Pre-Poynter phase
The first week of July was a bit dull and there was very little activity in the city. People were planning to take outstation leaves to make the best use of this long weekend. I stayed back home reading books and newspapers most of the time. I went to a downtown park on the night of July 4 to see the spectacular fireworks show. It seemed people had been waiting for this event for the last one year.
This week I was supposed to interview the governor of a Southern Sudan state. This gentleman was on a visit to Houston in a bid to woo American investment for his state. I did a lot of research to prepare questions for him. I made the list and took it to the editors who asked me to revise the questions again and again. Here I learned that a journalist has to ask the questions that interest his readers and not only himself. I talked to different people in the newsroom to have an idea of what American population wants to hear from a Sudanese official.
This strategy worked out well and it turned out to be very a good interview. The concerned editor came to my desk and appreciated my work. Even the Sudanese governor found it hard to believe that I had been in the US for hardly two and a half months. He said “though you have come here recently you think like Americans.” These were the very words that made me believe that I had done my job properly.
The rest of the week was spent on preparing for the Florida trip. Despite Katie’s suggestion to leave laptops home, I decided to bring mine to Poynter. My laptop has been my long-tested best friend during the long and boring discussions at seminars and training workshops. In such situations, I log on to my email account and interact with my friends and pose as if I am taking notes.
I was expecting a repeat of these experiences at Poynter but there was something totally different in store for me.
Time at Poynter
It won’t be an overstatement if I say that I learnt more at Poynter Institute in 6 days than what I learnt in my newsroom. I really mean it. This learning process did start on the day we reached St Petersberg. I talked to Gary Weaver at length, over the dinner, to get an idea of what I had missed during the orientation seminar. Then there was Jonathan who I had been waiting for long to meet. He treated all of us like the head of the family. In fact, we are the Friendly family expanding every year.
Every session at Poynter was amazing and taught important lessons to me. The level of interest was so high among the participants that Poynter faculty found it difficult to practice what is professes. I am referring to the fact that Keith Woods couldn’t even complete half his presentation during the stipulated time period. Paul taught us it’s imperative to decide the subject matter in a way that it can be covered in one session. Keith definitely followed this rule but what can one do when everybody is so charged up and involved.
Keith taught us through examples how to make news interesting and readable. He taught us ten golden rules which I think are applicable in every situation, irrespective of the country, medium and the language of reporting. I am trying to apply these rules in the story that I am currently working on. This gels with my training goal to write good leads and news stories.
Receiving my certificate from SherinePaul and Mitchell conducted the sessions in an excellent manner. They filled us with confidence to the brim. They are not only teachers, they are wizards. I would often be awe-stricken and mostly silent in the presence of senior journalists, scholars and academics in my country. But now I think I can express myself loud in any situation. If I can hold a training session in the presence of Paul and Bill I can do the same in the presence of everybody.
One thing that I learned, rather discovered at Poynter was that I can be a good coach as well. It was the pat on my back from Paul that did wonders. I think this is the focus of the whole program. The fellows must pass on whatever they learn here to as much people back home as they can.
The sessions about new technologies, multimedia and The News University created an interest in me to explore these venues more and more. I can’t say that I learnt the use of these during the sessions. But I can safely say that these sessions made me cognizant of these wonderful tools, technologies and resources available to journalists.
Last but not the least, it was the session with Roy Peter Clark that has left indelible imprints in my mind. I feel myself equipped to teeth, courtesy of the 50 tools he handed over to us. I always thought I can’t change my style as my writing habits are deep embedded in me. But now I think I can refine my writings with the help of these tools.
Post-Poynter phase
I returned to Houston on the night of July 16 (Thursday) and took an off from the office on Friday. Katie had told me that I could join office on Monday but just to keep people in the loop, I informed the editors at Chronicle about my plans. I remembered Paul saying that it’s good for reporters and editors to have cordial relations with each other. So, I started practicing this right away.
I had a long weekend at my disposal which I spent in recollecting the experiences at Poynter and going through the handouts once again. Besides, I read extracts from different chapters of Roy’s book. The more I read this book the more confident I became about improvements in my writing skills.
Right now, I am writing a column for Chronicle. I am following the simple rules described by Kelly McBride in her presentation. I have identified the focus and collecting as much resource material as I can. Once I have it I will organize it and try to carve out a piece worth reading.
In short, I can say that I have been halfway through the fellowship. I will spend the remaining time in practicing all that I have learnt at Poynter.
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