'Turning my passion into a career': how WiJS helped one aspiring sports journalist

By Fiona O’Hara

Rugby has been an integral part of growing up in my family. Despite personally being, let’s say - not ‘gifted’ - at any sports, my brother excelled at school rugby all the way through to the U20s Edinburgh and Scotland teams.

When the Six Nations or the Autumn Internationals came around, our family was attending without fail. While my interest maybe started as a way to join in conversations between my brother and my dad, over time the knowledge and insights gained grew into my own passion for the sport.

After finishing my Masters degree in Journalism, I was confronted with the challenge of how to break into the media industry. After a couple of work experience weeks and internships, I decided to focus on my own interests and find opportunities to write about them.

I was immediately drawn to the idea of sports writing and in particular rugby. As if Women in Journalism Scotland (WiJS) could hear my thoughts, they announced a press trip to Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow to learn the tips and tricks of rugby reporting. This is where I initially met Stuart Bathgate, freelance rugby correspondent for The Offside Line, and the opportunity to shadow him was set up through WiJS.

This opportunity to channel my passion into a possible career was the perfect starting point.

Once Stuart and I exchanged numbers we discussed a plan of action and I started attending press conferences with him at the DAM Health stadium in Edinburgh, as well as attending matches and getting to sit in the press box with all the other journalists. Through these experiences I met many of the Edinburgh Rugby players and Head Coach Mike Blair and got the opportunity to ask questions (an opportunity I wish I utilised more, but my confidence is slowly growing) as well as meet other journalists and Edinburgh Rugby’s media managers.

While attending press conferences and match reporting was very exciting, there was a lot of time waiting around for your chance to speak to the players - which Stuart warned me jokingly was the realities of his day to day. These periods of waiting gave me the opportunity to learn more about Stuart and the other journalists’ careers, their schedules and how they work together.

Making these new connections has already opened doors to new opportunities going forward and makes the industry feel less daunting as everyone I’ve meet has been so inclusive and encouraging of my progress.

I had the chance to write my own articles based on the press conference interviews and have Stuart review them. His advice and critiques on my writing have been invaluable in developing and improving my skills; to have someone as knowledgeable as Stuart review my work has been such a privilege. This led to one of my articles appearing The Herald, giving me my first byline for rugby journalism.

Overall, this opportunity has been amazing and I am glad that it has continued longer than just the two-week work experience it started off as. Shadowing Stuart has already taught me so much and has given me a solid foundation in the sports journalism industry that I can build from as my career progresses.