The Last Day

August 10, 2007
Takako Iwatani, American General Bureau of the Asahi Shimbun, Washington, D.C.

My last day of this internship started in the Pentagon. I was in the line at the security gates around 8:30 a.m. I went with Lindsey, one of our assistants, to attend a press briefing at 9 a.m. It was my first time at the Pentagon.

The news media in the Pentagon press briefing room were connected via a video link to a colonel who was talking to us from Iraq. At first, he explained how the U.S. military has secured the area and helped to improve the region. Then he answered questions from reporters.

Well, it might sound strange, but I was excited to see working reporters from major media outlets like CNN, NBC, New York Times and Christian Science Monitor. They ask accurate questions, and I was just amazed.

I think what I learned the most from this internship were the differences between Japanese journalism and American journalism. What I have learned at UNL is American journalism. I was curious to see the differences, but at first I didn't think these two were very different. However, in fact, they are very different.

I have to admit that Japan still has the old, traditional style. Sometimes, women are treated disrespectfully. I believe it's getting better, but it still needs to improve. The same thing happens in the journalism industry. This world is dominated by men. I talked to some women reporters. They said it was difficult for women to work in the news industry after they are married or had children. They also said newspaper companies tend to hire more men than women even though some women have better researching and/or writing skills.

Also, sometimes Japanese reporters can't write what they want to write because of the policy of the company they work for. If they write articles whose contents don't follow the policy, their editors or bosses will remove the articles. Those articles would not be appearing in the paper.

This internship experience made me wonder about my future. I was hoping to work in Japan after graduation and come back to U.S. to go to a grad school. However, now I am starting to think about going to a grad school after graduation and learn more about journalism and English so that I can hopefully find a job in the U.S. It is a risky decision because I know finding a job here as a non-native English speaker is very difficult and there is no guarantee that I can do it.

Anyway, I learned a lot from the internship and I am sure this experience will influence my life. I don't know how yet, but I will know about it gradually. Now, I am just relieved and happy that I have completed this internship. I wish I could have more time to write about my experience. But, that's ok. Today is the last day of one of the most wonderful experiences in my life.

I would like to express my appreciation for all the people who helped me to get this internship, who worked with me in the office, who allowed me to share my experience on the blog and who read my blog.

Thank you so much!

My names is Takako Iwatani. I am from Japan and I am a junior news-editorial major in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I am interning at the American general bureau of the Asahi Shimbun in Washington, D.C. The Asahi Shimbun is one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan with a circulation of about 8.3 million. At this bureau, Japanese reporters and American reporters help each other as they cover major news stories in the U.S. for Japanese readers. I am so excited to see and learn how they work together. Email Me , View All Takako's Entries