Written by: Jade Henry
Edited by: Hyoree Kim
Photographs by: Zara Yap
The press room is filled with budding, young, digital journalists, responsible for catching the juiciest gossip of THIMUN and finding scoops to write about. They are also responsible for the newspapers released every day, a result of the intricate process in the press room.
MUNITY EAST is split into six different groups: reporters, text editors, photographers, layout designers, artists, and most importantly, the Editors-in-Chief.
The first of the group, the reporters, produce eloquently written articles. Despite the time crunch, reporters can be seen conducting interviews all over campus. When Isabella Wood (Reporter, Australian International School of Malaysia) was asked about the best aspects of being a reporter, she said that it was ”being able to work with everyone despite being seated at different tables.” On the other hand, she mentioned that the hard part of being a reporter was “making interviewing questions on the spot and trying to find [the interviewees] again.”
Then come the text editors. They read and correct all the reporters’ articles while also writing their own articles. Aastha Gokani (Text editor, Lycée Français de Singapour) explained that the best part of being an editor was that they get to “explore everyone’s articles and ideas to have a look at different points of views.” Since they are going under the same process as the reporters along with all the editing going on, it is very stressful. In support of this, Gokani says that “it is hard to finish writing [her] articles while also editing everything.”
The photographers are always moving around trying to capture the perfect moment and angle of the participants in heated debate. The best part of being a photographer for Zara Yap (photographer, Australian International School Malaysia) is capturing that “one moment in time where you can get that exact and perfect shot.” However, Jerry Lin (Pacific American School) stated that being a photographer entails “standing in front of everyone [and] holding a camera”, which at times is “very awkward.”
The artwork and layout team have to fit everyone’s articles, ideas, and photos on one or two pages. Jessie Liao (Pacific American School) thoroughly enjoys the process of making layout designs, as she gets to “practice [her] skills through the MUN” and “work with other people.” But for Ishwarya Devi Krishna, being on the layout team also means “waiting for an article with a computer that glitches and sitting around.”
Our editors in chief (EIC) have one of the most stressful jobs keeping everyone on track and making sure that deadlines are met. Ray Chen (Pacific American School) believes that the best part as the EIC is when “you get the final product of day and a tangible product of our hard work” that highlights the day. “Trying to meet all the deadlines” is tough but “important because they make sure we get back in time to the hotel.”
The videographers also create a new vision of the whole THIMUN experience, putting all of our hard work into a physical product for all to view. For Nicolas Paccaud (Brillantmont International School), the most rewarding part of being a videographer is having multiple functions, having “All of journalism combined” and for Tijn van den Dikkenberg (Green School) it’s “The freedom [they have], having something physical to show without having to write.” The hardest part is that “There’s a lot of work and editing takes a long time but overall, it’s very positive.”
Summarizing the press room overall, you build very deep connections with your teammates and use your skills to improve as a journalist.
