By VALERIA VIERA
Journalists have many different beats and specializations from which to choose from when it comes to choosing a career path — entertainment, sports, music, economy, politics, international and so forth.
Sports journalism is an area that can take time to learn how to write it so it is fun, simple, and explicit to the audience.
The article “How to Become a Sports Journalist” edited by Donald Pillai and others teaches us the important steps to becoming a successful sports journalist in today’s society.
According to the article, first you have to be “passionate about sports.” This step is quite obvious, since there must be a sense of excitement coming from the journalist so he or she can transmit it to the people reading whatever the journalist writes about. The person has to like what they are writing about, that way they actually know what they are saying. Also, sports history is important to know and be informed of.
Next is also a step that everyone should know: reading about sports article. The only way you can really learn is by reading the work of others. That way the journalist can critique his own work and maybe add a different structure to it so it is easier, cleaner, and more entertaining to read.
“Familiarize yourself with the way a sports journalist writes. Study your favorite sports journalists to see why they might have become so successful,” Pillai wrote.
This last sentence is a good advice since if you want to be the best at what you do, do not imitate that person you look up to, but unite those things about he or she you like with your own. Combine them and the best piece of work will come out.
Step three: Just write. Writing about sports is just one branch of writing you have to be a good writer, one that can write about anything not just sports.
Step four: “Get an education” This refers to completing high school, focusing on getting good results from your writing classes. According to the article:
“You will need a Bachelor’s degree to pursue a career in sports journalist. Go to a four-year college and major in English, with a concentration in Journalism. Consider getting graduate degree. This will make you more desirable to potential employers. Note that it may be easier to work on your graduate degree once you have gotten your first job.”
Step five is one that most students right now in college should most likely want to pay attention to: join your University’s newspaper. Not only for the curriculum and resumé, but also so you can prepare yourself for the real world. Doing internships, volunteering, and putting your work out there in websites and in your university’s newspaper are all necessary steps you have to take before having a real job. Why? Because just a degree or a title is not enough for the majority of the people who will hire you. They have to know you are not only well-experienced at the job you are applying for, but also good at it. Becoming your University’s sports journalist will help you in many ways.
If you are still in high school, joining it’s newspaper is also a perfect beginning for a successful career in the future.