Getting the schedule for the three main candidates for the London Mayor Election in May would be an easy task – or so I thought. I was doing a work experience, with one of the most famous Danish correspondents, and I could feel the pressure on my shoulders when I, a few hours before the deadline, still hadn't managed to find out where Boris, Ken and Brian would be on the following day. I hadn't managed to get any of the schedules, not even an interview over the phone, not a hint.

Being a foreign correspondent is seen as one of the most glamorous jobs in the media industry. Since Evelyn Waugh described the job in "Scoop", with exotic places, drinks in the sun and an unlimited budget to spend, journalist students have tried to be the new William Boot. Nevertheless, the job is often more tiring and less exotic than in the novels.

I had been on the phone with all the press secretaries. Ken Livingstone's had not answered her phone, Brian Paddick's press office misunderstood me and hence rejected me, Boris Johnson's two press secretaries were very rude to me, mostly because I was from Danish television and they considered me useless in their campaign for London Mayor (and they were likely right).

The media have now taken into consideration the cost-benefit relationship when it comes to foreign news stories. Journalists, nowadays, have to prove that they can do something else, and better, than a Reuters telegram. Furthermore, the correspondent is expected to deliver to a radio broadcast, TV, and the Internet while at the same time writing in-depth analyses and interviews for the newspaper. The many new platforms means that the journalist has to, not only, deliver the news faster, but also has to cover more areas.

After more than 30 phone calls and almost as many lies, I finally managed to find out where Boris would be and I called Ulla Terkelsen who has 40 years of experience as a journalist. One hour later I met up with her and the cameraman. I had a long day ahead with interviews, taxi trips around town, vox pops and a lot of editing.

Terkelsen covers most of the world for TV2, which means that she is a "parachute journalist"; she is dropped into the places where she is needed. One day she will be in Baghdad talking about the war in Iraq, the week after she'll cover the Euro Cup in football. When I wrote her an e-mail about a possible work experience with her, her response was: "I am on my way to cover the primaries now in the US. After that I got the election in Pakistan and following that the election in Iran."

I had carried a lot of heavy camera equipment around and seen taximeters go higher than I had ever seen in my life; I then realized that being a correspondent is not just glamour. We had four hours of raw film and we spent a day cutting it down to a two-minute news story for the 10 o'clock broadcast.

John Simpson describes his 40 years of experience working for the BBC in his book, "Not Quite World's End." It is a life full of Hollywood stars, dictators and travelling around the world. However, it is at the same time a dangerous job, with people shooting at you or trying to kidnap you. Furthermore, family life can be difficult for a correspondent. Most of a correspondent's time is spent "on the road" and there is little time at home; it is not a 9 to 5-job like a reporter on a local newspaper. However, it can be good or bad, depending on your personality.