27 Oct 2011 | Opinion

Young Writers' Competition - 2010 Winner  

Chris Cheyney talks about winning first prize in
the 16-18 year-old category of the 2010 Baillie
Gifford and Financial Mail Young Writers’ Competition.

It was a fantastic surprise to discover that I had won first prize in last year’s Baillie Gifford and Financial Mail Essay Competition. There were two parts to my individual prize. Firstly I received an iPad which has been great for keeping up to date with the news, reading periodicals and, of course, playing snowboarding games! The second part of my prize was a week’s work experience placement at the Financial Mail.

Over my summer holidays I spent a week in August working with the Personal Finance team at the Financial Mail, whose offices are found in Kensington. It was the week immediately after the London riots, so there were lots of discussions in the office, not only about the effect on areas where members of the team lived, but also, more generally, about the financial impact of the riots.

Everyone I met at the Financial Mail made me very welcome and gave me a great insight into the world of journalism. I was able to see the whole process of putting together the Sunday edition of the paper, from planning the whole section through researching the different stories to writing the articles to a strict deadline, both in terms of time and numbers of words. I visited the news desk which, with so much happening in the economy at home and abroad, was a hive of activity even in August, which is traditionally a quieter month for news stories. The picture desk was amazing. I could not believe how quick it was to access a photograph of just about anything anywhere in the world.

My week was very varied. I wrote an article for the Financial Mail about winning the competition, attended planning meetings and my first ever breakfast meeting with a PR company working on behalf of an insurance firm. It was obvious just how important contacts are for any journalist. I also researched a number of stories for the Personal Finance team. These ranged from an assessment of fund managers’ predictions on the UK economy to an analysis of trends in supermarket pricing. I also went “under cover”! Sadly this did not involve any funny disguises. Instead, following up on a reader’s letter which had identified a problem with the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme, I visited a number of Job Centre Plus offices across London to find out whether they were aware of this scheme.

All in all I had a fantastically enjoyable week. The time sped past. I feel privileged to have been given such an opportunity. The Financial Mail team were very friendly and gave me a wonderful insight into the varied and fascinating world of financial journalism.

Author: Chris Cheyney
Chris Cheyney won first prize in the 16-18 year-old category of the 2010 Baillie Gifford and Financial Mail Essay Competition for his essay answering the question; As a newly appointed minister in the coalition government, how would you encourage more people to save and why is saving good for the economy?

Baillie Gifford Young Writers' Competition

You too could be in with a chance of winning an iPad and two days’ work experience in this year’s Baillie Gifford and Financial Mail Young Writers’ Competition.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE COMPETITION HERE.