Adam Whyte

Why did you choose Solent?

The facilities available for the sports journalism course were outstanding. The state-of-the-art television and radio facilities are perfect for students to get a real taste of what it’s like to work professionally in the journalism world. Combine this with the weekly news days and the time pressures that come with that, and you come out of your degree with a wealth of experience.

Plus, the course provided many opportunities to work with local sports clubs.

How did university prepare you for your career?

I feel my studies were perfect for preparing me for my future career. Not only my studies but also the opportunities the course provided in terms of work experience. I worked with Eastleigh FC for the final year of my studies and for a year post and it was integral to helping me get the job with Southampton FC. You learn the tricks of the trade but also build up valuable contacts. This is all not only activity encouraged by the course but also integrated into your degree.

The guest speakers were always brilliant. Being an Arsenal fan, it was great to listen to David Dein for example. It was also always cool to hear and watch your work back as part of the news days. It really gave you a sense that you were working as part of the professional environment.

Can you talk about opportunities you had to get practical experience throughout your studies?

It was a highly enjoyable and rewardable experience for me to work with National League side, Eastleigh during my studies. Here I got the chance to cover football games every weekend, write match reports, cover games on social media, interview personalities and gather contacts. I would encourage everyone on the Sports Journalism course to seek out the opportunities provided by Eastleigh and over local clubs, where you can build your own portfolio that future employers will be impressed to look over, even those in the Premier League.

What’s a typical working day as social media lead for Southampton Football Club?

Social media lead involves being in charge of the day-to-day comms plan, which details what goes out on each social media platform each day. Every morning I will wake up and check to see what we have going out on the plan for that day, then adapt as necessary. I’d then head down to a training session which is typically at 11am and gather content using my phone from that, before feeding out content from our video and photography teams from that session later in the day. In a week leading to a game, the latter days will be about previewing Saturday’s fixture (press conferences, match previews, team news updates…).

What tips would you give to someone wanting a career in your industry?

Work experience is key, use it and enjoy it. This is your chance to get into an extremely competitive industry and use it to build your portfolio. Once you’re in the industry be willing to do anything that comes your way. You may not enjoy everything but if an employer sees you’ve had experience of doing everything that won’t be a negative. Then it’s about keeping your contacts and network where you can. It’s not what you know…