AN OVERALL LIFE OF A JOURNALIST WHEN PANDEMIC STARTS!!

 

MY SAY

I am a journalist for some 18 years in print media, magazine and social media. This is my first ever period of my life (as well as my journalist friends) to go through a pandemic where I have to get news in a new norm. The days before and after MCO1 is a very different scenario. Before MCO1 we can be free to go whenever we like to cover news without fear of the viruses. Nowadays, we have to be equipped before we leave our house to cover news such as wearing double masks, practice SOP and follow rules and orders wherever we may be.

 

WRITER DOING A FOOD REVIEW

 

I have been observing current situation when covering news during a press conference is that sadly SOP are not adhered with by journalists during pandemic period. They will still crowd with one another when a press conference is held. There were many occasions, I had to just walk away from press conference because everyone is crowding and interviewing the important figure. This scenario is a norm for the past one year of pandemic. Of course, there are chairs provided at a distance of 1- metre for the journalists to sit, but none bother to sit still. They are jostling for news and they may be afraid they could not listen clearly to the press conference and interviews. We cannot blame the journalists, they love their job, they want to make no mistake of reporting it. On the other hand, the organisor could not keep control of journalists and do nothing while allowing such crowded press conference to go on.

However, when EMCO comes by – I am focusing on doing individual or exclusive stories for my blog – which is safer for the time being until everyone is vaccinated at least one jab.

 

REPORTERS FOLLOWING SOP

 

Coming to the issue of KJ announcement of 5,867 media practitioners getting their Covid-19 vaccination appointments soon. The is a debatable issue – Who is a frontliner? Are journalists frontliner?

Here, are some comments collected from story “Reporters are (still) not frontliners? posted from Star Online on May 25.

A reader commented “How may journalist we need to cover the same news in Malaysia? We need to assess whether we need as many journalist as it is today to cover the same news like C19 daily pc. Can’ t the news be shared among different media for the same content. If everyone wanted to be regarded as frontliners, then no one has to queue for the vaccine. Not all journalist has to be on the field for the same content these days. See how many journalist flouting the SOP when they attend pc or try to do an interview with public figures”.

Ramli Fox – “Everyone work at the ‘frontliner’ but only reporters get to cry out loud on newspaper”.

Adrianne Marina West – “Frontliners are medical, police, army, fire and not reporters”.

Pamela Budhrani Lamb – “Vaccine the reporters and journalists!”

Rachel Khoo – “Yes, journalists and reporters are also the frontliners!! They should be given priority”.

So, in the end of the day what is your say journalists and others - do you support or not that ‘Journalist are definitely Frontliners”???