We offer each of our trainees a summer bursary of up to £1,000 every summer of their degree to spend on journalism work experience or a journalism project, giving them the unique opportunity to travel and explore the areas of journalism they are passionate about.
School of Journalism trainee Heidi Munn shared how she used her bursary doing work experience with motorsport media outlet The Race.
This summer, I used my bursary to take some time off work and take up the incredible opportunity of work experience with The Race.
They are a motorsport media outlet known for in-depth coverage of all things motorsport through podcasting, social media and online articles.
My time there was split between working remotely and spending time in the office.
During race weekends, I became heavily involved in social media coverage and produced content for their combined following of 1.1 million on Instagram and 1.2 million on X.
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I was trusted with live-tweeting free practices, qualifying’s and races, finding the best F1 memes and creating the best copy to go with it.
I developed a good sense of how to use Photoshop, creating their quote cards and news posts for Instagram.
I got to learn the difference between their two tones of social media output, with @wearetherace being more factual and for hard-core F1 fans, and @wtf1official being more of a comedic page.
It was exciting, sometimes nerve-wracking, and often very intense, but it taught me the importance of accuracy and speed when working in real-time media.
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Beyond social media, I was also introduced to the editorial side of the company.
I contributed to both their ‘winners and losers’ articles and even got to express my opinion on their verdict article, which usually follows a controversial race ruling.
I worked closely with editors, learning how to structure an article with the most compelling lead.
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Another big part of my placement was the task of transcribing writing from the audio provided by their journalists on-site.
While it may sound like a small task, it provided me with race information I otherwise wouldn’t have been aware of, giving me early access to the thoughts and opinions of everyone on the grid.
One of the most fascinating aspects was witnessing how a motorsport media outlet operates behind the scenes, both in and out of the office.
I sat in on a podcast meeting, met the team responsible for merchandise and learnt about the many branches The Race has.
At the end of my experience, I was offered the opportunity to continue working with them on a freelance basis, which really marked the beginning of my career in the industry.
This work experience only solidified my passion for sports journalism, and I am hoping it will only lead to more opportunities down the line.
Photo by Stephen Kidd on Unsplash.
You can read more of our summer bursary blogs here.
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