“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.“
– American industrialist and business magnate, Henry Ford
LAST Wednesday, I attended a Writing and Journalism Workshop held at Seminar Room I of the Sarawak State Library in Petra Jaya.
I went home refreshed and motivated, feeling as if I had been on a mini vacation.
The workshop, conducted by veteran Malaysian journalist and political observer, Francis Paul Siah, was organised by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sarawak Tribune and Suara Sarawak, Datuk Jeniri Amir. It was compulsory for all editors, sub-editors and reporters (print and digital) of the two news organisations. About 30 editors and reporters turned up for the event.
As a veteran journalist who started at the bottom as a reporter, many of the things brought up by Siah were not new to my ears.
However, the workshop was a refreshing refresher course for me, reinforcing knowledge and skills I had previously learned.
Sarawak Tribune’s print reporter, Neville Timothy Sanders, wrote three news reports based on the workshop, namely, ‘Research crucial for media interviews’, ‘Vocabulary, grammar: Reporting cornerstones’ and ‘Find the angle: Siah on quality journalism’.
Because of Siah’s emphasis on research, vocabulary, grammar and angles, I think many interns and young journalists would have found the workshop very useful and informative.
Besides that, Siah also spoke in a pleasant voice and delivered his talk in a manner that was easy to understand. He also had many words of advice for the participants.
For example, he said, “It pays to keep a personal vocabulary journal. Study grammar and style and know the difference between Oxford and American spellings.”
Siah also urged the editors and reporters to read widely and regularly and to write everyday.
“Practice makes perfect, so write every day,” he said.
He also urged the editors and reporters to go and look for courses overseas to improve and enjoy themselves.
“If you have the opportunity to work outside Kuching, go and widen your horizon,” he added.
To build stronger teamwork and enhance the spirit of camaraderie, Siah suggested that editors and reporters go for dinners together at least twice a year.
He said they could fund the dinners themselves by collecting a minimum amount of cash from each person every month.
He also suggested that Sarawak Tribune and Suara Sarawak organise Journalist of the Month Award by offering some cash as incentive for the News of the Month.
Siah reminded the editors and reporters to study the various laws targeting news media like the Sedition Act 1948, the libel laws and the Defamation Act 1957.
He said journalism was a challenging and rewarding career in view of Malaysia’s diverse culture and rapid development.
He pointed out that journalists today could work in a wide range of media outlets from traditional newspapers to online news portals and TV stations.
In the last section of his workshop, at the prompting of Jeniri, Siah, a former chief editor of Sarawak Tribune in the early 1990s, also shared the blunders he had made as an editor and journalist.
One of the blunders he made, he said, was to join a political party when he was a journalist. He has long resigned from the party and now advises journalists not to join any political party.
Siah, who is now a columnist for Sarawak Tribune and Sin Chew Daily, and writes occasionally for overseas publications, declared, “Journalism does not motivate me. However, I always find joy in writing. I will never stop being a journalist because I will never stop writing.”
The Writing and Journalism Workshop reminded me how much water has flowed under the bridge since Siah and I worked in the same office in Kuching and how small this world is. When he was chief editor of the Sarawak Tribune in the early 1990s, I was a sub-editor. I seldom see him since he moved to Semenanjung Malaysia.
I think it is good to have a veteran journalist, who hails from Sarawak, to conduct such workshops because he can understand better the local condition, constraints and challenges.
Thank you to Sarawak Tribune’s CEO, Datuk Jeniri Amir, for holding the workshop away from the office premises.
The new, different environment allowed me to forget about work in the office and focus totally on the workshop.
I also enjoyed the sumptuous lunch at the Sarawak State Library’s café at the end of the workshop with Datuk Jeniri, Siah, Sarawak Tribune’s Editor-in-Chief, Aden Nagrace, Executive Editor, Harry Henry Julin, Senior Manager of the Corporate Business Division, Dorge Rajah, and others.
The lunch allowed me to catch up with Siah after so many years.
The pleasant café environment also made me feel as if I was on a mini vacation outside Kuching.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at adelinel888@gmail.com.
