YOUNG REPORTERS INTERNATIONAL DEBUT!

LOCSP Press Release – Monday 30 March 2009

YOUNG REPORTERS INTERNATIONAL DEBUT!

This past weekend saw three youngsters from Newham and Waltham Forest visit Wembley, in conjunction with the Football Association (FA), to report on the England v Slovakia international football friendly as part of their work with the media mentoring programme at Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP).

Bushara Hameda and Aamena Suleman (both from Newham) are currently students on the Radiowaves ‘Supporter to Reporter’ (S2R) project, run through the LOCSP Education Department and Andrew Bontiff, from Waltham Forest, has been working on the media mentoring programme at LOCSP for the past year.

Friday saw the group attend the Slovakian pre-match press conference and observe how it works, before watching the Slovakian national team train on the Wembley pitch in preparation for the match the following day.

The group also interviewed Janka Peráčková, the Slovak FA Press Officer and Setanta TV commentator Jon Champion.

Matchday saw the group based in the press box and press lounge, reporting on the match and attending the post match press conference with Fabio Capello and the Slovakian manager, Vladimir Weiss.

Both days saw tasks set for the young students with completed work being added to their portfolios for future use.

Student Andrew Bontiff said:
“This was a brilliant experience that I will never forget. It was really special and quite overwhelming - being a passionate England fan and going to Wembley to report on my heroes.

“The atmosphere around the ground was marvellous and the game was a joy to watch. This whole experience will really help me in my future career, as I aspire to become a leading football journalist. Working in the press box and being around some of the nation’s top writers like Henry Winter and Martin Samuel was so pleasing and
it has given me a taste of the big stage.

“I would like to thank the FA for giving me the opportunity to spend two splendid days at Wembley, which has been an extremely valuable experience. Now I am hungry for more and determined to continue working hard and one day hopefully report at the highest level.”

Student Aamena Suleman said:

“Going to the pre-match press conference was a great opportunity for me to get
an insight of what actually happens at a press conference, as I have never xperienced one before.

“We learnt many new things by watching the press conference and interviewing people like Janka who is high up on the media side of things.

“The pre-match conference with the Slovakian manager and player was a great experience as I saw how language can be a barrier for many people. However, being able to sit there and be a part of the press conference was very enjoyable for me and I would love to do it again.”

Student Bushara Hameda said:

“I really enjoyed the match a lot because I had never been in a press box before. It was interesting sitting there and seeing all the reporters focusing on the match, taking notes and watching the little TVs, transmitting the pictures – it’s quite a pressurised environment to work in.

“I had a great time and we would to thank everyone for letting us come along - I would love to get an opportunity like this again!”

LOCSP Communications Officer Andrew McSteen said:

“The three young students were a real credit to themselves and to Leyton Orient.
They really showed an eagerness to learn about the media world, whilst completing the variety of tasks set for them - Andrew even had chance to introduce himself to the Voice newspaper staff and organise some work experience!

“Entering an environment like the press box at an England international at Wembley can be quite intimidating but they all handled it well.

“We have had positive follow-ups from both the Slovakian FA and English FA and we are currently exploring the possibilities of working with them in the future.”

For more information about the Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme Media Mentoring Programme or Supporter to Report please contact Andrew McSteen, Communications Officer on 020 8556 5973 or email andrew.mcsteen@locsp.org.

Editors Notes
1. Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP), current Football League 1 Community Club of the Year, exists to help young people develop the skills and confidence to succeed in their lives, with our core work taking place in the six London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Newham, Redbridge, Barking & Dagenham and Hackney - a total combined population of over 1.3 million people.

Established in May 1989 by Leyton Orient Football Club and the London Borough of Waltham Forest, LOCSP started working with 150 young people a week and now provides over 4,500 sporting and educational participation and engagement opportunities every week for young people across London - equating to 225,000 a year.

LOCSP has invested £5.5 million in the east London community since 1998 and work with some of the most challenging young people, jointly confronting difficult issues including racism, sexism, lack of cultural awareness, crime, unemployment, lack of education and training and ageism.

2. LOCSP have been running an informal Media Mentoring Programme since the summer of 2008, using in-house contacts across a variety of sports and media related organisations to gain access to the press box at sporting events. Through this programme we have been able to offer the young people who attend our sessions -either as participants or volunteer coaches – the opportunity to report on a number of sporting events.

These sporting events have included Leyton Orient games (home and reserve), Tottenham Hotspur reserve matches, Crystal Palace IAAF Athletics, GB Basketball @ The o2, England Netball @ The o2 and, in March 2009 England v Slovakia at Wembley for an international football friendly. During these events our young participants have had the opportunity to experience what life is like in the world of professional media whilst reporting on the action and interviewing the personalities on and off the field of action.

The main aim of the programme is to give the youngsters involved an insight into the media world, prepare them for the job if they so choose and to improve their confidence and communication skills. One young person who has worked with the informal project for the past year has now gained work experience at The Voice newspaper.

3. ‘Supporter to Reporter’ (S2R) is an innovative project that works with disadvantaged young people nationwide and gives them hands-on experience in developing media skills by receiving professional training and then interviewing, filming and creating their own stories and content based around high profile sporting events.

Towards the end of 2008, S2R was brought in to LOCSP through Radiowaves and run through the LOCSP Education Department. As the London hub for the project LOCSP have now trained and worked with over 20 young people from across Waltham Forest and continue to help with the development of the project locally and nationally.

4. Links to Radiowaves stories from England v Slovakia:

England v Slovakia: Interview with Slovak FA Press Officer Janka Perácková
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/54163

England v Slovakia: Interviewing My Crazy Twiin Pitchside
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/54184

England v Slovakia: Friday Pre-Match Press Conference
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/51704

England v Slovakia: Interview with Slovakian TV Journalist
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/56333

England v Slovakia: Crazy Twiin Reporting from Wembley
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/56337

England v Slovakia: Crazy Twiin Friday Press Conference 1
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/56342

England v Slovakia: Crazy Twiin Friday Press Conference 2
http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/56344