Reporters, I Know What You Are Struggling With: Ideas
Reporters, I Know What You Are Struggling With: Ideas
  • Kim Eun-ji
  • 승인 2012.09.05 19:49
  • 댓글 0
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Three years ago, I was merely a doubtful participant who observed how a team was formed and how a newspaper was made from scratch by a handful of students. Later, I had the honor of becoming the second editor-in-chief of that team. Since I owe a considerable portion of my university life memories to The Postech Times, an opportunity to celebrate its third anniversary on paper was hard to pass by. I am not only proud that such a team survived without many hiccups, but also thankful for the consistent effort that the members have put into the paper.
Some of my favorite times in the newspaper office have been sitting around the meeting table, discussing what had been done wrong and deciding what could be done for the next issue. And at the same time they were the moments that I had most dreaded throughout the entire experience. When I was a novice, I was told that my ideas were not original or the agenda was too big a scope to handle or the content was inappropriate to cover in a five-page triweekly-published newspaper once every three weeks. For I did not fully comprehend the goal of the newspaper, I fumbled. With a spoonful of time, a cup of criticism and a bowl of benchmarking others, I improved, but brainstorming optimal topics for upcoming issues remained to be the toughest work even until the end of my term as editor-in-chief.
However, what we aimed to convey was clear. The Postech Times was there to deliver informative and readable articles in English in accordance with university’s bilingual policy and growing international population. Because of its unique stance as a medium between POSTECH and the international community, we made attempts to voice out foreigners’ opinion about their inconveniences on campus or institutional drawbacks. Meanwhile, the POSTECH color had to be maintained - we could not leave out academic content that highlighted POSTECH’s achievements.
Platforms to encounter news and information from various authorities are easily available these days. This being so, the staff should not forget what is at the heart of this publication. The Postech Times needs to strive to create distinctive content, at times being a window for localized readers, but also a channel to present interesting stories to a wider audience.
I know this is not easy, particularly in a small suburban campus. But good sources for information hardly spring up from sitting in front of the desk. In this light, I challenge the reporters to always open their ears for concerns, bustle around the campus and beyond, seek hot events or debated issues, and be proactive representatives of the POSTECH newspaper. If these challenges are met, hopefully we will be able to see an expanded version of The Postech Times in the near future.