Could you write a regular weekly column on Untold Arsenal?
We are looking to expand our list of regular weekly commentaries by including two new series. One is a pre-match review of the form of some teams, the other is a review of the reserve and youth teams, and how the loan players are getting on.
(We are also looking for people to help with another series on an occasional basis – so if you are interested in that, please scroll down to the foot of the page).
But for the moment back to the two regular columnists.
In each case we are looking for a writer who can do a column each week during the season, and contribute occasional articles on related areas during the summer break.
THE PRE-PATCH REVIEW
What we are looking at is a weekly article to appear a couple of days before each match which considers the recent form of Arsenal, the team Arsenal is playing, and our major rivals.
It would therefore include the stats of (for example) the last six games, along the lines of “three wins, two draws, one defeat”, then bringing in the goals for and against, and other interesting points. So you might be saying that “although Tottenham have only lost 8 games this season, half of those defeats came against the other top six clubs, and 7 of them were away” or what else is important.
I have in mind that you might cover Tottenham, Man U, Man C and Chelsea each week, plus maybe Liverpool and/or maybe a “guest club” reviewed for the first time.
The piece would therefore be a mixture of the stats and commentary – in the same way that our ref preview and review works, and the way that the weekly injury review works. That doesn’t mean that the stats have to be separated out, but rather that the piece should aim to engage the reader while pointing out something that might not have appeared elsewhere.
THE RESERVES, YOUTH TEAM AND LOAN PLAYERS
We all used to rely on Young Guns blog, but this has dried up of late. There is Jeorge Bird’s column, which is interesting and well-written, but primarily focuses on the games, rather than a constant update of who is looking exciting, how many loan players are actually playing, and so on. (http://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/)
If you are interested in doing this column it is worth having a look at Jeorge Bird’s column – which is good – as obviously the idea is that you would not cover the same ground.
WHAT DO I GET OUT OF THIS?
In the last year two of our regular columnists have reported that their writing for Untold was a significant factor in getting new jobs. It seems (to paraphrase complex situations) that the interviewers were impressed by the writing and dedication of the writers, who showed that rather than talk about what they might do, were actually showing what they had done.
Additionally another regular writer for the site has found he has had greater recognition from those around him because of his work with Untold.
In fact it is not surprising that others notice who writes for Untold, because our monthly number of hits is now touching 400,000. Additionally, on occasion Arsenal.com link to our articles (although obviously we have no control over this) and we do have a real sense that people within the club are reading Untold. So you certainly should get recognition over time.
What you don’t get is any money – Untold does make a modest income, but there is not enough to make the distribution of salaries possible. But if you have ambition to be involved in the world of football, or to be recognised as a writer, then this is not a bad place to start.
IS IT REALLY EVERY WEEK?
Of course we know that holidays are needed, there are family commitments to see to, and (sadly) all of us get ill occasionally. And this is a voluntary activity so we can hardly stop your pay cheque if you don’t send in the copy. But the intention is to do it every regularly. So if you are interested please do say how often you expect to be able to write the column, and please don’t promise to do what you know will be tough going.
WHEN DOES IT START
We will start each column when we get a writer. If we find someone now we’ll run the column through the rest of the season, and use the feedback we get to make any changes to the format needed, before re-launching at the start of next season.
HOW TO APPLY
Simply write to Tony.Attwood@aisa.org and attach a sample article as a Word file or in Google.doc. This is not an article that is intended for publication, but should be in the style and approach that you would adopt. So it doesn’t matter if it is a few days out of date, but it should be accurate.
If we like what you do, we’ll give you a column.
AN OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTION
We do take occasional contributions on Untold, providing they fit within the style and approach of the blog, but it is sometimes difficult to fit them all in. However at the moment we really do want contributions to our “Iconic Moments” series running on the Arsenal History Society site.
If you are interested, take a look at some of the past iconic moments that we have already covered, and then write one in Word and send it as an attached file to Tony.Attwood@aisa.org
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