Interview with Michele Koh [hplm2009] on Whohub

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What is your specialty? What subjects do you deal with?

I have been writing on a diverse range of subjects since 1997. From current affairs and social analysis to interior design and architecture, from dining and shopping to music, film, litreture, art and theater. I specialize in travel, self-help, and health and wellness; with my forte being complementary medicine and psychology.

I was editor for three publications–"Where Singapore":a monthly visitor's guide that is distributed in mid to high end hotels in Singapore, "In Singapore Magazine" (IS):a weekly city living guide and "Urbanite":a nightlife and performance art magazine in Asia. I also managed and oversaw the production of custom publishing projects like brochures and maps for tourism boards and other clients.

I am also an author and poet and my collection of short stories and poems titled "Rotten Jellybeans" was published by Chipmunka Publishing in London in 2007. The book is available at chimpmunkapublishing.com, amazon.com and other bookstores in the UK, US, Australia, South Africa and Singapore.

I have also been a TV show host and written scripts for TV and stage.

I am currently freelancing and working on short fiction.

In which media do you presently work or have you worked?

Lifestyle Magazines. At present, I am freelancing for Asian Geographic Passport, Home Concepts, Frequent Traveller and Silver Lining.

I have written for Psychologies, Harper's Bazaar, Interior Quarterly, Upload, Nautique, Purplelips.com, live-e.com, Herworld, LCC News, Times Edition, IS Magazine, Where Singapore Magazine.

Clients that I've worked with include Singapore Tourism Board, Chinatown Association and Premier Tax Free.

Broadcast. Worked as a scriptwriter and show host as a teenager for Singapore Broadcasting Corporation then Television Corporation of Singapore.

Please list a web address where where one can view an example of your work.

Information that greatly affects the lives of a significant number of people, and will have have a domino effect on the lives of those who do not yet know about it.

To you, what is objectivity?

Writing in a non-emotional, non partisan way.

What is the best headline you have ever read?

Gun Inventor Wants Peace
-from a profile piece on Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK 47.

What headline would you like to see printed one day in the newspaper?

The Hallow of Madness
-Redeeming aspects of mental illness

Which paper do you buy on Sundays? Where do you read it?

International Herald Tribune. The Independent. At the breakfast table.

Do you feel that analytical and investigative journalism is being lost?

Definitely. At least in Singapore where I grew up. Publishers and senior editors are so adamant that the piece is not an ego-trip, so the writer's personality is stifled to the extreme. Analytical and investigative journalism is very much about the reporter doing the story. Investigative pieces are so intimate because they are told through the eyes of a FEELING (not just information processing) human being who gives a shit about the subject he/she is investigating. It seems that the really good pieces make it to paperbacks or National Geographic, but in broadsheets they are often lost to the reader.

How would you explain the boom of the tabloid press?

Pictures have always been a medium that is easier to digest than print. With the rise of cable news networks, the internet and you tube, with fast moving images, our attention spans are getting shorter, and the reading of lengthy print articles and think pieces becomes a chore. We would rather look at pictures of familiar and attractive human faces than do any heavy reading, and the tabloid press strewn with large images of celebrities makes for an effortless read and also satisfies the desire for sex and violence that audiences have looked for since the time of the penny press.

What can you teach us about the art of the interview?

First think within the box: What is the interviewee's profession? What is his/her weltanschauung?

Then put yourself in the shoes of someone of his/her profession, gender, nationality etc and look at the world from the eyes of the interviewee.

Then ask yourself what questions would really get you going. Which questions would you be excited to answer. Because ultimately, the best answers come out when the person is really passionate, knowledgeable or involved with the subject.

Please list well-known people you have interviewed.

Singer Debbie Gibson
Singer Richard Marx
Singer Danni Minogue
Tennis player Pete Sampras
SNL Comedian Rob Schneider
Singaporean political dissident Francis Seow
Internationally renowned photographer Russell Wong

Would you say the journalism blog is revolutionizing the profession?

No, because not enough people read them. It is still harder to get access to a blog then to TV, radio or newspapers and the majority of readers still get their news from more traditional and readily available mediums. To go to a specific blog takes time, therefore blogs tend to be read by groups that already have a interest in the topic the bloggers or groups are discussing.

Will the paper press disappear?

That depends a lot on the quality of the articles and the design and layout of the paper. With so much content available online, a paper needs a very unique and authoritative voice, pages that are easy to navigate, reader friendly fonts and presentation and a good reputation in order to survive.

What are your thoughts of the free papers distributed in cities?

Given a choice, I would pick a paid for paper over a free paper. Having worked for two free publications, I am aware of how much advertiser constraints and image projection affect the content and objectivity of the information.

Is there a motto or ethical principle that clarifies your decisions in moments of confusion?

Is my decision motivated by fear or love? Am I feeling angry, reluctant and anxious before I act, or am I feeling calm, happy, confident and excited?

What advice would you give to someone who has just left university and wishes to start in the profession?

Never stop reading. Devour as much information as you can on all and any subject. Expand your vocabulary. Read as if someone was going to quiz you, or you have to write an essay on the subject. Read/watch the news regularly, read extensively on topics that interest you and make connections between random pieces of information.

Always try and read two books with opposing views on the same subject (as you did for your essays and thesis), that will keep you thinking and save you from being "brainwashed" by any one "expert's" point of view. Think hard about the information you are digesting, sift the crap from the useful and honest information, then come up with new ideas and theories yourself. That will be your fodder for articles and books.

To get by as a writer, you need to be good with your grammar, syntax, spelling and fact checking, but to be a successful writer, you have to be original. And the only way to do that is to dispute the already established masters as often as possible.

As long as you are reading consistently, thinking about what you read and how it relates to the world around you, you are doing better than other aspiring writers.

In order for information to be useful, it needs to be applicable.

In order for information to call attention to itself, it has to be needed.

In order for information to flow with beauty and integrity, it needs to be presented with passion, courage, honesty and authority.

Oh, and you have to write....every day. Anything. Just write till you find a voice that is yours.

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