Ex-journalists start new life chapter
Published on: Saturday, December 08, 2018
Penang: Journalists will brave through rain, hail and shine, travel across seas and go into the midst of wars and natural disasters to get a story.Sometimes, in the pursuit of reporting the truth, they face the risk of being sued, harmed and even killed.However, the struggles they have to endure in the bid to deliver news matters little to them compared to the satisfaction of being able to effect positive changes in the community and the country through their work.
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The rapid development in technology sees the journalism industry take on new platforms and communication media. This indirectly affects print services, including that of the print media.Traditional media like newspapers and magazines are forced to compete with the rising popularity of digital media which have become the choice medium in disseminating news and information.The situation has become so serious that print media companies have been forced to downsize in order to survive. Staff were offered voluntary separation scheme (VSS) compensation and companies had to make do with lesser manpower.Former Utusan Malaysia journalist Mohd Azeli Ali, 40, was among the over 700 staff who accepted the VSS offered by the country's oldest Bahasa Malaysia publication company on Nov 30.
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He has since taken up a job as an insurance agent but still feels a strong desire to write and publish."There is a certain kind of satisfaction that comes with being able to help others through our articles. Perhaps what we report on may not be that significant, but when the person we helped calls and thanks us, and tells us that our story has generated even more help – that in itself is huge reward for us," he said to Bernama.
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Mohd Azeli, who is from Terengganu, has 12 years of experience as a journalist. He started his career as a cadet reporter for Utusan Malaysia in KL before being transferred to Kosmo! in Penang and subsequently Utusan Malaysia, also in Penang.His last post was as the Assistant Bureau Chief for Utusan Malaysia Penang."I never thought I would become a journalist but when I was in Form 3, I sent an article to Utusan Malaysia on my experience at the National Civics Bureau and to my surprise, they published it. I was so happy and they even gave me an honorarium of RM75."However, I did not become a journalist as soon as I was finished with my studies. I was an administrative executive at a private college in KL for a few years before being employed by Kosmo! several years later," said the father of five.Meanwhile, former Harian Metro reporter Rudy Syareme Sherifuddin, 43, said the publication's decision to terminate his contract as a stringer in October was like a slap in the face."It was difficult for me to accept what happened at first, as I was the sole breadwinner of my family and have many mouths to feed. My family was shocked too, but life goes on," said the father of three.He said he had yet to come to terms with what happened, but the incident had not diminished his love for journalism."It's a lot of fun to get to travel to other countries for work and build our network. "I didn't want to stop writing, so I created my own news portal called 'mercikkk.com'," said Rudy, who has 18 years of experience as a news stringer.Former Kosmo! Penang bureau chief Noor Hasliza Nusi, 35, who also recently accepted a VSS offer, said that even though she had to "hit the brakes" at the peak of her career, it would not stop her from engaging in her passion to write.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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