During the final year of my university course, I had the opportunity to go on a two-week placement with WalesOnline. This placement allowed me to produce professional written pieces on a regular basis.
During the first few days, the written pieces were pre-planned and was expected of me, however soon enough I was tasked to come up with original pieces which they could run.
At first, I was hesitant and slightly intimidated as I wasn’t 100% confident in my writing ability. In the past I would be try and shy away from things that were outside my comfort zone, however since having the experience of university, I saw this as opportunity to develop myself further as an aspiring sports journalist.
Before coming up with original story ideas, I decided to try and help that I would go into the mind of my audience and try pinpoint what they would like to read. Alongside this, I also considered the other content that WalesOnline produce to gain some inspiration. For me this is how journalists think when coming up with and writing a story, so I wanted to get myself into that mentality.
The story ideas I came up with revolved around the Wales international women’s team. In today’s world, in which women’s football is rising, continuous publicity and coverage is needed. I relayed my ideas back to WalesOnline and they thought it was a fantastic idea.
With the company already covering the first team, they advised me to focus on the youth teams, particularly the star players. I was delighted to be guided onto that specific angle as I had good knowledge of some of the talent, due to my involvement with Cardiff City Ladies.
At the end of the first week of placement with WalesOnline, the Wales women’s team pieces, which were my original ideas, received the most engagement and traction out of everything I had written. One piece in particular was even recognised by a few of the players that featured within it.
Overall, being tasked with coming up with original ideas was hugely beneficial for me during my placement at WalesOnline. Despite being hesitant at first, going out of my comfort zone has helped developed me as a sports journalist. The experience made me think like a professional journalist, especially with the added pressure of working for a news outlet.
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