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Advice needed......

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Jrk500, Jul 3, 2011.

  1. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    What kind of chance do you want? You need to nail down your writing. Your post had several errors and if you make those same mistakes in a cover letter, you're not going to get a chance. Why do you want to be in the business? What contacts have you made so far? With high school football starting less than two months froms now, try to get on as a freelancer for local paper. Read what the best do and what sportswriters in your area write.
     
  2. baddecision

    baddecision Active Member

    Respectfully disagree with those posting encouragement. Even if I really, really wanted to be an astronaut or a jockey or a boy band lead singer or a gigolo or a blacksmith, it wouldn't matter because there's not a match between my skills and the market. If this young man wants to be a sportswriter, he should start with a blog, $25 freelance gigs for the local Patch or weekly, maybe a feature given to the local papers on spec, maybe a one-shift-per-week job as an agateer. Once he learns the difference between the allure of sportswriting vs. the reality, he'll be back in a patrol car. The kicker for me is that he's married with a family. It's one thing to go through hell yourself trying to build a future in a business where there is none. But to drag a kid through it? Forget it. Study for the detective's exam.
     
  3. TheHacker

    TheHacker Member

    Hey baddecision, it's refreshing to see so many people take the time to offer real advice rather than just dismissing the guy's desire out of hand. That sort of thing doesn't always happen around here. But at the same time, I have to agree with your assessment.

    My advice to Jrk500 would be to follow what others have said here. Approach the local papers or the Patch site in your area if there is one and offer to staff some games for them. In my area, in addition to Patch, we have a couple of other small websites that specialize in covering high school sports. I've seen one of them actively recruiting freelancers.

    Before you do any of that, do one very important thing: Read, read, read. Read every high school sports story in every paper or on every website you can get your hands on. Read, read, read. And pay attention to the way the stories are written. How do they start? How do they end? How do they transition from one idea to the next? You're going to need to produce something like that. And you'll need to know how to keep your own stats. Pretty easy for baseball if you can find any opportunities over the summer, but a little more complicated for football if you've never done it before.

    But I think baddecision is correct, you should temper your expectations. The last time I had an opening for a reporter on my sports staff, more than 100 people applied. Given the state of the industry, the number of experienced people looking for work, and your lack of experience, covering high school games is about the best you can hope for right now. As others have said, that's a life of nights and weekends and dealing with cranky parents and coaches and very low pay. Surely less than you'll make as a cop.
     
  4. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    If it's going to be that tough getting his foot in the door as a sportswriter, he'll find that out himself. That's not what he came here for. He didn't come here to get his dream shot down. He came here for the best advice possible on how to chase that dream.
     
  5. baskethead

    baskethead Member

    You're going to have to make the decision that it's going to cost you some time with your family. It just is, there's no way around it. Most sportswriting, especially entry-level, as noted here, takes place at night, either in the office taking phone calls or if you're lucky enough, out covering a high school game at night. You're not going to simply walk into a job covering a college or pro team.
    Hopefully you're married to someone who is encouraging of your goals and understands what that will entail. It's a talk I had with my now-wife when we were first starting out (and she worked at the paper, so she had an idea anyway). Nights, weekends, whatever, it's going to be hard to have a "normal" schedule if you really want to do this, because realistically, you have to take what you're offered in order to get those all-important clips. I started out, like probably many here, working in the office at night taking call after call and writing up a few paragraphs on each game. Sounds boring, and it is, but it's also good experience, especially for someone who doesn't have any.
    Good luck. A full-time job is hard to find these days but keep looking and in the meantime, call any outlet around you who might need some help and offer it. And be willing to take what they offer because if you don't, someone else probably will.
     
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