How to Become a Sports Journalist?

Updated On: 19-Jan-2023

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There are sports-crazy people all over the world like for cricket in India, for football in Brazil, France, and Argentina, etc. These people are not only interested in watching the game but they want to read about the game, players, teams, and events.

Here comes the job of a Sports Journalist.

The job of a sports journalist is to write about the game, players, teams, events and take interviews of the sports celebrities. Your role as a sports journalist will depend on the media house you work with like newspaper, magazine, radio, TV, or website.

The field of sports journalism can be categorized in different positions like:

1. Reporter: The reporter gives the news about games, players and events.
2. Columnist: The columnist write about games, players or any other sport related topic on his/her column.
3. Host: Hosting the sports program on TV or Radio.
4. Editor: The job of editor is to check and refine the reports submitted.

Sports journalists can work as a freelancer or can join a media house to work with. You can choose to stick with a single sport and get expertise in this or you can work for all sports in a particular territory. If you choose to work with a media house then that will assign tasks to you but if you choose to work as a freelancer then you need to decide about which event you will cover. When you work as a freelancer, you must have a strong network to connect with players, authorities and also must have connections in media houses to sell the story.

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To become a sports journalist you should have a degree in Journalism or communication You Should have writing experience that you can get by working with college newspaper or writing their own blog. A certification or diploma in sports can be a salient feature.

Courses for career in Sports Journalism

First of all, get a degree in Journalism or communication. During the study connect with the college or university newspaper or magazine and write for it. After getting a degree in journalism or communication apply for an internship in a local newspaper, magazine, or TV channel. Start your own blog about any game, team, or a particular event. It will help you a lot to explore yourself and also help you to get a job. You can also go for a certification or diploma in sports to become a sports journalist.

To become a successful sports journalist, you must have the following skills:

1. Passion for sports:
You must be passionate about sports. The one who is eager to know each and every detail of sports is perfect person for that.

2. Writing Skills:
As sports journalist job is related to writing, so you should have excellent writing skills.

3. Hard-work:
It required a lots of hard work as it is not a 9 to 5 job. You need to travel a lot and work for long hours and on weekend and holiday also.

4.Good communication skills:
You need to take interviews of sports celebrities. So you must have excellent communication skill too.

If you are a crazy sports lover and always want to be connect with your favorite game and players. If you can't make it to as a player then become a sports journalist is the right career option for you. If you ready to work hard, ready to travel a lot and work on weekends also, then this is definitely for you.It is not a typical 9 to 5 job. It can be a 24/7 hours job. You need to take interview of any sports personality in the morning or attend an event in evening or midnight. So no time period defined. You need to work on weekend and holidays also as most of the events are organized at that time.The pay in this field is not so exciting in beginning but the famous and successful journalists got a very handsome salary for their work.

As per payscale.com, the average salary of a Sports Journalist is ₹478,89 per year. The pay depends on your experience, type of media house you are working with and location, etc.Career in sports journalism in India is always in demand. With cricket, number of other sports events also getting popularity, like HIL for Hockey, IBL for Badminton and now Pro Kabaddi League. With newspaper, magazines, radio and TV, a new media is emerging with a pace and that is Internet. Internet is providing more opportunities than any other media house. A sports journalist can work with a sports website or a team website or start their own blog. With internet other media houses also increasing their coverage areas.

Positive

Chance to travel in different countries.

Chance to meet sports personality of worlds.

A lot of fame.

Always witness the top games and on prime seat.

Get paid to do what you love.

Negative