THE SPORTWRITING JOB MARKET- PRESENTATION!

How big is the sports-writing job market in Australia and globally? Research beyond the readings below and do a brief survey of the kinds of jobs that are available and speculate on the ways an aspiring sportswriter might begin a career. 


ARTICLE FOCUS:

Emery, Paul R., Ruth M. Crabtree Anthony K. Kerr, "The Australian Sport Management Job Market: An Advertisement Audit Of Employer Need", Annals Of Leisure Research 15.4 (2012): 335-353

ARTICLE Summary:

The article is a primary study of a six-month occupational audit made to determine the employer needs, nature, diversity, skill-set and selection criteria demanded of the Australian sport management job market, for a better understanding of graduate opportunity and recruitment expectation of the industry.

The findings imply that graduate employability remains an issue of concern for students- it also demonstrates and discusses the findings of the audit of sport management positions in Australia which present an employer perspective of the nature and published expectations of sport management opportunities. In particular, the most frequently demanded management and leadership expectations were found to be ‘achieving results, working with people, using resources and providing direction’. Entry-level recruitment demanded a skill-set that included ‘excellent communication, planning/organization and problem-solving skills, and the selection criteria emphasized ‘experience, qualifications and an appropriate work ethic/passion’. This research provides a benchmarking profile of Australian sport management opportunities from which fitness of purpose and curricular development can be further researched and developed.

Who is or wants to be a sports writer? What does the job entail?

Well in detail…

Sports writers deliver engaging and informative news to readers of blogs, websites, newspapers, or magazines. They may work directly for a publishing company or freelance and syndicate their stories to a variety of news outlets. Some writers specialize in coverage of one sport, such as basketball or football, while others cover all the news on athletic competition in their region. Regardless of the type of sport covered, writers must use their creativity to excite and engage readers while writing content that is always factual, current and accurate.

Writers do whatever is necessary to write exciting content for fans of the sport they cover. This may mean traveling to games, researching current events in the sport, making contacts to obtain insider information or tracking down sources. Unlike the brief information given during television news, written media must be detailed, in-depth and offer reasons for why a team won or lost. Because of this distinction, writers must dig very deep for information not found elsewhere and analyze subjective aspects of the game in order to deliver successful content.

Sports writers keep fans in touch with their favorite sports and teams. With television providing immediate coverage, in-depth reporting is expected from today's sports writer. They not only write about what happens in the game, but the reasons teams succeed or fail. Besides game coverage, sports writers cover team news, like player transactions and coaching changes. They write feature stories on players and coaches, and provide insight on trends involving the team or sport they cover.

The sports writing career is very competitive. Writers often compete with others in their region to publish information first, thereby gaining the loyalty of a fan base hungry for information. In addition, many newspapers are downsizing and cutting staff, thereby creating more competition in this career field. However, with an ever-expanding media market, which now includes both commercial and personal blogs, writers have more opportunities than ever to secure a position in the industry.

Many sports writers have a specific “beat,” meaning they cover a specific team or sport throughout a season, or even throughout a year. Since many games are at night, sports writers rarely work a 9-5 day. More typical is arriving at the office in the afternoon to discuss story ideas with editors, call sources for possible stories, and write stories. Some writers cross over into other forms of media, such as television, radio and podcasts. They may write content for these shows or, if they show an aptitude, become talk show personalities themselves.

THE PAY-

Most sports writers will not make a fortune but nearly all of them love what they do. As with any field, sports writers who rise to the top of the field can make a lot of money.

More typical though is pay from $25,000 to $45,000, until a sports writer rises to one of the countries top print publications or websites.

HOW BIG IS THE SPORT WRITING JOB MARKET?

Well, the article highlights that for students, there exists a diverse range of sport writing opportunities on a national and global scale, as there is always at least one mainstream sport highlighted and publicized in almost every country.

With the Internet providing more sports media outlets than ever before, today's sports writers have numerous opportunities given to them on a global basis. Twenty years ago, sports writers typically worked for newspapers, or perhaps magazines, but the field has indefinitely changed vastly.

Today, sports writers still work for traditional outlets but they also may be employed by sports news websites, team websites, or even work on their own blog. Many sports writers also add expertise to radio, television, and streaming video coverage. The opportunities are as varied as the sports covered, but the key to all of these communication forms is concisely giving information in an entertaining and creative fashion.

ARE THERE MANY SPORT WRITING JOBS AVAILABLE?

Sports writers come from all walks of life.

   v Young and old

   v New and experienced

Through the six-month occupational audit of advertised positions, useful insights have been provided into the evolving characteristics and needs of management positions in the sport industry. It highlighted that within the six-month data collection time frame, 684 positions were identified, and providing an average of 114 positions advertised each month. The breadth of the sample frame is illustrated by the inclusion of more than 35 different individual sport settings (e.g. AFL, athletics, ballet and bowls through to water polo, weightlifting and yachting), as well as multi-sport (e.g. sports event management, community/ youth sport and disability) and general management positions (e.g. administration, marketing and finance personnel in sport centres). The most frequent sport-specific management opportunities occurred in the areas of health and fitness (27%), swimming (8%), golf (2%) and football (2%).

While current opportunities and future prospects for a career in sport management appear to be good, entry-level requirements and expectations are seen to be demanding. Typically, entry-level positions require successful applicants to achieve results, work with people, use resources and provide direction, and are able to manage budgets, develop productive working relations with colleagues, develop and implement operational plans and manage projects. Furthermore, the skill-set expected of these candidates comprises excellence in communication, planning and organization and problem solving. However, in a very competitive environment, applicants must be aware of, and ideally exceed, the key selection criteria. From an employer’s perspective, graduates are expected to possess experience, communication skills and qualifications, as well as personal attributes and real-world skills that include a positive can-do attitude and an ability to deal with pressure and meet deadlines.

This suggests important implications for higher educations providers and students pursuing a sport management career. However through greater understanding of industry needs, educators can address the gap between students and employers and more effectively design and engage with learning activities that produce competent and highly skilled work-ready sport writers and managers for the future.

NOW, WHY SPORTS WRITING, WHATS GOOD?

It is fair to say sport writers typically enjoy what they are doing. Although they remain neutral at the games they cover—objectivity is a must—they get to see top games, teams, and athletes. Sports writers spend much of their time out of the office and typically travel extensively.

While sports writers do not always compete on the field, they do however enjoy competing to get stories first and providing readers with the best information. The variety of outlets provides many ways for the writer to tell his or her story.

Writers have access to teams and players that few others ever enjoy. Covering top athletes can be fascinating. Sports writers witness top competition, always with a prime seat.

Many sports writers also move on to column writing, in which they add their own views on sporting events. Often times, these column writers become well known in a community.

And the best part is that good sports writers always attract an audience. Passionate fans will loyally read each story and often provide positive feedback.

WHERE TO APPLY?

Along with the standard sites like LinkedIn, Seek, Career jet, Career one - The associated press sports editors maintain a job board on their site. After university, sports writers typically start a blog and work their way up to bigger publications however they also may find employment at one of the many sports websites like ESPN.com or sportsline.com and league sites like NFL.com and MLB.com who also employ sports writers, as do many professional teams.

Examples of sport writing job titles that could be found through these standard employment sites:

   v Feature writer

   v Social media and online marketing coordinator

   v Digital news editor

   v Blog writer

   v Online web journalism

   v Sport event management

   v Media and communications manager for a club

   v Media officer

   v Sports reporter, editorial assistant, sub editor

   v Content creator

   v Producer and broadcaster

   v Web reporter

   v Media assistant

   v Melbourne correspondent

   v TV presenter

   v Freelance sports contributor

   v Statistician

   v Club president

Job Applications:

Now when it comes to applying…remember that if an employer takes even 2 minutes to look over your CV you are lucky!  These days reading an application is almost as boring as writing one in the first place so you MUST MAKE IT STAND OUT. Give them a reason not to bin your application and WANT TO MEET YOU!!!

WAYS AN ASPIRING SPORTSWRITER MIGHT BEGIN A CAREER:

For an aspiring sports writer who wishes to succeed and become credible as a sports writer, the writer must first develop certain basic skills.

The basic skills you will NEED to work in sports writing is…

v A broad Understanding of the Sports Business

v Actual Industry Knowledge

v Research Skills

v Ability to Connect With Sports Fans (OR YOUR PARTICULAR AUDIENCE)

v Creativity

Many of today's sports writers are university graduates, typically with journalism degrees that developed an aptitude for writing and undertaken a range of internships. Besides their degree, sports writers typically wrote on blogs. This helped provide good practical experience. Many sports writers were never star athletes, or they may have never played sports. But all sports writers love sports and competition. Playing a sport or closely following a sport provides important experience.

In addition to a degree and practical experience, writers must be experts on many if not all mainstream sports. They must know not only the rules of the game, but must also understand its history and have an intense knowledge of all key players, coaches and teams. Moreover, they must have a passion for athletics and a desire to provide fans with accurate and entertaining news. Other skills important to the field of athletic journalism include strong interpersonal and networking abilities, an aptitude for spotting news as it occurs and the ability to write creatively while captivating an audience. Writers must also possess a strong sense of self-confidence and determination in order to endure the long hours and irregular work environment inbuilt in this field.

SO IN CONCLUSION, TO BE A GOOD SPORT WRITER;

ALWAYS REMEMBER:

'Sport is NEWS'

THEREFORE,

v Read everything

- Stay current and be aware of competitors

v Get the skills

- THAT IS A MUST due to the competitive nature of the industry

v Get the experience

- Try doing a cadet journalist internship

v Develop a niche

- This shall be your personal brand and will attract your own audience

v Stay 'match fit'

- Always stay in that writer's mindset even when writing on a personal blog

v Have Motivation, determination AND PERSISTENCE

GOODLUCK !!!!! J