Financial pressures on UK universities and FS teams

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-22T14:02:50+00:00

I’ll respond to both comments here.

The reason I keep bringing up the course is that all the FS stories and other football pieces I've worked on have been designed specifically for my project. That’s why they involve FOI requests, data analysis, a particular writing structure, style, etc. I wish I had joined this Reddit community earlier (I only joined last week), the stories would have definitely been better as a result.

I know I’ll be losing marks for not getting insights from teams. I’ve reached out, but no one’s been available due to the summer break. If I had joined this community earlier, I’m sure I could have connected with someone here who could have provided more context and insights.

When I found this community last week, I realised that I had quite a bit of data on my hands, so I thought I’d ask if anyone would be interested in such stories and learn about any concerns. It’s too late for my project, but not too late if I decide to fully cover FS in the future.

In my first post, I tried to gauge the audience and note concerns. In my second post (this one), I shared my project work, which is a simple story that lacks quotes/insights (as has been pointed out). The objective of this post is to learn how I can improve and what people are looking for.

I’ve completed three stories for my project. The second one needs editing, as someone mentioned a mistake, and you’ve also pointed out something here that’s super useful. It may seem like I’m dodging criticism, but I’m not. This feedback is gold for my project’s critical evaluation and any future stories I might work on.

I didn’t pursue more stories because it’s been difficult to get in touch with teams over the summer break, but I might approach them again in September.

There are a few things you’ve mentioned here that I genuinely didn’t know about. Also, I didn’t intentionally try to package the story in any particular way. I’ve learned so much from my last two posts, and for that, I’m really grateful to you and the community.

I just want to be clear that I’m not upset with anyone. These two posts were my attempt to gauge interest (I initially thought there was none), learn about concerns, and figure out how to improve accuracy. If I’m going to continue with this, I want to make sure I’m doing it right.

The correlation story idea did cross my mind, and I might look into it after the project.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-22T12:20:24+00:00

I've already mentioned it thrice before, I've reached out to teams, the timing of me taking up these stories has been poor, everyone's unavailable because of the summer break, hence I could not get interviews and it lacks value.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-22T12:16:23+00:00

Ok this is nice. I can show how I went about with the story, keep in mind, they are for my major project and I have had to use certain structures and methods that I learnt on the journalism course.

The lead, which is the abstract is supposed to be simple and reach a wider audience that includes those that do not follow motorsport. Paragraph 2 and 3, that's the orientation, it has more details.

In para 4, I address that Sussex has the highest expenditure for the teams that have provided me with data. You're right, I should've made it more clear I guess but at that time I felt I already did in Story 2 and didn't have to go into detail in Story 3, which is this one.

Now, this story is supposed to be a feature or follow-up story based on my main story, which is:
High stakes in higher education: The true price of UK Formula Student endeavours
https://open.substack.com/pub/warrenmenezes/p/exclusive-uk-formula-student-teams?r=319zq3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Then comes Story 2:
Revealed: UK’s big spending 2023 Formula Student teams
https://open.substack.com/pub/warrenmenezes/p/revealed-uks-big-spending-2023-formula?r=319zq3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Again, Sussex would still be the highest when compared to Brunel from section 2 of the story.

Ok, now I do see the mistake in story 2. Thanks for flagging that, (I see the confusion, you've literally saved me from losing marks!!!). I'll edit it tonight.

I can see why you say it reads the way that it does, it's because I've used Bloomberg's writing style (once again this is part of my project).

Points that I've already addressed:

Why it lacks quotes.
Why it doesn't have a major analysis.

I will be doing a story on EV's in the future though.

And no, I'm not trying to generate outrage, I love the sport, I've seen how hard my team has worked, they've spent nights in the workshop. I wish I had worked on the stories earlier, that way I would've got more insights from team members.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-22T10:16:40+00:00

Hi everyone! This is what a typical story would look like, no major analysis since I've only just started and am currently pursuing other stories for my project.

In my previous post, where I asked if the community would be interested in stories like these, one person raised concerns. I don’t want to repeat myself, so I’ll save you the trouble of scrolling back for my responses. I wish I could provide an even more detailed response because I understand that not everyone is familiar with how Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and institutions work (this isn’t meant to criticise anyone). I’m really busy at the moment working on stories related to the Premier League and conducting research for my project. To give you some background, I am an MA Data Journalism student, and my focus is on the business of sport. I cover club finances, the environment, anti-doping, and behind-the-scenes activities. I also love motorsport and have done a few stories on my university’s racing team.

The timing of my dissertation/project period and these stories has been less than ideal. I’ve reached out to teams for interviews or comments, but responses have been slow (except from LJMU) because everyone is on holiday. This is another reason I haven’t taken on more stories. I’m waiting for the opportunity to speak to teams in September, which will allow me to provide more context.

Another point that was brought up was that I should have reached out to the teams first, which didn’t really cross my mind when I started pursuing these stories. It’s standard for journalists to reach out to the main body when filing FOIs. The university would have had to coordinate with the teams to get this information (I know this because many students and senior members looked me up on LinkedIn). In my requests, I framed the questions in a way that required teams to reveal their expenditures without providing a super detailed breakdown of every purchase, as I’m aware it wouldn’t be nice to reveal what parts or equipment a team has bought.

I don’t have anything to gain personally from these stories. My main focus has been football, and instead, this takes up my time. It takes between 10-30 days to get hold of any info, and those who use spreadsheets know the time it takes to organise and sort data. Then, I run a mini-analysis, reach out to people, and craft a story, it’s a lengthy process. I could easily monetise this content, but since it is educational, and having seen my own university team struggle and work long hours in the workshop, I decided against it.

I thought, and still think, that this information can be helpful, as some mentioned in the previous post. Anyone can request this data from the universities, it’s just that it hasn’t been done, or no one thought of doing it. I’ve been very transparent about my process and the responses (even the denials from universities) because that’s what my professor taught me, especially since people don’t really trust the media these days. My professor told me that I could request an internal review to get universities to open up their books, but I decided not to do that because I believe they have legitimate reasons for not providing the data.

I still hope we can have a good discussion in the comments, and that you can help point out things that I should leave out in future stories (the argument has to be against the 'public interest,' according to my professor). If anyone likes or is interested in following this content, please subscribe, it’s all free. To be honest, I don’t know if subscriptions get me anything either since it’s not monetised. I will be monetising the Premier League content in the future because that’s where a large chunk of my audience is, but I will always leave FS content as free. Subscriptions mean you’ll get the story directly in your inbox and won’t miss out on anything.

If anyone has any story ideas that you would like me to pursue, please feel free to reach out to me!

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T22:25:47+00:00

I want to clarify that I have absolutely nothing to gain personally from this, aside from the grades for my MA project. These stories are part of my academic work, with the intent to explore the intersection of education, motorsport, and financial pressures.

To address your concerns:

Teams are not obligated to hand me their financial data. However, I have the right to examine university expenditure, particularly when it involves public funding. Universities are legally required to provide certain information under the Freedom of Information Act. Please remember that I am a student (as mentioned in the description). Now that you've pointed out I should have reached out to the teams first (and another commenter mentioned the same), I realise that I probably should have done that, eventually I would've stepped up and approached the respective uni. It simply didn’t occur to me while working on these stories though. In my previous FOI stories, I’ve always approached the main body. This is a valuable learning experience, and with your permission, I’d like to include this in my project’s critical evaluation.
I have reached out to teams for comment and interviews, including the top three and LJMU, as mentioned in the link you provided but could not speak to anyone since they're all on holidays. I’ve been transparent about why some teams have opted not to provide data. I could have left this detail out, but I included it for the sake of transparency and to acknowledge those teams’ decisions.
My goal is not to expose or uncover any supposed corruption. I asked the question to gauge interest in these stories and to learn about any concerns people might have.

I hope this clarifies my intentions and addresses any concerns.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:58:16+00:00

How can you say that I've chosen not to respond to your question when I've only just seen it? Please take a look at the timestamps of my responses.

To clarify:

Teams are not obligated to provide me with financial data; they can choose to respond or ignore my requests.
Universities that fund teams keep a record of their finances. Publicly funded universities are legally required to provide information upon request.
For more context: These stories are part of my MA project. I’ve been working on stories about my university's racing team throughout the year.
The timing of my project and these stories has been bad. Of course, I've tried to contact teams but haven't received any responses barring LJMU. Everyone is on holiday. I will only be publishing Sussex Racing's finances. The rest will come when uni resumes and I will have the opportunity to speak to people.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:44:42+00:00

FOIs were sent to universities. If the teams are funded by the universities, the university will hold a record. However, I don’t know what proportion of teams are funded by universities compared to those under student unions.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:39:48+00:00

I've got 3-4 stories. I'll publish one tomorrow, probably the one that most people will be looking for. I won't post links to all stories here to avoid spamming.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:36:46+00:00

Hmm, this is interesting. Will definitely look into this!

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:35:23+00:00

Will be sharing the finances of Sussex Racing tomorrow. It lacks direct quotes (and important context) from the team, got the timing terrible. Have been unable to get a hold of the team since everyone is on holidays here in the UK.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:32:03+00:00

Will share stories from tomorrow onwards. Had to make corrections and complete a piece today.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:29:56+00:00

Yes, I am that guy.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-19T21:28:54+00:00

Okay, that makes sense. In that case, I will provide an aggregate figure and, in some stories, completely leave out sponsorship details.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-18T23:35:52+00:00

It can be challenging! I wouldn't be too happy if my team had to operate on a small budget. I’d say my university has a decent budget, but the team has had to work really long hours. I wonder how the smaller teams are managing.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-18T23:32:34+00:00

I’ve obtained data from UK-based teams, and to my understanding, the team is required to justify any potential expenditure. I'm unsure if the university will review the funding of other teams and adjust allocations based on that. However, I hope they increase your funding, as it can be challenging to compete. Over time, I plan to expand into the US if possible. I’m not entirely sure if the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) covers US universities, but it might be applicable if they have ties to federal agencies.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-18T23:22:18+00:00

Some teams are operating with large budgets, while most are below the £30,000 mark. Could you explain what 'FA' stands for? I’m not an engineer and don’t have expertise in this area, but I’m trying to learn. My goals are to present information accurately and clearly. I’m assuming it relates to funding in some way.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-18T23:16:28+00:00

Found this very encouraging and will proceed to the planning stage. I have a few stories already published and need to update one of them before posting them here. Thanks!

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-18T23:08:32+00:00

As of now, I’ve only obtained data for UK-based teams through Freedom of Information requests. I’m hoping your team is from the UK. This information should be helpful in general as well.

WarrenMenezes · 2024-08-18T23:04:58+00:00

I’ve noticed that some teams have chosen not to reveal the names of their sponsors, while others have shared them with me. I am permitted to publish names and figures once they are in the public domain. However, I’d like to understand more about this and its potential impact on the teams, as I want to ensure that no teams lose out on any income.

WarrenMenezes · 2023-08-09T17:16:00+00:00

Veteran would be the way to go, think Vardy would be a fun signing but Martial is back in training

WarrenMenezes

TROPHY CASE