chapter 4

….She dove towards the elevator.

"Mama miya!" Exclaimed Frédéric, "I don't believe what I just saw the girl she's crazy about you Zed" he continued

"Oh stop talking so she can't give me a goodnight kiss?" replied Zed

"No, it's all in the look and the tone of his voice but you see nothing or what?" replied Frederic

"Listen I'm super tired and I have to work tonight for the debate tomorrow so let's sleep in peace." cut Zed

"Before going to sleep, I would like to tell you a little story" launched Frédéric

"Oh please your story can't wait until tomorrow?" refused Zed

"Good if you want." reacts Frederic

"Cool" replied Zed

Then they went up to their room

During the night around 1am, Zed's phone rang. He was not sleeping soundly. He took his phone mechanically. It was a message from Vania. "Hi Zed it's time for study" read the message. Zed yawned Then he began to write: "Vania please I think my head is in the clouds because of the alcohol I drank I will be able to reason well we will do it again after the debate" he wrote. A few seconds later, Vania reacts: "You didn't seem to be drunk though, and for your debate tomorrow what will you do? Zed yawned again when he finished reading the message. Then began to write: "Vania I understand, but must believe that I have no choice but to expect the evidence concerning the debate but don't worry I'll manage" then he pressed send back. A few seconds later, Vania reacts: "Lol, we'll see, you know you freaked out a little in front of me, I can't wait to see the face you'll make" Zed smiled when he read the message. Then he wrote: “Okay good sleep Vania” a few seconds later, Vania reacted: “Thank you very much”. Then Zed quietly put his phone down.

The morning was invigorating, all the students had gathered in the large breakfast room before going to the one where the conference was being held. Zed and his friend Frederic were dressed in jackets. Vania and her gang approached them.

"Hey guys you look great!" Launched Vania

They nodded with a smile.

"So Zed do you feel ready to face the fire?" Asked Vania, "it seems that today there will be results for those who will go to the final." she continued

"Don't worry, I'm ready for anything," Zed replied.

"You better, we'll let you meet after the debate and good luck to you," Vania said, winking at Zed.

"Thank you very much Vania" Zed thanked

"Please darling" she whispered comically. And by the way, nice jacket.

Then they headed for the conference room. Frederick put a hand on Zed's shoulder.

"Damn Zed, are you not clear on her game or what? That girl loves you." launched Frederic

"Oh he's doing it again" Zed grumbled

"I'll give you a friendly advice man. We're here to bring the trophy back to the university but the best trophy for you would surely be the heart of this Vania." said Frederic

"Honestly, I don't really know, old man." replied Zed

"Buddy tell me honestly don't you have feelings for her?" Frederic asked

"Yes" replied Zed "

"And then, go declare your love to him and if you don't know how, I'll give you a hand." suggested Frederic

"Do you take me for a gynophobe or what?" denanda zed

"You look like it" replied Frédéric

"Ummmm" Zed buzzed.

"You know an author on the subject underlined in his book that "if you can talk to a woman, then you can do anything..." stated Frédéric

"I don't see the connection" replied Zed

"But if there is." replied Frederic

"And what does that mean?" zed asked

"Simply that the first thing is communication, you're a journalist in training, you should know that…communicologist" replied Frédéric

"That's it! I see. For now we focus on the debate ok?" cut Zed

"As you wish, I hope you have read the book that I sent you by email, it is an author in journalism who has approached the perspective dimension of the job of a journalist." asking Frederic

"Absolutely, I scrupulously read it and I admit that it is relevant." replied Zed

“Precisely the relevance.” said Frederic

"I think we can go there, everyone is already in place." Zed suggested

“Good luck to us…” shuddered Frédéric

The great room had the same atmosphere as the day before. The speaker resumed his routine presentation and invited the antagonists of the day. With a spontaneous smile, Zed walked up to the podium. A student from another university also stepped forward to applause from the room. Then the speaker called the room to calm and continued:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this conference has made us discover different aspects of the world of journalism thanks to these brilliant students full of potential." said the speaker, continuing: "We have already witnessed heated debates in which the judges will decide the winners of the first round. We are going to address the question of the prospects for the profession of a journalist. The questions will be the same for all two, but it's their answers that will make the difference. So without further ado, I'm going to ask the first question on the two questions in this debate. I'll start with Mr. #Marc. WHAT FUTURE FOR THE JOURNALIST'S JOB IN THIS WORLD WHAT IN OUR COUNTRY?" Asked the speaker.

The other swallowed a sip of saliva and smiled.

"This is a question that will push many authors to rewrite books on media issues" he yelped.

He had a laugh in the room.

"Ok sir go ahead answer" said the speaker.

"So to talk about the future, you have to talk about the present first" resumed the other with a tenacious air. "A few years ago, print journalists who worked occasionally on TV, or vice versa, were the exception; tomorrow it will be a generality. Already in our country the contracts of certain young journalists stipulate that they will have to work for several different media, it will be necessary to invent the professions of journalism to accompany it, as well as a new way of writing, faster, shorter, more factual.So putting an analytical eye on the future of this profession in the world, I will not argue without mincing words, that it will be possible to become a journalist without having followed a specialized professional training. Already, recruiters expect young people to have a technical added value which supposes having learned to record sounds, videos, images, in addition to the mastery of different journalistic writings. So for me the future relates to the right training." he concludes.

Encouraging cheers 👏 made concert in the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, you have witnessed the subtlety of this young student who demonstrated his vision for the future of the profession of a journalist. Let's see if Mr. Zed will say better…." replied the speaker

Zed glanced at Vania who gave him an encouraging wink. He felt his heart rate quicken like during the evening with Vania. He had to muster all his courage to begin:

"I admit that my opponent's position fascinated me," he introduces.

"But was he right to affirm bluntly that the job of a journalist relates to his training?? No! And I'll tell you why. I don't think that going through a school of journalism is essential to make this job. What is, on the other hand, is to have a greater desire to do this job than that of others. Of course, school is useful because it allows you to build up a professional network, to make interesting internships, and, at the Journalism Training Center, to have a CDD (Fixed Term Contract) upon graduation, which allows you to set foot in the stirrup. For my part, I therefore support that journalists will always be essential to our societies to report, certify the facts and carry out investigative work that is not within the reach of amateurs.The professionals who will distinguish themselves will be those who are able to demonstrate creativity, originality in the processing of information and who will be able to develop an interesting, offbeat and unique narrative mode. This is my vision of the future." He concludes.

The standing ovation that followed Zed's argument was the same as one would experience at the football stadium.

"So there ladies and gentlemen" intervened the speaker,

"you have once again witnessed the subtlety of this young student who in a few words turned his opponent's argument upside down. I let the judges decide on their fate. We move on to the second and last question of the debate, still in perspective. And this time we're going to start with Mr. Zed. THE WORLD OF JOURNALISM INCLUDES SEVERAL OCCUPATIONS, IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT ARE THE OCCUPATIONS THAT WILL EXCELLENT IN A FEW YEARS FROM NOW???" he asked

"That's a question I asked myself the first day I enrolled in journalism school," Zed sighed.

"I am therefore going to provide a relative answer that is both subjective and objective. Indeed, the years to come represent a serious challenge for press companies. Local television, once a breeding ground for jobs, is no longer so, and information on the Web has still not found a viable economic model. The only certainty I have is that: in the future, a press title like the one my late father Dayout had, for example, will not recruit a simple journalist-editor, but someone capable of writing, taking photos and shooting reports. Moreover, new professions will appear with the development of information on the Internet. But I do not think that there will be Web journalists just as there are radio or TV journalists: Web techniques must rather be diffused throughout the profession. But if the needs in terms of professional practices are beginning to be identified, the training is still to be developed. The young people we recruit for this kind of task are real geeks, they spend their time on the Net. They master all the tools and media such as blogs, social networks, Twitter, F******k… The world of journalism will see a great expansion of professions in a few years,” concludes Zed.

Everyone was overwhelmed with enthusiasm. It was eloquent and fascinating the speech that Zed had produced.

"Ladies and gentlemen, applause again for this young student who has never ceased to amaze the jury since he started the debate. So I'm going to send the ball into Marc's court." said the speaker

"Thank you very much" said Marc still with his tenacious air. But his tone had changed.

"Well, I'm not disagreeing with my opponent's increase, I'm going to be subjective in my turn. You know the world of the media is very changing and for this reason, I am unable to tell you what will be jobs that will recruit the most in the coming years!On the other hand, what is certain is that the more skills candidates for journalism jobs have, the more likely they are to find work. much more looking for journalists capable of filming subjects, editing them, but also mastering the editorial techniques that will allow them to structure a subject, write their commentary and record it.Today young journalists must know that Journalism professions, especially in television, are very physical: you have to be reactive, know how to manage your stress.The training received, preferably in a school recognized by the profession, is essential to master editorial techniques, which are also useful on TV than in print. You also have to be cultured, curious and unbeatable on the news... For me, these are the professions that will characterize the journalistic world in a few years." Concludes Marc.

An unparalleled ovation engulfed the room.

"Oof!" Sighed the speaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen frankly I would not like to be in the place of the members of the jury because it will be difficult to choose the winner. But whatever the case, we will have to make a choice. I thank the two antagonists and ask them to return to their places under your applause of course." said the speaker

Then Zed went to shake his debating opponent's hand and then returned to his seat. It was the turn of his friend Frédéric to go to the podium to debate against another student. They had had more than 2 questions and Frédéric had been subtle like his friend. The debate ended at the same time as the previous day. All the honored participants were invited to take part in a cocktail. Vania had gone to Zed to pay her compliments.

"Gosh, you were amazing Zed and you too Frédéric." launched Vania

"Thank you very much Vania" replied Zed "you'll be fine tomorrow too."

"I'm starting to get scared Zed" says Vania

"No, no, you just have to have confidence in yourself and you'll see it's simple" encouraged Frédéric.

"Thank you, I'll try" shuddered Vania.

"You know Vania you can do better than me" said Zed

"The way I see things, you might win the trophy, huh" replied Vania

“And speaking of trophies, Frédéric intervened, I think Zed has something to tell you”

Frederic shouldered Zed.

"What like that" asked Vania ironically.

"Well you know Vania it's something we have to talk about at rest maybe when we go back to the hotel" cut Zed

"No, why not here?" Frederick insisted.

"Yes Zed you can tell me now it's okay." replied Vania

"And I think I'm going to leave you alone for a while where would your girlfriends Vania be?" Frederic Denanda

"In the next room at the first table." replied Vania

"Great I'm going!" Frederic shudders

After Frédéric slipped away, Vania resumed:

"So Zed what did you have to say to me?"... To be continued