1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Can a blog get me a job?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by young-gun11, Nov 22, 2011.

  1. Turtle Wexler

    Turtle Wexler Member

    If you start a blog about Podunk High School sports because they're just outside of some paper's coverage area and therefore get no attention (i.e. you fulfill a need), as a hiring editor I would find that to be impressive.

    If you start a blog "covering" Lakers games from your couch in Ohio, that would fall under the fanboi category and would hurt your standing with me. That tells me you don't really understand what sports writers do.

    EDIT: You need clips. I need clips. We all need clips. If we already have clips, we need different/fresher/better clips.
     
  2. derwood

    derwood Active Member


    Great point.
     
  3. JPsT

    JPsT Member

    Everyone read this again. Including me. Sound advice.
     
  4. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    My two cents worth:

    Don't start a blog covering Podunk High or Podunk Community College. No one cares.

    If you're going to start a blog, pick a specific topic on which you can be an expert. The expert.

    Blog on sports law, sports marketing, sports facilities, concessions, labor issues, uniforms, naming rights deals, personnel moves, etc.

    The specific topic doesn't matter as much as your ability to cover it, and cover it better than anyone else.

    And, don't just blog, report. Break news. Develop sources.

    And then, market your blog. Be the guy reporters call for reaction to news in the field you choose to cover.

    If you can do this, people in the industry will read you. It won't matter if your in Podunk.

    Jim Romenesko writes his blog from various coffee shops in Evanston, IL. But, industry folks all over the country read him.

    I'd have to research it, but during the last NHL work stoppage, it was a blogger who offered the bet coverage.

    Find a niche and exploit it. Own it. Make it yours.
     
  5. I started my Toronto Raptors blog in 2002 and it was one of the main reasons I got hired at TheScore in 2008. A blog can absolutely help land you a job if you stand out in your particular sport. Many of the writers at http://blogs.thescore.com/ were independent bloggers before we recruited them.

    In my case, being one of the first team-specific NBA bloggers was at least as important to my future success as whatever talent I may or may not have had. These days, you need to be really freakin' good and original to stand out.
     
  6. SF_Express

    SF_Express Active Member

    YankeeFan has some good advice in there, and getting some freelance opportunities is something to pursue as well, but what I found extremely interesting is this: If this question had been asked on this board five years ago, or maybe three, hell, maybe one year ago, "release the hounds" might have been the first response, and that person would have been laughed out of here.

    Not so much in November 2011. Much has changed, and there are a lot of bloggers who are "establishment" now, which is either good or bad, depending on your point of view.
     
  7. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    A small example of what i was talking about, and it involves Jim Romenesko.

    In addition to his media blog, Romenesko runs Starbucksgossip.com -- sort of an outgrowth of his hanging around coffee shops.

    Well, the NY Post had an article the other day about Starbucks in NYC locking their bathrooms to customers.

    The Times wanted to follow up on it. They both contacted Romenesko to find people to discuss the story with:

    http://starbucksgossip.com/

    And, they mentioned his blog in their article:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/nyregion/starbucks-mutiny-exposes-new-yorks-reliance-on-chains-toilets.html

    And, now it's all being discussed on the Starbucksgossip website.

    If your blog can be the authority on a specific, newsworthy topic, you can get some attention for it, and attract important, influential industry folks to it.
     
  8. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    I can't remember who it is now, but somebody did well with a sports law blog.
     
  9. Johnny Dangerously

    Johnny Dangerously Well-Known Member

    I just hope someone lets the hounds out every now and then, SF, for the exercise and for their disposition. Poor hounds. They are like the Maytag repair man.
     
  10. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    Blogs are great if they are a product of good reporting instead of being comments from your couch. Romanesko built a brand. Hopkins is a brand in the Gannett world. Find a niche and work your tail off.
     
  11. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

    And don't wait for a job opening in Tahoe or Farmington!
     
  12. Turtle Wexler

    Turtle Wexler Member

    I don't want to give the younger folks the impression that Romenesko is the rule rather than the exception. He did something unique (at the time), did it for a decade and did it with professionalism. He filled a need.

    If you really can carve out a niche in which you can be the expert, great. But you know what? I already have websites I read for expert/insightful opinion on specific teams, sports business, sports law, sports media, uniforms, Title IX, etc. And they're written by actual experts in the field (lawyers, MBAs, journalists), not just people with opinions.

    Your job, with a blog, is two-fold: Write something worth reading, and then convince me I need to read it.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page