Hitting the Presses with a Sports Writing Career

Imagine great seating at premier athletics events, fourth estate passes, particular parking, interviewing athletics heroes, and complimentary meals. Then conceive of authorship about the experience and getting paid for it. For Kevin Mulligan, a sportswriter for the City Of Brotherly Love Daily News, there's an even greater perk. "There is no replacement for the satisfaction of seeing your words and byline in print, knowing they may be read by thousands," he says.

The Game Plan

Mulligan Stew became interested in athletics writing during high school and as a college English Language major. Like many professional sportswriters, he saw it as a manner to compound his enjoyment and cognition of athletics with a passionateness for writing. He worked his manner from a newsman to college athletics editor, where his affectionateness for the newspaper concern grew into his life's work.

Most sportswriters are college graduates, with surprisingly few advanced degrees. That's because alumnus surveys aren't as helpful in learning the concern as working in the field. Sportswriters' most common undergraduate grades are in English, journalism, broad arts, communications, and education.

Mulligan and many of his co-workers hold that theirs is an exciting manner of life. And, there are respective absorbing communities within athletics journalism, including newspaper/magazine/online mass media writing, fact-finding reporting, broadcasting, athletics information directing, advertisement and marketing, and public relations.

Extra Innings

To be successful in these fields, you must be willing to work odd hours and overtime, especially during the extremum of athletics seasons, states Mulligan. The day-to-day modus operandi of sportswriters depends on the type of calling field. Some work predictable eight-hour days; others are independent or always on call. But, states Mulligan, athletics writing callings supply a degree of challenge and reward, especially for those who love to take their readers behind the scenes, and study and capture the thrills, spills, and icinesses of sports.

Pep Talk

It's no surprise the industry is a hot calling among today's communication theory students, states Mulligan. When he turns to immature people interested in the field, however, he is surprised at how uninformed they are. "Unfortunately, bright high schoolers struggling with calling determinations inquire uninformed inquiries such as as 'What's it like in the cabinet room?' or 'Do you travel to away games?'" he says. "Instead, they necessitate to concentrate their survey on athletics news media and what callings are available for good writers."