Tom Coley
Verified
(He/Him)
As seen in:
MSN,
MSN UK,
The Daily Mirror,
Daily Express,
The Sun,
Daily Star (UK),
News.com.au,
Substack,
Flipboard,
Wales Online
and
Covers:
Football, cricket, tennis, squash
Freelance football writer • @SunSport • Tweet about Trevoh Chalobah a lot • Really bad opinions • Prev @Football_LDN, @pasport, @bristolcitylive •
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Freelance writing my own sporting events in school, including five a side tournaments and other small local news stories.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
No, it would be cool but I'm probably too clumsy to not make consistent mistakes with it.
How is social media changing news?
It's making it harder to find consistent reliable news and blocking out the irrelevant part. It's also making storytelling more inclusive
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Jonathan Liew
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be passionate about storytelling in any form. Creative writing, interviews, features, broadcast, social media or anything new.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
It's not original, but the relentlessness behind #AnnounceHavertz was incredible.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Via email or Twitter
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
WordPress, Cue, Adobe programmes, Word, Google, stat researching sites including fbref, WhoScored and Transfermarkt
What's your favorite social network?
Unfortunately, Twitter.
Who do you wish followed you?
Nepenthez
Why did you become a journalist?
Because I loved following sport and wanted a more balanced way to develop my writing and access to sports people.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Sort of, I did a lot of work reporting my local matches and games that I played in when I was at school. Mainly match reports.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
My creative piece on Roman Abramovich for the Chelsea Social was very good if I say so myself, or a research piece on Bristol City's midfield
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Apart from being open to anything, try to stop thinking of famous people as anything more than being human.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime, I'm always free
What's the best pitch you ever got?
A very good tactical piece of the sort I'd only read before rather than being asked to publish it.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
I haven't had a bad pitch.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Watching or playing sport, maybe reading Dune or Harry Potter.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The Athletic or some of The Guardian's longer reads.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
I'm not sure?
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.