On this episode, my guest is Henry Winter. As Chief Football Writer of the Times, he is one of the most respected and influential sports journalists currently working the UK.

Winter’s career started well before social media but he has fully embraced the medium and now boasts a Twitter following akin to that of a mid-table Premier League club.

This is a wide-ranging conversation taking in the state of sports journalism, the newspaper industry, TV and sport as well as social media. But it is all underpinned by the thoughtful analysis and humility Winter’s readers will know so well.

TOPICS DISCUSSED

1.55 How he got into sports journalism and his rise to the Times

3.12 Whether those tactics would still work today 

4.02 How important are the skills of writing

6.04 Writing v video v contacts  

8.13 The effect social media has had on his job. Which platform works best for him

10.25 The effects on the style of writing 

12.15 His attitude to haters

14:43 His tactics for replying to haters or ‘disagreers’

15:34 The training has had on social media 

17:20 Why journalists are bylines not brands

19.34 Naming your Twitter feed and digital contact

21.31 Clubs becoming media outlets and avoiding the “us v them” in press conferences  

23.45 When player and teams need a favour from the journalists 

26.34 The YouTube fan channels – their sweet spot and their one problem

29. 23 Where club channels fit in

32.03 Is the explosion of content good for mainstream sports journalism?

34.36 Having a ‘Trump bump’ in sport?  Paying for quality

37.10 The tonal balance – Piers Morgan, the Gettysburg address and War and Peace 

38.39 Why are there no sports dailies in the UK. ‘If it is not a Golden Age, it is an unrivalled time’

40.39 The adaption of the newspaper’s business models. The EPL deal and the obsession with

42.33 Advice for young sports journalists

44.51 The pull of sports journalists through social media. Did the Times ‘sign’ Henry Winter because of his social media following  

LINKS

Henry Winter on Twitter

Henry Winter's writing at the Times

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