Simon and Rachel speak with Alex Kay-Jelski, the editor-in-chief in the UK of sports website the Athletic. Alex, previously sports editor of the Times and the Daily Mail, set up British operations for the Athletic in 2019, hiring well-known names from other publications (and new young journalists) in a move that shook up the sportswriting scene. Originally established in 2016, the Athletic had 1.2 million subscribers as of December 2021, and this month was acquired by the New York Times for $550m - £400m (we recorded this interview before news of the acquisition broke). We spoke to Alex about committing to sports journalism in his teens, his years at the Daily Mail and the Times, and launching the Athletic with its roster of celebrated football journalists. The piece on the sacking of Frank Lampard discussed in the interview is available here (subscription required).

You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways, on Instagram @alwaystakenotes, and on Facebook at facebook.com/alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

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#126: Alex Kay-Jelski, editor-in-chief, the Athletic UK