Have you always wanted to write for WSC, or wondered what goes on behind closed doors at an independent football magazine?
Do you want to learn new skills, make industry contacts and be paid to write an article that will be published in WSC magazine?
We are excited to launch the first WSC mentoring and development scheme for aspiring and early career female journalists, not currently in full-time education, with an interest in football/sports journalism. The scheme is free to take part in, and is open to ambitious writers, editors, sub-editors, podcasters and publishers, with a passion for football and something to say.
WSC has been running for 35 years, and in that time we have worked with some incredible female journalists, but not enough: even in 2021 women are still chronically under-represented across sports journalism, and due to this the public are missing out on brilliant and important stories, opinions and perspectives. We acknowledge that we can, and want to, do better. We want to help bridge the gap by offering our team’s time and expertise to mentor and support enthusiastic female journalists to gain contacts, experience, advice, and a foot in the door.
Over three months, you will take part in six two-hour sessions on Zoom about different aspects of the business:
Thursday, February 10 – Introduction to WSC, with Andy Lyons, Tom Hocking, Ffion Thomas & Richard Guy
Thursday, February 17 – Pitching, with Andy Lyons and Tom Hocking
Thursday, February 24 – Research and writing, with Ffion Thomas
Thursday, March 10 – Sub-editing, with Tom Hocking
Thursday, March 17 – Podcasting, with Daniel Gray
Thursday, March 24 – Production and business, with Richard Guy and Tom Hocking
Following these sessions, you will be invited for three further sessions with Ffion and Tom in April, to talk through your individual questions and career plans and receive tailored advice and support. You will also be invited to pitch and write an article for WSC, and will be supported to make it publication-ready. Your article, with full professional credit, will be published in the magazine and you will be paid an article fee. If you are not interested in writing, there will be other opportunities to be paid for sub-editing or podcast support, which will also be professionally credited.
The mentoring scheme will provide useful contacts, a detailed understanding of the industry, and improve confidence in applying for jobs or pitching articles to WSC and to other publications. We hope the professional credit will also help build a portfolio, which may lead to further opportunities. The pilot scheme will be part of Women in Football’s #GetOnside campaign, a rallying cry to be on the side of change when it comes to gender equality in football.
How to apply
You must be able to make all of the session dates above to be offered a place on the scheme. To apply, send a document no longer than one page of A4, with the following information:
• Your name and contact details
• Why this opportunity is right for you, and why this is the right time
• Tell us about a recent or upcoming football event or story that has gripped you, and why
• Include three short pitches for WSC articles you would like to write (see our pitching guide here)
Send your document as a pdf attachment to jobs@wsc.co.uk. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Thursday, December 16. If you have any questions about the scheme or the application process please email jobs@wsc.co.uk, though we may not be able to answer questions that come in later than 48 hours prior to the deadline date.
We will let you know the outcome of your application by January 17, 2022, and successful applicants will be invited to an informal conversation with WSC’s Ffion and Tom which will take place in January 2022. We can only accommodate three women on the scheme at one time, and we anticipate receiving many more than three worthy applications, so we will be providing all applicants who make it to interview with detailed feedback on their application and pitch ideas.
Please note, this is a free mentoring and development scheme designed for aspiring and early career female journalists, not in full time education, with an interest in football/sports journalism. Please do not apply if you are a man, you are currently studying at college or university, or you don’t care about football. This opportunity is for people based in the UK only.
WSC have a small access budget available if you need reasonable adjustments to take part – please let us know when applying if you have any access requirements and we will do our best to accommodate.