WHY J0URNAL!SM?

-SHELILE GINO SHELILE

So here's the thing, i'm very restless by nature - I cannot stand being in the same place, doing the same thing for too long. Hence, i need change. Journal!sm? Journalism is the portal to change - it is the pathway that allows an individual to go everywhere, do everything and meet everyone! Pretty appealing, huh? I thought as much. You don't really need any influences to inspire this decision - just watch TV, listen to the radio and work at a newspaper agency for a week. I guarantee you will love it. You get to travel the world for free dammit! What is there not to like about that?

       On a more serious note, yes journal!ism is about serving the people; giving a voice to the under-dogs, busting corrupt officials and exposing the high levels of stupidity that science has proven to be evident in celebrites. However, we cannot deny that there is more to journal!sm than being a governmental mouth-piece. Reasons that are more personal...more selfish.

       Ask any first-year or matriculant wishing to pursue a career in journalism why they want to get into this proffession and most of them will give a blank stare before uttering, "well...I can't really put it to words. It's just that... I want to be able to, to, to kinda. You know journalism has always been my passion..."

       Now ask them where they want to be in a few years time and they will excitedly scream about touring the world; having their own shows; being editors of glossy magazines; dodging bullets in war-ridden countries; adopting African babies; having their names all over the show and becoming like the very celebrities that they are meant to be writing about!

       Journal!sm, to most students, is not a career. It is a stepping stone to reaching bigger dreams and the tool that enables them to make the contacts required to reach the top...quickly.

       There is nothing wrong with this notion, don't get me wrong. I, personally, am a firm believer in it.

Which is why I often fail to understand what answer people expect us to give them when we are asked why we do journal!sm. It is not like becoming a chartered accountant, medical practitioner, lawyer or pharmacist that is guaranteed employment and a steady salary by the time they graduate. In journal!sm you have got to flippen know your stuff and be on top of your game just to end up writing lousy columns such as 'Agony Aunt' in an attempt to hold down a stable job.

       However, for those of us mavericks who live off risks and whose hearts have become accustomed to functioning on panic mode, journal!sm is a ticket to the best ride of your life!