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Going beyond the news
Mr Goh hopes that the news he writes can make a difference in people’s lives.
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
MR GOH Chin Lian's childhood ambition was to be a teacher, a diplomat or a social worker.
"I wanted a career relating to people, and I knew from early on that my interest was in international relations," says Mr Goh, 35, a senior correspondent on the political desk of The Straits Times.
Mr Goh recalls that he was so keen on international relations that he wanted to study overseas at a university that offered the subject as a specialisation.
After serving his national service, the Raffles Junior College alumnus was awarded a scholarship by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) to study at Tufts University in the United States.
He graduated with first class honours for his Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in international relations and economics.
As a fresh graduate in 2000, he was with the foreign desk of The Straits Times as a sub-editor for a year.
From June 2001 to mid-2006, he was posted to the news desk, covering general news, followed by concurrent responsibilities at the transport and defence beats.
“When I started out doing the general news, I learnt how to interview random members of the public.
"Over the years, I have learnt how to have 'thick skin' and discover who is likely to agree to an interview or have his or her picture taken," he says.
In his early days as a reporter for general news, he also reported on funerals.
He says he learnt to do his job competently without being too intrusive and disrespectful to the family of the deceased.
When he was a transport and defence reporter, he covered public transport issues such as bus fare hikes and the Nicoll Highway collapse.
"During the Nicoll Highway collapse, I stayed overnight at the scene to get the latest news."
"Besides just reporting the news, I also learnt engineering details relating to structures and beams during the highway collapse. This was an additional skill I picked up as a journalist — to be able to relate more than just news and to grasp the technical details too," he says.
Other interesting experiences he had on the job include his first overseas assignment to Timor-Leste in January 2003 and to Meulaboh, Indonesia, in January 2005, where he was part of the news team that covered the work by Singapore troops after the tsunami.
His most vivid memory was boarding a Chinook military helicopter and witnessing the vast damage by the killer waves along the seafront.
His current role as a senior correspondent sees him covering daily news that include political stories and writing in-depth commentaries and analytical features.
"As a senior correspondent on the political desk, I've learnt a lot about government policies, labour issues and knowing the nuances of government speeches, messages and policies," he says.
He adds that the best part of his job for the past eight years has been the opportunity to meet new people and learn new things every day.
"A person aspiring to be a journalist must listen well and take an interest in what people think. The curiosity and passion must be there," he says.
A good way of learning what is required in the job is an internship where aspiring journalists can experience the newsroom environment and discover their subject interests, he adds.
"There is purpose and meaning to my job, and my hope is that the news I write can make a difference to someone's life."