By Samantha Castle, Reporter
No one ever said it was going to be easy being a journalist, but I can't believe just how hard it is being a trainee reporter sometimes.
For example, in my quest to become a fully qualified reporter over the last two months I've had to juggle weekly shorthand classes along with a six-day law course - both of which have exams at the end - at the same time as covering my patch and searching for some interesting Conwy Valley stories before our weekly deadline.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. If any of you read my last blog you'll know I'm very grateful to be here, it's just that sometimes there aren't enough hours in the working day. You train as you work, plus I’ve found that the older I get the harder it becomes taking in new information, no matter how relevant it is to my career!
With shorthand, I began enjoying the weekly sessions with our amazingly patient tutor Sue Green - the lady is a true legend. At first I was progressing in leaps and bounds with the alphabet and common words, but then the tempo changed and we had to produce actual sentences, transcribe shorthand, read back our scribbles and write at speed.
That's when I stopped enjoying it and now actually dread the sessions. It's my own fault, kind of... After eight hours or more interviewing, researching and writing copy to deadline every day, the last thing you want to do is go home and practice shorthand. Attending various evening town council meetings in your own time is enough of a chore, but I have to admit I've fallen behind and it's due to lack of practice - homework!
While the rest of the class are at 60 words per minute I am at 40wpm so I've got to up my game as shorthand is the main fall-back for a journalist and always has been. As I found out on my recent law course, the more accurate information you can record, the more you are protected by the law when reporting and recalling quotes, statements and comments.
Anyway, I can't hang around blogging, I've got homework to do. Wish me luck!
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