"Not a day without a line": war correspondent Alexander Sladkov shares advice with young journalists

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The National Centre RUSSIA hosted a meeting between VGTRK military correspondent, recipient of two Orders of Courage and the Order of Honour, and special correspondent of the programme "Vesti", Alexander Sladkov, and participants of the "Young Journalists School" project. The guest shared several pieces of advice that will be useful in their future profession.

The first piece of advice from Alexander Sladkov is discipline and practice. According to him, a reporter cannot afford to relax: every day, one must write, express thoughts, and master new formats and technologies.

"Write. Write every day. Not a day without a line. Every day you need to express your thoughts and try to expand your format: caption photos, write articles and social media posts, produce concise summaries of your ideas, learn editing, work with sound and lighting, and master new technologies and cameras. It is also essential to study the classics and read books about reporters," said the war correspondent.

The second piece of advice is continuous development and honesty with oneself. Alexander Sladkov noted that what matters most is not the volume of work completed, but awareness and personal responsibility.

"Every day you need to ask yourself: what good have you done today? And everyone must have an answer for themselves. That is the most important thing. Because you need to keep developing. If you stand still, you fall behind," he told the young journalists.

The third principle is loyalty to the profession and to people. The experienced professional warned future colleagues against the temptation to measure their work by money and fame. According to Alexander Sladkov, a true journalist stays with people to the very end, even when it is frightening and dangerous.

The Young Journalists School is a multi-format original project of the National Centre RUSSIA, where young talents learn the fundamentals of the profession under the guidance of experienced mentors and engage with invited experts from leading Russian media. The initiative is implemented in cooperation with the Movement of the First, with the support of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.