Now that I have reached the second year of my Sports Journalism degree at the University of South Wales it is time to start developing my brand in the attempt of making me as well developed as possible in all aspects of sports journalism ready for the next step.
I am planning to use this year to improve in all aspects of the industry, make connections and hopefully get some further experience in the industry. During the first year of the course I was fortunate enough to develop my journalistic skills by sitting in the press box of a EFL Championship game and two Welsh Rugby Premiership games. This was extremely beneficial in terms of learning the ropes of writing match reports on elite level sport and the limited time frame that comes with it. Now in my second year of University I’m hoping to attend more games as a member of the press and really nail that aspect of sports journalism.
In the digital age of journalism, podcasts and audio/video are more important than they’ve ever been. Being aware of this, me and two course mates have been recording podcasts on the Welsh Rugby Premiership. These podcasts have gained quite a lot of social media traction and at the time of writing we have just under 1,000 followers on Twitter. We’re always trying hard to improve and are trying innovative ways to continue putting content out there, despite no Premiership rugby being played since early March. Personally I’m hoping to take the podcast further and onto bigger and better things during this second year, which would lead to more opportunities for us, and making us more employable and increasing our number of contacts.
I feel as if during the digital age of journalism being active and engaging on social media, particularly Twitter is a huge part of growing your brand and getting your name out there. During the first year I did this to a certain extent but feel as if during this second year I can really take this further and try to make a name for myself on social media. This can be done by engaging with fans of local teams/local journalists and by being a reliable source, this will help gain trust from people on social media who see you as a reliable journalist. This goes a long way to growing a personal brand as it puts you out there on social media and increases your reputation.
AWC SPORT 