First year already a sporting success

By UK Journalism

First year journalism student James Gordon already has a portfolio that most people would be proud of.

He may only be 18-years-old but already he owns and runs his own rugby league website, Last Tackle , edits a fanzine magazine for Widnes rugby fans and has had numerous stories printed in his local paper and on various websites.

He is driven by pure ambition to succeed as a journalist and a passion for rugby league that sees James follow Widnes to every game that they play.

His main project for the last year has been to establish Last Tackle as a place that fans go first for their rugby news. He was inspired to take on the challenge after a work placement at football website 4thegame

No equivalent

ìIt occurred to me that there was no rugby league equivalent to what ë4 the gameí provides for football fans and that I could really take the idea forward.î

Since James set the site up during his time at college it has undergone some exciting developments.

It started off as a basic site with minimum content and now runs on a more professional system. This was set up by sponsors who approached James because they were so impressed.

He said: ìCode 13 Consulting commended my determination and passion for the game and thatís why they came on board. They are helping me to market and advertise the site.î

Both James and his friend Tony Williams provide most of the content and they have recently acquired the services of a Sky Sports journalist.

ìChris Warren has agreed to write a fortnightly column for us, which is great for Last Tackle and shows that were are becoming well established.î

He is however always looking for new writers and urges anyone with an interest in the sport to contact him.

James said: ìItís an up and coming website with a lot of potential. We have over 160 hits a day so your work is going to get read by a lot of people.î

As well as spending a couple of hourís everyday on Last Tackle, James also edits a fanzine called ìGerrin to emî for Widnes rugby fans. He got involved with this after attending a supporters group meeting.

He started writing a youth column for the Warrington Guardian when he was just 14-years-old and also wrote match reports for the junior football league games that he played in.

This soon led to writing for a website called Our Kids Sports and then for local club websites.

Jamesís portfolio is bulging already and he still has he three years at UCLan to build on his talent and experience.

His ambition is to work as a sports journalist and one day run Last Tackle professionally and ìmake it THE place all rugby league fans go first.î

James added: ìI look at how far the site has come and think what it could be like in 10 years. Iíve met some good contacts and inspirational people through the work Iíve done so far and I can only build on that.î

More info
BA (Hons) Journalism
BA (Hons) Sports Journalism
Last Tackle

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Extra and related information

Our print and broadcast courses are accredited by the The Broadcast Journalism Training Council and the National Council for the Training of Journalists. Our MA Magazine Journalism is accredited by the Periodicals Training Council.