Finally, the last part of the longest-running series on DurrahTV(dot)(com), season finale, released 57 days after the last recording was done!!!
Metro is - I won't lie - one of the sections people usually skip while reading the newspaper. But it's quite interesting because they tell you what is lacking in the community, which public facilities needed to be improved, events/shows that were coming, food reviews from restaurants/hotels and events coverage. The Metro section is also different in different parts of Malaysia. For example, the Metro section in Johor will have different contents than the Metro section in Kuala Lumpur. Being in Metro, you actually WILL have work every day (if you do it right), they make sure of that and you have one senior reporter with you for each assignment, each time a different one. Writing all of this based on memory as I didn't write anything about my experience here on my notebook.
Read: Day 1-5 (Newsdesk) , Day 6-10 (R.AGE) , Day 11-16 (Features) .
Day Seventeen, Wednesday, 6th January 2016
Reached there quite early so there was no one. The night before I called Vicky (with a lot of trouble getting her number from the other interns) and she told me that I would be helping Meliza compile numbers from councils around us. So yeah that morning I flipped through the newspaper and saw that my Swarovski article came out! http://www.star2.com/style/women/2016/01/10/sea-of-sparkle-from-swarovski/ .
Then I met Meliza and she told me that I would be compiling all the numbers from MBPJ, MBS, etc etc including their health, enforcement, and licensing department numbers. Basically I just had to look at their websites but then a lot were more difficult to find as I also had to include the direct numbers of the Head of Department as well as the hotline numbers and extension numbers (I know, I learnt so many new words that day). The only way to find out about them was to call and ask. When I was done there were around 48 numbers. And then... Meliza told me to check the numbers to see if they were working! I WAS PANICKING. 48 NUMBERS. She's asking a person who constantly tells her mother that in the future she wants to work somewhere she won't have to talk to humans at all. Of course in the end I cheated bit as it was too much plus I was still having problems using the landline phone there, so I had to say my name to landline phone operator every time and well any longer I'm pretty sure we could be the bestest of friends, with him recognizing my voice again and be like "Hi again Durrah". Also, Serena just came by Metro and asked us if we wanted to watch The Forest as she received a lot of free tickets from Mumtaj (the movie reviewer). Too bad I couldn't go.
Day Eighteen, Thursday, 7th January 2016
My first assignment outside by myself! Well not really. Had to cover Maggi's Lebih Masak Lebih Ong event at One Utama with a senior reporter named Emily, but I had to go there and go back to Menara Star by myself. Emily reminded me very much of my schoolmate Nicole. She told me that she usually doesn't wear her reporter tag as people would be "chasing" her to get mentioned a lot. There were reporters from NST, RTM, magazines like Mingguan Wanita and others. And food... THERE WERE LOTS OF IT. I got a bag full of free Maggi noodles, seasonings and powders. While waiting for the event to start, Emma gestured to someone and I saw two blonde women waving at the registration table. Emma said they were Ireen and Suzy (not their real name, I forgot D:) from the advertising section of the paper. She also told me to observe how it's so easy to spot people from our paper as there's just something different about us. "You could tell anyone who is from The Star just from looking." I wonder if I have that look yet. We were also waiting for our photographer to come. As the other three talked during the event, I talked to this young Malay girl from RTM. Apparently all the other reporters there are used to seeing each other and they know when someone is new. According to her, being a reporter for 2 years is still considered as "new". By the end of the event, there was a lucky draw with REAL GOLD BARS as the prize. The ladies of Mingguan Wanita received it happily. Afterwards, I had lunch with my mum and she sent me back to Menara Star where I managed to reach in time for the ceramah agama in the surau. Later I started writing the article and finished it.
Day Nineteen, Friday, 8th January 2016
There was a different editor that day, Fred and he didn't give me any assignment the day before. All I did was check the Maggi article with Emma and she gave me a lot of advice so I had to redo some parts. I was also supposed to join this luncheon together with all the Metro people (they do this every month) and meet a senior reporter, Edward for an assignment today but then it was cancelled so he said maybe next week (but that didn't happen too sadly). Instead of having lunch with everyone, I ate with the rest of the interns instead. As most of us were free, we explored each floor of the building! We found a cool library which included archives of the newspaper from twenty/thirty years ago too! We even managed to go to the top 3 floors. Now what is so special about those floors? The other interns who have left - Janice, Debra and Tian Huey - had tried exploring all the floors too except for the top 3... where there were security guards who interrogated them for going up there. So we went by the staircase instead and wow, even the staircase became more luxurious. It felt like being in a typical horror movie where the stupid characters decided to explore places that were cleaaarrlllyyy dangerous. When we reached there, thankfully, the floor was empty, but WOW IT WAS LIKE A 5-STAR HOTEL.
There was this glass door leading to the main place but of course we can't enter as there was a password needed. Looking through it though, it reminded me of Palace of The Golden Horses. There was a magnificent staircase and magnificent decorations inside, and we could see the floor above led by the staircase too. When we went to the toilets, EVEN THE QUALITY WAS HOTEL QUALITY. Basically it was the same for the floors above. We also decided to see if we can reach the rooftop and even passed a sleeping cleaner. Sadly, it was locked. It was an adventure indeed!
Day Twenty, Monday, 11th January 2016
My last week there. It was also another day without any assignment. We all looked through the newest issue of stuff@school with yours truly as the cover.
Day Twenty-One, Tuesday, 12th January 2016
My assignment for the day was to follow Jessie to the Isuzu x Homedec Prizegiving Event. I didn't know people can actually win real brand new cars from those contests you enter by spending a minimum amount for something, forgive me for being skeptical before this. It was also my first time interviewing people AND holding my phone to record what he/she was saying AND writing it down all at the same time. I don't know how many business cards I received that day I felt so grown up.
In the car, Jessica told me about taking Mass Communications in university and I was seriously considering it. Especially when you think about how dull and repetitive others lead at their working place (that was what I thought at that time). When I reached back as usual I wrote the article. There were new interns (real ones, university graduates) so I talked to them. IT WAS SO WEIRD TO BE TEACHING THEM A LOT OF STUFF AND BEING THE PERSON WITH MORE EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU'RE THE 17-YEAR OLD SCHOOLKID.
Oh before that, us interns had lunch outside at a pizza place as it was Jerrell and Ashley's last day as interns. As the Leaderonomics office was nearby (Jade was offered an internship there too and she has friends there), we decided to check it out. And wow, no wonder it was chosen as one of the best working place ever! They gave us a tour there even while knowing we were strangers. My pictures are pretty ugly so here are some taken from Google:
Day Twenty-Two, Wednesday, 13th January 2016
So.. remember that article I was supposed to finish the day before? I didn't save it properly so I had to write everything from scratch but at least some information were embedded to my memory so that's okay. Jessie checked the article and edited it. It was another leisure day so I was reading so many horror stories especially from Saya In Underworld (check it out if you love creepy stuff!). Emily asked me to accompany her to take the free Goodday milk downstairs at the lobby (in case you didn't notice, we get free stuff a lot there). I took two packets?/boxes? of strawberry milk. So yeah, said goodbye to Raziq and Jade and Rowena and returned my reporter tag to the HR people and yeah, that's the end.
p.s Here's the Isuzu story - http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2016/01/18/taking-home-more-than-furniture-two-shoppers-end-up-winning-sport-utility-vehicles-at-homedec-fair/
Conclusion for the whole internship, sent to stuff@school for the internship issue-
By DURRAH SHARIFAH AZLAN, 18, Selangor
I would like to clear something up before anyone wonders why my article is here. I was not listed in those who got the internship in 2014 and in 2015, but somehow luck was on my side when Rowena aka Sonya See told me that another intern was unavailable for the internship and I was next in line. It was a bad timing for the announcement as I was preparing for SPM and it took me weeks before I could properly focus while studying without imagining the internship every hour or so as I was that surprised and excited.
It was scary at first, but as the days passed by, I got more used to being a part of The Star. My internship started with a pressure-filled week in Newsdesk, followed by the chilled R.AGE!, later on Features and ended being in Metro. The anxiousness upon stepping in the entrance of The Star building every morning ceased day by day.
The one month of internship was certainly one of the most dynamic months in my life. I got to take on assignments from covering press conferences, calling the Malaysian ambassador in Philippines, writing a fashion piece about the new Swarovski collection and even helped out for an interview with celebrities backstage (it was with Wong Fu Productions if you are wondering).
My respect towards the newspaper increased drastically as I learnt how complex the process of producing a newspaper issue is. It takes a lot of effort and cooperation from not only the reporters and editors, but also from those in charge of graphics, advertising, marketing, finance and countless other segments.
The internship came with a lot of perks. Imagine getting to know the news days, weeks, or even months before anyone else! Not to mention, it was always satisfying when you get to see your byline in the newspaper and you just get overwhelmed thinking your name can be seen by the whole country. You also get offered free tickets to events, like in my case, to last year’s Comic Fiesta!
Of course, there were times when things got too challenging. Whether it was when I was required to write a full article in an hour or had to call 48 numbers to check that it can be used, in the end it was satisfying to know how much you can push your limits to succeed in a task. There is a bright side to everything. For example in the latter task mentioned, the landline phone operator already knows my voice by heart and would give a friendly “Hello Durrah again!” whenever I use the landline phone.
Although initially I secretly hoped to not have to interact with the other nine interns at all (while knowing how impossible it was) being the antisocial person I am, we all ended up being on close terms with each other. How could we not, when we were the ten youngest people interning in The Star? We stuck close to whoever was in the same desk as us and try to have lunch together every day despite the difference in schedules trying to break us apart.
The senior reporters may look intimidating and hard to approach at first but when I get to work with them, they were all really helpful! As an avid reader of The Star, it was like seeing a celebrity up close when I saw the writers of columns that I follow walking around and I would think, “They’re real!”
This internship definitely broadened my life experience, particularly when I followed a senior reporter interview a victim of relationship abuse. Usually you only read these kind of stories in the mass media so being able to interact face-to-face with the victim itself is a whole other level of an unexplainable experience.
Overall, the internship was a dream come true for an ordinary 18-year old like me. Being a part of Starstruck! for two years was worth it for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It had improved me in so many ways, especially my writing and my confidence. I am so thankful to The Star for giving me this chance and it shall definitely be a memory I will cherish forever.
The internship issue - http://www.stuffatschool.com.my/archives/5720
---------------------------------
Thank you for those who has followed this four-part internship series from start to end!
Metro is - I won't lie - one of the sections people usually skip while reading the newspaper. But it's quite interesting because they tell you what is lacking in the community, which public facilities needed to be improved, events/shows that were coming, food reviews from restaurants/hotels and events coverage. The Metro section is also different in different parts of Malaysia. For example, the Metro section in Johor will have different contents than the Metro section in Kuala Lumpur. Being in Metro, you actually WILL have work every day (if you do it right), they make sure of that and you have one senior reporter with you for each assignment, each time a different one. Writing all of this based on memory as I didn't write anything about my experience here on my notebook.
Read: Day 1-5 (Newsdesk) , Day 6-10 (R.AGE) , Day 11-16 (Features) .
Day Seventeen, Wednesday, 6th January 2016
Reached there quite early so there was no one. The night before I called Vicky (with a lot of trouble getting her number from the other interns) and she told me that I would be helping Meliza compile numbers from councils around us. So yeah that morning I flipped through the newspaper and saw that my Swarovski article came out! http://www.star2.com/style/women/2016/01/10/sea-of-sparkle-from-swarovski/ .
Then I met Meliza and she told me that I would be compiling all the numbers from MBPJ, MBS, etc etc including their health, enforcement, and licensing department numbers. Basically I just had to look at their websites but then a lot were more difficult to find as I also had to include the direct numbers of the Head of Department as well as the hotline numbers and extension numbers (I know, I learnt so many new words that day). The only way to find out about them was to call and ask. When I was done there were around 48 numbers. And then... Meliza told me to check the numbers to see if they were working! I WAS PANICKING. 48 NUMBERS. She's asking a person who constantly tells her mother that in the future she wants to work somewhere she won't have to talk to humans at all. Of course in the end I cheated bit as it was too much plus I was still having problems using the landline phone there, so I had to say my name to landline phone operator every time and well any longer I'm pretty sure we could be the bestest of friends, with him recognizing my voice again and be like "Hi again Durrah". Also, Serena just came by Metro and asked us if we wanted to watch The Forest as she received a lot of free tickets from Mumtaj (the movie reviewer). Too bad I couldn't go.
Day Eighteen, Thursday, 7th January 2016
My first assignment outside by myself! Well not really. Had to cover Maggi's Lebih Masak Lebih Ong event at One Utama with a senior reporter named Emily, but I had to go there and go back to Menara Star by myself. Emily reminded me very much of my schoolmate Nicole. She told me that she usually doesn't wear her reporter tag as people would be "chasing" her to get mentioned a lot. There were reporters from NST, RTM, magazines like Mingguan Wanita and others. And food... THERE WERE LOTS OF IT. I got a bag full of free Maggi noodles, seasonings and powders. While waiting for the event to start, Emma gestured to someone and I saw two blonde women waving at the registration table. Emma said they were Ireen and Suzy (not their real name, I forgot D:) from the advertising section of the paper. She also told me to observe how it's so easy to spot people from our paper as there's just something different about us. "You could tell anyone who is from The Star just from looking." I wonder if I have that look yet. We were also waiting for our photographer to come. As the other three talked during the event, I talked to this young Malay girl from RTM. Apparently all the other reporters there are used to seeing each other and they know when someone is new. According to her, being a reporter for 2 years is still considered as "new". By the end of the event, there was a lucky draw with REAL GOLD BARS as the prize. The ladies of Mingguan Wanita received it happily. Afterwards, I had lunch with my mum and she sent me back to Menara Star where I managed to reach in time for the ceramah agama in the surau. Later I started writing the article and finished it.
Day Nineteen, Friday, 8th January 2016
There was a different editor that day, Fred and he didn't give me any assignment the day before. All I did was check the Maggi article with Emma and she gave me a lot of advice so I had to redo some parts. I was also supposed to join this luncheon together with all the Metro people (they do this every month) and meet a senior reporter, Edward for an assignment today but then it was cancelled so he said maybe next week (but that didn't happen too sadly). Instead of having lunch with everyone, I ate with the rest of the interns instead. As most of us were free, we explored each floor of the building! We found a cool library which included archives of the newspaper from twenty/thirty years ago too! We even managed to go to the top 3 floors. Now what is so special about those floors? The other interns who have left - Janice, Debra and Tian Huey - had tried exploring all the floors too except for the top 3... where there were security guards who interrogated them for going up there. So we went by the staircase instead and wow, even the staircase became more luxurious. It felt like being in a typical horror movie where the stupid characters decided to explore places that were cleaaarrlllyyy dangerous. When we reached there, thankfully, the floor was empty, but WOW IT WAS LIKE A 5-STAR HOTEL.
These pictures do no justice to the real beauty.
Day Twenty, Monday, 11th January 2016
My last week there. It was also another day without any assignment. We all looked through the newest issue of stuff@school with yours truly as the cover.
Pasting this at your house door can ward off evil spirits and ghosts.
I decided to work on the plastic surgery assignment instead and somehow got the idea to try e-mailing Xiaxue, Singapore's blogging queen for an interview. She was one of the major reasons I started this blog tbh. AND SHE REPLIED! It got published in the 21st February issue of stuff@school here: http://www.stuffatschool.com.my/archives/5716 .
Anyway, as it was also Serena's last day as an intern, we took lots of pictures.
Anyway, as it was also Serena's last day as an intern, we took lots of pictures.
Bye bye Serena :(
We also took a picture with Rowena, our mum there.
Day Twenty-One, Tuesday, 12th January 2016
My assignment for the day was to follow Jessie to the Isuzu x Homedec Prizegiving Event. I didn't know people can actually win real brand new cars from those contests you enter by spending a minimum amount for something, forgive me for being skeptical before this. It was also my first time interviewing people AND holding my phone to record what he/she was saying AND writing it down all at the same time. I don't know how many business cards I received that day I felt so grown up.
These pictures don't mean anything really I was taking them half-heartedly.
Oh before that, us interns had lunch outside at a pizza place as it was Jerrell and Ashley's last day as interns. As the Leaderonomics office was nearby (Jade was offered an internship there too and she has friends there), we decided to check it out. And wow, no wonder it was chosen as one of the best working place ever! They gave us a tour there even while knowing we were strangers. My pictures are pretty ugly so here are some taken from Google:
THEY HAVE A SWING
Took pictures with Jerrell and Ashley.
Off to Sarawak :(
The fist comes naturally with his presence.
Day Twenty-Two, Wednesday, 13th January 2016
So.. remember that article I was supposed to finish the day before? I didn't save it properly so I had to write everything from scratch but at least some information were embedded to my memory so that's okay. Jessie checked the article and edited it. It was another leisure day so I was reading so many horror stories especially from Saya In Underworld (check it out if you love creepy stuff!). Emily asked me to accompany her to take the free Goodday milk downstairs at the lobby (in case you didn't notice, we get free stuff a lot there). I took two packets?/boxes? of strawberry milk. So yeah, said goodbye to Raziq and Jade and Rowena and returned my reporter tag to the HR people and yeah, that's the end.
p.s Here's the Isuzu story - http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2016/01/18/taking-home-more-than-furniture-two-shoppers-end-up-winning-sport-utility-vehicles-at-homedec-fair/
Conclusion for the whole internship, sent to stuff@school for the internship issue-
By DURRAH SHARIFAH AZLAN, 18, Selangor
I would like to clear something up before anyone wonders why my article is here. I was not listed in those who got the internship in 2014 and in 2015, but somehow luck was on my side when Rowena aka Sonya See told me that another intern was unavailable for the internship and I was next in line. It was a bad timing for the announcement as I was preparing for SPM and it took me weeks before I could properly focus while studying without imagining the internship every hour or so as I was that surprised and excited.
It was scary at first, but as the days passed by, I got more used to being a part of The Star. My internship started with a pressure-filled week in Newsdesk, followed by the chilled R.AGE!, later on Features and ended being in Metro. The anxiousness upon stepping in the entrance of The Star building every morning ceased day by day.
The one month of internship was certainly one of the most dynamic months in my life. I got to take on assignments from covering press conferences, calling the Malaysian ambassador in Philippines, writing a fashion piece about the new Swarovski collection and even helped out for an interview with celebrities backstage (it was with Wong Fu Productions if you are wondering).
My respect towards the newspaper increased drastically as I learnt how complex the process of producing a newspaper issue is. It takes a lot of effort and cooperation from not only the reporters and editors, but also from those in charge of graphics, advertising, marketing, finance and countless other segments.
The internship came with a lot of perks. Imagine getting to know the news days, weeks, or even months before anyone else! Not to mention, it was always satisfying when you get to see your byline in the newspaper and you just get overwhelmed thinking your name can be seen by the whole country. You also get offered free tickets to events, like in my case, to last year’s Comic Fiesta!
Of course, there were times when things got too challenging. Whether it was when I was required to write a full article in an hour or had to call 48 numbers to check that it can be used, in the end it was satisfying to know how much you can push your limits to succeed in a task. There is a bright side to everything. For example in the latter task mentioned, the landline phone operator already knows my voice by heart and would give a friendly “Hello Durrah again!” whenever I use the landline phone.
Although initially I secretly hoped to not have to interact with the other nine interns at all (while knowing how impossible it was) being the antisocial person I am, we all ended up being on close terms with each other. How could we not, when we were the ten youngest people interning in The Star? We stuck close to whoever was in the same desk as us and try to have lunch together every day despite the difference in schedules trying to break us apart.
The senior reporters may look intimidating and hard to approach at first but when I get to work with them, they were all really helpful! As an avid reader of The Star, it was like seeing a celebrity up close when I saw the writers of columns that I follow walking around and I would think, “They’re real!”
This internship definitely broadened my life experience, particularly when I followed a senior reporter interview a victim of relationship abuse. Usually you only read these kind of stories in the mass media so being able to interact face-to-face with the victim itself is a whole other level of an unexplainable experience.
Overall, the internship was a dream come true for an ordinary 18-year old like me. Being a part of Starstruck! for two years was worth it for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It had improved me in so many ways, especially my writing and my confidence. I am so thankful to The Star for giving me this chance and it shall definitely be a memory I will cherish forever.
The internship issue - http://www.stuffatschool.com.my/archives/5720
---------------------------------
Thank you for those who has followed this four-part internship series from start to end!
No comments:
Post a Comment