Snack Media teamed up with the Football Writers Association (FWA) on Tuesday night (30th October) to offer a speaker’s event to young aspiring journalists and football writers looking to get into the industry.
In the format of a panel discussion and Q&A session, followed by a chance to network and discuss all things journalism, Patrick Barclay (author and former chief football writer for The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent), John Cross (The Mirror), Paul McCarthy (Macca Media), Raphael Honigstein (German football correspondent for The Guardian, talkSPORT and BBC) and Joel Beya (Cheeky Sport) gave their insights and advice to a packed room in central London.
The event was hugely enjoyable as some of the heavyweights of UK and European football writing shared stories about their time in the industry, past and present, and how they see the future of football and journalism unfolding.
Up for discussion by the panel were topics such as how to be different when trying to stand out in a crowded industry – how do young journalists get noticed, and how do they become the go-to expert on a particular topic? – or the importance of gaining the trust of players and clubs and not burning bridges by publishing stories that will get you blacklisted.
As part of the event, Snack refunded the ticket price for any of the event’s attendees who were subsequently accepted into the Football Writers’ Association in an attempt to promote and encourage young journalists at a time when the profession is dealing with the challenges of digital upheaval.
Read our article on 5 Lessons on How to be a Football Writer, which we found out from the event.
