The Qualifications, Salaries & Job Requirements of Sports Journalists in the U.S.
College journalism classes have no shortage of young men -- and women -- who want nothing more than to spend their lives covering the lives and trials of athletes. While many aspire to these positions, few succeed. Even fewer will reach the pinnacle of the profession, covering major league games and making appearances in national media outlets. To obtain even an entry-level job, applicants need a college education and significant experience on a college newspaper or broadcast station -- preferably covering sports. Wages tend to be low compared to other college graduates because competition for the openings is fierce and the supply of talented journalists is large.
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Wages
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of all journalists was about $43,000 in 2010. That figure is skewed by a relatively few high earners. Half of all journalists made from $25,000 to $51,000. Those figures are for all journalists. According to the Radio Television and Digital News Association, the average salary for a sports journalist was $33,000 in 2010. But half of all sports journalists made less than $26,000, while top-paid sports journalists made $190,000. Sports anchors made a median salary of $40,000.
Advancement
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Journalism is kind of like baseball. To play in the minor leagues, you have to prove that you know how to play baseball. To get a job as a journalist, you must demonstrate that you can perform acts of journalism. Proof of this can be found in clips you have written for your college newspaper or tapes you have made for a college radio station. Like ballplayers, journalists sometimes pay their dues in far-flung locations working for small organizations before getting a shot at the big leagues. Some never do, but the quality of a journalist's work can lead to advancement to higher-profile media outlets.
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Qualifications
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Writers for newspapers and magazines should turn out clean, error-free content, often on short deadlines. Broadcast journalists often are required to edit video clips in the field and speak extemporaneously about a game, match or sports figure. Digital journalists who write for web publications might be required to write articles and shoot and edit video. In addition, journalists should have some level of expertise in the sports they are covering. Some have even played or coached those sports -- this is especially true of the commentators during the Olympics.
Openings
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Competition for jobs is rougher than helmet-to-helmet contact in the NFL. Internet job boards post openings for stringers covering high school sports in far-flung locations. Many of these jobs pay by the hour or per article or clip.
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References
- Photo Credit football image by AnVer from Fotolia.com
