Internship
■Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun (Kumamoto, Japan) 2013.Sep.9 ～ 2013.Sep.13
■Participants
3 students, 1 HIGO specially appointed staff, more than10 members from Kumamoto NichiNichi Shimbun, led by Mr. Michikazu Iseri the editorial writer
■Purpose
1. Experience local press job to enhance understanding of media
2. Face the glocal (global + local) issues such as Minamata Disease and Kumamoto globalization
3. Learn how to gather information and do pithy writing within time and character limit.
■Contents
The 1st Day
We learned the overview of news field, by listening to the lectures by the editorialist and the assistant managing editor, and observing the evening news editing, printing and morning paper meeting. Their on-site, think-outside-the-box, un-paralleled, persistently striving attitude for handling local issues, like Kyushu bullet train, Kawabe-river dam, Minamata Disease will give us important insight, indispensable for our research.
The 2nd Day
Greatly impressed with 2 reporters' communication skill, students were propelled to try out shooting and interviews at local toy & prefectural art exhibitions and writing in point-first manner to make straightforward report within the limit of 40 lines. Proofreading was done later.
The 3rd Day
Looking at Kumamoto from the foreigners' standpoint was today's theme. Is the city properly globalized? At the station, bus terminal and Kumamoto Castle, we checked English guideboard and leaflets, to complete a report that considers how to make Kumamoto foreigner-friendlier.
The 4th Day
We visited JNC Corporation (the former CHISSO), Minamata, National Institute for Minamata Disease, Minamata Disease Municipal Museum, listened to the experience of MInamata Disease sufferers, and interviewed Kumamoto NichiNichi Shimbun Minamata Branch staff on the sentiment of Minamata, while expecting an international conference (Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Mercury Convention). There, we witnessed the varied standpoints regarding Minamata Disease - victims, perpetrators, mass media and others.
The Final Day
Presentations and discussions were done on Kumamoto globalization, on the basis of what obtained on the 3rd day. Mr. Iseri gave us an encouraging word, "Your reports can be the real news articles, if they are properly backed up with proof". That actually came true later, when our activities were introduced on the paper column 'Shateki' http://higoprogram.org/news_topics/docs/130920_Kumanichi.pdf）Furthermore, the managing editor and the sales manager kindly joined our discussion, titled"the future prospect of newspaper in the growing internet-society / People getting away from papers"
Review
The warm-heartedness of the experts and their innate passion toward news so much moved the students that they vigorously interviewed and asked the professionals for advice. They learned how to "integrate 10 information into 1", and how the reporters' attitude should be. That surely will help their work, presentations, thesis writing and document making. Stimulated by the press-world totally new to us, our research will be undoubtedly enriched. It was indeed an amazing experience of 5 days.
■Students' Voice
・The Internship revealed globalizing Kumamoto City and Minamata Disease history. Especially, site-visit was a great opportunity for us to know the past and current state of Minamata with varied perspective - perpetrators, victims and those who surrounding them - which helped deepen our understanding of Minamata Disease history.
・I was offered a precious opportunity to write about the art exhibition, and realized the difficulty of making it understandable to the readers, while providing information appropriately, under the limit of letter use.
・Principle of the press spirit is to doubt the assumed certainty. It is equally essential for our everyday-life and especially for our research that requires questioning the conventional belief, which sometimes triggers a big discovery, and I'm determined now to keep this in mind when conducting my research.