First Day of Work at the Microscope Store

As some of you might already know, I was accepted for an internship with Malaya Business Insight: a national newspaper focused on business news and vicious technical terms. At first I really didn't know what to think. Do they even have a police beat? Will I be assigned to some executive place to write about stocks and figures? Or will I be assigned the lifestyle beat for an internship dream-come-true?

Let me say before anything that my mental attitude is whatever beat I'm assigned, I would gladly accept it. I made it in a national broadsheet! I'd say that's a lot better than some of my classmates who are now writing for vulgar tabloids and provincial newspapers.

I was assigned the Department of Justice beat, but since my trainer has a lot of other beats to handle, I'm looking forward to bounce around Manila over the course of my internship. Just yesterday I wrote a story from facts I obtained from the NBI. Next week, my trainer said we'll pay the Manila Police District a visit--that's where all my classmates are.

My first day was nothing out of the ordinary. I walked into an office where everybody was already friends and I sat quietly on a chair in a corner next to my trainer's station. I read some press releases to pass the time since my trainer was running a little late. I've never met my trainer before so I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was her name's Gigi and she worked for Malaya.

People at the press office were really noisy. They were talking about watching The Conjuring, the latest horror flick from Hollywood that's actually scary. There was also someone who was celebrating his birthday, and another someone who was bullied because she has a loose grip on her her temper; There was gay guy there who's the life of the party, a fat dude who's really friendly to everybody, and a quiet, nerdy man who works for the Business Mirror among other characters.

Ha. It's high school all over again.

Anyway, my trainer arrived about fifteen minutes later. After putting all her stuff down on her table she said that something was taking place at the Court of Appeals, which was only a couple of blocks from the press office. She brought me along and for the first time in my life, I experienced what it's like to scour for a story.

The mayor of Taguig counter-filed against Makati City for the controversial Fort Bonifacio. A few seconds after the mayor stepped outside the filing department, the press immediately gathered around her. Cameras, mics, and sweaty pressmen awaited her every comment. My trainer managed to ask a couple of questions herself and she jot down everything in her little notepad. I saw a TV reporter from ABS-CBN but I forgot her name.

When it was over, we walked back to the press office to write our stories. My trainer handed my a press release from the NBI. I was expecting it. I knew I was too inexperienced write about what just happened.

It took me an hour and a half to finish writing my story and I lent it to my trainer for editing. She cut it in half and made me change my lede. After I changed my lede, I lent it to her again and she further cut it--completely eliminating some sentences while changing some words to make it concise.

After she was done, my story looked like a bona fide newspaper article. Amazing. It's like she has microscopes for eyes. And to think that everybody in that office has the same, marami pa 'kong bigas na kakainin.

She said my style is fit for feature writing and that news writing is a different beast.

To be honest, news writing is really my weakness, that's why I applied for internships in magazines before resorting to newspapers. You have to be cold and to the point. There is no room for artsy words or fancy descriptions. You have to tell it like it is and move on. It's kind of like sex with a hooker as opposed to sex with an emotionally involved girlfriend.

And that's it. My first day of internship at the microscope store a.k.a. the Jucra Press Office.

I have to be back there again this morning but I'm covering an event alone. It's some kind smuggling run for the Bureau of Customs. Wish me luck!