OhmyNews English News Camp

학부모님 여러분의 각별한 관심과 학생들의 적극적인 참여로 올 해 첫 <오마이뉴스 영어뉴스캠프>가 성황리에 종료됐습니다. 이번 캠프에서 학생들은 첫 행사로서는 양질의 기사를 많이 생산해 내어 저희 진행 스태프를 놀라게 했습니다. (*하단 영어기사 참조) 여러분의 성원에 감사 드립니다.

이에 오마이뉴스는 1회 캠프의 성과를 이어받고 미비한 점을 보완하여 오는 2월23일~24일 청소년을 대상으로 제2회 영어뉴스캠프를 개최합니다. 제2회 캠프는 <버디 인터뷰> 등 새로운 형식을 추가했으며, 청와대 해외언론비서관을 역임하고 ‘법무법인 한결’의 국제변호사로 활동 중인 선미라 변호사를 모시고 그 분의 경험을 듣는 시간을 마련했습니다.

오마이뉴스는 뉴욕타임스, 타임, CNN, BBC, 가디언 등 세계의 유수 매체가 조명해온 국제적인 명성을 지닌 매체이며, 영어판 <오마이뉴스 인터내셔널>은 세계 100여 개의 나라에서 3천여 명의 해외시민기자가 참여하고 있는 글로벌 시민참여미디어입니다.

<오마이뉴스 영어뉴스캠프>에서 이제 자신의 생각을 대한민국을 넘어 세계에 전파하는 훈련을 하며 글로벌 리더로서의 꿈을 키우시기 바랍니다.

타드 태커 <오마이뉴스 인터내셔널> 편집장과 제1회 오마이뉴스 영어뉴스캠프 참석 학생

문의: 국제부 민경진 차장 733-5505(내선 246)

*다음은 제1회 오마이뉴스 영어뉴스캠프에 참여한 덕성여자중학교 1학년 변보경 학생과 외대부속외국어고등학교 2학년 김다래 학생이, 최상훈 <인터내셔널 헤럴드 트리뷴> 서울특파원을 인터뷰한 뒤 작성한 기사입니다.

"We journalists have to get things done on the run constantly. It's stressful, it's challenging, but it's fun," says Choe Sang-hun, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
Mr. Choe made the inspirational statement to students of OhmyNews English News Camp, who were granted the opportunity recently to interview Mr. Choe. For an hour and a half, he talked fervently of his passion for journalism and the basics of interviewing.

He first described effective methods of becoming a successful journalist. He suggested that aspiring columnists practice writing regularly, and analyze the structure of first-rate articles. Another piece of advice was to take interest in current events and approach everything as a potential story for a newspaper article. He also remarked on the significance of comprehensive reading; he himself subscribes to numerous newspapers, and keeps scraps of the articles he likes the most.

He also stressed the point that even the most talented of writers cannot produce a satisfying piece of writing with a first draft. From his point of view, revising countless times is an important part of the process of achieving satisfaction with a piece of writing.

The same goes for an interview. Reporters must prepare for interviews, or at the very least sketch out an outline of the questions that are to be asked. The best way to prepare is to do extensive research. It is necessary to find every article available on the subject, in order to preclude the possibility of writing about an idea that someone else has already covered.

When asked about how he felt when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Mr. Choe smiled wistfully and replied that he knew he was going to win. Of course, that did not reduce his sense of self-accomplishment. He admits that it did not truly sink in that he had been given the award until he received calls and interviews concerning his accomplishment.

"Fame evaporates quickly, though," he acknowledged with a smile during the interview.

Throughout the lecture, Mr. Choe emphasized a single point repeatedly. "Find something you can devote yourself to, something you like so much you never get tired of it." Choe Sang-hun is a lucky man. In journalism he has found something to commit to, of which he never grows weary.

Former Seoul-based AP correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Choe Sang-hun shared his unusual experience as a reporter with young future journalists this past Saturday. Choe spoke to students gathered at the OhmyNews citizen journalism school in Ganghwado. Although both Choe and the students were native Koreans, the whole session was held in English, as all the students were there to improve their English. For about an hour and a half, Choe introduced useful English news writing tips and illustrated some of the twists and turns that his journalism career has taken him in so far.

Choe's job has differed from the majority of reporters in two ways: he was a Seoul correspondent, and it was for a worldwide news wire company, the Associated Press. He worked for the AP for 11 years from 1994 to 2005. Before that, he had been a reporter for the Korea Herald. He now works as the International Herald Tribune Seoul correspondent. As a veteran reporter having experience in various kinds of reporting, he elaborated in detail on how each job has been fundamentally different.

"The entire Korean peninsula is your beat," he said enthusiastically, describing his job as a correspondent with AP. "You can write anything!"

From Choe’s talk, being a correspondent sounds fascinating. There is no chance of becoming bored or having to worry about what to write. You need not squeeze your brain to earn a story. You have the whole of Korea to write about. Unexpectedly, however, he commented that this could in fact be a double-edged sword. Although it is true that you are writing about a wide range of subjects, from Park Ji-seong to Lee Myung-bak, you are not allowed a deeper understanding of a specific topic. Compared to an ordinary reporter whose beat is limited to a certain area - education or the economy, for example - a correspondent is required to cover much larger areas.

"You are jumping around so many different topics," he explained.

As the years pass by, an ordinary reporter comes to have expertise in his field, while a correspondent tends to remain a generalist. This was a previously unknown fact for the citizen journalism school students about the life of a correspondent.

Discussing his work with the AP, Choe also confessed to the depression that arose from nerve-racking competition at the global level with so many outstanding reporters. The nature of a news wire company demands its reporters to be highly time-sensitive. You need to write many stories a day, push things out quickly, and keep articles down to a shorter length. Time outside of work is almost non-existent for a news wire reporter. In contrast, reporters for domestic newspapers are granted longer amounts of preparation time for each article.

"It's very stressful, but again it's very challenging," Choe said of his job working for the wire.

Choe frequently invoked the word 'challenge'. Challenge is the central job of a reporter and he seems definitely to have enjoyed always having to face and overcome new challenges.

Choe has proven himself to be a desirable role-model for young students looking forward to professions related to journalism. Through his inspiration, this short session at OhmySchool successfully offered young students an opportunity to broaden their view of future.