ST launches pilot initiative to introduce youth to journalism
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Correspondent and The Usual Place podcast host Natasha Ann Zachariah (centre) during a hands-on experience in podcasting session as part of The Straits Times Introduction to Journalism programme.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
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SINGAPORE – Your job involves reporting on crimes and murders – do you ever get nightmares?
This was one of the questions posed to Straits Times crime correspondent David Sun by 14-year-old Dharmini Ramesh from Cedar Girls’ Secondary School during a question-and-answer session with Mr Sun earlier this week.
His answer? No, because he was quite young – 19 years old – when he first started reporting, and had to “grow up very quickly to go about my work”, said Mr Sun, 31.
The session was part of the inaugural The Straits Times Introduction to Journalism, a programme for youth, held at SPH Media on June 3 and 4.
Thirty-four students participated in the pilot programme. The Secondary 2 and 3 students were selected from 12 schools, such as Bartley Secondary School, Beatty Secondary School and Raffles Girls’ School.
The programme aims to reach out to the community and showcase what ST does, while building students’ interest in journalism and news.
ST editor Jaime Ho said: “Nothing gives us greater joy than having the youngest members of our community here in the newsroom, to see how we work, and why we do what we do.
“I certainly hope they had fun in the process, and that they will continue to understand the relevance of news to their daily lives.”
As part of the programme, the students were introduced to different forms of journalism at ST, including photo and travel journalism.
Executive photojournalist Mark Cheong presenting his work to Sec 2 and 3 students from 12 schools during The Straits Times Introduction to Journalism programme.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
ST’s assistant Life editor Clara Lock shared her experiences as a travel writer.
She described how she was still reporting as a travel journalist while borders were shut during the Covid-19 pandemic because there was so much pent-up demand for travel in Singapore. She also spoke about a new series, The Conscious Traveller, which features responsible travel experiences that have a positive impact on the community and environment.
During the two-day programme, students were also introduced to other forms of media under the SPH umbrella, including radio.
Kiss92 DJ Charmaine Phua took the students on a tour of the Kiss92 recording studio, where they caught a glimpse of DJ Daphne Khoo doing a live segment.
The students were also given a tour of the podcast recording studio by Mr Ernest Luis, ST’s podcast editor.
Correspondent and The Usual Place podcast host Natasha Ann Zachariah (left) and ST podcast editor Ernest Luis during The Straits Times’ journalism programme on June 4.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
They had fun twiddling with the equipment and took turns to role-play as guests and producer while being hosted by correspondent Natasha Ann Zachariah, who is the host of The Usual Place podcast.
The students’ other hands-on experiences included a visit to the video recording studio, where they got “miked up” and were given the opportunity to record a short introduction video in front of a green screen.
Bartley Secondary School student Syesha Arora, 14, found the programme beneficial and exciting, saying: “It was a wonderful experience because the programme has helped me understand journalism better.”
Catholic High School’s Ethan Chua, 14, said his passion for journalism was fired up after participating in the programme. He had initially thought journalism to be “old-fashioned”, but now understands its “versatile” nature, seeing, for instance, how it has become more involved in social media.
