City Live, a student-run news website, is full of talented writers reporting on various topics. But picking a news desk to work on can be tricky, especially when there are so many options. Thankfully, some of our talented team have taken the time to share their experiences and why they’d recommend working on their desk.

Read below to find out what they had to say:

Q: What have you enjoyed most about working as a sports writer?

A: Travelling to stadiums across the country to report on live Scottish Premiership games as an accredited Sports Journalist whilst interviewing players and managers post-match.

Q: What has been your favourite article to write?

A: I wrote a 1200-word feature on the effects of the Covid pandemic and the mental health of academy footballers released due to the financial impact of the pandemic. The feature included two interviews I conducted with a former youth coach at Motherwell FC and an ex-academy footballer who has since set up the gambling support organisation GamTalk.

Q: What do you wish you knew before becoming a sports writer?

A: The importance of gaining experience early on. Reporting on games regularly improved my writing immensely and helped me gain skills that benefitted other areas of this course.

Q: Why would you recommend being a sports writer?

A: The experience I've gained from being a sports writer for City Live has allowed me to develop my skills, subsequently opening several doors for me within the industry. I have since worked for Not the Old Firm and Motherwell Football Club.

Q: What have you enjoyed most about working as a lifestyle writer?

A: What I have enjoyed most about being a lifestyle writer is the creative fluidity. We can write pieces relating to politics and "stereotypical" lifestyle pieces by creating content that discusses things like the benefits of walking and so on.

Q: What has been your favourite article to write?

A: Personally, my favourite article to work on was "Greta Thunberg Leads Thousands of Protestors to Demand Action and No More 'Blah Blah Blah'". This was the first article I had written where I was live reporting. It allowed me to capitalise on my journalistic skills for the first time by interviewing those at the event, taking pictures and so on!

Q: What do you wish you knew before becoming a lifestyle writer?

A: I wish I knew how demanding the role was. With lifestyle especially, writing "ever-green pieces" is quite challenging because hot topics, opinions, and pop culture are forever changing in the lifestyle world. It can be a very daunting job trying to keep up to date.

Q: Why would you recommend being a lifestyle writer?

A: I would recommend being a lifestyle writer because we have so much creative freedom. As well as giving us first-hand experience of what it would be like to work for a lifestyle magazine.

Q: What have you enjoyed most about working as a gaming writer?

A: Collaborating with fellow City Live writer and Desk Editor of Gaming, Liam Murphy, to host a podcast discussing the resurgence of the console wars, which was something different. I enjoyed it a lot because I usually don't cover podcasts. This was a new area of journalism to dip my toes into that I otherwise wouldn't have done.

Q: What has been your favourite article to write?

A: I enjoyed reviewing Not for Broadcast: a darkly comedic game that provided some light social commentary and provided hard decisions for the player to make.

Q: What do you wish you knew before you became a gaming writer?

A: To do more research on the developers. It's important to mark how far they've come since their latest games and provide a bit more context to the reader.

Q4: Why would you recommend being a gaming writer?

I’d recommend being a gaming writer if you have a passion for gaming. It's a great hobby of mine; I've been reading PC Gamer since I was 13, and PC gaming has become the reason for my passion for writing.

Q: What have you enjoyed most about working as an Entertainment writer?

A: Being able to write about things I care about and I'm passionate about is one of the most fulfilling experiences I've ever had in my life.

I believe it is critical to pursue your passions, so being able to induce my imagination and decide what I want to write about next is an excellent workout for keeping my brain active and making me feel happy about slowly improving my journalistic progress.

Q: What has been your favourite article to write?

A: I've got two. The article in which I attempted to convince people that Iron Man was the greatest Avenger was one of my favourites. Iron Man has always been a familiar and comforting figure to me, which made me feel extremely secure and in control of what I was writing.

Additionally, writing my latest article about music and mental health was a lot of fun. I got the chance to combine two of my favourite subjects and had the opportunity to do some additional research and learn more as well.

Q: What do you wish you knew before you became an entertainment writer?

A: That it's okay not to always to know what you're doing. We all start somewhere, and we can be too hard on ourselves for not always understanding what we're doing or not always having new ideas.

Everyone experiences different things in their lives, which might affect how we feel and even our motivation. Ultimately, we are human beings, after all.

Q: Why would you recommend being an entertainment writer?

A: I believe it is critical to write about subjects you care about and are passionate about, and if your passion is all things entertainment, then go for it.

Entertainment is such a broad genre, encompassing film and music, literature, art galleries, concerts, trade exhibits and exhibitions. As an entertainment writer, there are so many topics to cover, and it teaches you a great deal and helps you improve your writing skills.

Q: What have you enjoyed most about working as a politics writer?

A: What I have enjoyed the most about being a politics writer is challenging myself to put my personal political feelings aside and look objectively at stories.

Q: What has been your favourite article to write?

A: My favourite was an article I wrote about a local campaign to turn an area used for fly-tipping into a park. It's an area I pass daily, and It was stimulating to engage with the local community.

Q: Why would you recommend being a politics writer?

A: I wish I knew to be more engaged in local politics. Perhaps it is not as exciting as international politics, but it affects peoples everyday life.

Q: Why would you recommend being a politics writer?

A: I would recommend being a politics writer as there is never a shortage of stories to cover. It keeps you engaged in what is happening from Westminster to your local community.

Q&A With City Live: What is it Like Being a City Live Writer?