Journalists should not stop learning and growing

Journalists should keep learning and growing wherever they work, Belarusian First Deputy Information Minister Pavel Lyogky said as he met with first-year students of the Faculty of Journalism of Belarusian State University, BelTA has learned.

“Each personal milestone should be approached in the status of a professional who can do the job well and who can grow. This is one of the key factors for a professional – the ability to grow and to achieve more,” Pavel Lyogky said.

In his words, the work in the realm of journalism should be something to be proud of, as it is interesting and powerful. It is imperative to be truly professional; therefore students should seize every opportunity to grow in order to accumulate a solid wealth of knowledge and skills during their time at university. Professionalism will come with experience.

Pavel Lyogky had worked in Russia for quite a long time. He praised a rather high level of Belarusian journalists. “Maybe, we fall a bit behind when it comes to using the latest in technology; maybe, we do not always have resources for some newest solutions, but what matters most is a rather solid press corps. I want you to keep up with the current standards of journalism and to grow into professional journalists who will achieve professional success and will always be proud of graduating from the BSU Faculty of Journalism,” he noted.

Editor-in-chief of the SB. Belarus Today newspaper Dmitry Zhuk addressed the fledgling journalists as a future employer. He gave practical advice to the students: to stay in the know about what is going on in the country, to have a thorough understanding of the topic they write about, to have a perfect knowledge of spoken and written Belarusian and Russian, to be a confident communicator in English, and to be fast. Employers want integrity, honesty, talent and even audacity to some point. These are the skills that can help journalists make a name for themselves in this profession.

Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian State TV and Radio Company Sergei Gusachenko emphasized that every journalist needs to practice. No matter how great their educational attainments are, no matter how amazing their teachers are, motivation and dedication are paramount. He warned against idealizing the profession, because it is all about hard work. “You should be ready to work around the clock, to hear reprimands from relatives and friends who will say that nothing can be planned with you. At the same time, it is a very interesting profession. No other profession offers such a variety of topics, new shootings and meetings with talented and interesting people every day,” Sergei Gusachenko said. It is important not to lose a sense of purpose and not to give up; and even when one's articles are not published, journalists should keep working.

First Deputy Director General of the STV TV channel Vadim Shcheglov held the same view. According to him, when you reach certain professional highs, you realize that this is the most interesting profession ever. He recommended the students to use every opportunity to take part in social events, because these are investments into the future.