‘The best thing is the people’
Kyra Dawson, 26, went straight from completing her journalism degree at Wintec, to a job at a daily newspaper. She has been at the Rotorua Daily Post for one year where she covers emergency services and court.
When I started the course at Wintec, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted from it. I applied on a whim just before the start date, had an interview with one of the lecturers and he said, ‘you’re a classic, I think we will be happy to have you in the course.’ I was really happy, it was cool.
I don’t think I would have been prepared for a journalism career if I hadn’t done the Wintec course. It was great for preparing me and teaching me about writing and interviewing skills, it’s a good base, a good foundation. You need the grounding of an institution, I think. There are technical things like OIAs that you need to know about. And thinks like, what’s a death knock? Having guest speakers from the industry that tell you how it is really helped as well.
When I did my internship at the Hamilton News, I was treated like a journalist and it set me up for what it was really like. Before I went there, I thought ‘I’m too scared,’ but if you go in prepared with stories, and if you have talked to your lecturers about what you should be doing, you can go in there and grab it. It was so transformative for me.
Being curious is an important trait in journalism. If you’re not a curious person then you’re not a journalist. If you’re not asking questions all the time, then you are in the wrong field. Empathy is also important. But you learn a lot on the job. I have learned how to be more independent, how to come up with ideas.
The best thing, I think, is the people. I have met so many interesting people, it’s crazy, people I would never have met otherwise.
I don’t think journalism is dying. People are always going to want to know the truth and as long as there are people out there who want to search for the truth, then journalism is always going to be alive in some shape or form.
This has been a massive year for me. I think journalism is what I want to do for quite a while. I love it.
Are you the next Kyra Dawson? Read more about our courses here – including a link to an online enrolment form. Feel free also to drop us an email to discuss your options. You can reach journalism co-ordinator Charles Riddle at charles.riddle@wintec.ac.nz or lecturer Richard Walker at richard.walker@wintec.ac.nz.
