About me

I am an incredibly passionate sports fan wanting to progress in the Sports Journalism industry. At the age of 18 I was the successful applicant for the midlands region on the BBC's highly-regarded Kick Off trainee reporter scheme in the summer of 2017. Since then I have become a regular freelancer for both the BBC Sport website and BBC Radio Manchester.

Additionally, I was also The National Student's sports editor for ten months between November 2018 and August 2019, while I freelanced for MUTV (Manchester United Television) for six months in 2018. Moreover, I have written articles for the Manchester Evening News, political website The Slant, local news site Salford Now and have helped cover a general election for ITV Granada.

Within the BBC I mainly work on domestic coverage published on the BBC Sport website. I have principally carried out pre-match and post-match written reports on English football league fixtures, contributed to the website's live text page writing content for Football, Cricket and Rugby and stood in for regional journalists producing articles for the website relevant to their local patch. I have produced a number of features, live texts and was also tasked with writing the 2018-19 National League Play-Off final report from Wembley Stadium.

Recently, I have undertaken shifts for BBC Radio Manchester Sport. Within this role I have read sports bulletins and done live two-ways with drivetime presenters. Additionally, I have edited and clipped audio on dira! Highlander for radio programmes and bulletins and embedded them alongside written cues in OpenMedia. While, I have also managed Radio Manchester Sport's Twitter account, posting engaging tweets on matchdays.

At The National Student I was responsible for over 50 writers producing a variety of pieces for the Sports section of The National Student's website and magazine. Within this role I published prompts for potential reports, features and interviews and sub-editing all of the section's content sourced new staff writers for the section and oversaw the section's gradual move towards a greater student focus. I wrote articles on a variety of subjects and interviewed a variety of people including; sports stars, movie animators and comedians amongst others.

At MUTV I primarily undertook a Floor Manager role at Manchester United Academy football matches. I was responsible for conducting pre and post-match interviews as well as relaying team news and other information from the pitch side back to the gallery. I gained further television experience when aiding ITV Granada's coverage of the Altricnham & Sale West and Stretfrod & Urmston counts at the 2019 UK general election. I filmed both constituencies' declarations, speeches, general views and additionally, interviewed the winning and losing candidates. This footage was subsequently used in ITV Granada's programme the following morning and evening.

Elsewhere, I have covered Salford City's 2018 FA Cup replay with Shrewsbury Town for the Manchester Evening News' paper edition the following morning, have produced numerous online, radio and television assignments for Salford Now and have written a number of articles primarily on refugees for political website The Slant.

Recommendations

I have worked with Joe on a number of occasions at BBC Sport since he came through our BBC Kick Off Sport Reporter scheme in 2017. He has worked on a variety of different events and jobs within our department and has established himself within our freelance pool of staff. Since his placement just over two years ago, during which he had no formal journalism training, Joe has worked hard to start a promising career and has built up a promising level of experience within the industry.

Jay Freeman - BBC Sport Online

Joe was always viewed as a reliable, enthusiastic and talented individual. His copy was always clean, consistent and entertaining to read. He always took it upon himself to pitch his own article ideas while taking on tasks set by the editorial team in a confident way. He is approachable and professional and always makes sure the job is done to the best possible standard it can be.

Luke Chillingsworth - Daliy Express reporter, formerly The National Student's sports editor.

Joe introduced me to The National Student during my second year of university. I wrote numerous articles for the website which Joe edited, I felt any editions he made were always justified and explained to me. He was happy to delegate roles and allowed me to contribute to the team’s 2018 Football World Cup coverage. He also organised an interview I had with mountaineer Geordie Stewart. Joe encouraged me to apply for the vacant Opinion Editor role a few months into my time at The National Student. I would not have got that position without his help.

Ciaran Hanvey - Formerly The National Student opinion editor

Joe and I have both freelanced for BBC Sport for the last few years and I always look forward to whenever our shifts cross. I have sub-edited Joe’s copy numerous times and his stories are predominantly clean and accurate. He is often the first to volunteer to do jobs and lifts the office morale in a variety of ways; he is genuinely a pleasure to work with.

Michael Beardmore - Freelancer for BBC Sport, PA and The Football League Paper

Joe is always happy to pitch ideas to the editorial team, exploring a vast range of subjects. His pieces are always a pleasure to read and are usually published with only minor changes. I’ve been impressed with the level of research, dedication and effort he puts into his articles.

Toby Berrett - Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of The Slant