Final Blog: What This Course Taught Me About Journalism and Myself

Before this course, I tended to understand journalism as something only related to articles, news or online contents. I knew media was powerful, but never really aware how many layers existed behind what we consume everyday. This course completely shifted that for me, especially through the past field trips and real world exposure to different media institutions in Munich throughout this semester. 

One of the most eye-opening experiences was the opportunity to visit different media environments that are somehow difficult to access even in my home country (Thailand), such as the broadcasting institutions and Munich printing house. Seeing these places on the other side of the world, a different continent with a totally different media system, made me realize more of the role that journalism and media play within the society here. It is not something superficial, but it ties beyond what we could imagine including history, politics, civic life, and even public responsibility. 

At the Süddeutsche Zeitung printing house, I was amazed not only by the scale of the printing house but also the scale of the machines, the process of making the print, the precision, and of course the teamwork behind the scene that we usually overlook. Before this, I honestly thought traditional media, printing in particular, was slowly fading from our life and became irrelevant. But getting to witness the whole process from the beginning to the distribution made me understand why the professionals there strongly believe that printing will not simply disappear. That visit also showed me the most crucial angle of print media and journalism, as they can hold credibility and tangibility beyond content which is something that cannot be replaced fully by online media. 

Equally impactful was the visit to Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), learning about the German public broadcasting system that requires citizens to pay radio and media fees was surprising to me. I honestly don’t understand the reason why at first, but after hearing the reasoning from them, it helps me to see more on how this system supports the public in terms of journalism for overall public interest. The historical context is blended and rooted in every inch here, especially how the media was manipulated by Nazi era showed why they take media regulations, voices, and neutrality so seriously. It is true that journalism here is being seen as one of a tool for democracy and to prevent history from repeating itself.

This made me reflect on the role of journalism in our society in a deeper way. Journalism is not only just information, storytelling or entertainment, but it is an infrastructural function for the public in terms of safety and stability. I had never really thought about the fact that during emergencies or catastrophes, the broadcasters are also responsible for providing life saving information. Being in the radio studio and speaking with professionals made me realize something I might have overlooked, that a DJ or a radio host is not just someone who plays music and talks, they are the one who people rely on. This part of media professionals and their responsibility changed how I see the profession completely. 

Academically, throughout this course I’ve understood different forms of journalism beyond the usual new media: printing production, radio broadcasting, public service media, and institutional journalism. I used to be one of those people who mainly consume the content online and thought that today’s world is dominated by social media. I learned that different media institutions operate with different goals and audiences. Some are for societal service, others for commercial numbers, public goods, or innovation. I also see how journalism evolves through different eras and technology while remaining the core values in professionalism, credibility, ethics, and responsibility.  

Another important part of this course is writing. Since after every field trip we had to write blog posts and journalistic pieces, I became more confident in turning observations into engaging writings, describing scenes, and reflecting the experiences rather than sticking with the structured writing with certain limitations. The interview-based writing assignment truly pushed me to listen more carefully, select meaningful quotes,and shape an interesting narrative. I’m aware that my writing is still not perfect and it’ll never be, but at least I know that it has a room for improvement, thanks to the repeated exercises and opportunity for trying things out in writing.

Personally, this course also unlocked something unexpected in me. I came into this course thinking that my future would likely end up being in PR or marketing fields, something in media but not directly related to journalism. But after the radio experience in that room at BR, I felt like something inside of me had shifted. Standing in that radio station, listening to the radio host talk about her career, I felt inspired in a way that I did not expect. I started seeing myself not just as someone behind the PR campaign strategy, but in front of the microphone speaking to the audience, presenting music, writing scripts, and hopefully being part of something that really serves the public. 

In the end, this course did more than just teach me about journalism and media systems in the classroom. It helped me see journalism as a fundamental part of society and helped me discover a part of myself I didn’t even know existed in me. It made me realize that sometimes we don’t know about our direction until we get to experience it. And that is something I really did not expect at the beginning of the semester. Thanks to everybody for being in this course, I am so grateful and enjoy every moment of this journey with each and every one of you.