I don’t write. I don’t really edit either. And look
what I got into.
From Electronic Media Art Director to Electronic Media Director,
I have learned so much that I can’t wait for summer to
arrive. Being an editor (ha ha) burns one out in the Daily Bruin.
Now, I finally get a chance to vent in the print version. So here
it goes.
Underpaid, overworked, blamed, insulted, and patronized, I have
walked through the valley of shadows in The Bruin. As a Web
designer rather than a journalist, sometimes I feel I have been
looked down upon by my editorial colleagues and I lack a sense of
belonging in the newsroom. At the same time, I have to learn about
managing a department and about online journalism, a newly
developed field which few people know about. Sometimes print people
just can’t work with Web people. It takes great patience and
communication for both sides to work together. In the past,
newspaper writers detested broadcast journalists. Similarly, print
journalists now fear the new medium and are generally illiterate of
Web publishing. It is a dilemma for both print and Web journalists
to resolve. I thank those in The Bruin who have gradually
communicated with EM and treated Daily Bruin Online as part of
their publishing space.
In addition, there are office politics in this so-called
“pre-professional” environment. Although
well-represented in ethnicity and class, the senior staff forms
cliques in terms of race and staff rank. But I guess this is
just how the real world works ““ like a micro-society. The
Daily Bruin newsroom reflects every single aspect of a professional
workplace, both good and bad. I like and dislike this job ““
that is the paradox of working at The Bruin. I think I will
probably get some hate e-mails because of this column. Oops, I just
burned my bridge.
Nevertheless, I still appreciate this experience and have very
much enjoyed working with the staff, especially my assistant
directors, Marc Precilla and Hari Rajasekhar, my four staffers and
interns. Without them, EM would not have excelled. The
exceptional teamwork is reflected through our baby ““ Daily
Bruin Online (dailybruin.ucla.edu). Faithful readers, please
check it out and refresh the way you read the news. Then I shall
live happily ever after … or at least for the rest of the
summer.