Who Am I?

My name is Gary Philp and I am currently in my fourth year of an Honours Degree in journalism at Napier University in Edinburgh.

I lived all of my pre-University life in a town called Forfar in Angus, around 15 miles north of Dundee. I am very proud of my hometown and I still make regular visits home to see friends and family. I don’t know where my future lies yet but I do know that I will always consider Forfar to be my hometown.

My main interest is sport, but particularly football. I am part of a minority in Scotland where I back my local team, Forfar Athletic. Despite being busy with work both in and out of University I try to go to as many games as possible, not that that’s easy living on a student loan.

I also follow the Scottish national team and I am part of the Scotland Supporter’s Club, ensuring that I am able to obtain tickets for every home game, and hopefully, if I save some money, get to a few away games in Europe. Hopefully a career as a sports journalist will help with that particular ambition.

I also like to play football as well as watch and so play in a 5-a-side football league with a team comprising some friends, including friends on my course.

I am also a big fan of tennis and snooker and although my skills in both lag someway behind my knowledge of both I think both are very entertaining sports, and make for great television coverage. It would be no lie to say that I would love the opportunity to be able to report on both of these sports, although football would remain my first choice.

Apart from sports I am also very interested in movies although I do prefer to watch with friends as it’s great to share the experience with somebody. Mainly I like films that give me a good laugh and are very light-hearted. I think these suit me as they reflect my personality.

I am nearing the end of my course and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at University. It gave me the opportunity to face the world on my own and I like to think that I’ve done not too badly. I have been able to fit into University life very well and have been able to cope with the demands of getting University work done whilst also ensuring that I earn enough money to live and importantly am still able to have a good time, because that is what life is about in my opinion; having fun with those who are important for you.

I have some experience in journalism under my belt. I was thankful to be able to write about football when I wrote for unofficial Forfar Athletic fansite, Loons-Mad, as well as the official site and matchday programme. This involved writing match reports, writing reflective pieces, reporting club news and interviewing both players, club personnel and supporters.

I also have experience in writing for a newspaper from a placement that i did with a local freesheet, North Edinburgh News. Here I had to go out and find my own local news stories, for the first time outside of University, which although being the same thing still felt different doing it for an actual publication. It made me very proud to see a by-line with my name. Hopefully that shall become a recurring theme of my journalism career.

I hope that I can stand out from the crowd as I believe that I have a great depth of sporting knowledge and that I can write in both a serious and entertaining way. I think I am good at putting my point across and can write pieces that hold an audiences attention. I really hope my previous work and this blog can help show employers why they should hire me.

Examples of my work

Backlash to teenage oral sex plans.

Wright choice for Scotland?

Ticket Rush for Rock Fans

HMRC to cut thousands of jobs

Bank of England cut Interest Rates

Singing Scots Support Children in Need

Aerosmith – Get a Grip

A review of Aerosmith album “Get a Grip”.

This 1993 follow up to “Pump” sees Aerosmith produce another hit-filled rocking album, showcasing everything they do; from powerful rock to fun-filled pop.

The three power ballads; “Cryin’”, “Amazing” and “Crazy” are good yet similar. Other songs are mostly upbeat, and even the harder rock tunes have pop connotations. “Walk on Down”, where Joe Perry takes lead vocals is the only disappointment.

The highlight is the stirring, “Livin’ On The Edge”. It shows the worlds troubles, “There’s something wrong with the world today, the lightbulb’s getting dim, there’s meltdown in the sky.” Despite highlighting the planets problems it does suggest that life is worth hanging onto, just like this album.

Girls Aloud – Out of Control

A review of the album, “Out of Control” by Girls Aloud.

You know exactly what you’re getting from Girls Aloud; catchy tunes and hummable melodies, but is there anything wrong with that? It’s cheesy for sure, but not sickly. The first track, “The Promise” is an upbeat floor filler but it’s not quite as memorable as “The Show” or “Sound of The Underground”.

That is this album’s flaw; they aren’t pushing boundaries here, it’s just standard stuff, which isn’t bad for the fans but others won’t give it much attention. One highlight though is the collabaration with The Pet Shop Boys on “The Loving Kind”. Pop Kings and Queens seperated by two decades can still make a cracking pop tune.

The Clash – The Clash

A review of The Clash’s self-titled debut album.

British punk, proper raw and aggressive erupts in this generation grabbing debut, sticking two fingers up to the establishment as it charges through the tunes. “I hate the Civil Service rules, I won’t open letter bombs for you”, yells Joe Strummer in “Career Opportunities”.

“White Riot” and “London’s Burning” tell of the youths angst and need to break out, The Clash fulfilled their rebellious needs. They paint a bleak picture of Britain, retorting that Hitler would be made welcome in ’70s Britain in “White Man in Hammersmith Palace”. Opener “Clash City Rockers” sums it all as they shake the country with the album that created the genre.

Why would you hire me?

I believe that I am capable of making a big impact in Journalism and that I could utilise the skills that I have developed over the previous four years from doing an Honours Degree in Journalism at Napier University in Edinburgh, and the work which I have undertaken in and out of University.

I didn’t have a lot of experience before I started the course and my technical skills were somewhat lacking. I was editor of my school newspaper, “The Pupils’ Journal” in my final year there and that gave me my first introduction to having deadlines, meeting challenges and writing for a broad audience as the paper was distributed throughout town.

That apart I wrote several match reports for Forfar Athletic fansite, Loons Mad, which was my first opportunity to write about my main passion, football.

With these brief experiences under my belt I was then introduced to how to properly write for specific mediums at University. I feel I quickly took in how to write for each different medium and have performed well in each specific area.

From studying at Napier University I am now confident in not only interviewing people but in actually pursuing people in order to gain the quotes I need and also my writing has taken a huge leap forward. I can tell the story in a short, sharp way when required and can also write entertaining pieces when that is what is required.

I also have a greater understanding of a wider range of topics, all of which are relevant to journalism but not specifically for journalists, which were studied on the course. I performed well on modules about Media Law which is very important in getting a job as it is pointless being able to write well if what you write can not be printed.

Throughout my University career I have not only quickly adapted to what I have had to do but I have progressed, with my marks improving after each year so far and I am confident that I can achieve a good degree which of course would also look good, but even without that I feel I now have the tools with which I can carve myself a career.

The best experience I have had at University is taking part in live rolling news days. We as a team have to run a news website, constantly updating stories and coming up with new ones throughout the day. The main thing this showed me was the benefit of pre-planning. By having a meeting beforehand we knew what stories there were likely to be and arranged which stories we would each do. This means that you can write a better story as you can reasearch the story and arrange interviews.

On our first newsday I was chosen by our editor to be the sub-editor. I was responsible for double checking posts for spelling, grammar and any league issues that there may be. I feel I performed well in this task despite the demands and time pressure too. Stories had to be checked thoroughly, yet quickly, to ensure that the site contained no errors but was also updated quickly and deadlines were met.

As well as valuable knowledge I have gained at University I have also made progress through work experience.

As previously mentioned I wrote for the unofficial Forfar Athletic fansite, Loons Mad. This led to me being able to become part of the official website and matchday programme teams.

Since this was officially connected to the club I had to make sure there were no legal issues involved, and since supporters look towards official outlets for news I had to ensure that I met my deadlines, which was often very dificult. It taught me to prioritise my time so that I could do thise and I have been able to utilise this when it comes to all of my journalistic work and I am now confident that in whatever I am doing I can do it at a good standard and be able to meet deadlines as I know how to use my time well.

I have also undertaken work experience with local freesheet, “North Edinburgh News”. This provided a new challenge for me as I had to write for a very small audience who wanted just local news. I had to re-read back issues to see what kind of things were covered and I also had to find out what events were set to take place in the future that we could cover.

I shadowed their only journalist, Dave Pickering, and that showed me how difficult local reporting can be as he had to find stories, arrange interviews, do the interviews as well as be the photographer as well as sub-editing his own stories. I was able to help him out with many of these duties and through doing that I feel I am now much more at home with covering every aspect of the story and can also provide good material that meets the audiences’ demands.

During my spell at NEN they had their funding cut and that showed me another aspect of working for a local newspaper. They had to try to keep advertisers as well as raise funds from other outlets. This showed me how you have to try to stick to budget and find an economically viable way to pursue stories. I feel that now I can look at stories and make a judgement on what will be in the best interests of who I’m writing for rather than just doing the story.

I now believe I can make an impact in journalism relying on the experiences that I have. My preferred career would be in sports journalism and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get into it. I will be shortly applying for placements at various places and believe that if I gain a place for a short period that I can make a big enough impact whilst there to show that I would be a very valuable asset.

I have also just set up my own blog dedicated to football and hope to show on their, as well as this blog, why I am deserving of a job as a sports journalist.

I also have to be able to accept rejection to start off with as it will be difficult to get a job, especially in the current economic downturn. However, I will keep at it and won’t take no for an answer. I would also be very willing to do freelance work in order to show what I could do.

I feel that this blog reflects what I am capable off and also highlights my ambitions.

Away The Loons – But not at Home?

A remarkable start to the season has seen Forfar Athletic enter November in the odd position of not having won at their Station Park home, yet they are still to taste defeat on their travels.

Frustrating fixtures at home have led to The Loons yielding just two points in five games with only two goals scored in the process. Alarm bells were ringing when they lost three on the trot to a score of 1-0. A successful fightback in the enthralling 2-2 draw with Dumbarton roused supporters who thought that Forfar could then break their home hoodoo against Albion Rovers whom they had already defeated at Cliftonhill on opening day. The outcome, a 0-0 bore draw.

Compare this to their spectacular away form where they have an astounding four victories and two draws, scoring plenty and entertaining the small band of loyal supporters who follow them the length and breadth of the country; the ones who stay at home must be flummoxed.

But where does all this come from? Forfar Athletic defeated Ayr Utd 1-0 away from home way back in April 2006. They then went on a dreadful run without any away victories until November 2007. Across the span of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons the team only won twice on the road in 36 games. An astonishing record which makes this seasons change so dumbfounding. During this period they were generally poor but at least home form was always slightly better, as it should be.

There are reasons for this upheaval in fortunes of course. Under the new management team of Dick and Ian Campbell Forfar are a lot more resolute this season and shrewd signings such as former Dundee Utd and Leeds striker Derek Lilley greatly improve the quality of the squad. Having a better team equals better performances equals better results; in theory anyway.

This equation seems to have worked out away from home but now The Loons must start to produce at home or they will remain outsiders in the promotion race. Their next two games are both at Station Park, first up East Stirlingshire, who succumbed to The Loons 3-0 earlier in the season, and the following week Berwick Rangers who have been in turmoil since the teams shared four goals back in September.

These games present a great chance for Forfar to prove to themselves and to their supporters that they can play at home and that they can challenge for championship glory, whether they do or not remains to be soon. All that is sure is that if it were Forfar playing Forfar I would definitely have it down as an away win.

Why I love football

My passion is football. The late great Bill Shankly once commentated that football wasn’t a matter of life and death, it was much more important than that. I’m sure that those who don’t like football will find that a daft statement just as I’m equally sure that those who love football will agree strongly with it, also maybe even citing it as an example of how important football is just like I have done.

I support my home town team, Forfar Athletic. I was taken along when I was young and immediately was hooked. There is no doubt to me that there is something magical about the game which affets your emotions on so many levels; a bad result can spoil my whole week or even longer just as you can ride the crest of the wave brought about by a good result for weeks also.

There is nothing greater than the excitement brought about by an important game. It can dominate your thoughts before where you talk about it for days before and will be analysing it for days afterwards, constantly arguing with those whose views differ.

Forfar Athletic are a team that have struggled throughout the history of Scottish football; spending most of their time in the bottom tier of the league.

However a succesful period spanning the late 1970s to the mid 1980s saw the team reach two national cup semi-finals and fall a couple of points short of promotion to the Scottish Premier Division in 1986.

For the period that I have been a supporter, from 1994 through to the present, we had maintained ourselves as a Second Division team, albeit with a few spells in the lowest league, the Third Division.

However seasons 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 were two of the tougest seasons that fans of Forfar Athletic have had to endure. Suffering relegation to the Third Division on 2007 without a single victory away from home and then finishing bottom of that division, and therefore finishing as the worst team in Scotland in 2008.

It was sad times to be a follower of the team known as “The Loons”. Yet a football team is for life, not just for the glory days. This is another reason that football is my passion. For all the suffering that one endures in following a particular team there is nothing better than that one moment of glory that shall be talked about for years to come.

This for me is summed up by my own memories of our triumph in the CIS Cup over Premier League side Motherwell in 2003 that set up a game against one of the giants of Scottish, and indeed, world football: Rangers.

For a little team, full of part-time players to beat a team like Motherwell whose players were professionals was phenomenal, and an added extra was that it was probably the most exciting game that I have witnessed as a football supporter.

Motherwell took an early lead and I, like many of my likeminded fellow fans, expected that a drubbing was on the cards. This was not the case however as we equalised before half-time and then even more astonishingly scored twice in the early stages of the second half to forge 3-1 ahead.

Motherwell showed their metal however and were able to score twice before full-time forcing an extra thirty minutes of play which yielded no further goals, despite there still being plenty of action. That meant a penalty shootout.

Like marmite, football fans either love or hate penalty shootouts. In my opinion they are both the best way to win a game and the worse way to lose one, however on this occassion Forfar were successful and our little stadium erupted with scenes of joy that are seldom scene, but being part of just one such scene is enough to make you come back time and again, just to feel that high again.

I believe that sums it all up. There is a certain euphoria that surrounds special moments in football that you just don’t experience in anything else. Yes there are more important things in life, but we all need that something extra to live for, that something that can keep you going. For me, that is football, it’s my passion.