Assignment 5

A turning point in my life

I often hear of how people make some new discovery of their life and come out seeing things differently. I had always wondered how it would feel like to have something important in your life turn into something else. I didn’t understand the feeling because no such moment has ever happen to me until May 2009.

At that time, I felt like I was at a place where almost everything is perfect. I was enjoying my new course in UCSI, my family was doing okay, I had tons of friends to hang around with and I just starting dating this awesome guy. It was all perfect until this one day. It was a day that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I was finalizing my assignment with one of my friends when I got a phone call by my friend, Justin*. He asked me to stay at home and that he was coming to my house now. He told me that something has happen to a girl named Cameron* and ask me to imagine the worst and the worst thing I could imagine at that time was that Joey*, which was one of my guy friend has done something to her because I knew they were supposed to go somewhere and we all knew that he had this crazy crush on her that she didn’t return but didn’t fully reject him because she was afraid to hurt him.

Justin* finally arrived at my place together with Cameron* and the moment they came in she starting crying. I sat them down to ask them what had happen and my worst fear was confirmed.

Joey* had tried to force himself on her.

I couldn’t believe I was hearing this because I had known him since Form 2, and he does not come as a guy that would do such a thing. I didn’t know what to make out of the whole thing. After calming her down and hearing her side of the story, we went over to Joey’s* place to talk to him. He story was totally different from Cameron’s. I didn’t know who to believe but common sense tells me that a girl would not lie about something so serious. So we talk to Joey’s parents and told him the whole incident. He cried, she cried, we cried but that was just the beginning of the drama. As more and more people starts hearing about the incident, more question came flooding in, some of us were divided because some believe him and some believe her. Nasty words were shot from both side and I was caught in the middle and as time pass, some of us just stop talking to each other. We never learned what really happened.

Through this, I learned that things could really turn sour if not handled properly, and that people that you think you know from the inside out may turn out to be just wearing a mask. Now, whenever I get to know somebody new or even talk to people, there is always a little feeling deep inside me that doubts the persons. I guess the whole thing thought me that the world isn’t as simple as I thought.

*Names has been change for privacy purposes.

Assignment 4

Descriptive Lead - It's a Grey, blowy afternoon on the Orkney Islands in Scotland and in a drowsy pub, KT Tunstall is talking about Shakira's groin. The Star, 18 October.

-I think that it is an effective lead because it gives us a lot of details about the setting of the story. Giving us a picture to see.

Anecdotal lead- Last Friday, I paid a visit to a nearby KFC, ravenous after an emceeing gig. The Star, 13th October.

-Not effective. Because it doesn't attract me to continue reading the rest of it.

Narrative lead - " With egg or without egg?" the Char Koay Teow Man asked me, as he wiped his hand on his apron. The Star, 13th October.

-Effective. Because it puts me in the situation. Its like i'm there ordering Chay Koay Teow.

Feature leads that i like-
1) Actress Sharifah Amani attended film school, yet she did not attend film school. This little conundrum is meant to surprise, yes, as much as Sharifah's directorial debut short film is meant to surprise, too. The Star, 14th October.

-The technique use here in this lead is the teaser lead. The writer writes it in a way that you get what she's saying but at the same time do not get it. Making me wanting to read on to know what she really meant.

2)Newlyweds C.Y.Soo and Jayne Chong stuck out like a sore thumb during the mass wedding ceremony held at the Buddhist Maha Vihara Temple in Brickfields recently. 13th October.

-It is also a teaser lead. It makes us wonder why they stuck out like a sore thumb and continue to read.

3)Want to learn more about what you can do for Mother Earth? The Star, 13th October.

-This is a question lead. I like it because it's straight forward but at the same time doesn't give away what the news is all about.

Feature leads that i dislike-
1)Speech is such an important thing. We communicate using it and find ourselves often judged by its clarity. The Star, 13 October.

-I feel that it doesn't give me a reason to continue reading. It has made its point making me feel that there is nothing left for me in the news.

2)As we know, life doesn't always work out the way we plan it. Compromises, sacrifices and surprises are part and parcel of life. The Star, 17 October.

-I feel that this lead is not strong enough. It doesn't feel like it will developed into an interesting story. It feels like it is just a sentence and there is nothing after it.

3)To know how to truly appreciate something, there first needs to be a personal experience, an intimate encounter. It's especially true with gourmet food or fine wines and liquors, or in this case, fine cognacs from Martell. Each cognac in the Martell family is unique, and to fully appreciate each one's nuanced flavours and depth of character, there's nothing quite like savouring them with fine cuisine. The Edge, 11 October.

-I think that this lead is too long. too many information stuff into the paragraph.

Assignment 3

Unusual baby murderer

Seremban: A 4 day old was killed Thursday at Taman Happy Garden by a macaque. The baby was sleeping in the hall when the macaque came and took it up to the roof and bite it several times before throwing the baby off the roof.(The Star, 7 October.)

Expert are still speculating on why were baby was attack by the macaque. Wildlife reproductive physiologist Dr Mohamad Ngah said that it might have been cause by other monkeys trying to overthrow the alpha male by killing its offspring and might have accidentally mistaken the baby as the alpha's off spring.(NST Online, 8 October) This was also mention by the State Wildlife and National Parks officer Zafifi Ramli saying that the macaque might be threaten by the "future alpha" thus killing it.(The Star, 8 October)

However the Negri Sembilan Wildlife and National Parks director Ishak Muhamad suspects that the macaque could have mistaken the baby as food. (The Star, 7 October)

The macaque was shoot dead at 4pm the same day but the parents insisted that the monkey shoot dead was not the want that murdered their baby. they said that the murderer is larger in size and is always in a pack unlike the dead macaque that was alone at the time caught and smaller in size.(The Star, 8 October)

The parents are now being offered a flat by MCA and both parents are seriously considering moving out of the house due to safety purposes. (NST Online, 8 October)

Expert says that the aggressive macaque might be a long-tailed macaque or a pid-tailed macaque. Both species are known for being aggressive. (The Star, 7 October)

Assignment 2

Name : Arman Ahmad
Email:armanahmad@nstp.com.my
Agency: New Straits Times


Being a reporter is not a very glamorous job. people do not look up to you if you mention that your a reporter. So what makes a person choose to become a reporter and how do they become successful? This were the questions that constantly goes through my mind.

This week, I had a chance to interview one of the reporter from the New Straits Times name Arman Ahmad who had been a journalist for 6 years. I browse through the New Straits Times online to search for a writer that interest me and I found him. he writes for the New Straits Times in the blog section, and his post are mostly related to bikes.

I was always curious of what motivates somebody to become a journalist, or a reporter. When I ask him this question, he answered me that it was the "adventure, romance, and idealism" that motives him to become a journalist.As far as I know, writing a story need a lot of information and detail, so where do they get such information? "Interviews, archives, cross-referenced materials from the internet." were his way of getting the materials needed.

Lastly, I had to ask him how does he spot a good story? and his answer was instinct. He said that the best clue is to see weather the story attract yourself or not. If you like it, people might like it too.

After the interview, I had a new way of looking at reporter or journalist. It is not as easy as people think and writing to get people's attention needs a lot skill and effort.