Frankly, the feelings were pretty mixed. I went into this internship with an open mind, ready to accept any surprises in the course. I did not know much about the institution that I was going to work in and probably even less about journalism, not to mention Chinese journalism.

When almost all reporting materials came to me in English, translation became an additional arduous task that I had to undertake. It really stressed me out when some interviewees did not even know how to write their Chinese names.

The part about journalism that struck me most is that you will never know what your job for the next day might be, where you are going, and who you are going to meet until your editor assigns you your job the night before. Looking at initial materials or press releases, you may think it is going to be a routine and boring event, only to find out later that the particular event surprises you in many other aspects.

Due to the irregular working hours, reporters will have difficulty planning their social life, but the trade-offs will be the different people you meet in the course of work and the thrill of being at the front line of action on many occasions.

When I was interviewing, I thought I was peeping into my interviewees’ lives! How much insight I could gather and how true the images were depicted  depended very much on my communication with them and the level of mutual enthusiasm that flowed within the few minutes of interaction. Sometimes, I was very surprised that I could identify with their feelings even though we were complete strangers.

My interviewees could be a young lady battling with her illness during her studies, or volunteer students and teachers sacrificing their holidays to help re-build a school in Indonesia, or a parent trying to get his kid registered into a primary school, or even just a passer-by on the road giving his comments on the Great Singapore Sale.

I would not have had the chance to talk to these Singaporeans without being a reporter. I guess I was able to relate to some of them well because some of their feelings are universal. It may be a son’s love and gratitude to his foster parents who supported him through his tertiary education or a principal’s dedication to his students.

Some people perceive reporters to be cold and unfeeling, especially when issues covered are sensitive. I admit this is an easy trap for us to fall into when we become too preoccupied with carrying out our work or looking out for the news.

Actually, a reporter has to be both detached and sensitive in order to be truely professional in his or her job. This balance is sometimes hard to find and there are no hard rules to follow.

I do find myself getting too involved with some of the interviewees and eventually lose my objectivity in the reporting. I may write too much about certain issues and become subjective. I am always reminded by my editors to check if an answer given by an interviewee was coloured by emotions, or that the bigger picture or even the truth was withheld.

Nevertheless, it is always a challenge to search for the thin and indefinable line, and to constantly look for the truth and check for accuracy.

During my internship, my supervisors and colleagues showed tremendous support and encouragement to us, the three cadet reporters. Although we were new to the job, they did not hesitate to give us responsibilities and tasks so that we could have the opportunities to learn the ropes of the trade.

They always treated us like the rest of the reporters, expecting results from us all the time and this has helped us improve our skills tremendously. Going out on assignments with some of the experienced journalists was also an eye-opening experience. Not only did I learn from their way of handling news, I picked up tips on interviewing and co-operation with the photojournalists as well.

The pressure of meeting deadlines is also another interesting issue. To me, there is no perfect article, but only the deadline which I must meet. Meeting deadlines everyday is part and parcel of the job and if you miss it, you are as good as dead. But still, we have survived it

True, we may have made mistakes on the way, but that is what the internship is all about, giving us the chance to try out everything and learn from mistakes.

This has indeed been an enjoyable experience and it has definitely built up my confidence towards venturing into journalism as my future profession.