Wonderful Trip

During my summer vacation, I have been attending classes of a journalism program held at my school. On July 15^th we took a field trip to Dawn newspaper in Islamabad to transition from learning about journalism to practicing it at our own school. After the trip, we will begin preparing for our own newspaper, the first one at the Al-Imtiaz Academy.

On Friday, we set out to Islamabad at 8:45 a.m. from school. There was one school bus and one school van, on which the boys traveled. On our way to the Dawn office, we enjoyed ourselves by eating, dancing, and singing songs. We reached Dawn after 3 hours.

Before going to the office, we took an hour lunch break. Some students ate in hotels while others bought snacks from food stands and street vendors. We arrived to the Dawn office at 1:30 p.m., half an hour late!

When we reached the gate, we met a sir who took us to the second story of the Dawn building where the newsroom was located and Ms. Arifa Noor was sitting in her office. The journalists and the photographers in the newsroom were excited to meet us and tell us about their profession. The same sir who greeted us then took us to a conference room which he had prepared for us before our arrival.

In the room, Ms. Noor, a sub editor of the paper, told us about Dawn and why journalism is important. Her lecture was short because she had to go to a meeting, but after her, two other sirs greeted us. These two people told us about how a newspaper is printed and the technologies used for it. They showed us the old machines as well as the new technology they use to print their newspaper. It was so amazing to seeing a printing press! We learned on this trip and it was a wonderful experience.

I am thankful to Ms. Mariya for this great opportunity. Thank you so much, Ms. Mariya!!

By Laiba Qaiser

An Educational Trip

On 15^th July. I went to Islamabad and reached there around 1 p.m. I visited the Dawn newspaper’s Islamabad office with my fellow classmates on an education journalism trip to learn how a newspaper is printed. There, we meet the editor, Ms. Arifa Noo and got to ask her questions about journalism and her life as a journalist.

We saw the room where the newspaper is produced and printed. Our guide showed us various different machines and their functions. My favorite machine was the one that cut the newspaper from the rest of the roll sheet and folded it in half. The neatly folded newspaper is prepared and distributed to markets for sale.

We learned that newspaper print rolls are imported from Russia and 20,000 copies of newspaper can be prepared from each roll. The newspaper-printing machine, “Harris,” was made in the U.S.A.

After we visited the Dawn newspaper, we went to Faisal Mosque, a beautiful structure. We all really enjoyed this trip on our summer vacation. I will always remember this wonderful journey that Ms. Mariya took us on.

We returned to Abbottabad at 9:15 p.m.

By Mazhar Ali

A Wonderful Trip

On Friday, July 15h, it was our trip to Dawn, the bureau in Islamabad. We arrived to school at 7:30 a.m. in the morning and waited for Ms. Mariya.  Our school coordinator Ms. Beenish took our attendance before we started our journey. We left the school at 8:45 a.m. instead of the scheduled 8 a.m. The girls traveled on the Coaster big bus while the boys accommodated in a small yellow van.

We reached the Dawn news office by 1:30 p.m., half an hour late! Upon arrival, an old man greeted us and showed us the reporters’ room and newsroom. After that, we were led to a conference room where we met with the resident editor Arifa Noor who told us a lot of information about Dawn and journalism.

She told us that Dawn started in India. After the partition of Pakistan in 1947, it split from its original paper and became a separate entity. Ms. Noor also told us about Dawn’s news channel, radio station 89 FM, and monthly magazines. The magazine “Aurora” is about business; “Herald” is a news magazine; “Spider” is about the Internet and technology; and “Young World” is about children.

After that Khurram and Ilyas Bhatti came into the conference room. They told us how a newspaper is printed. Mr. Khurram told us that the production of a newspaper makes the “Y” shape. The two most important branches that form a newspaper are the editorial section and advertisement section.

Mr. Bhatti explained to us the printing process of a newspaper. He showed us how computers and other various machines work together to print a newspaper. After that, we went to the ‘factory’ where we saw the Harris machine, the printing press. They told us about the four colors, which are used in the making of newspaper: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key black. I learned a lot of information on this trip and I am thankful to Ms. Mariya for giving me the opportunity to learn how a newspaper is printed.

By Haleema Khalid

Visiting Dawn

On Friday, July 15^th, we went on a field trip to see the Dawn newspaper. Dawn is one of the most popular and oldest newspapers in Pakistan. It has four branches: in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad (the one we visited) and Peshawar. We learned how the newspaper is organized and printed. Ms. Arifa Noor, one of the editors of the paper, told us about the difference between an editorial and opinion columns—something we had already learned in class from Ms. Mariya. She also answered all of our questions which we had prepared a day before.

For example, one asked, “Why is journalism important?”

Ms. Arifa responded, “Because we hold power accountable.” This means that journalists keep the people who hold power in check. Ms. Noor also said that the readers keep journalists in check by holding them accountable to print and report the truth.

Then the managers Illyas Bhati and Farrukh guided us. Farrukh let us in printing part. He showed us how newspaper printed. He introduce us various machines like Harris printing press, a costly machine imported from the USA, that prints thousands of fresh copies of Dawn for readers every day.

By Umer Rehman

Visiting Radio Pakistan

On Thursday, July 14^th, we went to Abbottabad’s local radio station called Radio Pakistan. The girls were privileged for this field trip because due to time limitations, the boys could not go.

Basically we went there to learn about broadcast journalism, which is very different than print journalism in many respects. For example, people do not need to know how to read in order to understand news by hearing the radio or watching television.

At the radio station, we met Ms. Nadia Bano, who is “comparer”—a person who interviews others on a radio show. We also met some other people who told us interesting things about how a radio show is produced and the different sections of a radio station. One of those people was Sir Barkaat Ahmed, the engineer in charge. He told us about different techniques and equipment used for program on radio. We learned that in order to reduce a voice’s eco in the empty studio—the room where interviews are conducted—white-holed boxes filled with wool and crushed mirror were hung on the wall. These boxes absorb sound waves so they do not reflect back after striking the wall.

Mr. Ahmed also told us about the booth in which the radio program is set and controlled. We learned that in between the booth and the studio are a soundproof glass window and door. All this knowledge was new to all of us.

We also met Sir Amin Bangash, the producer who has been working at the station for five years. It was a pleasure to meet Sir Azhar Ali, the station’s director in charge. He has been working there since November 2008.

Before leaving, Ms. Bano, who has been working as a comparer for four years and her colleague Umer Malik interviewed every single one of us. They decided to do a show on us! We would be on the radio—how exciting! All of us enjoyed this trip and learned a lot.

By Rabia Shujah

Newspaper layout

This morning when we come to class, Ms. Mariya was already there. Class begins exactly at nine o’clock and Ms. Mariya is very strict about students being on time. When class begins, there is a formal ‘hello’ with our teacher. Then she takes our attendance, which is mandatory.

After general announcements, Ms. Mariya showed us copies of The Bowdoin Orient, her college’s weekly newspaper. We looked through the newspapers and browsed different sections like sports, arts and entertainments, features and opinion.

Then Ms. Mariya taught us about layout. Layout is the actual design of a newspaper. We learned about masthead, bylines, headlines, captions, and photo credits. A masthead is the title of a newspaper or a section. A byline is where the writer’s name and title are mentioned so we know who wrote the article. Headlines are titles of articles. They should be catchy, interesting, and must summarize what the article is about. Sometimes we also include sub-headlines, right below the headline. They give the reader a bit more information about the article. Captions are short descriptions below a photo that explain what is happening in the picture. Sometimes captions give information about the topic of the article. A photo credit is where the photographer’s name is printed so we know who took the photograph. A lead-in is a witty to grab the reader’s attention so they can read the caption and learn more about the article.

We also learned that articles are printed in columns. Because the width of each column is small, paragraphs in journalism writing are short, maximum three sentences.

In summary, we have learnt how editors on a computer screen produce a newspaper. Today’s lesson increased my knowledge and made me more informative about vocabulary which I had not even heard before. I am very thankful to Ms. Mariya for giving us such an opportunity to be familiar with journalism.

By Hira Liaqat

Thanks to Ms. Mariya

The main aim of journalism is to tell the truth about the world. We rely on journalists to tell us everything that we ourselves cannot access. For example, we depend on journalists to tell us the truth which is hidden from society. This summer, we were given the wonderful opportunity to learn about journalism. I am thankful for being selected to participate in this program led by Ms. Mariya Ilyas. Before this program, I did not have any idea of what journalism is or why it is important. But over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot. I am really enjoying the classes and everything that comes with it, even though it can be a lot of work sometimes.

Our teacher is very nice and sweet. It's clear to us that Ms. Mariya knows what she is talking about. Indeed, she is a journalist herself. She writes for Bowdoin College's weekly newspaper and even served as a section editor last year. We can tell Ms. Mariya put a lot of time in organizing this program for us. Her organization skills shine through when she teaches us. In this program, she requires us to listen to news daily. A good journalist is an informed journalist. We have current events quizzes three times a week. I like this habit of listening to news and keeping up with what's happening in the world.

We have learned that journalism is not an easy profession. It's stressful, demanding, and even risky. Sometimes journalists face ethical dilemma in which they have to make a decision between their duties and morals. However, all of this does not to discourage us. In fact, it encourages us to rise to the challenge of this noble profession.

All of us sacrificed our summer vacation to be a part of this program. We are so glad that we did because we learned something new and important. The class was taught in English, which also benefited us because we rarely get opportunities to speak English in school. The skills to speak, read, and write English are very important because they help us get into better colleges and universities, and later on in our future, get better jobs. In this way, Ms. Mariya is opening many doors of opportunities for us.

The program consists of many other activities, such as a field trip to Dawn newspaper in Islamabad. In August, we will print our own newspaper, which means interviewing special personalities at school, reporting on past and future events, taking pictures, editing each other’s work, and doing layout. All of these activities are very exciting and I can’t for them! Thank you Ms. Mariya for your time and energy you are spending with us. We are so grateful to you.
 

By Wajeeha Khurshaid