Dear Class,

The media industry- like all other things in life- is constantly changing. And as media professionals in the near future, it will be good for all of you to be adaptable and to be able to cope with changes.

It’s also good to get an experience of working with deadlines as several professions in the media industry  (such as journalists, writers and editors) do require one to work under such conditions. Many media professionals love their job and the reason that they are able to excel in their line of work is primarily because they have the passion to do it and working with deadlines often provides them with an adrenaline rush  to see their valued work come to fruition.

It will be good to realise that media professionals work towards what their target audience wants to see and read, and not what the media professionals themselves want. Understanding this perspective is crucial to the success of media organisations and subsequently, the media professionals themselves. 

Below are some of my thoughts on the areas that that all of you are able to develop:

-          Writing Style: Develop a strong curiosity of what is happening around you. Develop a strong thirst for knowledge. Identify the trends in the media industry. What do media consumers want? During your leisure time, keep a personal journal and pen your thoughts frequently. This practice is similar to what you have been doing for your reflection journal. This will help you improve your writing style. So, do develop a writing style of your own. Most successful writers have a distinct writing style. You can be one of them.

-          Photography / Page Design and Layout: Browse through all types of magazines and mentally “digest” the images on the various pages.   Observe the various angles that images are captured. Do you see a pattern? What are the common types of photographs? Subsequently, take your own pictures and develop your own style.  You can also cut out photographs from your used magazines. Gather the photographs together and base on a theme of your preference (such as “Courage”), selectively choose the photographs of the same thematic element by putting them together and separating them into sets. Now move one set of photographs to a piece of A4-sized paper and move the photographs around on the piece of paper.   Practice moving them in different directions and at different angles. Try stacking one part of a photograph on another. Tile them at different angles. Which of these arrangements have a stronger visual feel/appeal? Why? Doing all this will enable you to seek out common patterns in images, familiarise you with the art of photography as well as improving your foundations for page design and layout. It’s interesting to note that a single, well-selected photograph is impactful. However, having several photographs of the same thematic elements  arranged in  an appropriate and creative way adds a lot more punch to the message that you want to convey to your viewers/readers.  

For page design and layout, there are 6 primary factors that you need to take into considerations:

-        Emphasis   (e.g. placing a dark image on a white background etc)

-        Contrast   (e.g. using strong colours of different contrast to draw the viewer’s attention)

-        Balancing (e.g. Ensuring that the elements on the page are all balanced. That is, there should not be a situation where there is five images on the left side of a page while the right side is blank)

-         Alignment: (This has more to do with text than images, such as aligning the text left, centre or right)

-         Repetition: (Repeating visuals elements such as lines, font type, font size etc. has the ability to enable the readers to retain the information that they have read or seen)

-         Balancing:  (Such as the rational way of aligning the photographs from left to right)

A great visual layout and design usually fulfils all the abovementioned 6 factors. Do also build up your knowledge of typography. Changing the font types can also change the impact of the message. 

Out of all the talents, the Enthusiasts may be the easiest to identify because they are often the most prominent, both in terms of their verbal contributions to any conversations as well as their bubbly and their ability to create laughter around them.  Enthusiasts may not be complete optimists but their vibrant personality often misleads people into thinking so. Nevertheless, Enthusiasts are often the people that one turns to when they need a listening ear or just wants to lighten up, besides the Nurturers.

They also have an ability to turn mundane things and activities into interesting endeavours.  They make work enjoyable and are often able to see the positive side of things. It’s almost impossible not to be affected by the positive vibes  of Enthusiasts. Thus, Enthusiasts often have the privilege of being asked to be the team player who gel people together. This is because most Enthusiasts have the ability to communicate with most individuals of diverse personalities. 

Because Enthusiasts are spontaneous, they are often individuals who like variety. Hence, Enthusiasts are also among the individuals who will often pursue the latest trends and look for the latest technical gadgets in town. This tendency might not be true for all Enthusiasts but it does illustrate the fact that Enthusiasts are individuals who like changes and have fun at the same time.

This desire to have fun is actually a weakness of Enthusiasts, as they often do not have a tendency to take on heavy responsibilities. As taking on responsibility means tackling tasks with intense seriousness, Enthusiasts have a tendency to steer away from it. However, with encouragement from friends, Enthusiasts might just overcome this psychological barrier.