RACKETS TO PEN AND PAPER | JournalismColloquium

RACKETS TO PEN AND PAPER:

A STORY OF A TENNIS PLAYER TURNED JOURNALIST

An interview with Muiz Aziz through video call in a podcast recording.

By Asyraf Rosmidi

From dominating the arena of sports and the back page headlines to the ones writing them, it is no longer a rare story to many. Many national athletes have ventured into this field after they decided to be out of their limelight, such as Azlan Mubin and Syaidatul Afifah.

Azlan Mubin, a newsreader and sports commentator, is a former 'sepak takraw' player of the national team who started in 2001 in the junior team. He retired from the arena after he was injured in Doha Asian Game 2006.

Syaidatul Afifah also another athletes-turns-journalist who commonly known as a bowling world champion in 2017, retired from the national team early in September last year, after 11 years.

She, then, made her first debut and appearance as sports television program host early in October last year.

Following these sports veterans, Wan Abdul Muiz Wan Abdul Aziz also marked an end to his athlete career when he, too, decided to be out of an athlete's limelight.

However, it did not really mean an end to his interest, as despite being retired, he could still be involved in sports but now, as a journalist.

Muiz Aziz, 25, a former national tennis player, said that most athletes who chose to retire face a difficult phase when they no longer could continue with their routine. There is no more training and no more of that lifestyle as an athlete.

For instance, athletes who suddenly decided to retire after being active for ten years might feel 'lost' for a while because they could no longer continue with their routine as an athlete.

A turning point in his life

Muiz Aziz in a tennis training.

Source: Instagram/@wan_muiz07

When Muiz was recruited to the national team, he was offered another option to pursue his study or continue to be a professional player. During that moment, he realised that education was much more important, and it would secure him a better future.

So, his career's turning point began when he decided to pursue a Diploma in Media and Communication and continue his study in Bachelor of Mass Communication (Hons) Journalism.

From there, he was ultimately sure that he could be a sports journalist since it was a field that he can totally relate to.

"During my internship at TV3 (Media Prima Berhad), I was assigned under the sports desk, which is my field, even though I played tennis before, but the scope is about the same," said Muiz Aziz when asked about the factors which got him into this field.

Journey as A sports journalist

Muiz Aziz reporting live from the sports venue.

After working only for three weeks in Astro Arena, he was assigned to go to Indonesia to report on the 11th ASEAN Schools Games Indonesia 2019. During the same year, he went to the Philippines for the 30th SEA Games Philippines 2019.

It was a remarkable achievement for him as he was given the trust to go abroad to complete the assignment, which is rare for a newcomer to the industry.

Usually, newcomers will be monitored for a long period before being assigned to go for an assignment abroad or to cover for a big event, but for him, that seems not to be the case.

In his first two years as a sports journalist of Astro Arena, he has produced two special reports. One of them was submitted to the AIPS Sport Media Awards, the highest international accolade in the sports media industry. ‘Tenis tiada masa depan di Malaysia?’

‘Tenis tiada masa depan di Malaysia?’ and ’10 sentimeter’ were two special reports produced by the former national tennis player.

'10 sentimeter' was a special report that was submitted to AIPS Sport Media Awards and also was produced by himself, was about Danial Syahmi Ahmad Shahril, a Malaysia Cub Prix rider, who fractured almost 10 centimeters of his bone in a crash during the season-ending race of the Asia Talent Cup (ATC) at the Sepang Circuit, two years ago.

The special report was intended to appreciate Danial's determination to continue his fight and make a comeback in motorcycle racing even if he now needs to walk with a limp after receiving stem cell therapy due to his serious injury in 2018.

The Pandemic and Sports Journalism

The pandemic has played a large part in our lives since the outbreak in March. Therefore, many events, including sports events, were prohibited or cancelled when the government implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO) starting from 18 March 2020 to curb the spread of COVID-19.

"During this pandemic, the journalists in other desks have many things to cover, and they still have the content to cover, but we as a sports journalist, there is no sports event that we can cover during this situation.

“So, we need to produce our own content, and it is not easy for us because the audience wants to watch sports, either sports games, highlights or short documentaries about an athlete.

“Who wants to watch politics in sports and other hard news? So, these are the challenges for us as sports journalists. We need to produce our own news and content that can still attract the audience,” said Muiz.

Being a successful sports journalist, especially as a broadcast journalist who repeatedly appears on the screen, Muiz gave some tips to his future apprentices.

"Build your own social media presence so that people will notice and be familiar with you and most importantly, build your own character. People want to see someone that is full of confidence, comfortable enough in front of a camera and speak well and clearly with facts," he ended.