Paul Brown Media continues its Creative Sparks interview series with Gregg Evans, Sports Journalist at The Athletic. The Athletic – referred to in many quarters as the “Netflix of sportwriting” is a disruptive, subscription-based service which promises its readers “breaking news, powerful stories and smart analysis”.
YOUR BACKGROUND
Name
Gregg Evans
Position
Sports Journalist
Work for
The Athletic
Previous companies
Birmingham Post & Mail, Sunday Mercury, Solihull News & Times, Direct Golf UK
Your first role in the industry
News/Sports reporter for Solihull News & Times
YOUR ROLE
Describe your role in one sentence
Entertaining and educating a loyal readership about the ups and downs of Aston Villa in a unique but relevant way.
What’s the most important personal quality for working in football journalism?
To build lasting relationships.
What do you love most about working in football journalism?
The variety and not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Every day I wake up looking forward to a new challenge (unless I’m hungover).
Talk to us about how the role of a football journalist has changed due to social media…
Reporters can no longer hide behind a byline and an outdated picture in the newspaper because the job is all-encompassing. If you’re not active on social media then you’re potentially missing out on important conversations and topics, but the more active you are, the more recognised you become. We live in a multimedia world where video reporting is common, so your face is viewed by so many more people. The people you write about can also follow your work much closer and that can be both helpful or harmful.
YOUR THOUGHTS
You’ve covered player signings, managerial arrivals and departures, board changes and cup final victories, what’s been your highlight as a football journalist?
The games are when the job really comes alive. I’ve been fortunate enough to report on the best teams in the world, even if the majority play against the teams I cover! I’ve watched crazy games: West Bromwich Albion 5-5 Manchester United, and Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool spring to mind. I’ve watched Birmingham City win the League Cup and Villa win a Play-Off Final. There’s not so much a highlight, more a satisfaction that I know there’s plenty more exciting times to look forward to.
Talk to us about The Athletic, how much are you enjoying the experience of working there?
I’m enjoying it immensely. Every day I get pushed and challenged to be better at my job, but I also get an incredible amount of support, guidance, and feedback. I feel like I have developed a lot since joining. I’ve covered stories, conducted interviews and been to places that I would never have been able to previously, and genuinely, every day is not only a challenge, but also an experience that I thoroughly enjoy. The people I work with are incredibly hard-working and talented. What sets The Athletic apart from any other company I’ve been involved with, though, is the togetherness. When every member of a team is pulling in the same direction, you can achieve great things, and that’s our target every day.
It’s fair to say they’ve disrupted the industry…
We’re different, yes. If we were the same, then we would not appeal to football fans and they would not pay to view our content. I’m 33-years-old so I feel I can still resonate with both a young audience and a slightly more experienced readership. I understand that the younger generation like bitesize, digestible content but I’m also absolutely convinced that nobody wants to read a story about what a player has posted on Twitter and Instagram, yet still I see them on my newsfeed every day. As a staff member at The Athletic, I’m challenged to tell my readers something new in every story that I write. There are plenty of other publications that offer compelling, insightful stories, too, and no doubt, over time, those will be the ones that remain respected and trusted. As for match reports, I actually still like to read them from various games that interest me and I know where to go to get them. If I want something different, I’ll visit The Athletic.
There’s a commercial aspect, of course, in that you have to subscribe to The Athletic – but do you think it’s fair to say there’s a real appetite for well-written features?
There’s a real appetite for proper journalism as well as well-written features. Some of the projects I’ve worked on this year have taken me over a month to put together, for example, and they’ve been the most well-received. They’re often like mini-books and most of the time are evergreen, so new subscribers will find them interesting too and not outdated. I see more news outlets heading down the subscription route and if they’re good enough, they’ll survive. Subscription sites are a part of everyday life now. I pay for Netflix, Amazon Prime, The Telegraph and I’m considering taking out a subscription for The Times, too.
The surge of top football journalists to The Athletic has been remarkable?
Yes, there are some brilliant journalists and writers at The Athletic. Equally, though, there are brilliant journalists elsewhere, too. I like to read The Telegraph because the sports team are exceptional.
Your proudest piece of content at The Athletic?
I enjoyed finding out more about the 2015/16 season and why it went wrong. Being able to tell the story with a different perspective appealed to me so I was pleased with how that one turned out. I’m also proud of the many exclusive interviews I landed: a video analysis with Jack Grealish, a trip to France to see Gerard Houllier as he explained to me how he almost died on the job, and a really interesting chat with Luc Nilis about the dark and depressing times he suffered after sustaining a career-ending injury at Villa. Getting hold of Nilis was the most satisfying as he’s an ex-player many journalists had been trying to interview for some time.
Best piece of content you’ve seen at The Athletic?
I change my mind every day because there is just so much incredible content on the site. George Caulkin’s report from a game between West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United where he travelled with the Toon Army is just brilliant. Jack Lang discovered a “fake” footballer who moved between four top-flight clubs; that story was incredible. But the best must be Oli Kay watching a Liverpool game with Sadio Mane’s family in Senegal, I mean who even gets that level of access!
In terms of industry peers, who do you most admire?
How long have you got?! If you follow me on Twitter, you will see that I share a lot of work from Jack Lang who is my colleague at The Athletic. He’s our Brazilian expert and has a style of writing that is just wonderful. I won’t even describe it because my words wouldn’t do it justice. I also like to consume any content associated with Jonathan Liew (now at The Guardian). I think his brain is wired differently to most other writers and the columns he produces are exceptional. Martin Samuel’s column in the Daily Mail is great, and I’ve found myself smiling along to his colleague, Richard Littlejohn, lately. His words around the way forward for Great Britain during this rather unusual period are quite amusing. For sheer story-getting qualities, you can’t look past the guys at The Telegraph. John Percy is a friend, peer and rival. He’s the best operator in the Midlands, in my view, so having him on my ‘patch’ always keeps me on my toes and I respect the work he produces. I also like to read stories from Craig Hope, Brian Dick, Phil Hay and Adam Crafton and try to pick up tips and advice as and when I can.
You cover press conferences, matchdays, you’ve got the transfer window and pre-season tours – what do you love and what do you hate?
I love matchdays. I got into football journalism so I could share some of the passion I feel when I’m inside a stadium. There’s too much hype around the days inbetween games. For me, it’s all about the games. I don’t really care about the days inbetween. Telling a story of success or good-will also appeals to me. There’s no better feeling than pulling together a story that shows an individual or an organisation in a positive light and highlights either how they have achieved great things, or helped others. There’s too much negativity in the world so I’m all for an inspiring, uplifting, story. I quite like podcasts, too. We run a podcast called 1874 at The Athletic and we’ve had so many brilliant guests on this year. As for things I hate road closures after night games, managers who lie, and no supporters inside stadiums. Oh, and stadiums with shit WIFI.
Talk to us about the transfer window, do you enjoy it – and do you ever get any sleep?
It’s good fun but it’s over-hyped now. Some of the stories are just ridiculous and have no truth to them whatsoever. I’m fortunate that I work for a company where we only really deal with facts. So much time goes into double and triple checking our stories where as some other outlets just report rumours and then rip off other people’s rumours as stories! Crazy. There’s a weird desire on social media to be seen as ITK and break transfer rumours before they happen. I try to be right rather than first. If I can get both then that’s a bonus! As for sleeping, yes. I always make sure I have the right work-life balance, so my sleeping patterns rarely change.
Does the rise of social media make your job harder in the window?
I double and triple check all my stories to make sure I get things right. As I say, I won’t always be first, but I always try to be right.
COVID-19 has been hard for everyone, how has it affected you?
It’s been weird doing Zoom calls with colleagues and footballers/managers who I would usually interact with face-to-face. I miss socialising, visiting different cities, meeting up with friends and contacts. I’m also missing the gym during the lockdown months as I feel this is my real release from work; a place where I can go each day and totally switch off.
YOUR PREDICTIONS
How pleased to see Villa, Wolves and West Brom all in the top-flight?
I want all the Midlands teams in the Premier League. The sooner that happens the better.
Can we trouble you for where they’ll finish in 2020/21?
WOLVES – 9TH
VILLA – 11TH
WEST BROM – 17TH
Paul Brown 