MY experience of my masters in journalism at Birkbeck University of London (first term)

27/12/2020 By Olufadeke Florence Abisoye Banjo

This is not my actual university, by the way, this is just for aesthetics lol.

My experience at Birkbeck university so far doing my masters in journalism has been great, being on this masters has truly an answered prayer (insert the meme I never expected it lol ), at first I was unsure of my abilities to do this masters in something I have never done before, for those that do not know my undergraduate was in Public Health, now you are probably wondering how in the world did I go from studying public health to starting a masters in a completely different subject journalism, well that is another story for another day.

On the 21st of December the week of Christmas I submitted my last assignment for one of my modules and finished my first term of my journalism masters (yaaay!!). I was both tired since I had been doing all-nighters but also, I was relieved and happy that I had completed my first term of my masters. Looking back, it almost feels surreal that I’m actually doing a masters and doing one during a pandemic has been interesting, to say the least.

A gif of a black lady saying yaasss in a crowd ( This gif is my mood right now :) )

At first, I was okay with having online classes and also the bonus of it being in the evening (for those that know me personally, I am not a morning person but I’m an evening person so having classes in the evening was a dream come true ), but as time passed I started to hate it and found it hard to focus at times, I low-key missed being in a university building, being in a lecture room filled with fellow students and just the overall vibe and experience of being a university student. This was something during 2nd and 3rd year of my undergraduate days (I’m acting like I didn’t just finish my undergraduate a couple of months ago lol) I had in some ways taken for granted because I was in such a rush to finish and graduate. However, because Miss Rona I did not have my graduation ceremony this year, but hopefully next year I will be blessed with two graduations whoop!!! or at least plan a little get together with friends and family.

A Gif of an old black lady upset, with a white male comforting her and tapping her head. (I miss being at Uni).

Now you may be probably wondering, Flo, what did you enjoy the most of your masters so far? What did you learn? Etc, well don’t worry I’m getting there lol. I actually don’t have one thing I enjoyed the most I pretty much enjoyed everything, but I would say one thing that stood out was how the course helped me get out of my comfort zone in regard to conducting my own interviews for my assignments. One of my two favourite interviews was interviewing my next-door neighbour and the second was interviewing a well-known activist Zita Holbourne for a news feature assignment I had.

A gif from the Simpsons.

I also enjoyed learning about the different types of journalism that a journalist can get into including travel journalism, sports journalism, investigative journalism etc, this taught me that there is so much diversity when it comes to a career in journalism and that journalism is not just excluded to news reporters we watch on tv but can also be involved behind the scenes writing articles for the newspaper.

Despite the masters being online due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions in the UK, the department worked so hard in adapting to this change and making sure the course was still interactive through class activities and discussions, having pre-session work and having lecturers pre-recorded along with some live sessions being recorded for us to go back to and make notes. I also appreciated how my lecturers were willing to answer any questions I had during class and also getting back to me via email.

I also appreciated the support of my classmates in setting up a group chat for us to discuss any questions or concerns regarding our assignments and other conversations. With masters often being very independent focus, it was nice to also feel like you weren’t alone as you also had the support of fellow classmates going through similar struggles as you.

A gif from High School Musical.

I believe that this masters have truly brought out the best in me, I actually enjoy writing up my assignments, conducting interviews and doing research for my assignments, I’m genuinely happy doing this masters, something I haven’t felt at times in my life in regards to the academic aspect of my life. I’ve been able to showcase my creative side more with this masters with the practical aspect of this masters as well as it still being an academic course.

I will leave you with these two quotes, one of them is a bible verse:

‘’My philosophy about journalism is simple that we have a job to hold those in power accountable, to give voice to the voiceless, and to provide people with information that they can use to make informed decision …” Jeremy Scanhill

‘’ Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, ensure justice for those being crushed’’

- Proverbs 31:8 (New living translation)

I hope to reflect these two quotes during my journey to becoming a journalist, I want to be able to tell the stories of those who haven’t had a platform to tell their stories, for the marginalised and the oppressed in society. I look forward to completing my masters next year and making the steps towards my career in journalism and hope to give you guys some insights along the way.

A gif of Viola Davis giving a speech at Golden Globe Awards (I hope one day I will have the opportunity to give a speech and get an award for my journalistic work God willing ).

I hope you guys have a lovely holiday and a great new year, thanks again for all of you guys support with this blog, look forward to more blog post in the near future.

Love, (TheFlo journal).

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Bye for now! :)