Dreams, like British singer Gabrielle famously sang, can come true.
My dream of working for Next Media came true when early this year, I was accepted for an internship opportunity.
The voyage from application to placement was such a toil.
It was characterised by ‘Theory of doubt’ since it was a chase for a dream to work with such a prestigious media house.
After joining the newsroom, I underwent a week’s induction process which followed with my brief to reporting on current affairs at Next Media Services for the company’s mother brand NBS TV, and The Nile Post.
It was at this point that I had to face with realities of the newsroom working environment which started every morning at 8:00am with editorial meetings, a requirement mandatory for every member.
At this juncture, I made a vow and commitment towards hard work with purpose of proving to my mother who doubted my internship acceptance at Next media, having given in to the stereo-type surrounding the difficulty in joining such a cream de ’la cream media house.
My other determination was to represent Uganda Christian University (UCU) Mukono in which I’m a finalist student. Upon commencement at work, I curiously sniffed into the companies culture, got to learn some of the maxims like “mastering the basics”, “aiming to learn, unlearn and relearn”, “proactiveness” these guided my work pattern.
Given conscientious, I began receiving self-assignments and covering current affairs news stories, writing articles for the Nile Post, tele-prompting news leads for the day’s anchors and other newsroom based activities as would be assigned by my supervisor and producers.
I found it a stimulating experience working together with the stations screen favourites and top names in the journalism mainstream industry.
It was an opportunity I embraced to attain a first-class training to my career. One of my memorable moments in the newsroom was when I first received my first assignment and was partnered to work with one of the stations senior reporters Josephine Namakumbi.,
Despite being an amateur, Namakumbi tutored me on the newsroom routine and skills editing video required of every member in the newsroom.
From my three months of internship, I learned to write under pressure, to work within deadlines, to have limited space and time, to conduct and interview, to find information, to search and above all to use language as efficiently as possible remembering always that there is a viewer, reader and consumer out there.
Indeed, at NBS, I discovered that journalism can transform and make the world a better place.
