Students get the scoop on journalism

The Jakarta Post , Tangerang | Sun, 04/19/2009 1:57 PM | Discover


Ambadini, a law student at Syeh Maulana Yusuf University (Unis) in Tangerang, did not expect she would land a journalism position at her local paper so quickly.
The 27-year-old recently completed a journalism-training seminar along with 50 other students from universities across Jakarta and was promptly offered a reporting position with the Tangerang Tribune Daily.
Ambadini, who is in her last semester at university, said she enjoyed her new job as it presented new challenges.
"The journalism training was very effective. I learned a lot about the role of a young journalist both in the field and behind the editorial desk. I learned how to write reports using the correct journalistic jargon and developed my photography skills," she told The Jakarta Post.
Ambadini and four other students, despite not having finished their studies, were recruited by local newspapers following their month-long practical training at various editorial offices.
Four others who partook in the training now work for Satellite News and Radar Banten.
"It's really surprising. I have started working as a cadet journalist with the newspaper.
I have been assigned to cover news for the sport and city desks by the editor-in-chief, " Dini said.

Komsurizal, an editor at the Tangerang Tribune Daily, said the paper recruited her because she was the only participant training at the paper's editorial office who showed real potential of becoming a journalist.
The training program was conducted by the Tangerang University Students Forum (Format) in cooperation with Tangerang's Daily Journalists Working Group (Pokja Wartawan Harian Tangerang) between August 2 and Sept. 2 last year.
The training, titled "Menggugat Nilai-Nilai Kritis Mahasiswa Melalui Media Massa" was undertaken by 50 students from Unis, STIE Yuppentex, Asyukriyah, STIMIK Rahardja and Muhamadiyah University.
"We wanted university students to have a basic knowledge in journalism and we received a warm response from media organizations, so eventually the training materialized, " Agus, the program chairman, said.
The training was held every Saturday at the Unis campus in Tangerang municipality.
Multa Fidrus, the Jakarta Post's Tangerang-based journalist, introduced participants to the basics of journalism and the use of Bahasa Indonesia Jurnalistik writing techniques.
Ayu Cipta from Koran Tempo taught participants how to write feature stories while Joniansyah from the same publication informed them about identifying news and potential sources.
M. Choiri, from RCTI, gave an introduction to television journalism while his wife Dewi Gustiana, from the Suara Pembaruan Afternoon Daily, taught participants the necessary skills for conducting interviews and with a news source.
M. Koharuidin from TV One led the participants through the ropes of investigative reporting while Celestinus Trias HP from Warta Kota Daily explored photojournalism with the enthusiastic students. "We merely initiated the training just to broaden our knowledge without any sponsors to support the program," Siswanto, the organizing committee chairman, told the Post.
He said following the training, the participants sat a comprehensive test to measure their understanding of the principles of journalism. The ten best participants were then offered internships with local newspapers. (The Jakarta Post)