Becoming a journalist wasn’t exactly my plan in life. While searching for a suitable job, I came across an advertisement put out by an establishment looking for journalists. “Why not this profession?”, I asked myself and applied for it. That time I couldn’t foresee what was in store for me and I had no clues as to what the job would be like.

I started off my journalism career in 2009 as a reporter for the Oman Arabic newspaper, where I was immediately exposed to the profession of challenges. Three years later, I sought a transfer to the Oman Daily Observer. Despite the long hours you spend in office every day working from morning till evening, I must admit that the job gives overwhelming joy and satisfaction as your job is done and as you see the paper in print!

As a woman living in a conservative community, journalistic work may not be ideal for a female because many sacrifices have to be made for fulfilling both professional responsibilities and family commitments. Achieving success in this kind of a job is not quite simple as it looks anyway; hardship increases two-fold if the journalist is a female.

Many lessons can be learned from the “career of trouble”, some of which are: It helps you see different views on a topic; gives the insight to analyse a topic and form an opinion of your own; exposes you to various environments depending on the situation; enables you to speak confidently in front of a crowd; and contributes to building your personality. Another outstanding feature of journalism is that it brings out your potentials that you never thought ever existed.

Journalism is a critical process exactly like a surgery because any mistake could get the paper shut down. News and stories you write, however, may determine what your future as a journalist would be. That is, the authenticity of the stories you carry is a crucial factor in the stability and growth of your career as well as the reputation of the institution you represent. Moreover, journalists and reporters who publish unauthentic stories from unreliable sources may have to face legal proceedings. So, it is imperative on the part of journalists to ensure that their stories do not violate others’ liberty or contain false information. Otherwise, it will not only endanger the reporter’s job, it will also put the institution in trouble.

A journalist’s job is as strenuous as that of medical workers and military personnel.

Their silent efforts bear fruit in the form of the newspaper that you enjoy reading every day morning. Some call mediapersons “anonymous soldiers” because they are engaged in a fight every day, a fight full of stress and anxiety, yet enjoyable and fun.