may be. And you know what? While the uncertainty would have killed me two-and-a-half years ago, today I revel in it. :)

Good luck everyone!

An add-on... (No I wouldn't like fries with that.)

I've copied this from a comment I wrote on my blog. I think it's important, and interesting, enough to have it's own post.


Make your own call...




I'm not quite sure if this fits into this week's topic; it could be appropriate to any number of topics we've covered but I'd like to draw people's attention to the following Media Watch clip that, in a word, is remarkable.

http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3035307.htm

It recaps a past episode showing evidence that the cover story of a women's magazine, on soap star Kate Ritche's wedding, was completely fabricated. The magazine photoshopped the pictures and the magazine went to print before the wedding even took place. But, a reader wrote to the magazine and complimented them on their coverage. When Media Watch confronted the reader and asked if she was aware the story was fabricated, the reader replied, "It wouldn't bother me that much... Because it's media... I'm not that stupid to realise everything's true in the magazine."

Hmmmm...

Week Ten: Assignment Update

Today I interviewed Dave Dollin, the news journalist from Central Coast radio station Star 104.5 (where I am lucky enough to work). I spoke to Dave about the importance of local news and how Star covered the 2010 election, giving a national story a local angle.

The interview went smoothly and he made some very interesting points. One that stood out was that people want to hear their suburb mentioned in the news; he stressed that finding a local angle in a national, or even international, story is important to ensure your audience is tuning in. As we heard in the seminars, local news gives local people a voice that can be heard. And most of the time, people want to hear that voice.

He also said that although there are similarities between many commercial stations, like music or announcers, he believes it is local news that will make people tune in!

This was a very refreshing thing to hear as a (hopeful) future journalist.