The successful collaboration between PKC and HKFYG M21 in holding the 4th news editing, interviewing and writing class.

            To enhance our students’ knowledge in the intricacies of news writing and inform them on current events, our school has collaborated with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) Media 21 multimedia space to hold the fourth annual news editing, interviewing and writing class. In the two-day course, students are expected to have a deeper understanding in news production and to personally experience the complexities of news production behind a professional news report.

            The initial impressions of M21 multimedia space is at the very least impressive. We were first greeted by the immaculate main hall, with the ivory reception desk polished to a glimmering sheen. Further forward was an ebony walkway with streaks of orange adorning the walls, giving it a playful personality. At the end was a computer room housing twenty, where we were to have our lesson.  We arrived expecting the lesson to be a breeze, and boy, how wrong were we.

            As in fashion with all the surprises in store, we were greeted not with studying notes after the brief self-introduction but with a daunting test. The mood quickly sank as we struggled with the test, our unprepared minds blank. That we scraped a pass in the test was indeed most fortunate, given the dire circumstances.

            After what seemed like ages staring at the test paper, the teacher gave us an in-depth introduction to the basic concepts of news reporting. Yet, what we forgot to philosophise was the question: “Why do we need news?” Fortuitously, we were told that journalism was regarded as the “fourth power” aside from executive power, legislative power and judicial power; with one of its purposes being to check and balance the government’s power. In reporting the truth, journalists safeguard the public’s right to know, shattering the veneers of our society and laying the truth bare for all to see.

            Before the lesson, I thought that news reporting would be a difficult job, and have always worried that the teacher’s instructions would be hard to comprehend. Luckily, the teacher’s proficient use of examples made it all much easier to understand. Our class was divided into three groups to write a report on the effects which the opening of the MTR South Island line would have on the people of Aberdeen. One group focused on video making, while the others focused on report-writing. We successfully reused our knowledge learned earlier that day and left with numerous invaluable skills.

            On the next Saturday, we had the second day of the class where we would go on the streets to interview passers-by. As we arrived at m21, we were longing for the interviews, as our nerves were fraught with tension and our minds worried sick that we would be shunned by the passers-by. We walked swiftly towards our destination informed by the teacher during the briefing, gripping the equipment tightly as we pondered over the task ahead: to interview Aberdeen residents on their opinions towards the opening of the South Island Line and the regrouping of local bus line.

            The majority of the afternoon pretty much went like this:

            “Miss, would you mind giving us an interview?

            “Sorry, I’m busy right now”

            As expected, the ever-so busy Hong Kongers shunned us repeatedly. Walkers-by accepting an interview were already few and far in between, and interviewees who actually gave useful information were about as scarce as stars seen from Central’s nightscape. After the first interview, the supervising teacher pointed out our innumerable mistakes, including lighting issues, camera angles and speaking speed etcetera.  The difficulties of news reporting were then more deeply than it had ever etched in my mind.

            After the arduous filming session, we all let out a collective sigh of relief, gladdened that the taxing filming was finally over; we then prepared ourselves to edit the recorded film. During the editing, we selected a few informative interviews we recorded and connected the interviews together. After that, we wrote the text reports to have our narrator read out, which required the narrator to flawlessly read out the script in regards to pronunciation and speed. Lastly, we handed all the materials over to the editor to create a complete news report.

            Although the entire news report only lasted a measly one and a half minutes, we sank an entire day into the production of it. The experience truly boggled our minds when we imagined how much work went into the televised news reports we enjoy every night. We were truly impressed by the work ethics of journalists and their supporting crews.

            After the completion of the 2-day course, the students all had a new insight into the work of journalists. We hope that we will be able to utilise our learned skills in their entire extent in future reports for all the students’ greater benefit.