TESTIMONIALS
INTERNSHIP
Matthew Dudley, Leeds Trinity University
Matthew completed 18 x 5-hour placement shifts every Friday from November 2023-April 2024, writing Premier League football features and SEO articles published under his own author profile on Vodacom Soccer: https://vodacomsoccer.com/author/matthew-dudley
“Throughout my 90-hour placement with Simon Wilkes and Planet Sport I feel as though I developed significantly in my ability as a football writer.
Simon, who was my placement leader, was excellent in allowing me to learn whilst under subtle guidance, ending with big results and a huge growth in my own confidence and ability.
Over my placement, I had weekly talks with Simon about the day’s article where my ideas were listened to and we would discuss the course of action, a deadline was set and feedback would usually be sent mere hours after my submission.
The feedback was positive in nature and any issues or areas to work on were explained thoroughly so I understood why these changes were made and how to ensure I learnt from them going forward.
On a further note, this placement has allowed me to learn about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and how my work made money which is an area never really explored before.
Overall, this placement has been incredibly insightful and I hope to work more with Simon again in the future to continue my learning.”
Shameeka Voyiya, University of Cape Town
“My work as a sports writing intern entailed writing weekly feature articles for the SABC Sport website for the month of October, liaising with the head of publication, Simon Wilkes, regarding subject ideas and article briefs.
Ultimately, the opportunity to write weekly articles for SABC Sport provided me with the skills and experience to produce a portfolio of published online sports content under my personal author-by-line for the website.
The internship occurred on a remote work basis, as Planet Sport is operated across multiple locations and has shifted to remote working from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I received consistent feedback and guidance on written content by Simon and other members of the editorial team, which assisted me in the development of a writing style that was specific to online sports writing.
Preferable skills that were applicable to this writing placement involved creativity, punctuality, a strong work ethic, flexibility, willingness to learn, and a good command of grammar. The content creation also had a large focus on research, which is an integral part of any journalistic endeavour.”
Sam Herd, Leeds Beckett University
Sam completed 100 hours of work placement throughout January 2023, writing original sports features, lists, rankings and sports marketing research content published under his own author profile on Vodacom Soccer: https://vodacomsoccer.com/author/sam-herd.
“I found my time at Planet Sport very positive and beneficial, learning a lot about the professional world.
“My day would start out with a nice phone call with Simon where we discussed the story for the day and fleshed out the idea.
“I would then be largely left to my own devices to work and write before submitting the story later that evening. It helped me with my ability to plan out my days hugely as I often struggled with this as a student before.
“I found being in an environment where the timings were solely down to me pushed me to teach myself this skill. It also helped that I always felt a very positive and non-stressful energy while working for Planet Sport, making me more self-motivated to complete stories to a high level.
“I made it in once or twice to meet the whole team and get an idea of what it felt like to work in an office, sadly not making it in more as our schedules were both very busy.
“This was a very positive experience as everyone was very friendly and I got an even better idea of what the inner workings of a company the size of Planet Sport was like, which was very interesting. I also enjoyed the experience of working in a busy office space.
“Overall, I found the whole experience very positive, taking lots of information and skills that I will use in my future.
“Simon was a great tutor, very encouraging and always positive, which helped with my confidence greatly.”
