LEARN THE WAY YOU WANT
Putting you in control of your own study timetable, the flexible structure of ACJ
courses allows you to tailor study around your lifestyle and career. Our affordable
courses include flexible payment options and you can choose to study online or have
course materials delivered to your door.
Call a course advisor now on
1300 309 225 to find out more...
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’
23 December, 2009
As the year rolls to an end, hopefully you’ll have time to gather up all your
experiences from 2009, float them around your brain for a bit, then filter out the
boring ones and concentrate on the ones that really benefited you in your personal
life and your career.
Because as each year goes by we’re supposed to become wiser, aren’t
we? Well, that’s the theory! As far as journalism is concerned, my goal every
new year is to improve my skills in some way.
So, in the hours leading up to New Year’s Eve, you might find me supping my
first glass of champagne, notebook in hand, listing my aims, or resolutions, for
the coming year. These might be as straightforward as ’read more books’
or ’learn new words’, but they are hugely important to any journalist
who is focused on self-improvement.I’ve rarely had an issue with spelling
(yes, I used to be the nerd at the front of the spelling class who’d get every
word correct!) but if you do, it’s absolutely essential to write down your
difficult words and learn their spelling and their meaning.
As I’ve mentioned before, I keep my own little ’dictionary’, from
which I try to learn five new words every day. Some you might forget the meaning
of when you go back to them but even if you pick up two or three meanings out of
the five, it’s been a really worthwhile exercise.
If you want to become a journalist, it’s also vital to read plenty of newspapers
and to keep up with current affairs. I began reading newspapers in my early teens
but I’ve heard it reported that young people are staying away from them now
in droves and turning, of course, to television and computers for their news and
information. There have been many doomsayers predicting the demise of all newspapers
eventually as the digital age truly kicks in, but only last week one of the biggest
media proprietors in the world, Rupert Murdoch, said he believes there is a healthy
future for them.
The way we read books is changing, too, with the advent of e–books. I have
a feeling this might take longer to catch on than expected because there’s
something ingrained, I think, about turning the pages of a book, and even the smell
of the paper! Once e-books do capture readers’ imaginations, I still think
there will be a market for traditional books, but it can only be good for authors
and publishers because many more people will be reading.
Happy New Year and Happy Writing!