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Ahead of the game


From travel to exclusives – football journalists tell Ruth Addicott about knowing the score


I


n a world of restricted access, stage-managed press conferences and bans being handed out to reporters like yellow cards, how do you get four world exclusives on Cristiano Ronaldo in one day?


For Samuel Luckhurst, then chief Manchester United writer


at the Manchester Evening News, it was simply a good contact. Luckhurst, now Man Utd correspondent at The Sun, broke a


number of exclusives including Ronaldo going to Man Utd instead of Man City and the appointment of Jose Mourinho. Known as ‘the dressing room leak reporter’, he had contacts


that were spot on – when Mourinho was asked for team news at a press conference, he looked at Luckhurst and said: ‘Ask him.’ Luckhurst says some of his best contacts have come via


social media. It was actually his wife who alerted him to a source tweeting him credible information. “I took notice of him and he has become and still is a very good source,” he says. “Hard-hitting opinions do have cut-through now and will get you noticed. If you’re able to echo supporters’ sentiments, supporters who have credible information will be inclined to go to you.” Although it proved beneficial for Luckhurst, he says he


Tricky talks and valuable chat


Go off track Sports journalist Jon Colman advises preparing for a difficult press conference. “Have a few different angles, maybe go off the


18 | theJournalist


beaten track, have a bit of depth to your questions and a bit of length to your list of them,” he says. “Everyone has some sort


of story.”


Find a mentor Colman says a good mentor can make a huge difference and credits his first sports editor, Vic Gibson, and John Walsh, who gave him


would think twice about engaging with people online now and it is not something he’d advise young reporters to do. Aside from the football, the best part of the job is the travel. “It’s a dream to go to these places, whether it’s Washington, Melbourne or Seville,” he says. “Then you get something like Astana in Kazakhstan thrown in – it’s eye-opening to experience a different culture somewhere so remote and somewhere you’d never go.” One memorable trip was the journey in Turkey from his hotel in Istanbul to Galatasaray stadium. With the motorway gridlocked, Luckhurst and his colleague decided to bail out of their taxi and make their way on foot through the Turkish fans, who are known to be among the most feared in Europe. “That was fine,” he says. “Then, when I got there, I


discovered I didn’t have an accreditation pass and my name hadn’t been put down. Within 10–15 minutes, it was sorted, but that was probably the most stressed I’ve ever been trying to get to a stadium.” Jon Colman grew up watching Carlisle United on the terraces with his dad and has been named Regional Journalist of the Year at the British Sports Journalism Awards nine times. He has covered the club for the News & Star and


The Cumberland News since 2005. Back then, he would just phone the manager or grab a player in the car park for a 10-minute chat. Now, although he still has good access, there is a weekly press conference.


work experience at the age of 15.


“I’ll never forget how much


I valued and still value them,” he says.


Say yes to a coffee John Cross, chief football writer at The Mirror, says


reporters need to be punctual, adaptable, enthusiastic and make an impression. He advises: “Never turn


down the opportunity for a coffee or a chat – you never know where it might lead.”


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