Among the classes in DePaul’s WRD program, there are several you would probably find clones of in other similar programs around the country. But in pursuit of a professional writing career through the program a class like Professor Justin Staley’s WRD 284: Sports Writing in America: Myths, Memories, Heroes and Villains, you’re bound to learn a variety of skills that will help in a variety of writing work capacities.
Just because the class is about sports writing doesn’t mean you necessarily have to take that professional route after graduation. It’s also possible you’ll fall in love with the topic and want to find a way to incorporate what you’ve learned into your career path.
Most Obvious Jobs
Clearly, an interest in sports writing could lead to a job doing just that or a range of other applicable jobs. “There are the obvious jobs sports writer/reporter/column writer for local and traditional media outlets, of course, but there are also opportunities in editing, multimedia sports writing, including television, radio, online content writing, and, to a lesser extent, podcasting,” Staley said.
Job Boards
For more traditional media jobs there are still plenty of job boards out there specifically designed with those jobs in mind.
Sportswriting as Content
Media jobs, in general, might be in flux because of the substantial rise of digital media, yet despite that, there are still many jobs out there because that digital media feeds the need for constant content. “There’s a particular niche in sport writing about gambling and betting that seems to be growing,” Staley explained. “That said, many of the sports writing jobs in the digital world seem to be much more about churning out content as quickly as possible; these freelance jobs might be good for getting experience and building a resume with clips, but they’re not particularly well-paying jobs.”
HERO Sports Campus Correspondents
If sports media seems like something you might want to do, why not give it a try with a gig with HERO Sports? Their campus correspondents work alongside experienced media staff in writing, producing, and editing modes to give you a leg up in your career. After all, there is much more to careers in media than just being television or radio personalities or writers.
Internship Opportunities
HERO Sports is far from the only place offering sports media-centered internships in the country. Besides the ones listed here you can also search for your home location and see what specifically applies there like Loan Star Gridiron in Texas, for example.
Stay Engaged
Even if you’re just considering a career adjacent to sports writing, you should be engaging with any writing, reading, watching, or listening to what’s happening right now. Knowing what is being produced right now will make you a better media contributor later. No matter what you decide to do in the field, being engaged will show you how folks are working in the industry and give you more insight into how you might do it. That’s how Staley got drawn into sports writing–he read it constantly.
“I used to devour the sports pages in the newspaper as a kid, not to mention read publications like “Sports Illustrated” and “Sport” magazine religiously,” he said. “As I got older, though, I found myself drawn to reading sports stories that weren’t just about the games: who won, who had the best stats, etc. Rather, I began reading and writing stories that were about sports as a microcosm of society, and how they reflected political, social, economic, and racial conversations we were having (or should be having) in our culture. I still love the games on the field, but to me, sport is one of the best vehicles there is to explore our human, as well as our cultural, values.”