Role of a Sports Journalist
Through their articles or video footage, a sports journalist needs to both inform and entertain readers about the latest sports events, sports persons and other interesting aspects of sports. A sports journalist therefore researches and gathers information to write informative and interesting articles to the readers. Sports journalists have no fixed working hours and may even have to work on night shifts depending on sports events. The work of a sports journalist is quite hectic and the working hours of a sports journalist directly depends on the venue and the time when the event is taking place. A sports journalist working for electronic media needs to cover the events live and spend hours on the sports field to give an up to the minute report.
They are supposed to attend games and sporting events in order to write/report effectively and well on the various events of the game.
They are responsible for writing/ covering astute, useful and unique stories on a variety of aspects of sports from game day results.
Research, network and develop contacts in the world of sports to provide precise and current information on important aspects of the game.
They are supposed to meet publishers, writing teams and editors to build up and get hold of ideas and assignments for potential stories.
Those working with TV news channels need to take interviews, conduct shows and work with camera persons and other technicians involved.
They also constantly need to keep in touch with athletes, coaches, owners, and managers and make use of high moral standards to make sure not to compromise the news text.
Requirements
A degree in journalism is required to opt for a career in this field. There are many institutes which also provide a certificate/diploma course in journalism. A degree is usually more suitable than a certificate/diploma course when it comes to full time jobs. A sports journalist must have interest in sports and must know about game rules and technicalities involved.
Some sports journalists' specialize only in a single sport and some of them prefer writing on any kind of a sport activity. In the same manner few sports journalists work only for a single organization and some work on a specific sport for many organizations. With the changing times along with writing sports articles for newspapers, magazine, etc. the sports journalists have started publishing their articles on the websites and blogs.
Employment Outlook
Career Prospects (globally)
The sports business is a huge industry that is always growing and people all around the world are always on their toes to gain more and more information about this industry. Hence opportunities in the field of sports journalism have always been favorable and are anticipated to grow all the more in the coming decade.
Salaries
In the field of journalism, providing articles for newspapers is good enough for beginners. With growing experience, write ups for the newspapers gain a smaller amount of revenue and therefore journalists prefer working for private organizations. For a new employee the expected salary is $20,000 yearly and with the gain in the experience it increases to $85,000. There are many sports journalists who also have earned $150,000 with their experience and their efficient knowledge. The wages of a sports journalist also depends on the organization he is working for as well as the exposure he gains during his working hours.
With the continuous need for more and more sports news the need for able journalists is always there. Gaining experience by writing articles for newspapers, magazines or television can provide an established career ahead in sports journalism. There are many sports journalists who work as freelancers on a project basis. TV sports journalism is all the more lucrative and after years of experience even sports journalists become quite popular among people. Nevertheless with the right qualification, sufficient experience and an ample amount of hard work, one can obtain a way to success in sports journalism.
