A Career in Sports Journalism

Media outlets are increasingly covering sporting events to meet sports popularity demand among fans. Hence the continuous need for sports journalists.

A sports journalism career is exciting, but it takes more than a passion for sports. A sports journalist should have a bachelor’s degree, preferably in journalism, communication, English, or another closely related field. However, some universities offer a bachelor's degree in sports journalism. Students can even advance to a master’s level, where they can study advanced topics such as digital technologies, entrepreneurial approach to business models for sports media, etc.

Sports journalists are expected to follow laid-down guidelines such as using the Associated Press (AP) style. Therefore, it is important to take advantage of any experience that will help gain real-world experience.

Sports journalists can gain experience by writing stories for their college newspapers or internships. Journalists may also do freelance work as they search for a permanent job. Creating a sports blog may also help journalists gain a good reputation that may help them get noticed by television or radio stations.

One major benefit of gaining experience and developing sports journalism skills is that it helps journalists make a name for themselves. It becomes easier to reach out to larger, well-known news agencies with a good portfolio.

Sports journalists must have excellent verbal communication skills, writing skills, and research skills to interview players and coaches, give game commentaries, and report game statistics. Sports journalists also must be objective. They are required to report sporting news without bias.

Aside from the traditional sports news reporting skills, today’s sports journalists also need more skills, thanks to advances in technology. Such skills include various digital competencies such as podcasts, social media storytelling, and mobile experiences. This is to cater to fans who are using new forms of the internet like tweeting to follow sporting events.

Sports journalists must be ready to deal with the challenges of the role, including nearly constant travel and working odd hours, late shifts, weekends, and holidays. This is necessitated by the sports, which may be slotted for odd hours, and the requirement to work on multiple projects simultaneously. The journalists also have to be professional and know how to deal with different characters when conducting interviews, for example, angry interviewees from a team that lost.

The role of a sports journalist will vary from one employer to another and from one position to another. The job may include production, research, interviews, and press conferences. Some may choose to work as sports editors, who review the information collected by sports reporters to ensure its quality and validity. A sports journalist is also responsible for networking with sports figures and other relevant stakeholders.

Technology advances in various fields such as analytics have also seen a shift in sports reporting. More sports teams are using analytics to help make strategic decisions in a game. The change into analytics has also introduced new metrics to study player performance and compile rankings of teams and players. Therefore, individuals pursuing sports journalism should familiarize themselves with statistics and mathematics.