Becoming an authentic storyteller
The BRATs Young Journalist Programme is an avenue for you to take your love for writing further
MY writing journey with The Star started in 2016 when I became a Starstruck! young journalist writing for its now-defunct stuff@ school teenage pullout. When the Starstruck! programme was merged with the BRATs Young Journalist Programme in 2017, I stayed on as a writer, this time contributing to the BRATs section in The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) pullout.
Due to my active participation, I won the coveted one-month internship at Menara Star in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, at the end of last year, along with eight other participants.
This being my third year as a budding journalist, you may ask if I had ever felt bored working on my assignments. The answer is no, simply because each assignment is never the same.
Even though there may be some recurring themes from previous years, the angles that I may write about are wide-ranging. Thanks to my interview assignments, I have had the opportunity to meet people from different walks of life, and learn about their lives and professions.
I am proud to have interviewed actor Azhar Sulaiman, Kindness Malaysia founder Muhammad Kamarulazizi, aerospace engineering senior lecturer Dr Zairil Azhar Zaludin, private investigator Wan Zairi Afhtar Ishak, special education teacher Choong Yen Ling, and many more.
My interviewees never failed to inspire me. They may come from different career fields, have varying interests or even political views, but the common denominator among them is their passion for what they do.
Interviewing them not only gave me better insights into their struggles and achievements, but also made me more streetwise – something that textbook knowledge and perfect classroom attendance could never offer me.
That said, my journey as a budding journalist has not been all sunshine and rainbows. There were times when I had a hard time pinning some of my interviewees down and getting them to give me their responses, information verification or high-resolution photographs – all while fighting to meet my deadlines.
Having to “harass” people is not fun at all but it is part and parcel of my responsibilities as a journalist, and it makes my job all the more challenging and interesting.
Now that I have shared some of my experiences as a participant of the programme, let me write about how you can make the most of your opportunity as a BRATs journalist.
First of all, build your social circle. While having lots of friends helps when you are asked to compile comments from teenagers, it is not sustainable in the long run.
Attend networking events and get to know people outside your peer group such as adults in different professions, social workers and the list goes on. But before you do that, make sure these are legit, proper and safe settings.
You may attend a talk on a topic that interests you, for example. After the talk, approach the speaker and let him know how much you enjoyed the talk. Start small conversations from there to know more about the person and keep him in mind as a potential interviewee for future assignments.
Also talk to those in attendance. Get their name cards if possible so that you can contact them when the need arises.
Starting out three years ago, I avoided interview assignments and only wrote reflective pieces because penning my experiences, thoughts and interests came naturally to me. I did not have to hunt for interviewees, brainstorm interview questions and angles, and scratch my head when weaving their responses into my articles.
However, to really make the most of your BRATs experience, you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone and that means taking on interview pieces.
Sure, interviewing adults – especially those who are veterans in their fields – can be intimidating sometimes.
What if my questions sounded silly? What if they didn’t like me? What if I was wasting their time?
These kept swirling in my mind when I finally had the courage to attempt interview assignments.
Gradually, I realised that I am a teenager who is learning on the job and that I should not be afraid to use the BRATs platform as an avenue to ask questions, challenge myself and broaden my horizons.
Writing has always been dear to me but I never thought that I would venture into journalism, and enjoy it so much that I am even considering it as a career choice.
Being a part of the BRATs family has given me a different perspective of the journalism field. Besides writing articles that I truly care about, I get to meet inspiring people who keep my passion alive.
Star-NiE’s BRATs programme has given me opportunities unattainable elsewhere – including attending all-expenses-paid photography and journalism workshops run by experts in the field. Hopefully, by joining this programme, you will reap the same rewards, too!