Becoming a Great Sports Journalist

If a sports journalist were to star in the movie The Karate Kid, he or she would play the role of Daniel La Russo.




Sports journalists, have to deal with celebrities, athletes, coaches and CEO’s that believe they are better than everyone. Not every celebrity or athlete is as hot headed, loud mouthed or arrogant as Johnny Lawrence was in The Karate Kid. Behind the articles, interviews and all the events they attend, lies a humorous and friendly individual with a passionate love of sports.

The biggest challenge sports journalists’ face is their schedule. The hours are long. The travel schedule is grueling. It is not unusual to visit four or five cities in one week. But despite their grueling schedule, true sports journalists, rarely grow tired of telling readers about the sports they love through the daily newspaper and online articles.



Fearlessness, the ability to draw out facts and the ability to use multiple writing styles are what make a great sports journalist.



Vince Ellis, a sports journalist for the Detroit Free Press, covers the Detroit Pistons. He says that, “fearlessness,” is important in becoming a great sports journalist. “You need to care, but you cannot let people intimidate you. You have to write what you see and not be afraid to ask the tough questions,” says Mr. Ellis.



Style is an important tool to have when writing articles, columns, features and profiles. Having more than one type of writing style is necessary when learning how to become a great sports journalist.



Laura Geist, who started as a sports journalist and is now a business journalist for Automotive News, says “Stretching your style is a good thing to do because you have to adapt your style to the story. You have to ask yourself, ‘are you getting too comfortable to the point where you are not developing your writing style as a journalist?’”

Finally, the ability to draw out facts makes or breaks a great sports journalist. “Great sports journalists paint a picture of the drama and get into the mind of an athlete to entertain their readers,” says Mrs. Geist.



Few people want to only read the facts and numbers about athletes and sports teams. Facts are great, but the real entertainment comes from writing the story with the athlete’s thoughts, not only the journalist’s.



Successful sports journalists never stop working on their journalistic skills. A sports journalist who writes for the New York Times website says, “If you want to attend a great graduate journalism school like the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, you need to build a good portfolio of articles because they want people with experience.”



Every sports journalist has their “Johnny Lawrence.” Sometimes the only way up the ladder is to take on your opponent and defeat them just as Daniel did to earn the title “Karate Kid” and to back up these words, “you’re the best around.”