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Didn’t know where I should put this, so I thought here might be a good start.
If a schoolkid was looking to get into racing journalism in Britain, how would they go about it in Britain?
I’m a tad older than that, and I’m an Aussie, but I know how to do it here. I’m really interested to hear what the process would be in Britain, as I would love to do some work experience with something like the Racing Post or Sporting Life or At the Races, etc.
The BHA have (or had, not sure if they still do) a graduate programme where university students can get a summer internship.
Alternatively, these are the main routes:
1) Become a jockey – a journalist’s job awaits you at the end if you don’t fancy an early retirement in Northern Cyprus.
2) Join Timeform, become indoctrinated in their bizarre dogma and become a member of the Sleepy Hollow Mafia who source all the racing media jobs in this country.
3) Marry one of the inner circle. Is Turia Tellwright still single? If so, she’d be my number one choice if I wanted to get on in racing.
I could never go out with a woman called Turia Tellwright. I’d keep expecting to run into the Famous Five.
On a serious note, maybe you could write a blog & send pieces from it to the various media outlets. It’s a long shot but one might bight.
Andy:
I am a racecaller from the UK, now based in the USA. Drop me an email at britishracecaller@gmail.com and I may be able to get you some broadcasting experience here this summer if it would be of interest.
Craig
Both Seabird and Glenn are probably not too far off the mark – which would also be another answer to a question posed by Bluechariot in another thread
Perseverence and not taking no for an answer is a fairly useful, indeed essential, trait as well.
Jobs at the Racing Post and Press Association (who supply the sportinglife.com copy) are very hard to come by and understandably there is very fierce competition for them. The other thing to bear in mind is if you did get a job with either it would probably be a very long time before you were allowed anywhere near a racecourse.
Try getting some work published in local media and get a cuttings file of your work compiled. Also what Anthony suggested is also a very good idea.
Good luck with your quest and, most importantly, if you really want it then don’t give up.
Another possibility to showcase yourself is this under-26s writing prize:
http://www.willswritingawards.co.uk/default.asp
Quite a few have used it as a stepping stone to the racing media. Like a backend maiden at HQ, there will usually be high hopes of the winners taking high rank later in life. Some will be retire to stud as champions, others will end up running in the proverbial Towcester seller several years down the line.
Take the 2002 winners for example: Amy Bennett got a job at the Racing Post. Jack Houghton, meanwhile, currently resides in the ‘where are they now files’. A man last seen scrawling £2 to a squillion pound roll-up challenges on Betfair’s general betting.
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