by Tom Young and Editor
THREE University of South Wales Sports Journalism students today got the opportunity to experience Wales’ new manager Ryan Giggs’ first press conference.
Myself, Callum Ellis and Tom Pritchard headed over to St Fagans National Museum of History where Giggs unveiled his squad ahead of Wales’ trip to China for the China Cup.
The opportunity was one which was a valuable experience for the three of us, being able to see how professional journalists set up for conferences, both with regards to what questions they asked as well as the equipment they used.
These were two areas which the three of us can look to learn from in order to improve our preparations ahead of the next conference we attend.
The insight into the media is something which Callum also picked on when I asked him about his experience today.
“It was great to see how a press conference pans out from the media’s perspective. This provided me with a good insight into how I should prepare for the next conference that I attend.”
Callum produced the story of the press conference, which is published here on ExpoSport.
Whilst none of us asked any questions to Giggs, Tom Pritchard did conduct a short interview with Rob Page, Wales’ U21 head coach, an experience which Tom felt was valuable and informative.
He said: “Rob seemed optimistic, and it was good to get this thoughts on David Brooks and Harry Wilson.”
The interview was recorded by myself and Callum, whilst Tom recorded the audio on Ferrite on his phone in order to ensure that no ambient sound was mixed in from the rest of the conference suite.
Course leader Julie Kissick was also with us: “The thing that always stands out to young journalists is the speed of the proceedings. You really don’t have time to think, you have to get in there, know what you’re doing and get on with it.
“This was another superb experience for our students and we’re grateful to the Football Association of Wales and our partnership with them for enabling this.
“The students are involved with international football at a time of change – new manager, inevitable changes to the playing and backroom staff, even a new venue for the press conferences. It’s an exciting time for them to be a part of it.”
Overall, I feel that the conference was an invaluable experience and one which will stand myself, as well as Callum and Tom, in good stead for future conferences which we attend.
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