Entry Level Qualification 

12

Career Fields 

Mass Media, Journalism & Entertainment

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

No Entrance Exam

About Career 

1. Sports Journalists focus on reporting the latest news and stories from the world of sports. Sports journalists write about and report on both amateur and professional sports. Their job duties include tasks like reporting from a live game / sports competitions, interviewing players and coaches, performing live game commentary, sports related research and analysis, etc.

2. You may cover sporting events, teams, organizations etc., write detailed analysis and columns, contribute to online portals, cover matches, and write/curate/prepare/distribute sports news. TV channels, web portals, newspapers, radio, sport blogs, sports magazines – sports journalists are employed by different forms of mass media. You may also need to travel to various places during national / international sporting events to gather live information.

3. As a Sports Journalist, you will be working with major newspapers, magazines, media houses, newswires, websites, radio stations, television companies, periodical publishers or journals operating in both online and print media spaces. You may need to reproduce first-hand information gathered by reporters, anchors, interviewers, photographers etc., about events, facts, ideas and people in a written format. You may have to coordinate your work with news editors, copywriters, marketing executives, advertisement agencies, graphic designers, etc. to produce an effective piece of sports related content.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

As a Sports Journalist, you will be engaged with one or moreof the following roles and responsibilities: -

1. You will be receiving assignments or evaluating tips or leads to create news items.

2. You will be researching on background information for generating accurate and complete reports.

3. You will be reporting news stories for broadcast or publication, describing the details and background of events.

4. You will be gathering information and data about events through interviews, research, experience or by physically attending the events.

5. You may be required to make live narrations or commentary on various sporting events for first-line reporting.

6. You will be reviewing and evaluating notes collected about news events to aggregate pertinent details and facts.

7. You may be reviewing audio, written, or video copy and correcting errors in grammar, content, or punctuation, as per prescribed formatting guidelines, word limits and editorial styles.

8. You may be determining the length, emphasis, and format of a published or broadcasted story and organizing material accordingly.

9. You may be developing material or ideas for commentaries or columns by interpreting and analyzing current issues, news, or personal experiences.

10. You may need to travel extensively to gather first-hand information about sporting events, involved sportspersons or coaches or celebrities.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies - Class 11-12 Arts/Humanities along with any other subject as per scheme of studies – B.C.J, B.M.M, B.J, B.J.M.C courses - Undergo traineeship/internship with various media houses.

After completing Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies then Class 11-12 Arts/Humanities along with any other subject as per scheme of studies, you can go for B.C.J (Bachelor of Communication & Journalism), B.M.M (Bachelor of Mass Media), B.J (Bachelor in Journalism), B.J.M.C (Bachelor in Journalism and Mass Communication) courses. Then you can apply for traineeship/internship with various media houses. 

After completing Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies then Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies, you can go for a B. Voc. (Bachelor of Vocation) course in ‘Sports Journalism’, ‘Sports Communication’, ‘Journalism’, ‘Journalism and Mass Communication’, ‘Communication & Emerging Media’, ‘Documentary Production, Television Advertising & Public Relation’, ‘Media and Communication’, ‘Digital Journalism’, ‘Broadcast Journalism’, ‘Media Communication’, ‘Corporate Communication’, ‘Digital and Interactive Media Journalism’, ‘Enterprise Journalism’, ‘Journalism Design and Graphics’, ‘Mass Communication’, ‘News Reporting and Writing’, ‘Media Relations’, ‘Crisis Communications’, ‘Digital Media’, ‘Interpersonal Communication’, ‘Media Management’, ‘Communication Research’, ‘Radio Journalism‘ or related disciplines. Then you can apply for graduate schemes/traineeship/ internship with various media houses.

After completing Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies then Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies, you can go for B.C.J (Bachelor of Communication & Journalism), B.M.M (Bachelor of Mass Media), B.J (Bachelor in Journalism), B.J.M.C (Bachelor in Journalism and Mass Communication) courses. Then you can apply for graduate schemes/traineeship/ internship with various media houses.

After completing Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies then Class 11-12 with any subject as per scheme of studies, you can go for B.C.J (Bachelor of Communication & Journalism), B.M.M (Bachelor of Mass Media), B.J (Bachelor in Journalism), B.J.M.C (Bachelor in Journalism and Mass Communication) courses. Then go for M.C.J – Master of Communication & Journalism, M.M.M – Master of Mass Media, M.J - Master in Journalism, M.J.M.C - Master in Journalism and Mass Communication courses. Then you can apply for traineeship/ internship with various media houses.​​​​​​​

Required Qualification & Competencies 

After Class 11-12, you can go for:

1. B.C.J, B.M.M, B.J, B.J.M.C courses.

2. B. Voc. courses.

3. Bachelor degree in any discipline.

After your Bachelor Degree, you can go for a:

1. Post Graduate Diploma and Advanced Diploma or Certificate course.

2. M.C.J, M.M.M, M.J, M.J.M.C courses.

Various private/public vocational training establishments across India offer related courses on:

1. Advertising and Mass Communication

2. Journalism & Mass Communication

3. Mass Communication

4. Mass Media Studies

5. Art Communication and Journalism

6. Broadcast (Radio & TV) Journalism

7. Convergent Journalism

8. Journalism

9. Journalism & Mass Communication

10. Online Journalism & Blogging

11. Photojournalism

Competencies Required

1. You should have interests for Artistic Occupations. Artistic occupations mostly involve working with creative ideas, art, and designs. These occupations involve abstract or conceptual thinking, creative self-expression and often do not follow any set processes or rules for getting things done.

2. You should have interests for Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiatives, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision making, risk-taking, and action orientation.

3. You should have interests for Investigative Occupations. Investigative occupations involve working with ideas and quite a lot of thinking, often abstract or conceptual thinking. These involve learning about facts and figures; involve the use of data analysis, assessment of situations, decision making and problem-solving.

4. You should have knowledge of English Language - Knowledge about English grammar, words, spelling, sentence construction, using English to communicate with others, reading in English, etc.

5. You should have knowledge of Communications and Media - Knowledge of how different media such as print, television, radio, and social media works; how to produce content such as news, articles, audio-visual programs, etc. for different media. This includes various ways to inform and entertain people via print, audio, audio-visual and online media.

6. You should have Active Listening Skills - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

7. You should have Reading Comprehension Skills - Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

8. You should have Social Media Skills - Skills in using various social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for professional work.

9. You should have Active Learning Skills - Focused and continuous learning from various sources of information, observation and otherwise for application in getting work done.

10. You should have critical thinking skills- Skills in the analysis of complex situations, using logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

11. You should have originality - The ability to come up with unusual or innovative ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

12. You should have Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

13. You are mostly impulsive in your action and behaviour.

14. You are always imaginative or in most situations.

15. You act independently sometimes but do not do so in some other times.

16. You prefer to experience new things and have new experiences sometimes.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

You will get job opportunities as a Sports Journalist in companies like NDTV, Discovery, BBC, CNN, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Economic Times or other regional/national:

1. Newspapers

2. Magazines

3. Media Houses

4. Newswires

5. Websites / Web Portals

6. Radio Stations

7. Television Companies

8. Periodical Publishers

9. Journals

You may get roles like:

1. Reporter/Journalist

2. Copy Editor

3. Sub-Editor

4. Associate Editor

5. Sports Editor

Specialisation Tracks In This Career

1. Sports Journalist (Electronic Media)

Sports Journalists working in radio or audio-visual (television) media are often referred to as Electronic Media Sports Journalists. Typically, unlike print media Sports Journalists, they report from the spot of an event along with a photographer. Apart from reporting from the spot, they work in the desks in television or radio studios and edit audio-visual clips or audio clips. They may make a video or audio clips from various news sources such as field reports, news agency reports, websites, etc.

2. Sports Writer / Editor (Print Media)

Print Media Sports Writers and Editors work in print mediums such as newspapers, magazines, periodicals, etc. They report on various sporting events, interview sportspersons or coaches in order to generate written material with factually authentic information. They may also work in the desks in the offices and work as copy editors, sub-editors, editors, etc. Their work may also involve writing critical analyses about particular sporting events or the governance decisions involved etc. They write or edit news stories, features, etc. and make the pages of newspapers, magazines, etc.

3. Sports Journalist (Online media or Web)

In this specialised area, Sports Journalists work for web publications. There are many news portals on the web. Sports Journalists working for web media mostly compile news stories and features from various news agency sources and other web sources. They write the stories and features and then publish the stories online.

4. Sports Blogger

Sports Bloggers work independently and either write news stories or shoot videos for their own blogs or write for web news portals as freelance Sports Journalists. Bloggers who write features (which may include opinion, news analysis, stories on various sporting events as well as photos and videos) either write for their own blogs or work as a freelance journalist for web media.

5. Freelance Journalist/Writer (Sports)

Freelance Journalists and Writers work on a freelance basis for print media, web or electronic media. They may write news stories and features or may shoot photographs/videos to go with their news stories and features. Depending upon the kind of assignment they get, they may also accompany photographers and build their stories jointly.

Career Growth

From entry-level job positions as Reporter/Journalist, Associate Editor, Writer, Columnist, Reporter, Narrator, Broadcast Operator, etc., you may grow into a team leader role managing work of a few journalists. You may have a position as a Senior Reporter, Consulting Editor, Sports Expert, Senior Journalist, Senior Editor after 12+ years of experience or earlier.

Salary Offered  

1. Salaries vary according to job profiles and the kind of facilities you get to work at.

2. In the entry-level jobs: You may get about. 12,000.00 – Rs. 26, 000.00 or more per month.

3. Salaries increase with your work experience and as you get promoted.

4. After having 1-6 years of experience, you may expect about Rs. 15,000 – Rs. 45, 000 per month or more.

5. After having 6-12 years of experience, you may get about Rs. 20,000.00 – Rs. 80,000 per month or more.

Monthly Earnings In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience

3. Mid-Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also in the near future, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and in some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available

Work Activities 

1. Getting Information and learning - Observing, hearing, reading, using computers, or otherwise obtaining information and learning from it.

2. Analysing and interpreting data and information - Analysis of data and information to find facts, trends, reasons behind situations, etc.; interpretation of data to aid in decision making.

3. Identifying objects, actions, and events - Identifying various characteristics of objects; observing and understanding actions and events; understanding changes in actions and events.

4. Processing information - Searching, compiling, tabulating, calculating, auditing, verifying or otherwise dealing with information processing including data entry, transcription, recording, storing and maintaining databases.

5. Communicating with co-workers and others– Communicating with people in writing, verbally or otherwise inside your workplace and various other people who have professional relationships with your place of work.

6. Creative thinking - Developing new ideas, concepts, innovative solutions to problems, newer ways of getting things done, designing products and services and creating effective, user-friendly and appealing products.

7. Working in a team - Working in a multi-disciplinary team of people; developing a team; maintaining professional relationships among team members.