His grandson wants to be a journalist

Manong Eniong, a retired university professor in the metropolis, and I were having limitless cups of coffee the other day at the sheltered portion of his manicured garden.

We talked about just anything—from rainwater to climate change to migrating white herons to agitated volcanoes in this country where 18 of 32 are still active, a country on the Pacific Ring of Fire which stretches for about 40,000 km around the Pacific Ocean.

Then suddenly, like some Corvus philippinus that flew past the shielding umbrella in his garden, he asked me something how it was when I myself was teaching journalism at the university.

Right off the bat, I unreeled to him an anecdote in Journ 102 class, described in the module as news writing, where I asked those in my class why they wanted to become journalists.

One student had a daredevil answer:” It’s glamorous sir.” A sentiment shared by more than a dozen of the more than 30 enrolled for the course.

That could mean exotic, picturesque, colorful, fantastical, romantic, and marvelous—whichever would be closest to the understanding of the speaker and aspiring journalist.

Unreservedly, I told the students that if that was their intention to pursue journalism they might as well enrol in BS mathematics—to which as many aspiring journalists raised eyebrows and visual antipathy.

Then, careful not to be carried away, I remembered manong Eniong’s question.

I discovered his grandson, Aaron Maximilian, son of his second daughter, a doctor of medicine, and son-in-law, a licensed pharmacist, had told his parents—he was now in Grade 11 of the K-12 curriculum—he was being lured by the journalism profile.

Which appeared to be a volte-face from his young boy’s previously stated dream to become, first, a doctor of pharmacy, on the trail of his father, then a doctor of medicine like his mother, before he was coming home with excellent grades in English and law.

Some enrolees in journalism have the easy thought that if they can write, then they can be in what one described as a “glamorous” calling in print or even news agency journalism with their byline read or with their face on cam or on camera.

They seem to forget that writing is not just writing grade school theme compositions. That there is a style in news English different from plain written or conversational English.

While having a good sip on his second cup, I told him if his grandson would like to pursue journalism—and I thought the grandson had the academic credentials, based on the grandfather’s narrative – he must not forget the HBCs in this calling: he must have the Heart, the Brawn or the muscle to be strong, and the Commitment to pursue a story.

And, at quick notice, he must be right when he writes.

At the same time, he must write to communicate, not to impress, like writing in the simplest language understandable by the grade 4 relatives of Yuko Nakamikado in Japan or Eun Hee Yoon in South Korea.

And he must have a healthy constitution because he will be working beyond the bundy clock-watched eight hours a day six days a week, the seventh being the day off —and there are times the day off may even be canceled but either immediately paid or added on to either the accumulated vacation leave or the sick leave.

I whispered that when I was with an international news agency for more than a dozen years, my days off were cancelled, and the only times I was off—it was a compassionate leave—was when my father answered the Lord’s summons and had a month-long vacation in the Queen City of the South..

Which gave me a sac à main bombé, a bulging purse, when I resigned.

Then I went peripherally to what I thought as a practitioner what the essential qualities of a good journalist should be: perhaps print or news agency or broadcast (radio or television) journalist.

These may include: A way with words;. how do you distinguish between an average news story and an enthralling news piece?; thorough knowledge; investigative skills; effective communication skills; professionalism and confidence; persistence and discipline; and ethics.

Additionally, I said—although I knew manong Eniong had the things I was going to tell him on his template—a good journalist must have an analytical mind and must base stories on evidence and facts, not emotion or hearsay.

They are astute observers and instinctively sense when there is much more to a story than what is being shared at a news conference, for example, where many questions, including irrelevant ones, are asked..

Excellent grammar, spelling and written communication skills are mandatory for any of the journalism genres.

Comfort and familiarity with word processing and graphics software are important, and many journalists looking for jobs with smaller publications find that technical skill with desktop publishing is helpful.

A journalist needs to have a broad interest in the world around him – not just what happens in the West Philippine Sea perhaps, but must be interested as well in what is happening in Ukraine and in Canada and Cuba where reports suggest China has placed some spying or listening devices and want to find things out and share their discoveries with their readers or listeners.

They must have a love of language, written or spoken, understand the meaning and flow of words and take delight in using them.

A good reporter must be fair, accurate and objective in his news writing and reporting job. Fairness, accuracy and objectivity are news virtues, which the profession thrives on.

Any attempt to compromise any of these values makes a mess of the reputation and credibility of the industry.

Print journalists collect and analyze facts about newsworthy events by interview, investigation and observation and write stories for newspapers, magazines or journals.

In addition to the sensory aspects, print media is widely considered more credible than digital media.

People who subscribe to magazines and newspapers do so for a reason – they believe the information contained in the publication is accurate, credible and provides them with some benefit.

Print journalism—which covers magazines, newspaper, flyers and books—is presented in written form and appears in newspapers and magazines.

While it may include pictures, illustrations, or graphs, print journalism is intended to be read.

Broadcast journalism is presented through video or audio on television, radio, or the internet.

A journalist, or reporter, is responsible for researching and writing informational news articles and stories about real events using a fair and unbiased perspective.

Their duties include interviewing experts, gathering first-hand accounts of events and organizing an outline into a cohesive, interesting story.

I sensed in his hand grip the character of a grateful fellow academic.