Interview with Lauren James

Lauren James graduated from the University of Leeds in 2013 with a degree in Linguistics & Phonetics. Lauren moved to the Hong Kong in 2015 to work for the South China Morning Post, where she is now a Culture reporter.

What does your job entail?

I am a culture reporter at South China Morning Post (SCMP), which is Hong Kong’s biggest English language newspaper. When I first started working here, in June 2015, I was a sub-editor, and then a reporter, for the teenage section of the paper — Young Post. I then started to write for the main paper in April this year. I get to write about anything I like — from arts and entertainment, to food and technology — and tend to write 1,500-word feature articles.

How did you get into your job?

While at university, I wrote about music, and reviewed gigs for the student newspaper, and also helped out with the student radio. In fact, I originally wanted to work in radio, but I gradually became more drawn to the writing side, and realised that I was a stronger writer than I was presenter.

After graduating in Summer 2013, I started working for a local entertainment news website, where I worked for a year, before taking on a new position at the Press Association near Hull, where I wrote TV listings for papers such as the Radio Times.

It was early in 2015, when PA started to make people redundant, that I started pre-emptively looking for a new media job. I struggled to find a UK-based position that suited me, because companies would tell me I wasn’t suitable for the role, as I didn’t have reporting experience, or a journalism degree. But I really don’t think a journalism degree is essential — it might teach you things like media law, but I think it’s better to broaden your horizons with a degree in an area such as languages, History, English, or Politics.

Eventually, I found a position at SCMP in Hong Kong, which sounded perfect. After a long and challenging application process, SCMP brought me over in June 2015, and I knew straight away that it was the best decision I had ever made.

What tips would you give to any students looking to go into media?

Get as much experience as possible. Get involved in the university’s media societies, like the TV, radio, or newspaper. Find some work experience in the city — such as at ITV or the BBC — and don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. You have to learn to find out someone’s name and contact details, reach out to them, pitch yourself, and let them know what you’re interested in.

How did your degree prepare you for your job and for working abroad?

Studying Linguistics and Phonetics taught me lots of writing skills, such as syntax, grammar, and how to maintain neutral language in my work. I also took a Discovery Module, in which I studied the language of the media, which really helped me to polish my writing skills.

In terms of the university experience in general, being away from home was a massive learning curve, which prepared me for moving abroad. I learnt how to be independent, which helped when I moved abroad on my own, and had to set up my WiFi and bank account.

What were the most rewarding and most challenging aspects of moving abroad?

The most challenging parts were definitely moving on my own and experiencing home sickness. It’s also expensive to live in Hong Kong, and to fly home, and it doesn’t help that you really can’t avoid the student loan companies, wherever you go. But there’s also so many things I love about it here: there’s so much greenery, lots of lovely beaches, and great weather all year round.

If you want to move to Hong Kong, I’d recommend getting a teaching abroad qualification. It’s an easy way to get into Hong Kong, and teachers are quite well-paid here. If you want to work in a media-based role here, start pitching yourself to as many editors as possible and keep an eye out for advertised jobs.

Did you experience culture shock, or was it easy to integrate?

Moving to Hong Kong, I didn’t experience too much of a culture shock because the city feels quite western and I quickly found people with similar interests, such as music and running. Hong Kong is often described as a melting pot of cultures, and it’s easy to meet people from all over the world, though westerners do tend to band together. I haven’t experienced any particular problems being a woman here; in fact, I’d describe it as safer than the UK in terms of low levels of street harassment and when travelling alone at night. SCMP’s editor-in-chief is female and there are several women in senior positions at the paper, so I wouldn’t say being female is a barrier to success in the media.

As a reporter, I sometimes find the language barrier challenging. Since I don’t speak fluent Chinese, I can’t go out and speak to whoever I want. Having said that, most people do speak English here, so, in general, it’s easy to communicate.

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Have the interviews in the Alumni Voices Abroad series been helpful to you? What insights would you like to gain from future interviews with our alumni? All feedback on the series is welcome, please send this via email to lcsalumni@leeds.ac.uk