Sports Journalism: Courses and Career Opportunities
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s the name suggests, ‘Sports Journalism' is related to covering sports events and it is an essential element of any news media organisation. Today, a career in sports is promising and this also brings about wonderful career opportunities for sports journalists as well.
Television, radio, magazines, internet have become an integral part of people's life. Many of them are ardent fans of different sports; they switch to TV, websites, newspaper for getting latest updates and news in their sports. Thus, the scope of sports journalism is increasing steadily. Sports journalism prepares students for a sports reporting career and also introduces them with the writing of a sports writer and exposes them to media professionals use.
But there is still a lot that needs to be done in this field. It is disappointing to say that there are not enough good sports magazines in Indian languages. A couple of English sports magazines are available in the market which cater to the limited need of sports fans but many sports loving people who are not comfortable in English don't enjoy this privilege.
Today, it is a rewarding vocation, which requires talented and skilled sports media professionals. To be a sports journalist you need to know your subject inside out and have a passion to make a mark in this vocation.
It also demands lot of hard work and initiative. However, rewards are lucrative, a sport journalist gets box seats at games, meets internationals sports stars, gets lot of exposure while travelling from one country to another, getting to know the people who train Olympic athletes and fame appreciations from the readers and fans.
Today, the internet has become an important part of sports journalism. Almost all journalists have to start from ground zero. So, if you are an aspiring journalist, you can start with your own blogs on your favourite team or particular sport. This helps you build up your portfolio of self-published clips and if any sports organisation finds your blog interesting then you could also get a chance to work with them.
Today, sports journalism has turned into long form writing, it also produces popular books on sports which include biographies, history and investigations. Many Western countries have their own national association of sports journalists. In India there has been recent growth in sports journalism. The sports column in various leading newspapers is widely popular among readers. Indians today do not just appreciate cricket but they have also understood the importance of other sports also like football, hockey, wrestling, boxing etc.
You can go for a degree in sports journalism which could enhance your writing and reporting skills and also 
trains you efficiently in the areas of sports. You would learn to write technical details about a sport in a simple manner. One could also opt for journalism and match reporting course which deals with going to sport games, sporting events, and venues, meeting with players then reporting all this to sports crazy audience.
The career opportunities in sports journalism are - match reporter, freelance sports journalist and sports writer. You would get to work in newspaper, radio, TV, magazines and online journalism.
Source: Merinews
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