Before working in the press room I thought the job of giving handouts to journalists would be tedious. But now I see it as a long-lasting memory because the best thing about being in the press workroom was the experience of working with real journalists.
My job description included helping journalists at the reception desk and sorting out start lists, match results, flash quotes and other handouts and put them into the big shelves we call "pigeonholes".
The handouts are at the center of our job because they help journalists do their stories efficiently. My strategy was to find out what journalists need before they asked.
I remember there was this journalist with the Italian rowing federation squatting in front of the pigeonholes. When asked what he was looking for, I was told he needed three different match results from a previous match day. I offered to do it for him but he seemed reluctant.
"Let me do this please, because it's my job," I said. I sort of remembered where previous handouts were stored, on the bottom shelves, and found them quickly. The journalist was delighted and gave me a pin from the Italian rowing federation.
Believe it or not, I kept one copy of each handout during the one-month test events. There were about 800 of them. I wanted to keep them because they were part of the wonderful memory I had. I am glad that I assisted the journalists to do their stories and it felt great when they smiled and thanked us for our assistance.
Chen Cong, 20, born in Zhejiang, is a student of economics at Peking University. She was chosen to assist press journalists working in the press workroom during the test events last August in Shunyi, 30 km from downtown Beijing.
