An MA in Sports Journalism student at St Mary’s University, Twickenham has been shortlisted for the David Welch Student Sports Writer of the Year Award.
Siobhan McCall is one of the final three nominees who were shortlisted for the prize and will be attending the Sports Journalists’ Association Awards on Monday 24th March, where the winner will be announced and awarded a week’s work experience at the Daily Telegraph. The competition was launched in 2012 in the memory of David Welch, the sports editor of the Daily Telegraph who believed in promoting young talent.
Siobhan was one of two female students to be nominated. She said, “I was really shocked to be nominated but I’m delighted. Last year’s judging panel included Paul Hayward and Sue Mott, journalists who I look up to, so to think that people like that have looked at my work and enjoyed reading it is really quite an honour. I’m really looking forward to the Awards night.”
Although Siobhan completed an undergraduate degree in History at Cambridge University, it has always been her passion to break into sports journalism.
She said, “Being a sports journalist is all I’ve ever wanted to do so when I saw a specialised course here at St Mary’s that focused on sport, it really appealed to me. I met with Daragh Minogue, who is the Programme Director, and he really sold the course to me. I can already see that it has improved my writing and interview techniques and because it’s sport, it’s made it that much more enjoyable.”
The location of the University is also a plus as it is close to the Sky headquarters in Brentford, which is where Siobhan wants to work. She has already made the final shortlist for the Sky Sports News Graduate Scheme and will be starting a separate, shorter, placement there in a few weeks.
“My dream job is to work at Sky Sports News,” she said. “That’s where I’ve wanted to work for the last 10 years. That’s always been the dream and everything I’ve done so far has been geared towards getting that. Even doing this course was geared towards getting the graduate job at Sky Sports News.”
Aware that journalism is a highly competitive field to get in to, Siobhan has undertaken many work placements to gain an all-around experience of the industry. She previously worked as a reporter for The Voice newspaper for a year, where she reported on Premier League matches, worked at talkSPORT, and was also involved with the Kick It Out campaign, which aims to get rid of racism in football. She has also done video interviews for a local football club and has worked on the sports desk at The Independent.
Along with taking up as much work experience as you can, Siobhan also says that you have to build up your contacts and take advantage of the opportunity.
She said, “One thing they said to me at The Independent was that I was really enthusiastic to help out, whereas other work experience students have sat there and just put the experience down on their CV’s.
“That’s not what they’re looking for. You have to make the most of the opportunity because it could be your chance to shine and you don’t know what you could get out of it at the end.”
During the one year Sports Journalism MA programme, students are taught the core skills of journalism - such as reporting, media law and shorthand - and learn about digital media from professional journalists, broadcasters and academics. Guest lecturers, including Laurie Tucker the Day Editor at Sky Sports News and Wayne Veysey, Chief Correspondent at Goal.com, offer their advice to students and help them with how to structure their CV’s and cover letters.
Siobhan credits her tutors for preparing her for work once she graduates, such as Michael Kaye - a former journalist and editor at the BBC World Service - who gave her career and interview advice.
She said, “I’ve learnt so much. The most enjoyable thing I’ve done so far is the radio module, where we had lots of time in the studio with Michael Kaye. He taught us about writing scripts and broadcasting and also how to deal with industry professionals.
“I like how helpful the tutors here have been and the fact that you can do work placements in term time and still do your studies.”
For further information about St Mary’s National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) accredited Sports Journalism MA programme, email journalism@stmarys.ac.uk.
Siobhan was one of two female students to be nominated. She said, “I was really shocked to be nominated but I’m delighted. Last year’s judging panel included Paul Hayward and Sue Mott, journalists who I look up to, so to think that people like that have looked at my work and enjoyed reading it is really quite an honour. I’m really looking forward to the Awards night.”
Although Siobhan completed an undergraduate degree in History at Cambridge University, it has always been her passion to break into sports journalism.
She said, “Being a sports journalist is all I’ve ever wanted to do so when I saw a specialised course here at St Mary’s that focused on sport, it really appealed to me. I met with Daragh Minogue, who is the Programme Director, and he really sold the course to me. I can already see that it has improved my writing and interview techniques and because it’s sport, it’s made it that much more enjoyable.”
The location of the University is also a plus as it is close to the Sky headquarters in Brentford, which is where Siobhan wants to work. She has already made the final shortlist for the Sky Sports News Graduate Scheme and will be starting a separate, shorter, placement there in a few weeks.
“My dream job is to work at Sky Sports News,” she said. “That’s where I’ve wanted to work for the last 10 years. That’s always been the dream and everything I’ve done so far has been geared towards getting that. Even doing this course was geared towards getting the graduate job at Sky Sports News.”
Aware that journalism is a highly competitive field to get in to, Siobhan has undertaken many work placements to gain an all-around experience of the industry. She previously worked as a reporter for The Voice newspaper for a year, where she reported on Premier League matches, worked at talkSPORT, and was also involved with the Kick It Out campaign, which aims to get rid of racism in football. She has also done video interviews for a local football club and has worked on the sports desk at The Independent.
Along with taking up as much work experience as you can, Siobhan also says that you have to build up your contacts and take advantage of the opportunity.
She said, “One thing they said to me at The Independent was that I was really enthusiastic to help out, whereas other work experience students have sat there and just put the experience down on their CV’s.
“That’s not what they’re looking for. You have to make the most of the opportunity because it could be your chance to shine and you don’t know what you could get out of it at the end.”
During the one year Sports Journalism MA programme, students are taught the core skills of journalism - such as reporting, media law and shorthand - and learn about digital media from professional journalists, broadcasters and academics. Guest lecturers, including Laurie Tucker the Day Editor at Sky Sports News and Wayne Veysey, Chief Correspondent at Goal.com, offer their advice to students and help them with how to structure their CV’s and cover letters.
Siobhan credits her tutors for preparing her for work once she graduates, such as Michael Kaye - a former journalist and editor at the BBC World Service - who gave her career and interview advice.
She said, “I’ve learnt so much. The most enjoyable thing I’ve done so far is the radio module, where we had lots of time in the studio with Michael Kaye. He taught us about writing scripts and broadcasting and also how to deal with industry professionals.
“I like how helpful the tutors here have been and the fact that you can do work placements in term time and still do your studies.”
For further information about St Mary’s National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) accredited Sports Journalism MA programme, email journalism@stmarys.ac.uk.Media enquiries
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