Advice Required Please

Good Morning/Evening all,

Greetings from across the pond and new to this site.

Just wondering if you guys can help please. I've just completed a degree in Sports Journalism over here in England and I'm looking into the possibility of moving to the US. I'd obviousy want to try and find a job in a newspaper or such like over there.

Whats the journalism job market like generally across America, is there any call for Soccer, Tennis journalists etc. What's the salary like and so on. Essentially, whats the chances of somebody like myself moving to the States and being able to work?

Any advice/help would be very much appreciated,

Thanks,

 

Welcome, Englandsport. I'm going to give you an honest response. You might not get very many of those.

The newspaper business is not a pretty site over here. Check the "Journalism Topics Only" board if you don't believe me. Nearly all of our major newspapers have laid off employees (I believe you Brits call it being "made redundant") in recent years, and the past couple of months have been worse than ever.

Because of all the layoffs and buyouts, the job market is saturated with talented, experienced journalists. Many of them are leaving journalism altogether, but for those who don't, job openings are few and far between, and competition for them is fierce.

All the cutbacks mean our sports departments generally are covering less and less, so I would guess demand for reporters to cover fringe sports such as soccer and tennis would be minimal, at best. If you do find a newspaper job here, it will not pay well. Most entry-level reporter jobs pay between $20,000 and $30,000, depending on the size and location of the paper. Larger newspapers might pay more for an entry-level job, but cost of living probably will be higher, and most of the larger papers in this country are in the business of cutting jobs, not creating them.

I would strongly suggest perusing the "Journalism Topics Only" board and thinking long and hard about whether you want to enter this business, particularly in the United States. Best of luck.

 

Thanks for your honest reply, interesting to read!

 

Agreed. Now is not the best time to be a journalist in the US...

 

How would you even get a visa? Doesn't the position have to be one that can't be filled? I think there are a couple of listings I have seen on SportsJournalists.com that could fit the bill, but they aren't in a metro area and you'll be covering T-ball.